The number of home-schooled children doubled between 2013 and 2019 according to the Children’s Commissioner in a Feb 2019 report. In the short term at least, that number can now surely only rise as schools close and debate rages about re-opening before the summer break in England. Schools in Wales and Scotland may open later still.
How many FE colleges and universities will re-open at all in time for September?
How likely is that we’ll see a complete return to classroom only learning? Is the MOOC about to become the classroom of the future?
Last week, the UK government announced three measures totalling more than £100 million of investment to boost remote learning. This includes £85 million for laptops, tablets and 4G dongles, around £14 million for the technical support scheme and £6 million for the demonstrator schools programme.
To keep up to date with all of the developments in edtech, we’ve pulled together a list of the 20 best UK EDTECH podcasts to listen to, and learn from. You’ll just need to drop in an email address to reveal the full list.
Individuals with influence!
- 1) The EdTech Podcast https://theedtechpodcast.com/ is founded by the former head of content at trade show BETT. The EdTech Podcast covers topics including education and artificial intelligence, games-based learning, assessment without tests and scaling learning to those who cannot access traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ teaching and learning. The audience consists of education leaders from around the world, plus startups, learning and development specialists, blue-chips, investors, Government and media. The site averages 2-4 podcasts per month and hasn’t slowed down during the pandemic. In fact, the 11th May upload covers that exact subject.
- 2) Teacher Toolkit https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/category/podcasts/ is owned and published by Ross McGill, although the podcasts are produced by Joshua McGovern. The podcasts are just one of the ways Teacher Toolkit tries to share knowledge and ideas from teachers for teachers around the world.
- 3) Education on Fire https://www.educationonfire.com/episodes/page/2/ – is produced by Mark Taylor, a former teacher. It’s not entirely tech focussed but the 10th April episode covers remote and online learning which is particularly good and includes a conversation with Ai Addyson Zhang, a college professor in South Korea who has good experiences of delivering a ‘classroom without walls’.
- 4) EdTech Innovators https://open.spotify.com/show/07RYEoRzFDOVyWDYVz1zk4 – this podcast series is produced by Pete Atherton, a teacher and lecturer from Liverpool John Moores University. It’s published every Tuesday and has been running for a year or so. The subject is entirely tech-focussed and includes some really good speakers and interviewees.
- 5) EdTalks with Phil and Chris https://open.spotify.com/show/18GZrBkQ3bROuPW3yMIbLr – this is quite a new series [launched in March 2020]. Each episode in this series features an interview with an edtech expert [a mix of academics, tech firms, teachers and so on] by Phil and Chris [both still working in UK education system]. It’s quite a light, chatty podcast!
Media based
- 6) Education Technology monthly roundup https://edtechnology.co.uk/?s=podcast is produced by the team from Education Technology magazine, which itself is part of a group of media including Ed Quarter and University Business. The podcast has been running for nearly 12 months and essentially wraps up the main stories from the past month. As you can imagine, the April edition is coronavirus focussed.
- 7) WonkHE https://wonkhe.com/blogs/wonkhe-show-s06e06/ is produced by another news-site, WonkHE. It focusses entirely on higher education sector, analysis, news, and policy changes, and not necessarily tech. However, the 26th April edition focussed entirely on the likelihood of students wanting to be a part of a remote learning world come September 2020.
- 8) Times Education Supplement https://www.tes.com/news/hub/podcasts – continuing the theme of media podcasts, The Times Education Supplement publishes 2-3 new podcasts each month. As with WonkHE, the show focusses on a whole range of topics, but that does include tech. The 3rd April edition had a special focus on remote learning. The past several episodes have been largely coronavirus related.
- 9) UK Ed Chat https://ukedchat.com/about-ukedchat/ – the final media based podcast series come from the team at UKEdMagazine. The podcast series is a part of a larger information resource including a news site, print magazine, and Twitter chat group. The podcast series is one of the longest running, having been publishing since 2015. Tech topics include: the impact of sexting, edtech entrepreneurs, online video games, VR and AI in education, and data privacy.
Event based [potentially time limited]
- 10) What Matters in Edtech https://www.bettshow.com/whats-on/bett-podcast-series is produced by the trade show BETT and the founder of the EdTech Podcast. The series was produced as a follow up to the BETT show in Jan 2020. Assuming BETT returns for Jan 2021, I’d expect the list of podcasts to be added to.
- 11) The Schools and Academies Show https://schoolsandacademiesshow.co.uk/the-schools-academies-show-podcast/ The Schools & Academies Show Podcast talks through policy updates concerning primary and secondary schools in the United Kingdom. The episodes are being produced and published in the run up to the show, which is currently scheduled for September 2020. Again, tech isn’t the only focus but subjects have included data protection, empowering female edtech leaders, keeping children safe online and the role of tech in improving social mobility.
Non-profit / membership organisations
- 12) JISC https://www.jisc.ac.uk/podcasts – the membership organisation JISC, which is a non-profit body supporting the UK higher, further education and skills sectors produces its own podcast. The series probably takes the crown in terms of longevity having been publishing since July 2007 [only 6 months after the founding of Mantis]. The subject matter is entirely tech focussed.
- 13) NESTA https://www.nesta.org.uk/search/?search=podcast&order=-first_published_at – a charity based in UK, but operating globally which supports innovation and good ideas produces a podcast series. As an organisation, NESTA focusses on health, government innovation, education, arts and the creative economy and innovation policy and that is reflected in the podcasting That said, edtech isn’t the most prolific subject covered but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
- 14) SWGfL https://swgfl.org.uk/resources/online-safety-podcast/ – which is the South West Grid for Learning [a charity supporting schools, agencies and families to use safe and technology safely and securely] has created 7 podcasts [so far] on online safety and e-safety. Issues covered include BYOD, sexting, online reputation, and remote learning. The latest edition covers online scams which was posted earlier this month. It looks like the team posts once per month.
- 15) NAHT https://www.naht.org.uk/news-and-opinion/podcasts/ – the National Association of Head Teachers supports the progress of head teachers, deputy / assistant heads, virtual school heads and business leaders. It’s a broad series, but the 3rd March 20 episode focusses specifically on technology in the classroom and asks if it’s an unwanted distraction.
Commercial companies
- 16) Edufuturists https://www.edufuturists.com/ – this series is produced by the commercial business of the same name. It focusses on training individuals how to use GSuite tools and especially Google for Education. The podcast series is “a continuing conversation with guests from all over the world about education, technology, the future and everything between.” The team publishes weekly and also broadcasts live via YouTube and Twitter, so it’s possible to ask question or make comments during the broadcast.
- 18) Pivotal Podcast https://pivotaleducation.com/about-us/- this is a free podcast for teachers and trainers and covers a whole range of subjects but this includes a discussion around a reading app, safeguarding software, empowering safeguarding leads and technology in the maths classroom.
- 19) TED Talks Education https://www.ted.com/topics/education – I’ve left TED Talks until [nearly] the end because it’s not quite podcasting [being video based] but the subject matter is so vast and useful, I wanted to include it. Given the current circumstances the education world finds itself in, the talks on MOOCs [Massive Open Online Courses] is really good.
Now closed, but worth listening to again
- 20) Today in Digital Education http://tidepodcast.org/ – this podcast series ran between 2015 and March 2019. The episodes – of which there are hundreds – cover absolutely every tech and digital subject imaginable. The series ended with the passing of co-presenter Dai Barnes.
