

Education On Fire - Sharing creative and inspiring learning in our schools
Mark Taylor
Do you feel the education system is sucking the life out of you and the pupils you serve? I think many of us wish we could click our fingers and make it fit for purpose. A place of growth with shared learning that empowers pupils to be their best selves, so they can create a world they want to inhabit now and in the future.
While a magic wand or a visionary politician might sound like the answer I believe change is already happening. Educators are changing futures one conversation at a time. New technology and the environments where we learn are beginning to look different both in and out of the classroom. I hope you are seeing this first hand and are excited about what you can share with your pupils. We are having conversations, sharing organisations and communities that are supporting education in a way that you may have not experienced.
Educational change will come from us all working in way that supports the best interests of each of our pupils, personalised learning. Governments and policy makers will follow when they see fully how it can be different. So let us teach, coach, mentor and create an environment that fuels every child with feedback, inspiration, resilience and empowerment. The Education on Fire community is shining the torch, so no matter where you are in the world or how you are supporting children this podcast is here for you.
‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’
While a magic wand or a visionary politician might sound like the answer I believe change is already happening. Educators are changing futures one conversation at a time. New technology and the environments where we learn are beginning to look different both in and out of the classroom. I hope you are seeing this first hand and are excited about what you can share with your pupils. We are having conversations, sharing organisations and communities that are supporting education in a way that you may have not experienced.
Educational change will come from us all working in way that supports the best interests of each of our pupils, personalised learning. Governments and policy makers will follow when they see fully how it can be different. So let us teach, coach, mentor and create an environment that fuels every child with feedback, inspiration, resilience and empowerment. The Education on Fire community is shining the torch, so no matter where you are in the world or how you are supporting children this podcast is here for you.
‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 26, 2017 • 14min
026 : At 9 years old Arnav Sharma won the Tech4Good People’s Award 2016.
• Finalist, BT Young Pioneers Award 2016
• Winner, Tech4Good People’s Award 2016
• Winner, Tech4Good Winner of Winners Award 2016
Aged just nine years old, Arnav Sharma studied the cause, diagnosis and effect of asthma and came up with a solution; the AsthmaPi kit. Using a Raspberry Pi hooked up to a range of sensors it helps anyone living with asthma and is particularly useful to anyone not sure about the diagnosis of asthma.
Using email and SMS text message alerts, patients receive prompts to take medication and reminders for review visits, and the accompanying booklet makes it easy to understand asthma.
Arnav started with two Raspberry Pis and added a Sense Hat, MQ-135 Gas Sensor, Sharp Optical Dust Sensor and an Arduino Uno – which he programmed using Python and C++.
https://www.tech4goodawards.com/finalist/arnav-sharma/
https://www.educationonfire.com
http://khanacademy.org
http://raspberrypi.org

Apr 24, 2017 • 39min
025 : AbilityNet – Tech4Good Awards with Mark Walker
Now in its 6th year, the AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards recognise organisations and individuals who use digital technology to improve the lives of others.
The awards were created by AbilityNet with the help of BT and a number of businesses, charities and non-profit partners and sponsors, because we want to know about companies that are utilising the empowering influence of digital technology – whether it’s at home, at work, in education. Access to the digital world can be life changing.
https://www.tech4goodawards.com
https://www.tech4goodawards.com/enter-now/bt-young-pioneer-award/
https://www.tech4goodawards.com/enter-now/comic-relief-tech4good-africa-award/
https://www.abilitynet.org.uk – Tel 0800 269545
https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org
https://www.khanacademy.org
https://www.appsforgood.org
Education on Fire – Apps for Good Interview

Apr 21, 2017 • 24min
024 : ICT with Mr.P – Pt 2
Part 2 of my interview with Lee Parkinson – how we can use technology to raise standards in schools.
Lee Parkinson has been a Primary Teacher for 8 years where he has built a wealth of ideas for how technology can be embedded right across the curriculum. He has successfully deployed a class set of iPads across a whole primary school and worked alongside children from EYFS through to Year 6 looking at how iPads can enhance teaching and learning throughout the curriculum.
Mr Parkinson always puts learning first and looks for creative and innovative ways in which technology, such as the iPad, can be used effectively to impact on writing & reading as well as developing key numeracy skills. He has built a reputation as one of the leading advocates for camouflage teaching, tricking children into learning by using engaging methods to motivate reluctant writers and inspire boys to write.
After a recent Ofsted inspection, his use of iPads within a Literacy observation was deemed “Outstanding with a phenomenal use of technology and an Outstanding outcome to the lesson.”
Alongside his expertise with iPads, Mr Parkinson also provides training for how using web based tools including blogging can impact on learning and motivate children to improve writing and reading. He also has a wealth of ideas to transform your classroom into the 21st Century from a real teacher with practical ideas that work.
Links of things we talked about:
http://mrparkinsonict.com
http://mrparkinsonict.blogspot.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/IctWithMrP/
https://twitter.com/ICT_MrP
https://twitter.com/richardgerver
https://twitter.com/DrChips_
https://web.seesaw.me
https://bookcreator.com
https://spark.adobe.com
https://explaineverything.com
http://get-puppet.co

Apr 19, 2017 • 22min
023 : ICT with Mr.P – Using technology to raise standards
Mr Parkinson is a primary school teacher who specialises in the use of technology to raise standards across the curriculum. His training and INSET provides teachers with a wealth of knowledge on the most engaging and inspiring ways to improve standards in Literacy, Numeracy and the NEW primary Curriculum using modern technology.
http://mrparkinsonict.com

Apr 17, 2017 • 10min
022 : Mid Season Catch Up with Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor gives his thoughts on the season so far and offers your pupils the chance to be on the Education on Fire Podcast for Season 3.
EducationOnFire.com
https://twitter.com/taylormapps
http://www.goodstuffprimaryresources.com/

Apr 14, 2017 • 34min
021 : Keeping Children Safe Online with Gooseberry Planet
A Complete Toolkit To Teach E-Safety Lessons with Online Safety Lesson Plans
http://gooseberryplanet.com
HomeHalo
Gooseberry Planet uses gaming technology to help children learn about internet safety. In the course of a familiar game, children are exposed to online issues requiring a response such as meeting strangers, bullying, grooming and sexual exploitation. Children love playing games and Gooseberry Planet is a fun way to present internet safety situations to them.
The software platform facilitates the participation of parents and teachers to discuss with their children/students the issues raised in the game, and to monitor their reactions to the situations. Internet safety is part of Personal, Social, Health Economic (PSHE) education and ICT in schools, but many schools don’t know how to teach the subject. It is very difficult to keep up with the trends and stay in touch with what their students are using. Gooseberry Planet has a number of Apps for schools, which will facilitate the intervention of teachers and parents.
We offer a complete solution for the whole school community, ensuring that every child is taught for a minimum of 12 weeks (1 hour per week) in each and every year of their primary school education!
The games target 4-13 year olds. There are 5 levels in total, each level has been adapted for different age groups.
Two other apps sit alongside the gaming software. One for the teacher (Gooseberry Teacher) which is a monitoring system and also a resource, and the other is Gooseberry Parent. The software platforms talk to each other whilst the student is playing the game.
Areas covered with Gooseberry Planet:
• Clickjacking
• Grooming
• Sexual Exploitation
• Emailing
• Live Gaming
• Web Cams & Live Streaming
• Social Networking
• People online
• Radicalisation
• Meeting Up
• Chat Rooms
• Online Bullying
• In-App Purchases
• Online Safety for Students
• Teaching Internet Safety to Students
• Internet Safety and Online Safety tips for kids
• Online Bullying tips for children

Apr 12, 2017 • 2sec
020 : Nape Computing EdTech Conference Pt2
Purple Mash to 2Blog Katie from 2Simple Software tells us all about Creative Computing.
Atmos Technology strive to transform educational outcomes by providing exciting, new and different opportunities for learning through ICT.
IE Solutions focuses on the impact of digital technologies on learning, teaching and raising achievement
https://www.2simple.com
http://www.atmostechnology.co.uk
https://www.ies.london

Apr 10, 2017 • 15min
019 : Nape Computing EdTech Conference
Stella James & Tim Rylands, premier IT educational speakers, give their insights about online safety and enthusing learners using technology.
http://www.timrylands.com
http://www.timrylands.com/2016/10/20/nape-computing-edtech-conference-2016-oxford-2/
http://gooseberryplanet.com
http://nape.org.uk
http://nape.org.uk/computing-edtech-conference-2/

Apr 7, 2017 • 17min
018 : Coding for Kids with Tynker
Tynker is a complete learning system that teaches kids to code. Kids begin experimenting with visual blocks, then progress to JavaScript and Python as they design games, build apps, and make incredible projects.
50 Million Kids
60 Thousand Schools
2.4 Billion lines of code
https://www.tynker.com/
https://www.parrot.com

Apr 5, 2017 • 14min
017 : 3-7 yrs Explore. Create. Code with mama codes
mama.codes mission is to start all young children on their coding journey and give them the confidence and ability to code.
The teaching method introduces children as young as three to coding through song, rhyme and storytelling using free kids’ coding App ScratchJr.
Coding is the new literacy. It is on the school curriculum in the UK from age 5 because it is important that every child is digitally literate in order to thrive and succeed in an increasingly digital world.
Through following our creative coding projects, children of all backgrounds and learning styles are able to learn to code creatively with confidence. Most importantly they can have a lot of fun with code, and make full use of their bountiful imagination.
http://educator.mama.codes
https://twitter.com/mamacodes
https://www.facebook.com/mama.codes/
https://www.scratchjr.org


