Heft: Finding Weight in a Weightless Age
Heft might be due a revival... The path forward requires more than just reaction to the lightness of technology; it requires the intentional protection and promotion of those weightier parts of life that tether us to meaning, responsibility, and connection.
We design AI as the sea designs a boat
Tom Chatfield ‘s Wise Animals is a fabulous book. (A big thank you to Simon Roberts for the recommendation) This, from Daniel Dennett via Emile-Auguste Chartier, made me think. “One could then say, with complete rigour, that it is the sea herself who fashions the boats choosing those which function and destroying others.” It made...
Exam Results, Systems and Events vs Behaviour
While I fully agree with the below, in the face of an event it is hard not to lose sight of the behavioural perspective. There are some interesting journalistic approaches to this – Slow Journalism and magazines like Delayed Gratification, for example, purposefully delay their publications so that the behavioural view is easier to...
Leadership Themes #2: From Clockwork to Complexity: Recognising Diverse Environments
Part of leadership is correctly recognising the environment in which we are operating. To be able to do that, we need a) to understand what the different types of environment are, and b) understand what their distinctive qualities are. That gives us a theoretical appreciation, but it may also be useful to have an appreciation […]
Leadership Themes #1
[I am trying to pick out some common themes and lessons from these books on leadership and organisations. This is Part 1, a short introduction to a series of 6 or so posts] To lead effectively you need to correctly assess your operating environment. Assess it well, and you are more likely to get good […]
Books on Leadership for Teachers
Leadership is difficult, I think. Part of the problem is that those who believe they are good at it aren’t, and those who are reluctant to be involved are the very ones you want leading. There are a number of teaching-specific leadership books, but I tend to prefer a broader palette. The below are books […]
Cellular Automata in Google Sheets
I’ve been exploring binary with Year 8s and thought they might like to have a look at the weird world of Cellular Automata. There are lots of resources out there but I couldn’t find one that helped them create their own easily. So I made this in Google Sheets. It’s pretty simplistic but essentially there […]
Remote Learning, The Cathedral and The Bazaar
COVID-19 has forced schools to offer some sort of elearning service. It has forced schools, essentially, to swivel and offer something they’re not used to, at a time of high stress and uncertainty. As teachers, we tend, naturally enough, to look for “solutions” in the direction of education for what works: academic...
What cathedral are you building?
I’ve been on a school trip to York these last few days. As you’ll know if you’ve been there, the Minster dominates the city. On a walk round the city walls, I was chatting with a 10-year old about the 250 years it took to build, from 1220 and 1472. We spoke about how many […]
Some edtech maths
Have been doodling on the back of a napkin this evening about edtech and its cost-benefit. Let’s say a new technology is being introduced into your school, with the promise of “50% better learning for all”. Let’s assume the following: After 1 year, by the end of the pre-Tech course, your class will have generated...