Welcome

I am an educational entrepreneur, edtech specialist and investor. The views expressed here are my own and are often blunt and irreverent.

 

Who I’d like to hear from (& it’s not the usual suspects)

After another London edtech week I’m feeling rather sanguine about ever attending an edtech event ever again. Of course I will but I’m going have 3 criteria: I want to hear from people who have something new to say (edtech is so often an echo chamber) I will try not to ask a question or […]

1 month ago Education More
 

DfE’s new EdTech Leadership group & how to prevent groundhog day

Recently I saw a tweet from Professor Peter Twinning about the DfE’s new EdTech Leadership Group (also known variously as the EdTech Expert Group). I have met several people on the list and had the pleasure of chatting briefly to Caroline Wright at BESA’s recent event to launch the DfE’s new EdTech Innovation Fund. Some […]

1 month ago Education, Uncategorized More
 

My thoughts about the DfE’s new £4.6m EdTech Innovation Fund

A few weeks ago I attended the BESA event to explain the new DfE Edtech strategy. So popular was the announcement, BESA had to find a new venue. Ironically the same venue as my first-ever meeting, almost 20 years ago, when I was working for what was then called the Department for Education and Skills […]

1 month ago 2 Education More
 

Edtech & ethics

People may make many incorrect assumptions – the existence of Big Foot, the infallibility of their lottery ‘system’, and always trust officials like police, politicians and priests. In my world you have to be a skeptical optimist, meaning that you should never assume that the words ethics and edtech should appear in the same sentence. […]

4 months ago Education More
 

The remarkable story of Chickens Not So Little

The organising intellectual model of The Guardian’s education coverage seems to take any press release claiming there’s a problem in education and interpret it through the lens of the ancient fairy tale Chicken Little. The one where the acorn falls on the back of Henny Penny and she creates panic crying, ‘The sky is falling’. […]

6 months ago Education More
 

Recruitment & discrimination in edtech

I recently attended a ‘Recruitment and Retention’ event hosted by Sophie Bailey of the Edtech Podcast. Three speakers gave their take on the issues: Jamie Brooker, co-founder of Kahoot @jamiebrooker on how to build a successful edtech startup; Dr Kristen Weatherby from UCL/IOE’s educate programme @KWresearch on the challenges of recruiting teachers for edtech projects; […]

1 year ago Education More
 

The biology of fundraising in edtech

The biology of fundraising in edtech land

2 years ago Education More
 

Is edtech a thing yet?

Audience Notes from Edtech Podcast event on Monday 20 June at NESTA I was asked to sit on this panel by the delightful Sophie of Edtech Podcast, who briefed us on what we needed to focus on. Being time limited and a tad verbose, I’m always a bit frustrated as I always have far more […]

2 years ago Education More
 

A pie in the face for leadership?

Getting a pie in the face, is an old comedic tradition, that predates Wikipedia’s entry, claiming it in 1909 with the comedy film Mr Flip. Known as pieing, getting one in the moosh can be hilarious and is a well-known form of protest. Alan Joyce the CEO of Qantas was recently pied, by Tony Overheu […]

2 years ago Uncategorized More
 

Should edtech and other startups spend money on IP?

Trademarks and the protection of intellectual property should be vital to any business, particularly those in tech? Wrong! Over the years I have seen too many businesses blow too much of their scare management and financial resources trying to register various types of IP. A few have managed to get trademarks, but I can’t think […]

2 years ago Education More