Great news, devastating news, and amazing people!

There are very few who know even a little bit about me, who haven't heard me talk about my love for #Rugby and, in particular, one specific club; London Irish Rugby Club .

The news that came out this week was devastating for players and staff but also extremely sad for "supporters" for whom the Club provided an additional family. For players and staff, obviously, a search now for jobs, but for the likes of me there is still a hole to fill.

There is a bit of robust language in this video, as you might expect from professional athletes, but it really does sum up the family that was, and is, #TheExiles.

That news spoilt what had started as an amazing week for me and The Abbey School, Reading as we were notified that we had been chosen as a #DigitalSchoolhouse.

This follows months of hard work by the fantastic Paty Mogio who was selected to be the Lead #Teacher for the project.

You can read more about the project and our reaction to it, in the Gateway piece at https://gateway.theabbey.co.uk/miss-mogio-a-digital-schoolhouse-lead-teacher/

What it means though is that both the #teachers in my department are now recognised to be able to support other teachers, particularly #PrimarySchool teachers, in improving the provision of #ComputerScience to their #schools / students. This follows the announcement a few months ago that Alex Baker was selected to be a Micro:bit Champion.

How lucky am I to be surrounded by such talented teachers?

I ended this week with a meeting with another superstar of a person, the dynamo that is Mike Halliday !

I always come away from meetings with Mike with a renewed energy; his focus on providing students with the skills required for the modern #TechIndustry is both laser sharp and infectious!

I can see the work Mike is doing in South Wales in the #Cyber Industry and his plans to expand this into #CloudComputing and #AI, will put the region in a dominant position in attracting high-tech companies to the area!

As we often do, we had a very wide-ranging conversation and came away with some great ideas which will have a substantial beneficial impact on the #students of The Abbey, UTC Reading , and other schools in the area.

Midweek I met a few other fascinating individuals when I attended The Abbey's ARCH event on #Memory. It was truly incredulous how two Yr9 students taught a whole audience to remember the first 16 digits of Pi in less than one minute, and we could all recite them after that time!

The guest speakers, Professors Beaman and Williams from the University of Reading were superb too. Although I did tell everyone that I spoke to, I felt it highly suspicious that I was put in the same breakout room as Professor Williams who had spoken so well on Diet and the affect it has on #cognition!

Are they hinting something?

And, do you know, in amongst all this, I have been teaching Computer Science to my normal timetable!

The UIVs(Yr 9s) did some amazing work in their lessons this week.

I taught them to train an #ImageRecognition machine and now they have to consider how they could use this to solve a UN #SustainableDevelopmentGoal using AI and train a model as a proof of concept.

I don't know the full particulars of what the students are planning; they are feeding back in their next lesson in a couple of weeks' time. But watching them train models to recognise the differences between animal and plant cells, and different minerals, has been fascinating to watch. I am honestly looking forward to their presentations.

My LVs(Yr10s) are nearing the end of their GCSE #Programming Project and it has been so lovely watching them #code their solutions and realising just how close they are to a fully working game. For many of them, who a couple of weeks ago didn't think they could do any of it, let alone finish it, it is both a revelation that yes, they have learnt something and they can code, but also a testament to a resilience and work ethic that is just wonderful to see.

I also had to write a piece this week on #DigitalLearning for our half termly #TeachingAndLearning newsletter, published by the great Kirstin Pettet !

I was particularly proud of this one, so I am reproducing it in its entirety below;

This piece has been written following an interaction with a student today who I asked if I would see them tomorrow as they were at Athletics to which they replied; “How do you know I am at Athletics?”

Of course I replied with one of the only responses a teacher can give in these circumstances; “I know everything!”

I have been teaching long enough to remember the New Opportunities Fund that schools were given to train teachers in the use of #ICT. In fact, some of the first teacher training I ever ran was at my wife’s Primary School supporting teachers (and the Headteacher at the time who felt she had to be seen to be embracing the technology too) to use ICT in the classroom.

Even back then people were speculating at how computers would affect the #teaching profession. Now it is not computers per se that will be putting us out of a job, but rather AI.?

I have always been extremely sceptical about these beliefs. Why? Because I honestly believe that teaching is as much to do with building rapport with students as it is about imparting knowledge. I don’t mean being their friend or anything like that, what I mean is showing that you care about them as a person; you know how well they are getting on in your subject, and how they can improve.?

If your enthusiasm for your subject shines through and inspires them, even better. That is what the students will remember 25 years on.?

AI even agrees with me. When I asked ChatGPT about how to use technology to build rapport it ended with;

“It's important to note that while technology can be a valuable tool in building rapport, face-to-face interactions and non-digital forms of communication should also be prioritized. Technology should be used as a complement to traditional teaching methods to enhance and support teacher-student relationships, rather than replace them entirely.”

And this is what the interaction this morning got me thinking about; what tips can I give to support you to build rapport with your students using technology?

The interaction this morning was on the back of an email listing students who would be missing because of the event. Whether email is the best form of communication in these circumstances or whether Spaces or Chats would be more suitable is a debate for another time, but sharing information about student (and staff) successes allows us all to build great relationships with students and colleagues based upon mutual respect and support towards achieving our individual and collective goals.

Gateway articles do a similar thing.?

On a personal level, one-to-one, why not take the time to write short chat messages to students or staff who have done well? Why not send them an email and copy in their parents? [Possibly not for staff, but you get the idea]

We have some great practice going on across the school building Subject Google Classrooms or Google Sites to communicate opportunities, or just news articles that people might like.

Whether they read it has always been an issue, even before technology when team sheets were put up on boards and ignored!?

But as teachers, it is up to us to model good communication to our students. That includes reading stuff ourselves and taking the time to show we have by having the conversation or sending the message.

[I have to note here that Postcards do the same thing and in an age where digital communication is the norm, can be even more powerful!]

So why not start now?

• Send someone a message to say well done on something!
• Write a message on one of the Spaces celebrating something, or just sharing something you have found useful / impactful.
• Think about how you can add short well done messages to students to your practice to increase the amount of positivity in the school.

Someone read it, because that day I got a postcard in my pigeonhole thanking me for the piece!

Finally for this week, on top of all that happening, I had a meeting with my Boss to sign off my #ProfessionalDevelopment review for the year. She is always very kind to me, but it is always nice to read statements like;

"He is an absolute asset to the School and it is a real pleasure to work with him. He has already achieved a vast amount in his first year."

Although maybe she, too, read my T&L piece and just decided to share a little positivity too ...

Have a great week all!