Beyond the Pier

Isabelle Jones has done a great job of collating together the rather patchy information on the government’s new language programme Mylo mentioned in a previous post. Go to her blog for info.

The world’s largest educational technology event takes place next week from the 13-16 Jan at the London Olympia.  There’ll be a rich plethora of Edtech talks, innovations, stalls and more.  Register on their site and follow updates on twitter @bett2010

In relation to Modern Foreign languages, of particular interest will be the unveiling of parts of the MYLO project by Joe Dale. MYLO is a government funded project that encourages young learners (initially Key Stage 3) to learn languages through a wide range of online activities, such as designing an international football kit or producing a TV advert.

My Postgraduate Certificate in Education with the London Institute of Education (IOE) finally kicked off this week with a series of induction lectures and tutorial groups.  Lots of information, lots of housekeeping and lots of educational acronyms (FSM, QCA, DCFS, SEN etc. to name but a few) to get your head around, but more excitingly, lots of knowledgeable and inspiring professors, tutors and fellow students.

The Institute seems by all accounts a rich and diverse forum for learning, discussion and leading research.  The old saying “those who can do, those who can’t teach”, seems to be put firmly to rest given the qualifications and backgrounds of the other training teachers I have met.  With the credit crunch driving people to look for better job security in the public sector, PGCE courses are heavily over subscribed.  This has led to increased competition for places and consequently bumped up the qualification and quality of the intake.

Situated in Bloomsbury, the IOE finds itself  surrounded by iconic places like The British Museum, The British Library and The Wellcome Trust.  In all, a very inspiring place to be – steeped in history and tradition, yet looking to the future through learning, research, events, talks and discussions.  Indeed, this evening, with every intention of going to the library, I found myself in the audience of a conversation between the famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and The Times editor James Harding about Dawkin’s new book The Greatest Show on Earth.  I never imagined that ticket touts would loiter around outside such events, but I’m glad one did this evening. Read more…