5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make With iPads (And How To Correct Them)

Over the last few years K-12 schools and districts across the US have been investing heavily in iPads for classroom use. EdTechTeacher has been leading iPad professional development at many of these schools and we’ve seen firsthand how they approach iPad integration.

School grounds full of litter? Here’s an idea …

I was chatting to an NGO worker who told me the story of a local South African school that was experiencing a serious problem with trash on the school property. The learners had absolutely no concept of keeping the environment clean, and the school’s bests efforts at educating the children about the negative effects of [...]

What do the ANAs tell us?

An in-depth look at the 2012 Annual National Assessments (ANAs) results Tim Gordon CEO: The Governing Body Foundation timgordon@gbf.org.za The Minister marketed her report under the slogan, ‘Celebrating our achievements, consolidating our advances.’ Sadly, one has to look very hard to find tangible and credible achievements to celebrate, and there is significant scepticism about [...]

The Year Of The MOOC

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have been around for a while, but last year saw an explosion of online courses, with the launch of Coursera following Stanford’s pioneering offerings in the Fall of 2011. This trend looks set to continue with more Universities falling over themselves to offer courses online, and with ventures such as [...]

Marking Grade 12 papers: A valuable experience!

I finished marking Grade 12 papers on the 12th of December 2012. I remember the date specifically because it was the last repetitive date of our lifetime (12/12/12) and people made quite a big deal about it. Also, it was quite significant as this historical date reflected the importance of the process of marking Grade [...]

The EINAs are out

The results of the 2012 ANAs (Annual National Assessments) have, once again, revealed the parlous state of our education system. One of the most distressing features is the drastic decline in the results as learners move up the system. In maths, for example, the average drops from 68% in grade 1 to 13% in grade [...]

“Bribery and Corruption”

I was asked today for some advice from a mom at my school which I will share in case you find yourself in a similar position. She is having a problem with her child not wanting to do class swimming in the winter months (in our heated pool). If your issue is something else, substitute [...]

Parents are Leaders

I have just had the amazing opportunity of attending the Global Leadership Summit here in East London which is an international Summit run with dvds of excellent American speakers, facilitated by one of our local churches. Their catchphrase “lead where you are” appeals to all people whether you are in a traditional leadership role or [...]