Inspiration

Inspired by creating a laser disc

Drew Buddie — 2008-07-15T16:25:00Z

The moment that I first realised that IT (as it was then) was a field that I wanted to be involved with was when I read in BBC Micro User an article about Alisdair Wells at Netherall School in Cambridge. The piece was hugely inspirational for me as it highlighted how one person with an evangelical approach to the use of technology, could take education to new heights. In the particular instance the article related to his creation of a laser disc for The Battle of the Somme.

Lessons learnt

The article made such an impact on me, that to this day I consider Alasdair Wells to be my first true 'hero' and I've tried to emulate him in each and every day that I teach. And one day I hope to be such an inspiration to other teachers.

In praise of NCET, CET and Becta

Kevin Donovan — 2010-09-14T03:35:00Z

I have worked for over four decades in education (and a smaller number in other things). For most of this time I was a teacher, staff trainer, and head of department in further education (FE) colleges. I had been a day-release and full-time student in FE and still consider it the heart of 'real' education, unknown, ignored and abused by politicians and policy makers.

Crucially, and starting in 1979, for various small chunks of time I was seconded to the then Council for Educational Technology (the predecessor to Becta). It changed my life! As well as access over the years to the latest in gadgetry, the latest in initiatives (and thus starting an historic collection of acronyms) and the latest in thinking, I discovered the wisdom of Geoffrey Hubbard's (then CET's CEO) definition of educational technology as relating to a systematic approach to teaching and learning. Not just toys.

This exposure transformed my own teaching (and learning) each time I returned to the classroom but also informed the ed tech work I did over later years at FEU, FEDA and LSDA - on learning centres, student tracking, staff development etcera (extensively so!). I retired from from FE when I reached 60 and continued part-time consultancy in the sector.

Now in 2010, coincidentally, when I'm 64 and as this awful government vandalises the nation, Becta is being sacrificed on the altar of the bankers' bonuses. Time for me to go, to mourn what is being lost, but also to celebrate the influence on people like me and on the whole education system of NCET/CET/Becta.

Computer appreciation

Bill Gibbon — 2010-09-20T21:10:00Z

"Computer Appreciation" was a 10 hour module as part of the Maths course when I was training to be a teacher at Northern Counties College in 1972.

We did some simple Basic programming on an OU paper tape terminal in the corner of one of the small studies, but mostly we played tic-tac-toe or navigated a lunar lander (which on a paper printout was quite tricky).

However, my friend Derick and I had also signed up to do a creative writing option, with the fabulous Betty Watson, who eventually became Betty Rosen. She had been part of a team of judges for a recent Daily Mirror's 'Children as Writers' competition and had been allowed to keep all the entries - tens of thousands of them - all in cardboard boxes stored on the stage - and she wanted them classified. That was easy - the whole group just sat and read each one and filled in a small form. Then of course she wanted to analyse them ... Derick and I looked at each other and said 'we can probably write a simple computer program to do that'. Mad fools.

We eventually had to learn the far from simple SPSS language and fill out and check hundreds of programming sheets and it must have cost the department a fortune in punched cards and processing time - but the experience was incredible. Although it pre-dated by a long way my '80s obsession with Seymour Papert and Logo, it was this first experience of controlling the power of computing to solve real problems, rather than being controlled by it in the 'press any key to continue' mode that was to follow, that established my ongoing philosophy.