Saturday 15 February 2014

HappyBird - the best value-for-money tablet out there

I've been at the chalk-face of education for 43 years and I have a passion for educating students to become independent learners.  Tablets are a great way to promote independent learning and allow 24/7/365 learning.  As a chemist, tablets will not allow me to write chemical equations or draw chemical structures.  The HappyBird tablet has changed all that.  With the integrated ipen one can write a chemical equation on ordinary paper.  This equation is transferred real-time onto the tablet.  As far as I am aware no other tablet has this built-in facility. This facility makes it, for me, the best value tablet out there.
I recommend it to anyone particularly to those who need to write equations or draw diagrams.
Check it out at:

Tuesday 4 February 2014

How Teaching has Changed - But not for the Better

After reading this week's 'Secret Teacher' in the Guardian, the point I want to make is that if the 'decision makers' had to live the life of a teacher for a year they may be less inclined to impose all the unnecessary tasks upon teachers. Tasks that actually impede the learning of the students. When I began my teaching career in 1970, teachers had autonomy, teaching was fun and so there was a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom.  The students sensed that and much more learning was done as a result because teachers were allowed to focus on 'what increased learning' instead of what kept Ofsted at bay. In those days the students mattered, now it is statistics that matter.

Fracking explained: opportunity or danger

Sunday 2 February 2014

Let's Play Fairly

Teachers have to undergo rigorous assessment to qualify as
a teacher. Should not, therefore, those decision makers that 
create the rules that make teachers' lives unbearable, also 
have to qualify for their roles?  I suggest a suitable 
qualification may be gained by undergoing a year of 
teaching difficult classes together with all the admin work 
and assessment/observation that go with it.