• Another 18 schools and colleges named as 'edtech demonstrators'

    The government has announced another 18 schools and colleges handed up to £150,000 each to become “edtech demonstrators”. They will help other schools to use technology to support remote learning after the programme was repurposed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The first 20 schools were announced in April. The scheme is part of the government’s £10…

    14.52 Jun. 16th, 2020 | News

  • Edtech group chair Lord Chris Holmes steps down following sexual assault charge

    The chair of the government’s expert panel set up to improve the use of technology in schools has left the role after appearing in court charged with sexual assault. Conservative peer and former Paralympic swimmer, Lord Chris Holmes, has “voluntarily stepped away” from the leadership of the edtech leadership group, a Department for Education spokesperson…

    16.15 Sep. 4th, 2019 | News

  • Paralympic swimmer to chair new edtech expert group

    Paralympic swimmer Chris Holmes will chair a new expert group to help improve the use of technology in schools. The EdTech Leadership Group, which met for the first time today, consists of 27 members – 16 of whom are from education sector. The remaining 11 are ‘industry’ members and include companies such as Apple, Microsoft,…

    16.03 Jun. 3rd, 2019 | News

  • Hinds calls on tech companies to create new solutions to support teaching

    Education secretary Damian Hinds is calling on technology companies to help improve teaching and cut teacher workload, ahead of plans to develop new online resources for schools in the autumn. From September, the Department for Education (DfE) will work with the Chartered College of Teaching, the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) and other organisations to develop…

    0.01 Aug. 7th, 2018 | News

  • Mark Martin, Computer science lead, South Bank Engineering UTC

    Mark Martin is standing at Silicon Roundabout in London, the location of choice for so many of the capital’s education start-ups. It’s also a good metaphor for the man himself, who is also known as “Urban teacher”, and whose career crosses the worlds of EdTech, the tech industry and the school where he still teaches.…

    5.00 Apr. 17th, 2018 | Features

  • Multi-academy trusts are driving EdTech innovation

    Multi-academy trusts used to be an afterthought for software developers, but no longer, explains Joshua Perry School software has been around for a long time. The market has blossomed and evolved over more than three decades, with the release of the ever-popular SIMS Management Information System (MIS) in 1984 a particularly pivotal moment. Software for…

    5.00 Feb. 12th, 2018 | Opinion

  • How can the DfE use EdTech to reduce teacher workload?

    Justine Greening was making progress on using EdTech to alleviate workload – here’s what she’d achieved so far, and what’s still left to do, says Atif Mahmood The DfE’s own research has identified workload as the “most important factor” behind teachers who leave the profession. I meet with heads of department and headteachers daily, all…

    16.30 Jan. 24th, 2018 | Opinion

  • £20m crack team of digital specialists to help solve teacher workload

    A crack team of digital specialists will be set up in the heart of government to encourage education technology startups to solve problems faced by schools, such as teacher workload. The new “GovTech Catalyst” unit will get £20 million over the next two years to provide match funding to public bodies wanting to commission tech…

    5.00 Nov. 24th, 2017 | News

  • Screen time in the classroom must be shared, says tech expert at global summit

    Children should not use devices one-on-one in lessons but instead work in groups of two or more, according to one leading education writer speaking at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Qatar today. Anya Kamenetz, author and lead digital education correspondent for America’s National Public Radio, said that working collaboratively on devices leads…

    19.20 Nov. 15th, 2017 | News