March #Edu resources - part 1

Happy Saturday folks....and welcome to the first March edition. Can you believe it's another month already? I have to say it has been a brilliant week with a mix of events including the amazing British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) #LearnEd conference at Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust which I really enjoyed. Big thanks to Sir Mark Grundy, Lady Kirsty Grundy and all the amazing staff at Shireland for such fantastic hospitality and of course the brilliant BESA team.

This week also featured this month's Department for Education advisory board meeting for my region (lots of good stuff happening), a great strategic update at Hampton Academies Trust (I even managed to squeeze in a check of the SCR), caught up with the always informative Thomas Lange and some fab folks including Dave Smith , Russell Prue , Tilly Brooke , Mark Anderson FCCT , Julia Garvey and many more. And I also had a chance to catch up with Alex Sharratt , Paul Cherry and the team from John Catt is becoming Hachette Learning / Hachette Learning who have been so supportive of my publishing endeavours over recent years. Yesterday I had a great catchup with the fab Bett Global team Duncan Verry , EJ Quinn and Anna Bailey always a pleasure and excited for #BETT2025 already. So yes, it is safe to say I've been keeping out of mischief. Last week's newsletter was another bumper addition, this week I'm sorry but it's a little bit more succinct.

?? Before we dive into the news, if you enjoy the read, please give this week's newsletter a share, and if you haven't already, subscribe here for future issues directly to your inbox. ??

(Ferdie being chased by the Mad March Hare....ish )

#Edu

?? I'm always learning, in fact, the more I learn the more I realise how little I know, so it was nice to add a new term to my list when Alex More introduced the concept of "Warm Technology", and no your heated blanket doesn't qualify, as he explains in a great article it's the notion of technology being ‘warm’, capable of enacting human like acts and gestures. Have a read, and a learn, here.

?? For those sceptical at the "rise of the tablets" this article shared by Dr. Kelly Anne Nelson (She/Her) from Scientific American should resonate "Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning" - recent research by Frontiers in Psychology found that engaging the fine motor system to produce letters by hand has positive effects on learning and memory. Take a look here.

?? I won't deny this is a topic of conversation in my trust right now, so this article from Schools Week shared by Claire Emery titled "Academy trust top slicing is on the up (but do schools get better deal?)" was an interesting read. If you are more than 5 schools in your MAT you'll find capital funding comes in at Trust, not school level already. It's a worthwhile read if you are thinking about future options.

??Top Banana Tony Parkin shared a really timely article, it relates specifically to one application, but in truth is likely to be the case with others, namely the "subscription trap"..try a product free, and then it quietly auto converts into a paid subscription. This article in Schools Week "Schools warned over Big Classroom ‘Possible Subscription Trap’" serves as a healthy warning to be mindful of what "free" subscriptions you sign up to. Have a read here.

?? Brian Host shared a really interesting post this week. He explained that "traditional teaching often starts with content, but backward design flips the script. By starting with desired learning outcomes, educators craft engaging lessons, assessments, and activities that truly illuminate the path to student success by identifying what students need to know, understand and do". Have a read of his article here.

?? If you are serious about the role of #EdTech in your schools then you should be just as serious about the need for good quality #Evidence, Natalia Kucirkova shared a handy article titled "EdTech Evidence: Three Key Takeaways" responding to the diverse definitions of evidence, and subsequent discrepancies in measuring effectiveness. It's a good read from right here.

?? The always insightful Gary Henderson shared a post this week that I couldn't but highlight, not least as I have spent a lot of the last few years supporting schools and trusts with developing digital strategies, or more specifically shaping a digital vision. Well, Gary asked the question "Do all schools need a digital strategy?", in his blog he makes some good points, perhaps it's more about where you are on your journey and I tried??, but really couldn't disagree with his conclusion "Maybe a technology strategy is very important to get started, but maybe once the technology is embedded it’s all about developing the culture and softer adjustments and changes around the edges." Have a read here.

?? Great share from Kat Cauchi , it's not a new article but is still super relevant and a good opportunity for some self-reflection - "Communicating to yourself and others — Your Personal User Manual and other great tools" is a great read on Medium which you can find here.

?? John Gougoulis MEd, FAIM, MICDA shared some really interesting "big picture" research that resonates with anyone who has ever been involved in system-wide education reform. Shared from 麦肯锡 "Spark & Sustain: How all of the world’s school systems can improve learning at scale" is very comprehensive and is an excellent read, learning lessons from international school systems that appear to be beating the odds. Have a read here.

?? Here's one I wrote for FE News where I try and explore the value of the education community and how it can be a valuable support network for educators, alongside the additional benefits of wellbeing, inclusivity and peer-led CPD. You can read "Power up your teaching practice with online community support" from here. Enjoy.

?? Peter Horner shared a very succinct but helpful post with a visual walkthrough of how you can now add handwritten notes and drawings to your documents with Markups, in Google Docs. Take a peek here.

?? There is a great episode on NetSupport Insights podcast with Becky Keene sharing valuable insights into #Minecraft, #AI and #eSports in education. This was recorded at #BETT2024 a few weeks ago. Have a listen below.

?? An #AertsAlert from the fab Carla Aerts from BOLD "How does metacognition help children learn?" the article is back from August last year, but as Carla reminds us "metacognition is by no means a new prerequisite to #learning, too often ignored. It is no coincidence that Mark Zuckerberg has named his empire ‘Meta’. The Generative AI era too is the time for metacognition to become more central to, and recognized as, fundamental to learning. The era of metacognition has truly arrived. The opportunity for learner agency has never been more promising - with the help of a co-pilot AI agent, but some way to go yet before education gets there ". Have a read here.

?? On the broader subject of Educational Technology, #Edtech, the World Economic Forum shared an article this week, "These 5 key trends will shape the EdTech market up to 2030" Nothing that was hugely revelationary but still definitely worth a read here.

?? This is an interesting one, not least as I have learnt plenty from Tim Coulson over recent years, being colleagues on our regional advisory board. This is very much one about thinking "outside the box" and being innovative in approach. The article from The Guardian "Staff absences fell 50% after schools introduced longer half-term break" is well worth a read. No change is without disruption and pushback, but the outcomes of this one are hard to ignore. Have a read here.

?? Thursday was "School Governor's Awareness Day" a chance to celebrate the important work they do to support schools and trust leaders so all children receive the education they deserve, whatever their circumstances. The lovely folks at GovernorHub shared some handy social images and digital badges you might want to share with your governors and trustees. Take a look here.

?? Need some #Edu #EdTech or #Ai CPD in your school? Then you could do a lot worse than reaching out to the fab Georgina D. for support. You can grab a slot in her calendar for a chat here.

#Events

?? Only a few days now until LEAP - #LEAP2024 in Riyad. I'm looking forward to speaking and meeting lots of #Edu folks at the #EduTech stage. There is still time to register here. I'll also be speaking at the World Education Summit - The Legacy on Thurs 21st March at 1pm and covering "Digital Technology: International Perspectives and Adapting for the Future", the full programme is now available to view here. #WorldEdSummit

Look at this amazing lineup for the day, no pressure eh ;) David Monis Weston / Prof Miles Berry / Victoria Hopkin FRSA FCCT / Rubén Benet Santos / Tricia Friedman / Kerry Abercrombie / Dr Nick Jackson / Danelle Almaraz & Hakeem Subair - Katie Cussons

?? Do you have the excellent EDUtech Europe conference on your radar yet? I will be heading over to lead a panel discussion and have already seen some of the superstars of #EdTech featuring across the 2 days of sessions. If like me, you are a fan of learning from the likes of Emma Darcy Gary Henderson Gemma Gwilliam Abid Patel Jonny Wathen Lisa Hawker and James Garnett then this is definitely the event for you. Find out more (and book a ticket) here.

Oh and if you are an #EdTech Vendor, then reach out to Alessandro Bilotta for more information.

?? One from the lovely Alex Sharratt and the folks at John Catt is becoming Hachette Learning to add to the diary is their "Leadership in Education conference" on 25th June, they have some great authors/speakers including Rachel Johnson , Sam Crome and Kulvarn Atwal - sign up for your ticket from here.

?? The Global EdTech Awards are now open for submissions, I love these awards as all the relevant entries are anonymised ensuring everyone is judged on a level playing field. Some great categories across #Edu and #Edtech. Take a look here.

?? There is a new kid on the block (for those that remember the 80s anyway) with some very exciting news, Foundations For Success Education Consultancy has a new series of transformative #expos called "Reconnect" launching across the UK. These sound really interesting and a great opportunity (depending on your hat) to learn from great CPD, connect with peers or introduce your solutions to schools. You can find out more here.

#Newsletters

I know this is your goto newsletter?? but there are other amazing ones out there, and much as I wouldn't want to lose you, sharing is caring so here are a few you might want to check out (in addition, not instead)

?? Kat Cauchi "RISE newsletter" full of articles from educators - here.

?? Sarah Horrocks "Connected Learning" - here.

?? Global EdTech "Bi-Weekly newsletter" - here.

?? Dan Fitzpatrick "The Sunday [Ai] Educator" - here.

?? Ben Whitaker "The FrIdeas newsletter" - here.

?? Leisa Grace Wilson "Education Roundup Middle East" - here.

?? Matt Ivey ?? "Dyslexic Ai newsletter" - here.

?? Monica Burns, Ed.D "Class tech Tips" - blog full of resources - here.

?? Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth "ThriveInEdu Newsletter" - here.

?? Matt Woodruff " Open Education AI " - lots of interesting content here.

?? Bonnie Nieves "Education on Purpose weekly" - here.

?? Leading Your International School "Principal's Blog newsletter" - here.

.....and I hope you have subscribed to this newsletter, it's curated by a man and his dog each weekend to try and keep you out of mischief.

#Offers

?? Micro:bit Educational Foundation >> Second week just to make sure you don't miss, but I was reminded that Primary children across the UK are set to be involved in a national, citizen science project to survey their playgrounds?using the BBC micro:bit. Teachers can also submit the findings from their class to the Office for National Statistics?for analysis. To get involved, and to access free teacher resources, worksheets, posters and certificates, visit: https://bbc.co.uk/teach/microbit ?

?? Oh and don't forget the team at Classroom.cloud is offering schools and trusts 24% off new subscriptions of our low-cost Classroom Instruction, Online Safety and IT Management suite before Mar 31st. Take a look at https://classroom.cloud/

#Help

?? I shared this a month or so ago, but due to high demand (??) Caroline Keep (see the super clever one with a high-quality red arrow in the image below ??) has extended her invitation for insights from anyone with experience and expertise in #Edtech and #Education. She is doing some really, really helpful and hopefully insightful research so the more contributions the better....please! Please sign up with her waitlist form here.

?? The lovely folks at Naace - The EdTech Association are now a month into their mission to fully understand where UK schools are right now in their journey of using technology in education. They are really keen on additional participants so check out this link and join the discussion.

If you have read the two requests above and decided not to partake, then please give yourself a pinch and remember that I asked very nicely for your help ;)

#Ai

Apologies or congratulations in advance depending on your interest in #Ai, it's been another busy week, with news and sharing around Ai, so buckle up for this section.

?? As you will know if you are a regular reader, I have featured Leon Furze a fair bit, not least for his series on Teaching #Ai writing. The good news is that part 4 is now available covering "How #GenAI can be used for targeted skills instruction, including for technique, style, and genre." Dive in and take a look here.

?? Top man Darren Coxon shared a great resource earlier this week, talking about the three layers of #Ai in schools. The first layer is for generating teaching and learning materials. He shared a handy 14-page guide on this as the first of three resources. Take a look here. Oh, and the second and third layers, covering how to take advantage of #Ai's ability to analyse data quickly and efficiently & how we can use AI in ways impossible for teachers to replicate, also appeared close after and are equally informative, Part 2 you can find here and of course Part 3 you can find here.

He also did a great introductory "Getting Started with Ai" for Lesson planning tutorial via the folks at School Management Plus , you can access the video via YouTube with this link.

?? Jeanette O'Connor shared a handy post from Dr. Marcell Vollmer with yet another easy-to-access Prompt Framework for Chat GPT. We have seen many and I'll leave you to choose which ones work for you (or don't), but I thought it was worth a share anyway (below). Link to the original post.

?? Barbara Anna Zielonka shared that she had watched many videos trying to understand the concept of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) models, as this is an important emerging area of #Ai. Out of the various explanations available online, she found Don Woodlock’s video to be the most accessible and informative introduction to #RAG, especially for those new to this topic. Check it out here and see if it helps you too.

?? The lovely folks at ISTE are a consistent goldmine of resources for educators. This recent article from them, titled "Why Students Should Create With AI Tools" is an engaging read. As they share, "As machines get better at creating, it's important for students to become adept at using AI tools and understanding their changing relationship with this technology." Have a read here.

?? A really interesting read this week shared by Anna Mills from Issues in Science and Technology on "How Generative AI Endangers Cultural Narratives" and an underappreciated risk that comes with the spread of generative artificial intelligence: the loss of diverse cultural narratives, content, and heritage. It's a relatively short read, but an important one, so do take a look.

?? The fab folks at Generative AI shared their summary of some of the top #Ai tools they recommend at the moment. I should stress this is not a list for Education, but more in general, but heck, you might still be interested. I have included their visual below which links to their post with URLs.

?? I have the pleasure of knowing Professor Ross Renton and supporting his amazing work with the new ARU Peterborough University. So of course, it was great to see this article by Ross this week, "Mighty machines: the future role of machine learning to widen access to higher education" who believes it will be a transformative tool in widening participation in higher education, and provides 8 very good examples. Have a read here.

?? A really good post from Dr Nick Jackson , "Generative AI gives us a chance to re-establish trust between parents/caregivers, and schools." it's an excellent and really well-considered piece and I would encourage you to have a read here.

??A very interesting one from Barbara Anna Zielonka ( actually they always are from her) but this caught my eye "Have I been Trained?" Mrs.Kingsley would say yes and it's taken her over 30 years to get me to this point, but of course, this resource allows you to search the data that is being used to train AI to discover if your work has been included. I've linked to Barbara's blog on this topic albeit I have to confess the actual website www.haveibeentrained.com appeared to be offline when I tried to investigate. Perhaps it starts late on a Saturday ;)

?? I'm a fan of the resources shared by Cristóbal Cobo so I was naturally intrigued when he shared an episode of 世界银行 EduTech Podcast, on "GenAI: Exploring Generative Artificial Intelligence in Education for Development" where he was talking, and exploring how?GenAI?could impact education, with a special focus on inclusion. I've shared the Spotify link to the episode here.

?? The lovely folks at EDUtech Europe shared an article from #edutechtalks about how the European Union's #Ai Office is gearing up to shake up #Ai implementation. And asking what does this mean for education? Can we still use AI-powered tools in the classroom? Have a read of "European AI Office established to implement ground-breaking AI Act" from this link.

?? Barbara Anna Zielonka always keeps me on my learning journey and she shared a great article this week on "Evaluating an Ai tool" - something we are all likely to be doing on a regular basis in the year ahead. I have included the image below, but you can get the high-quality version here.

?? I always love to capture perspectives from around the world so this article from K-12 Dive "What do superintendents need to know about artificial intelligence?" is a great read, where District leaders shared strategies and advice on ethics, responsible use, and the technology’s limitations at the National Conference on Education. Have a read here.

?? I can't think for the life of me what caught my eye with this article but "Alcohol Free AI: Can we stop pretending AI can be “safe”?" certainly did. As Leon Furze introduces "We don't give kids alcohol-free beer to prepare them for real alcohol consumption. So why do we think "safe" AI will work in the classroom?This article explores why AI will always have risks, and what education could be doing instead." Have a read here. It's an excellent read.

?? A handy and timely share from Paul Ford with a new whitepaper from Microsoft Education "Building a Foundation for AI Success: A Leader’s Guide" you have to register to access but a handy guide to grab from here.

?? I always keep an eye out for resources from Fengchun Miao and this was a great find, a "Workshop video on Guidance for generative AI in education and research" produced by Hamza Aoun . It's a link directly to the mp4 file on google drive, so be patient, but it's worth it and a great foundational video. Download the mp4 here.

?? Lisa Durff PhD shared a great read from Faculty Focus "Teaching Information Literacy in an Age of Misinformation" as she summarises "Broadening the scope of information literacy skills that I integrate into my classes has been productive, both in further developing students’ skills and in helping me better understand how students find and interpret information. ?These skills have cross-disciplinary applications as part of students’ general education and, when purposefully developed, have the potential to offer lifelong benefits to them." Have a read here.

?? Jason Gulya shared his "Research Synthesizer" GPT which is a great idea and has the potential to save you lots of time. I won't try and re-explain in detail the steps as his summary is spot on, ( Think asking a research question in 4 or 5 different Ai tools and then consolidating the output), anyway, take a look at his post here. He's a smart chap.

??Another one from Barbara Anna Zielonka where she shared that the World Economic Forum has mapped hundreds of global issues and their interdependencies together with experts from universities, think tanks and other international organizations. The information is presented in the form of an interactive, dynamic data visualization called a “transformation map”.

I've included her image below but check out the interactive map here.

?? Another last-minute spot was from Jeremy Roschelle who has some great resources and has curated a review of newly released guidance on #Ai from seven states. (California, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington state, and West Virginia). Written with Judi Fusco and Pati Ruiz this is definitely worth a read and will save you a lot of "googling". Take a look at the PDF here.

?? We all know that when it comes to creating AI imagery the world is your oyster, but when it comes to applying accurate text, well things get a lot less exciting. Superstar Amanda Bickerstaff shared her thoughts on Ideogram , as she explains "What sets Ideogram apart is its ability to more accurately render text within images,?something other image generators like Dall-e struggle with. It supports different fonts and text styles, and yesterday we used it to create our prompt-a-thon image." Why not have a play with Ideogram yourself here....as you can see below, I gave it a try :)

If you have got this far and have enjoyed reading, show you care and give the newsletter a share, you know you want to really ;)

#Books

I seem to discover new ones every week, and a few that came across my radar this week are shared below.

?? John Magee ???? UK Kindness Ambassador For Schools ?? is always a ray of sunshine, so I wanted to share his book, albeit not new, titled simply "Kindness Matters" It has had some brilliant reviews, so check it out here.

?? The lovely folks at John Catt is becoming Hachette Learning have been sharing a great new edition to their library, with "100 for 100 - Macbeth" which is possibly the ultimate student revision guide for Macbeth. You can grab a copy or find out more here.

?? A share on Twitter/X this week by Rachael Lehr caught my eye with a recommendation for "Atomic Habits" by James Clear which is an Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones (I might need multiple copies for me), anyway take a look here.

?? Ok, I am a bit biased on this one as it is written by two good friends, but I can guarantee you it's going to be a cracker. "The EdTech Playbook" by Mark Anderson FCCT and Olly Lewis from John Catt is becoming Hachette Learning is now available for Pre-order!

Get yourself on the delivery list from here. #100% Recommend.

?? A great share from #FETC superstar Jennifer Womble with "Learning Evolution: The New Era of AI in the Classroom" by Carl Hooker . As Jennifer explains "??I highly recommend Learning Evolution: AI in Schools: Challenges, Opportunities & Strategies by Carl. This is a terrific overview of the evolution of #artificialintelligence and the potential it has in education." Take a look here.

?? I saw a great book recommendation this week from Dr Pooky Knightsmith with "Making Sense of Your Senses: Sensory Solutions Workbook" by Monique Thoonsen which you can find here.

??There are of course 3 other books covering #EdTech, #Governace and #Growth in education in the John Catt is becoming Hachette Learning portfolio that I "may" have mentioned before. Ferdi has them all in stock below, but feel free to click the image below and explore or even order ;)

#CandleClub

???? This week I have some new mentions for the #CandleClub (do please connect with them), just because they are nice people in education and I like to spread the love, are: Charlie Rosier Emma Darcy Georgina D. Russell Prue Baz Nijjar Linda Scaife Leisa Grace Wilson Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith John Magee ???? UK Kindness Ambassador For Schools ?? Tilly Brooke Laurie Forcier and always Dr Pooky Knightsmith .

Ok, best I wrap up this week's delightful bundle of news. As usual, it's been a fab mix of shares from so many interesting and inspiring people. A big thanks to all of you who I was able to "magpie" into this week's edition. Don't forget to give this a share ;)

As you probably know from my introduction, I am going to be travelling much of next week, so I will apologise in advance if the next edition is just a quick highlights snapshot of what I managed to spot in my downtime during the week.

Have a lovely weekend, share the love and I'll see you again soon.

Al.

You can book me to come and cause some fun and disruption at your event via The Learning Line via this link. Please also reflect on the diversity and representation of your speakers and panels at your events when reaching out.

??2023 EduFuturist of the Year

??2023 Outstanding Achievement winner - Educational Resources Awards (ERA) Awards

??2023 Inspiring Leader winner - British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) Awards