Does private tutoring disadvantage low-income students?

Last year almost a quarter of 11 to 16 year olds (23%) in England had some form of private tuition. Of these over half (53%) were being coached for a specific test or exam.

With the number of parents paying for private tuition on the rise, are wealthy families gaining an unfair advantage? Particularly when it comes to preparing their children for entrance exams to grammar schools?

How to safeguard your child’s use of smart devices

Should I read my child’s text messages?

In the past week or so there has been a parental issue buzzing through media agencies and newsrooms across the country. Children’s activity online  ̶  an issue that often ignites heated debate on many parental advice forums and blogs  ̶  has raised the question of the role and level of responsibility parents or guardians should take in the welfare and wellbeing of their children online.

Does performance-related pay equal better teachers?

How opinions are split over the new pay structures set for September 2013

From September 2013, head teachers across England will have the power to give their staff a pay rise according to their perceived performance against targets.

Offering children the best education possible is what teachers, parents and the Government all want but will performance based pay incentives mean a higher standard of teaching?

Some academy schools in England already have the power to pay according to performance. Proponents of the new scheme suggest that it should be the case that teachers are rewarded for their effort and achievements even if this does mean that not all will see their pay rise year-on-year.

Does education hold the key as the world catches up?

Competitivity and the new challenges technology poses

In this country we enjoy a very privileged life style. It may not always feel like it, if you are crammed in a hot, crowded underground train or trying to get a plumber to fix a central heating boiler during the cold snap. However, these examples show how much we take for granted in modern life – indeed it is hard to think what life would be like without such facilities! We live in the developed world, but the majority of the population comprise the developing world. They are playing catch up and they are playing it for real.

I’m a teacher, should I write a blog?

For any individual whether you’re an educator, academic, professional or student  ̶  writing your own blog may have been something you’ve considered at one point or another. Regardless of your background or expertise there is one principal question to ask yourself before you start and that is; Why? why should I invest in creating and maintaining my own blog?

For many who have expertise in a certain subject or specialism, a blog can be a powerful platform to share and discuss topics, ideas or to offer an alternative standpoint on an area of interest. For others writing a blog can offer commercial or financial value, building an individual’s online profile or supporting the SEO strategy for a particular business or website.

As well as ensuring your reasons behind starting your blog are convincing and worthwhile, there are some other considerations that you should be aware before launching your own blog site.

How to find the perfect tutor

Tutoring can be an effective way for parents to support their child’s learning development. Traditionally the term tutor suggests a teacher offering one-to-one support, however there are a wide range of other and often more cost-effective forms of tutoring available.

In recent years online tutoring services have become increasingly popular, enabling students to learn, revise and test themselves according to their classroom syllabi’s. Whether on their desktop, tablet or smart phone device these e-learning resources can encourage students to study for longer and more sporadically.

Other alternatives include independent tutoring services that cover core subjects in group formats or larger often franchise-based learning centre’s that offer large classroom based learning sessions.

3k exhibitors, 20k new products… it could only be the Consumer Electronics Show 2013!

It’s that time of the year again where over four days 3,000 exhibitors, many of which are tech leaders in their respected markets, descend upon the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to showcase this year’s most innovative and inventive tech products.

First held in New York City in 1967 the show has a long history of announcing some of the world’s most influential tech products such as the VCR (1970), CD player and camcorder (1981), DVD (1996, HDTV (1998) and the Microsoft XBOX in 2001.

Pearson invests in Barnes & Noble’s e-book

Pearson UK is one of the largest multinational publishing and education companies in the world so when the news hit that they would be investing in an e-reader, debate quickly unfolded.

Pearson has announced that they will invest $89.5 million (£55 million) in return for a 5 per cent share in Nook Media LLC. The move means Pearson will now have a financial stake in Nook Media’s subsidiary parts that include its e-reader and tablet, its online bookstore and the Nook retail stores based in over 650 US college campuses.

Does this spell the end of traditional print textbooks?

Ever considered using your iPad in class?

Found yourself on the nice list this year? Finally got that iPad that you’ve wanted for a while now?

You don’t need us to describe the excitement − if you’re anything like me then you would’ve spent most of Christmas Day loading all of those games and goodies you’ve had your eye on.

After playing around with it for hours I began to consider the ways that the iPad could help me in my lessons.

I’m an English teacher at an academy school in London and although my students show great enthusiasm in my class, their attention does waiver. Unfortunately, the current batch of school iPad resources are restricted to the ICT suites, but what if they weren’t, how would I use the iPad for teaching and learning…?