The Pros and Cons of Gamification in the Classroom

As the gamification trend continues unabated, experts weigh in on students’ and instructors’ motivations.

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how data can predict the future...

In Los Angeles, a remarkable experiment is underway; the police are trying to predict crime, before it even happens.

At the heart of the city of London, one trader believes that he has found the secret of making billions with maths. In South Africa, astronomers are attempting to catalogue the entire cosmos. These very different worlds are united by one thing - an extraordinary explosion in data.

Horizon meets the people at the forefront of the data revolution, and reveals the possibilities and the promise of the age of big data.

Brittany Wenger TED talk

Brittany Wenger talks about Cloud4Cancer, a computer program she designed to diagnose breast cancer more accurately and less invasively. She won the grand prize in the 2012 Google Science Fair for her project, "Global Neural Network Cloud Service for Breast Cancer".

Comparisons of old and new PoS computing

Comparison of the draft Computing PoS and latest Computing PoS

teaching and learning programming

Dan Kims article

"Over the past 6 months, I’ve had the unique opportunity to observe a wide range of programmers – students, teachers, and world-class experts.

I was curious if there were any patterns and characteristics that made for successful programming teachers and students. My goal was simple: to make myself a better teacher and a better student, so I could help others too.

here is what I have found so far"

A single game as a lifelong hobby

Do you finish one game and then move onto the next? This is the dominant pattern of play for gamers. What happens when players stop consuming and starts investing in a single evergreen computer game for years on end?

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Narrowing the gender gap in GCSE Computing

Narrowing the gender gap in GCSE Computing

Learning theories

Integrate iPads Into Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy With This ‘Padagogy Wheel’

Assessing without levels

General articlehttp://www.education.gov.uk/a00225864/assessing-without-levels 2013-06-14T08:26:21Assessing without levelsAssessing without levelsInformation about how student progression and achievement will be assessed. <![CDATA[
At the NCTL 'Seizing Success' conference on 13 June, the Secretary of State spoke about schools’ ongoing assessment under the new national curriculum, in advance of the consultation on primary assessment and accountability.

As part of our reforms to the national curriculum , the current system of ‘levels’ used to report children’s attainment and progress will be removed.  It will not be replaced.
We believe this system is complicated and difficult to understand, especially for parents. It also encourages teachers to focus on a pupil’s current level, rather than consider more broadly what the pupil can actually do. Prescribing a single detailed approach to assessment does not fit with the curriculum freedoms we are giving schools.
The new programmes of study set out what should be taught by the end of each key stage.  We will give schools the freedom to develop a curriculum which is relevant to their pupils and enables them to meet these expectations.
Schools will be able to introduce their own approaches to formative assessment, to support pupil attainment and progression. The assessment framework should be built into the school curriculum, so that schools can check what pupils have learned and whether they are on track to meet expectations at the end of the key stage, and so that they can report regularly to parents.
Ofsted’s inspections will be informed by whatever pupil tracking data schools choose to keep. Schools will continue to benchmark their performance through statutory end of key stage assessments, including national curriculum tests. In the consultation on primary assessment and accountability, the department will consult on core principles for a school’s curriculum and assessment system.
Although schools will be free to devise their own curriculum and assessment system, we will provide examples of good practice which schools may wish to follow.
Outstanding schools and teaching schools have an opportunity to take the lead in developing and sharing curriculum and assessment systems which meet the needs of their pupils.
We are continuing to work with the National Association of Head Teachers to support schools in the development and implementation of this new approach. We will also work with subject associations, education publishers and external test developers to signpost schools to a range of potential approaches.
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