Education 118

 

Clipboard & aqui-hire in edtech

In January I had a chat with Gary Flake CEO at Clipboard, a company then being touted as an exciting edtech start-up – TechCruch described them ‘as a cross between Evernote and Pinterest’. It was an interesting conversation, but I didn’t write anything the time because I didn’t get any clear indication about: How Clipboard […]

10 years ago Education More

Educational myopia

I constantly hear/read about how schools in the UK must aspire to be like those in Singapore or Finland who do so well on the PISA and TIMSS/PIRLS tests. Yes, I’m sure there are things they can learn, but what infuriates me is a paucity of other examples of educational excellence that might be just […]

10 years ago Education More
 

Pass the lemon

Parents in England worry about school league tables almost as much as teachers do. League tables are a the bogey man of education, but what should concern parents much more, is the quality of teachers and departments within schools.  For example, according to the OECD the UK’s education system has the highest level of variation […]

10 years ago Education More

Best school I have ever seen

Over the last 25 years, while setting up and investing in education companies, I have visited lots of schools around the world. This doesn’t make me an expert or an educationalist, simply an interested outsider. I often describe myself as ‘the least educated person working in the education market’ or as someone else said, ‘He […]

10 years ago Education More
 

Coming to a cinema near you, The Private School Business

In spite of the Harry Potter effect only 7% of children in England attend private schools a rather modest number compared to almost 40% of their antipodean counterparts. I have been thinking upon private schools a lot since an interesting meeting with the senior management team at a high profile Australian private school to discuss […]

10 years ago Education More
 

Elite Australian private schools face an uncertain future

Elite Australian private schools face a couple of problems similar to those facing elite US universities – high fees and how to cope with excess demand. Supply of places in elite Australian private schools is very limited and so parents have to pay to join waiting lists. In most markets a supply side gap normally […]

10 years ago Education More
 

What’s the difference between an accelerator and an incubator? Two letters and a sematic minefield.

In the last few years both incubators and accelerators have grown in the tech scene almost like viruses. From the well-known ones like ycombinator, 500 Startups, TechStars and SeedCamp, to newer players like Wayra, Angel Pad and Springboard, the list seems to grow  daily. I have been involved with a couple as a mentor and […]

10 years ago Education More

Will the upcoming Australian election bring forth yet another education revolution?

Politicians with an eye to the media cycle frequently tout their latest initiative as a ‘revolution’, but often the most substantive transformation is a lot less money in taxpayers’ wallets. In 2008, Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard (then Minister for Education), having launched the $16bn (£10.5bn) Building the Education Revolution (BER) followed this with the […]

10 years ago Education More
 

Start Up Weekend Education London

I was one of the organisers and a judge at the recent Start Up Weekend Education London. For those who have survived one of these 54 hours marathons you will know all about the heady mix of inspiration, frustration, elation and exhaustion. In 2011 Night Zookeeper won the first ever London Start Up Weekend Education […]

10 years ago Education More

Onalytica Influence Index of the top 100 education blogs

Over the last few weeks I have been working with UK tech firm Onalytica to develop an index of the Top 100 Influential Education blogs which we launched during the recent Start Up Weekend Education London. At a basic level the index is built using Onalytica’s sophisticated data analysis tools, which are used by companies […]

10 years ago Education More