Archive by Author

What students want

After an eleven year break from formal regular lecturing, I have started a final year module at the University of Bradford. I’m really pleased to be working so closely with students again: I’ve always found it tremendously exciting to be surrounded by people with so much talent and potential. My years out of academia have […]

The games people play

Although I’m sceptical with much of the ‘research’ that describes virtually everybody as a ‘gamer,’ there is no doubt that over the last few years there’s been an explosion of activity in casual games. Of course one could argue that we’ve always played casual games such as Solitaire and Minesweeper but recently the genre has […]

Why technology is failing in schools

Edudemic posted this collection of presentations recently describing not only why technology is failing to deliver real benefits in schools but more importantly, some ideas about how to fix it. Why it’s failing   The Future of Technology and Education   Changing Education with Web 2.0 tools   What are your experiences of using technology […]

Childhood & Family articles

Special needs students and their teachers are the victims of a “muddled” approach to schooling, says Leicester Uni http://j.mp/qB5qcd Socioeconomic status as child dictates response to stress as adult according to University of Minnesota http://j.mp/qDZRZ8 Parents are forgetting how to play with their children, study shows – article from The Guardian last year http://j.mp/jdoiSR Teenage […]

Apple promotes iPad for school

There’s a new TV ad from Apple extolling the potential of the iPad in classrooms. http://youtu.be/_5i1Dyj5k1A A few months ago Edudemic posted this list of 50 Innovative Ways to Use an iPad in School. What do you think? Does the iPad represent revolutionary technology for all teachers and students or simply another tool in the […]

Beach games

During the summer I went to North Wales with the youth group I help lead. While we were away, we played lots of games. Not high-tech, computer-based games but real-world, physical games. It was a timely reminder to me that play, even for teenagers, does not always depend on bits and bytes but can happily […]

Psychology & Neuroscience articles

NCSU research: Study Shows Sports Can Help Communities Recover From Disaster http://j.mp/o0bzkz Distract Yourself or Think It Over? Two Ways to Deal with Negative Emotions from Association for Psychological Science http://j.mp/l37Fnm Too much choice is a bad thing – Journal of Public Economics http://j.mp/kJXbgT Snooze you win? It’s true according to Stanford reseasrch http://j.mp/iCsjtQ The […]

Social Justice articles

Upwards social mobility reduces stress – Journal of Epidemiology & Community Heath http://j.mp/nJfdO9 UC Research Points to Best Practices to Reduce Recidivism http://j.mp/pQCNVc Socioeconomic status as child dictates response to stress as adult according to University of Minnesota http://j.mp/qDZRZ8 High technology, not low taxes, may drive states’ economic growth. Penn State research. http://j.mp/iqX536 Death by […]

Even better if

I have the pleasure and privilege of working with all sorts of people. I’m continually learning from them. On my piece of work for the UN, I am collaborating with a long-time friend, Karen Ardley. Karen has successfully run her own business, Karen Ardley Associates, for many years now and is one of the UK’s […]