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The lack of innovation in edtech

A week ago Oak National Academy announced the world’s first totally open source curriculum, as well as promising to open up their underlying source code. I could bore you with the minutiae of Open Government Licensing and how it’s the UK equivalent to Creative Commons By Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) as well as about the MIT […]

2 days ago Education More
 

Is BESA stuck in a Jam?

BESA (British Educational Suppliers Association) are likely to seek a Judicial Review of the government’s decision to fund Oak National Academy (Oak), but only if their members fund it. This may play well with their edtech and publisher members, but is a non-issue for the many companies who supply things like furniture, pens and paper, […]

7 months ago Education More
 

Make edtech love not war

The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), founded almost 50 years ago, is the UK’s main education business membership association. Today BESA plays a significant role in education and increasingly edu politics, but is it overreaching its remit? Aside from promoting members’ direct commercial interests, BESA’s Articles of Association (updated 2018) note that it will, “promulgate […]

1 year ago Education More
 

Ethics and edtech

Edtech and education are as full of hypocrisy, cant and mendacious action as any part of the economy. The sooner we accept this, the better we can, as individuals and as organisations,examine and calibrate our attitudes and ideas. The recent possible boycott BETT, is but one example. I had a minor role in raising the […]

1 year ago Education More
 

Tall Poppy Syndrome and Oak National Academy

I grew up in Australia where the ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’ is part of the national DNA. You criticise a person or organisation’s success in order to cut them down, deflating arrogance and pomposity. Unfortunately, it’s also about levelling down anyone who has the temerity to succeed. In the UK I have seen it in the […]

2 years ago Education More
 

How to rescue startups? Fund a load of “AI-enabled dog dating apps”

Last week the government announced a £500m Future Fund rescue package for startups. Why? Maybe it was Brent Hoberman’s wailing in the Financial Times or maybe someone at BEIS finally realised it was time to start justifying the vast amounts of money the Treasury gives them out of our pockets each year? Whatever the motivation […]

3 years ago Education More
 

An oddball army of weirdos and misfits

I have been thinking about Dominic Cummings’ plans to shake up the Civil Service by hiring a cadre of weirdos and misfits (most people I know seem to think I fit this criteria but I doubt my CV would make the cut with no tertiary qualifications, being too opinionated/old, Australian etc). However, I do have […]

3 years 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 […]

4 years ago Education, Uncategorized More