Above the largest bulletin board in my Media Studies classroom is perhaps the most frequently referenced resource in my teaching practice. It is a large sign that says ‘Google is your friend’. When you teach a practical, skills based subject that has a heavy reliance on creative software packages (Adobe suite, Final Cut etc), this is a mantra that becomes invaluable. I had a new batch of year 10 Media students this year. I taught them the basics of Photoshop and Illustrator v

I would hope that most of us are embedding peer assessment in our lessons. There are problems, of course - it means you are not only teaching the students content, but also higher order evaluative skills. This is great for high ability or older students, but it means a lot of scaffolding for students who are less able. Peer assessment for younger or less able students can be a time suck and unless it is done well it can be of limited value to the students. Either way it is un

Here’s a handy tip for improving the functionality of your student data, particularly when it comes to predicting grades at GCSE and A Level. The formula I will show you uses a lookup table to convert a point score to a grade – A, B, C etc. All you need to know is the grade boundaries (or estimated ones!) This tutorial assumes only very basic excel knowledge. All you need is an excel workbook with some student performance data. On a new spreadsheet, create a table of your est

Does data stress you out? Do you think it's just for middle management and senior leaders? Do you find yourself entering the same grades in three different places and recognise how crazy that is? Do you know exactly how each of your groups is doing? Does the thought of mail merging, writing formulas and making graphs and tables fill you with a mixture of fear and excitement? Just fear? Not to worry, this series is for you. Data - it isn't just for Ofsted. Own it. Love it or h

I am picky about the technology that I choose to adopt in my everyday teaching practice. It has to be effective, efficient and win/win for students, teachers and managers. Mail merges are a tool that I would not want to do without. Many, many sensible teachers use excel and some make good use of mail merge, but I am continually surprised by how many haven't discovered how much easier their lives would be and how much more effective their AFL could be with the judicious use of

Over and over I see the same issue popping up with the uptake of new technology by teachers. Apparently, implementations fail because teachers are 'set in their ways' or reluctant to 'fix' something that isn't broken. I've seen teachers respond this way myself and even, at times, been guilty of it. Why would I want to replace my markbook with an iPad app that does exactly the same thing, but requires me to carry around an expensive piece of kit? Why would I want to set homewo