May #Edu resources - part 4??

Happy Saturday, folks, and welcome to the fourth edition for May,

I usually like to share a brief summary of my week, so as usual, here is a quick summary of the last few days alongside my NetSupport activities, as its been a bit of an unusual one. I had a couple of days at a very "Non-education" event in Leeds UK, called UKREiiF supporting the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and highlighting why our region is primed for growth - economic, skills, innovative connectivity and much more. I really enjoyed it, learnt lots and shared on a few sessions about the role of #Ai in better understanding and planning new spaces around human sentiment and environmental considerations.

Thursday, I was down to the Department for Education for our monthly Advisory Board meeting, which was hectic the morning after announcing a general election, and on Friday met with some great startups from Bett Global 2024 to talk about their experiences at and since the event. Some really positive stories to come. Quite a mix, but that's what keeps life interesting I guess.

I've skipped loads more, but once again a very busy week.

Anyway, you are here for the news, so let's dip our toes into the pool of knowledge. ??

#Edu

? A great share to kick things off from the dynamo Melissa McBride ?? ,who asked, "Do you name and shame in your classrooms?" It was in response to this article from Edutopia - George Lucas Educational Foundation "How to Improve Classroom Behavior Without Public Shaming", with Melissa explaining, "This one hits home really as my eldest son really struggled with this during his EYFS experience and in Y1. So much so it began to erode his confidence and love of school." She loved this article; I hope you do too.

? Anna Bailey shared an article from Schools Week based on work by Edurio who surveyed 11,000 school staff, titled "‘Stark gap’ between teacher and leader wellbeing" the report highlights teachers were more than twice as likely to report that they felt unwell physically and mentally than leaders, and were more likely to report being overworked, stressed and lacking sleep. Have a look here.

? There are going to be a few of these i'm afraid, but FE Week shared that a "Court date set for Learning Curve vs DfE procurement trial". The four day trial will determine if DfE broke procurement rules by refusing Learning Curve Group an adult education budget contract. There were some real surprises when new contracts were issued. Expect to see another one around Oak National later in the year.

? A weekly #AertsAlert from the ever-informative Carla Aerts which I probably should have read during my formative years...."The neuroscientist building the science of making good choices". As Carla says "Our #brain is rather complex... our choices often are too. Where are the connections and how do they work?" This is a really interesting read from a Professor of Decision NeuroScience (which was a new one on me). Have a look here, and get your grey matter fired up.

? Still work to be done on #DEI in our schools. I read this share from Bennie Kara in The Independent "No Black or Asian teachers in more than half of English primary schools, report finds" the report warns "schools have a ‘long way to go’ before they become representative of the pupils they teach". If we want to inspire our learners to be just like the person at the front of the class or leading the school, they need to see themselves reflected in those role models. Have a read here.

? Want to broaden your #Edu #PLN? Graeme Lawrie MBE FRSA FCCT has been busy, as he explains "For the past few years, over 120 educational 'Partnerships' professionals and I have cultivated a thriving online community via WhatsApp, where we share best practices, stories, links, and advice. This community serves as a vital support network, especially valuable in the often-isolated roles within education." I can assure you it's worth a join ( I already have), and you can find out more from this post. (See you on the other side)

? Fancy a great #EdTech Podcast listen, then check out the Focus on Edu podcast featuring Victoria Thompson, M.S. and Stevie Frank "Being a Digital Learning Coach in the Era of AI" you can watch the episode here on Youtube.

? An excellent blog from Caitlin Tucker focusing on "Reciprocal teaching with multimedia", which gives great strategies for student-led activities and learning. Have a read here.

? Roxi Thompson shared a great article from Education Week "How Pedagogy Can Catch Up to Artificial Intelligence" by Alyson Klein , it's a good read and as Roxi commented "it’s time to shift our discussions about AI towards pedagogy. This underscores the critical need for teachers to have access to coaches who can guide them through this change. Coaches are not just facilitators but key collaborators in integrating technology with teaching and learning." I agree 100%. Have a read here.

Alongside Roxi Thompson (connect with her), there are some great focusing on training and guidance with #Ai at the moment including Dan Fitzpatrick , Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth , Jaime Donally , Monica Burns, Ed.D , Darren Coxon , Jason Gulya , Carl Hooker , Amanda Bickerstaff , Mark Anderson FCCT and many more.

? Jason Gulya commented that recent OpenAI and 谷歌 announcements have made one thing abundantly clear. Educators cannot stay on the sidelines. Read his article "Educators: It's Time to Lean In" Why Teachers Can No Longer Stay Silent About AI. An excellent read from here.

? I featured a great article from mauro bordignon last week linked to concepts in Simon Sinek 's "Infinte Game", and this week he shared his second article where he "analyzes how we can cultivate awareness within schools of being part of an infinite game and the school's vision within this infinite game framework". I've only recently connected with Mauro and love the resources he writes. Have a dive in here.

? I was invited for an interview with Jez Belas and the lovely folks at youHQ for their #WellbeingWins series of webinars. The episode "From Trend to Transformation: Harnessing EdTech" which of course is gold dust ;) can be found here on YouTube.

? I saw these resources and wanted to put on your radar, Get Real Sessions are mapped to the RSE Guidance and have been created to support schools in providing comprehensive and consistent RSE from years 7 to 11, with an emphasis on choice, tolerance, agency and responsibility. You can find out more from here.

? Another topic that often pops up is assistive technologies and, in this case, #Dyslexia. Dr Martin Bloomfield shared a YouTube conversation between Terrie Noland, Ph.D., CALP from Learning Ally titled "Dyslexia and the Future of Technology" - its only 4 mins long, but a key conversation. You can watch it here.

? Melissa McBride ?? also shared a very interesting post by Andrew Howard FCCT DFIFIP with an article from The Lead titled "the Rise of Authoritarian Schools" , Andrew didn't mince his words saying "and here we have the fundamental divide in today’s education world. There are schools where behaviourism has been taken to the extreme. Children are being harmed because of a dystopian ideology that has gained traction. These poor children!" and of course anyone who knows Melissa will know she says what she thinks, said "Just look at the astronomical rise in young people requiring Alternative Provision including those with SEND, SEMH and school based anxiety....how different are schools moving in this direction from Jail?" - take a look and see if it sparks a similar response from you.

? Matthew Setchell shared his top tips (think #MFA) on cyber security responding to a recent article on the BBC News "Pupils miss classes as school cyber attacks rise" and you can read it here.

? A Big thanks to District Administration for including me in their #DA100, their our annual list of the 100 most influential, impactful leaders in every aspect of K12 education, from coaching to EdTech to the superintendency. An even bigger congrats to the amazing other folks included. Check out my #CandleClub at the bottom for many of their names, or read the full article and list from here.(PDF)

? One from a week ago I missed, was shared by the lovely Priya Lakhani OBE and written by Chris Goodall in Schools Week was "AI offers a big prize if we can learn to lead others to it" As he concludes "As leaders, all we have to do is to create the conditions that will allow it to flourish: tailored professional development, a low-stakes culture of innovation and continuous learning, a collaborative approach (internally and externally), and a healthy balance between bottom-up and top-down implementation." Have a read here.

? A great one as we close in on the end of this section, from Alex Quigley with his article "Focusing on Learning Failures and Problems" it's a really interesting read, nice and accessible, breaking down those persistent problems, learning fails and more. Have a read here.

"If we better understand the problems we are looking to solve, & the likely failures, then we offer teachers a richer understanding of teaching & learning."

? John Mikton shared a really interesting post about "Understanding the Selfie". Turns out about 93 million selfies are taken each day ( Abid Patel is featured in half of those mind you) #Selfieking. John shared some excellent resources from the psychology of the Selfie, through to research and lessons around the topic. Well worth a look here.

? The Key Support Services interviewed the fab Emma Darcy about integrating AI into learning, the importance of collaboration and adapting to the challenges of an ever-changing landscape.?It's an excellent read you can find here.

? I really enjoyed this video interview by Keiran Flynn with the lovely chap that is Daren White on his "AI and the Human Experience" podcast. This episode was titled "AI, Education, Neurodivergency, Meditation & Human Connections" and is well worth a watch from here.

? Another nudge for everyone. Please don't forget that these last few days of May is still Mental Health Awareness Month.

"One of the most important things you can do to help protect your mental health is regular movement. Moving more can increase your energy, reduce stress and anxiety, and boost your self-esteem."

It's good to talk and, even better, to feel heard. I, for one, am always happy to be available to listen. Check out some of the resources from the Mental Health Foundation to help get involved this year. Resources Here.

?? A shout out a second time to everyone for some input and help wanted by the brilliant Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth , she is both inviting anyone who wants to do a guest post on her blog to contact here, but alongside that, she's looking for some educator vignettes for an upcoming book. (Particular interest around practical ideas for teaching around IOT, Metaverse, NFTs, Web3.0 etc) Message her on Linkedin or via X here.

#Events - Warning there are still loads on the list.

? A new one for the radar and worth a booking (open to anyone) hosted at (Wyboston, Bedfordshire) is from the folks at HFL Education with their "EdTech Impact: Evidence, Equity and Efficient Funding (Tech in Schools Conference)" on 9th July. Find out more here. You'll find Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith sharing insights and that lovely chap Al Kingsley MBE , yup me, I've been invited to speak at the conference too. (good chance to learn more from Fiona so a double bonus).

? One to add to your online diary, is the 3rd "International Reading Conference" from the lovely folks at Reading Solutions UK featuring one of the nicest folks in edu Baasit Siddiqui , as well as the brilliant Michael Rosen and many more. It runs from June 11th to 13th and you can book a seat here.

? For my readers from Oz, James Jenkins shared that the folks at Canterbury College are hosting the "Future of Education Summit" on July 25th in Brisbane. Sadly quite a long way from me, but if you are able, head here to get your tickets.

? The fab folks at Natterhub have a free Trust meet on Friday June 14th focused around "Creating a culture of digital resilience in your trust" and preventing online vulnerabilities for pupils in your trust. Definitely one to sign up for which you can do from here.

? Just a reminder that the team at Woodland Academy Trust have a brilliant new event coming up on September 3rd, their "AImpowerEd Conference", an event where they will explore how #AI is playing a pivotal role in the ever-changing education landscape from integration in Early Years through to how leadership teams can embrace AI to maximise outcomes. Declaration: I will be speaking there, but based on the other speakers coming, I suspect I'll be doing more learning than sharing. Features Georgina D. , Gemma Gwilliam , Daren White , Mark Anderson FCCT , Adam Webster , Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith , Lyndsey Stuttard M.Ed , Faye Ellis , Christina Tueje, CIPP/E , Donald Clark and more. Get yourself booked asap from here.

? The lovely folks at Bromcom have their annual "Shard 2024: MAT & LA event" on the 12th June at.....well the Shard of course ;) It's one to get on your radar, not least, I'll be speaking there :) have a look here.

?Have you got your June diary booked already for ISTE #ISTELive2024 in Denver? I'll be wearing a few hats for this one, speaking and with NetSupport on booth #1613 doing loads of interviews and insights recordings. I am really looking forward to coming and joining the conversation, and do please reach out if you want to come over for a chat. Get your ticket from here.

? Anna Artemyeva shared that the 谷歌 for Education "Leaders Series" is coming to Birmingham on the 4th July. You can find out more here.

? I'll be speaking at the Association of Secondary Headteachers in Essex ASHE annual conference in June talking about all things #Ai in education. If you are an Essex leader, find out more about it here.

? Check out these free upcoming webinars from the team at NetSupport and secure your spot today.?

• Unlock the path to human flourishing in education – 6 June featuring Patrick McGrath and Al Kingsley MBE
• All aboard the communication train! Engage stakeholders at every stop – with me on 11 June?

#Ai

?This one remains top of my #Ai section, an excellent newsletter, "Perpelexing Tech" ??that covers the world of #Ai through a wider lens. It is written by Niamh Kingsley my daughter, a product innovation and #Ai specialist in #FinTech. Please take a look and subscribe here ? She's a star.

? I think the title of this one from Hamza Aoun signposts perfectly the content that he shared in a nice visible booklet. "20 types of biases that can occur in AI systems". Concise, simple and accessible. Top Marks - take a look here.

? The topic of "Free" #Ai reared its head again this week with the announcement that Khanmingo from Khan Academy is now free and being funded/powered by 微软 , many including Dr. Dawn DiPeri shared this article "Enhancing the future of education with Khan Academy" which you can read here. But when is free ever free, and what are the domino effects from these strategies? Much like the ongoing Oak debacle, it sounds like a good idea, we all love free, but if that steers schools to use solutions that are not the best, due to financial reasons, not only do we miss out on the best solutions, but their innovation and development can't be sustained when competing with something free. It ends up potentially manipulating the market and killing off competition and choice. In my eyes, this is levelling down in the long term, and someone always ends up paying the price (the consumer) in the long run. The announcement is here.

? This doesn't sound very cheerful, does it? "AI, Education, and The Five Stages of Grief (Part 1)" by Mike Kentz . It's a great read and in this first installment Mike "delves into the emotional rollercoaster that professionals may experience—mirroring the famous Five Stages of Grief—when faced with relentless technological advances. From denial to depression, understanding these emotional stages is crucial for moving towards acceptance and adaptation." Check it out here.

? Amanda Bickerstaff wanted to share the big news out of DC this week as "Senator Maria Cantwell and Senator Jerry Moran have introduced the bipartisan NSF AI Education Act that would revolutionize AI education in the US." As Amanda commented "This bill, backed by the National Science Foundation, includes groundbreaking initiatives to foster AI literacy from preK-12. This announcement is especially welcome after last week’s disappointing release of the Senate’s AI Roadmap, which made almost no mention of education". Get the key highlights and a link to the bill (in the comments) from here.

? I can always rely on Chris Goodall for some excellent #Ai related content. This week was a post where he shared his "AI in the Classroom - Curriculum & Lesson Planning 3 x 3" Its worth a look, 3 different scenarios with different tools. Jump on for a look here.

? A really handy one from Skyler Carr with a blog post I discovered from a few months ago titled "A Leader's Guide to Effectively Implementing AI in Schools". It's a great read you can find here.

? A UK one here, but a note that the AI Security Institute has released a new AI safety evaluations platform. You can access it here.

? A Weird #Ai blog, or to be precise a recommendation by Barbara Anna Zielonka to check out the blog #AiWeirdness , describing it as "a blog by?Janelle Shane?that explores the quirky and often humorous side of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Through a series of experiments and anecdotes, the blog showcases the strange and unexpected outputs of AI models, highlighting both their fascinating capabilities and their limitations." Discover it here.

? Always great resources from Cristóbal Cobo with last week featuring the OECD - OCDE report: "Opportunities, guidelines and guardrails for effective and equitable use of AI in education". As he explains "If you have been reading about #GenAi in #Ed you will find in this work a short but comprehensive approach to addressing the opportunities, challenges, and ethical considerations surrounding the integration of AI in educational settings." Read his article here.

? Cristobal also shared their new #SELFIE tool (not like in the article earlier) but "Self-reflection on Effective Learning by Fostering Innovation through Educational Technology." It is an online self-assessment tool developed by the European Commission to help schools reflect on their use of digital technologies and support their digital transformation. Take a look here.

? A really interesting read from Mike Kentz "Teaching AI Literacy with ‘The Adversary’" an approach to building meta-cognition in an AI-dominated world. You can read his excellent article here.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

? Pete Dunford shared this week that he absolutely loved the AI Assessment scale proposed by Dr Mike Perkins Leon Furze Jasper Roe and Dr. Jason MacVaugh , so he's added it to his 'AI prompts for students' free resource that he'll be continuing to use with his students next year. The latest iteration is a great resource; you can find the link here to the Google Doc containing all the resources.

? Hamza Aoun shared a great resource on "???????????????????????? ??????????????????: ???????????????????? ????'?? ???????????? ???? ????????????????" in this third part it focuses on "AI and Teacher Rights: Are Protections Adequate?" Take a look here.

? Did you miss the full 2 hour announcement last week from 谷歌 on Google i/O? Well, fortunately Chris Goodall found a very handy condensed 17 minute summary from The Verge that is definitely worth a peek. You can find the youtube clip here.

? Marc Watkins shared an interesting read, "What Does Automating Feedback Mean for Learning?" Mark introduced this post, saying, "AI feedback can benefit students, but educators are increasingly turning to automated feedback to reduce their workload. Let's address the material conditions causing educators to feel burnt out first before adopting AI as a stand in for human connection." Have a read here.

? A bit off topic, but heck, the Summer break is coming soon. Clara Lin Hawking shared an article from The Verge "Google’s Gemini can build an entire vacation itinerary ‘in a matter of seconds’" advising that the AI model will blend personal information, like flights and hotel bookings, with publicly available details to build multiday itineraries in no time. So, if you are struggling with planning your getaway this summer, this might be an interesting read.

? Matt Woodruff shared a link to an excellent Zoom event this week "Ethical AI in EDU: Predicting student risk", I've only managed a short dip in, but looked to have some excellent content. You can watch the recording now from this link, but you'll also need to know the password, which I will whisper very quietly "4Gy!AF37" ;)

?Loads of interesting reads this week, Michael Copass shared he has many concerns about deploying human-like or human-voiced AI on children, and more data is being collected in research studies as we speak. He signposted this article "How Does AI Affect Kids? Psychologists Weigh In" where experts warn children may form emotional bonds with AI, overshadowing human relationships and hindering social skills development. Have a read from here.

If there is someone you think I should be following, who is sharing great content that I could help share, please tag them in a comment so I can connect with them.

#Books

? Don't forget you can find all of the books I cover on my Amazon bookshelf, You can find my curated list here.

? A new recommendation, "Navigating the AI Revolution in Our Schools: Ethical Insights, Policy Innovations, and Personalized Learning Strategies for Educators from K to College" by Samuel Mormando . My copy is on its way as we speak, you can grab yours here.

? A recommendation (from the beach in South Africa no less) by Georgina D. for this one, "Amplifying our Practice: Teachers Talking Teaching" by Pawan Wander and Chey Cheney ??? , you can grab a copy here.

? Another one to add to my list for this week is "Teaching One Pagers: Evidenced-informed summaries for busy educational professionals" by Jamie Clark . It has a thumbs up recommendation from Jon Tait and that's good enough for me. Grab a copy from here.

? Well, i just had to add this one from the brilliant Mary Myatt and her new book "AP Huh: Curriculum conversations with AP leaders" You can grab a copy from here.

? "The New Digital Education Policy LandscapeFrom Education Systems to Platforms" by Routledge edited by Cristóbal Cobo and Axel Rivas , find out more here.

? Darren Coxon commented on a topic that has caused me to "pause for thought", namely the announcement of Microsoft Copilot with its new Recall feature. A background process taking constant screenshots of your activity to create a "sense" of what you do on your device.Bear in mind "Recall has the ability to search through all users' past activity including files, photos, emails and browsing history." You can read a BBC article on this topic from here, but as Darren said, "first we had humane PIN, then be had Rabbit R1 ( mine is still in the post somewhere) then we had Google search suggesting we eat rocks and put glue in pizza cheese and now this, Is there any wonder why so many people are suspicious of AI?" The price for free tools, is sometimes to give up our data at every level.

? If you fancy an easy read on #EdTech and the evolution of Educational Technology, then you might well enjoy ?? "My Secret #Edtech Diary" based on my 30 years of experience. It's not meant to be a technical overload, but very much a narrative as if we sat down in a coffee shop and talked it through together. You can find it here.

#CandleClub

Let's wrap up with my weekly Candle Club. Hopefully, you will know what this section is for, built on the message that "a Candle never Loses any of its Light while Lighting up another candle" - it costs nothing to help support and highlight others in our space. ???So this week do connect with some fellow District Administration #DA100 members announced this week, covering the "most influential, impactful leaders in every aspect of K12 education, from coaching to #edtech to the superintendence."

Adam Bellow Eirik Hernes Berre Ron Chandler Lindsay Jones Sal Khan Al Kingsley MBE Jason McKenna Erin Mote Amanda Bickerstaff Monica Burns, Ed.D Jimmy Casas Holly Clarke George Couros Eric Curts Diane Doersch Leslie Fisher Dan Fitzpatrick Mary H Carl Hooker Thomas C. Murray Joe Sanfelippo Eric Sheninger Mike Tholfsen Jose Gonzalez Tami Lundberg Dr. Zandra Jo Galván Neil Gupta Jose L. Dotres, Ed.D. Glenn Robbins Maria Vazquez Shannon McClintock Miller Gregory Bagby Matthew X. Joseph Ed.D. Brett Salakas Thomas Whitby Jill Siler Scott Muri, Ed.D. Jennifer Womble

Ok, that's it for this week's highlights. I don't know how it grew to be quite so big again, been a super busy week but writing this in the early hours this morning has given me another boost of positivity. As always, a big thanks to all of you, whom I was able to squeeze into another episode (and apologies if I couldn't).

My one ask >> Please don't forget to give this edition a share ;) ????

Have a lovely weekend, enjoy the sunshine if it's with you, share the love, and I'll see you again soon.

Al (and Ferdi ?? )

You can book me to come and cause some fun and disruption at your event via Katie Cavill and 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

?? 2023 Education CEO winner - EdTech Chronicle.