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Instagram: The Junk Food Slot Machine of the Digital Age
Instagram is no longer just a social app — it’s a slot machine in your pocket. And for millions of young people, it’s shaping their sense of self in ways that are both addictive and corrosive. Increasingly described as the junk food of the digital world, Instagram offers instant hits of attention and validation but…
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How people are using Generative AI
Based on the research of Marc Zao-Sanders who analysed a large amount of Reddit posts. These are the current popular categories. As you can see AIs are becoming people’s partners in both their personal and professional lives. People are turning to AI for therapy and this is seen as the number 1 use of generative…
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May the 4th be with you!
We would like to wish all of our readers a very happy StarWars day and May the 4th be with you! We are also sharing a few fun StarWars based lesson plans, so that your students can enjoy this fun celebration. Yoda Speak Code! (KS2) In this fun Javascript example we show you how to…
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GPT Wrapper rip offs – Make your own AI!
Even if you are not coder, it is important to know the difference between the very significant work that goes into making a Large Language model such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Deepseek and a wrapper which calls upon an API and minimally processes what you get. These wrappers have been used to skirt age…
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“Adolescence” series scares school leadership
It would appear that the show “Adolescence” has really hit a nerve and a lot school leadership has been watching it over the school holidays and then immediately turning to the most ‘techy’ teacher they know to say that they need to sort it out, so that they don’t end up with a situation like…
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AI – Using the Real Thing!
As AI tools rapidly make their way into classrooms, marking policies, lesson planning, and even how students write essays, it’s increasingly important for educators to understand not just what these tools do, but how they work. Among the most popular AI models in education are Claude (Anthropic), ChatGPT (OpenAI), DeepSeek, and Copilot (Microsoft). Each of…
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Everyone Should Be Listening to GTA 6’s Publisher About AI
At the 2024 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, artificial intelligence (AI) was everywhere — from Nvidia’s booth to trailers allegedly generated by AI that no one wanted to take credit for. Yet amidst the hype, some key voices in the gaming industry pushed back. In his article “Everyone Should Be Listening to Grand Theft…
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Day 3 EARCOS 2025
Also see day 1 and day 2 The day began with a first class presentation from Michelle Cummings (author) and I very much enjoyed her caring approach to teaching students. Her favourite educational AI apps for planning are Brisk Teaching (She is now working for them), Suno (makes songs), NotebookLM (currently 18+) and NapkinAI. She…
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Day 2 of EARCOS 2025
This was absolutely action packed! I didn’t expect to be opening the second day of the show and I have to say it had a completely different vibe to yesterday’s keynote. This was a real celebration of what the best teachers can do and a great reminder that for many of us, its literally carry…
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Day 1 of EARCOS 2025
I opened the conference and welcomed Ken Shelton onto the stage. The focus was on AI and ensuring we use it responsibly and after the keynote I had a good chat with him. There is a lot going on in generative AI and most teachers are finding this a great challenge, teachers have divided into…
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First Round Part 2
Round 1 Matchups and Discussion Highlights 8th March (Round 1.8): Lego Prime vs. Vex GO This matchup brought out strong opinions from educators, particularly regarding long-term learning pathways and support ecosystems. Vex GO received widespread praise for its structured progression, allowing students to seamlessly transition to VEX IQ and VEX V5 as they advance in…
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The First Week of March Madness
The First Week of March Madness: Computing EdTech Showdowns! March Madness isn’t just for basketball! In the world of educational technology, teachers and edtech enthusiasts have been weighing in on the best tools for classroom coding and robotics. We hosted an exciting series of matchups between some of the most popular learning tools, and the…
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Computer Science was Female invented
Computer science was originally female-invented and remained female-dominated until the 1960s. While a man may have stepped on the moon, it was a woman who calculated how to get him there. We often hear about the father of the web, but few know about the mother of the internet—she invented the Spanning Tree Protocol, an…
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March Binary Madness Round 1
To get everyone talking about Primary Computing, we’ve introduced a March Madness! The first round sees a face off between the 20 year old Beebots and Dot and Dash! It’s an interesting pairing with both camps absolutely sure, their robot is the winner. So let us see who actually wins this classic battle of the…
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Computational Thinking Playground
The Computer Playground in Helsinki is a free, open-to-all space designed to introduce children to coding through play and physical activity. The playground features interactive wooden structures and signs that guide children in understanding basic programming concepts like sequencing—for example, performing specific actions in order while jumping on a trampoline. Children learn coding principles in…