Oct #Edu resources - part 4

Hi folks and another Happy Saturday. It's been another super busy week, but fortunately no airports to navigate. Next week mind you, is another story! I'll be heading across to GESS Dubai ??for one of my favourite events on the calendar. The good news is I will have lots to share on my return, the bad is I won't be able to do a newsletter next weekend.

In the spirit of working and supporting each other in a growing #Edu and #EdTech community, I penned a short article for #GESSTalks "How the EdTech community powers progress" which I hope stands as a useful reminder of the power of the network. Have a read here.

Apologies I seemed to have landed straight into events mode, so while I am here, and just for balance, the lovely folks at Bett Global have also just launched their agenda with a nice taste of what you can expect in January ??. It already looks to have an amazing roster of speakers so do take a look here for more info (and to grab your ticket). I shared last week a list of the events on the horizon in the coming weeks so I won't bore you again, suffice it to say between now and the end of January there are #CPD opportunities everywhere. ( we just need to invent a time machine ;)

So as Nessa (Gavin and Stacey TV) liked to say "What's Occuring?"

#Education

?? Well in truth this should sit in my #Ai section, but it overlaps all areas, Leon Furze shared a great article on "Practical Strategies for Image Generation in Education" which is worth a peruse from here.

?? Incoming #AertsAlert from superstar Carla Aerts , this week she shared loads but this one stood out "An inclusive Approach to Digital" As Carla said, given the time #digital has been around, it's pretty staggering that this still needs special attention, but it does and will do for some time to come. Have a read of the article from 麦肯锡 here.

?? 2-for-1 from Carla this week, on a different, but just as important subject - the national curriculum and as often ends up, teaching for the test. "Most secondary schools don’t have to teach the national curriculum. It should be revised and restored – or?discarded" Have a read here.

?? It's Digitial Citizenship week #DigCit so perfect timing for Gary Henderson to share a blog on this very topic, you can take a look here.

?? The brilliant team at Persona Education shared a great resource from 麦肯锡 "Soft Skills for a hard world" - and how the demand for soft ( call them power) skills is surging. Our education system needs to take note and foster. Have a read of the article here.

?? It's been super busy for schools in England responding to new expectations on having suitable monitoring tools in place to protect our Children (#KCSIE) when working online. I am proud to put my name against it, this is what you need!

?? I always have time to stop and read content for the fab Jennifer Womble ( i'm a big fan of the Future of Education Technology Conference she organises too) - anyway, this week Jennifer shared an article from District Administration "Why district leaders are key to teachers’ success with #EdTech", I really hope you won't be shocked with the view that "We have invested in edtech, but we have invested considerably less in supporting teachers to use those tools effectively as part of their instructional practice." - i agree 100% - have a read here.

?? I mentioned last week that I had the pleasure of catching up with Laurie Forcier and for good measure, we are catching up again next week, but what I didn't share was the work the team at ISTE have been doing to help school leaders select their EdTech solutions. They have a great guide called the "Teacher Ready - EdTech Product Evaluation Guide" that is really worth grabbing a copy of it from here. Really helpful in setting you straight on the evaluation and scoring of suitable solutions.

?? Ok, an amazing article here, because it was by Al Kingsley MBE (Yay!) for District Administration magazine - "Exciting new #EdTech? Don’t forget the load on teachers, support staff and IT" - I think the title is fairly self-explanatory so have a read here.

?? It's that time of year, in fact, KS4 data was published only a couple of days ago, as Darren Coxon noted, "Whichever way you look at it, GCSE attainment is falling." - he shared three possible options, let me know which one you think best works -

?? Are exams getting harder? (Maybe)

?? Are children getting stupider? (Unlikely)

?? Or does the system not even slightly match what young people need or how they learn?

You can read the KS4 performance data summary in the Tes magazine article here.

As I'm off to Dubai shortly I had to go with this image for my #Ai travels, I will try and compare it with a real one next weekend.

#Ai

?? Cristóbal Cobo shared a recommended Podcast by Neil Selwyn and in particular a recent episode by Jeremy Knox about his book "Ai and Education in China" - what China is doing’ is a key part of the hype around AI and education in Western countries. How is AI actually being developed in China, and how can we make sense of the complex politics, history and culture of Chinese education? Have a listen to this episode on Buzzsprout from here.

??This one might be of interest, It is not actually #Ai but more #AR, #VR and #Immersive trends for 2024 from Bernard Marr on Forbes see if they align with your predictions here.

??Two great #Ai voices in one item, Alex Gray (see you at GESS) shared a great YouTube video with Amanda Bickerstaff where they discuss #Ai in education, bridging equity and Access. Definitely worth a watch here.

??I suspect many will have seen this article in The Telegraph and other outlets on Tom Rogerson and the fab team at Cottesmore School with #Ai #Chatbots and #FutureSchool thinking. Simon Noakes shared this link and i certainly "doff my cap" once again to Tom and the team. As the Telegraph requires a subscription, i have shared a link to another article on this by Education Executive - have a read here.

?? One of the best sharers of #Ai news, Barbara Anna Zielonka saved us all loads of time and curated a list of her Top 12 #Ai podcasts to listen to. There are some great ones on the list and I certainly discovered a few new ones too. Have a look here.

?? I had to add this one to the mix too, with Kai Vacher and Dan Fitzpatrick , two people who sit pretty high on my #respect scale. Catch them on #Educator's Corner #KaiPod talking all things #Ai. It's a great watch (or listen) from here. If you haven't already (where have you been?) find out more about Dan from his website here.

?? Another consistent sharer of great "forward thinking" education articles Melissa McBride ?? shared this council post on Forbes Technology Council "Revolutionizing K-12 Education: The Power Of AI Homework Companions" as Melissa states, ‘In the grand tapestry of education, AI-enabled companions are weaving a new narrative—one of personalised learning, innovation and boundless opportunity.' Have a read here.

I could pick so many topics Melissa shares, but linking to the broader changing landscape, she also shared an article from USA TODAY highlighting that "86% of public/state schools in the US are failing to be able to recruit for teaching roles", those of us this side of the pond will recognise similar challenges too. It's hard not to acknowledge that the concept of hybrid education is not a concept but a very real solution to a changing education landscape. Article is here.

?? There is a great new website now available for you #Ai fans, the new www.Ai-in-education.co.uk full of ideas on how to integrate Ai into teaching and learning.

?? I had the pleasure of listening and learning from Laura Knight ? at a conference a week ago and this week she shared a great article "If Ai has the answer, what is the question" You can read a copy of Laura's post here.

?? Philip Murdoch ?? shared an article from The Conversation UK asking "AI is closer than ever to passing the Turing test for ‘intelligence’. What happens when it?does?" i questioned that with such huge NLP advancements, it may well have resulted in the Turing Test, as a concept, now no longer fit for purpose in our true measure of Ai intelligence. Have a read and see what you think.

?? Here is an interesting one that I certainly hadn't considered. Sethi De Clercq shared an article by James Abela "#EAL learners the new victims of AI plagiarism detection" EAL learners are more often than others affected by AI plagiarism detectors. Well worth a read here.

?? If you are an Adobe Photoshop fan and think you need Windows or MacOS to use effectively, Dean Stokes shared a very handy update post from Adobe "Adobe Express and Photoshop unlock new creative possibilities on Google Chromebook Plus Devices" Photoshop on the web is their newly streamlined, browser-based experience. Have a read here.

#GoldenTicket

?? Don't forget I now have 45 Education Suppliers who have all agreed to support my Golden Ticket voucher and provide you with a discount on products or services. No cost to take part, just ?? lots of savings ?? to make. Click on the image below to find out more.

And that is that for this week. Not quite as long as the past few weeks, but I did my best to capture as much as I could. As I am sure you will appreciate it takes a fair bit of time to pull together all these resources every weekend, so if you enjoy it, please take a moment and share it across your socials, tag me in, I'd love you to help spread the readership.

Have a good one folks, and enjoy your half-term break for those who are due some well-earned R&R right now. Next weekend I'll be on my way to Dubai so you'll have to wait a whole 2 weeks for the next instalment. Sorry !!

Al.

I do try and keep my newsletters very agnostic, but of course, I am proud of my printed musings, so if you have time please take a look at these handy #CPD resources for your school ... they are really jolly good ( honest).

??2023 EduFuturist of the Year

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

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