Citizens Online is campaigning for every child to have a laptop, funded by the taxpayer. I absolutely support universal internet access, but not this route to it. Laptops have too many drawbacks. The are heavy, expensive, ergonomically unsound and very vulnerable to theft and damage. The proponents for laptops for schools are making two perceptual…

At last, I’ve had time to actually read the Tomlinson Report. This is my feedback to the Working Group. I’ve organised it under 5 headings of particular interest to me. Numbers in [ ] are paragraph numbers from the report. The unified vision Tomlinson proposes four-level diploma. It has a common core of key skills…

The Big Idea of the Tomlinson Report is to replace coursework assignments with a single portfolio, produced by the student over the course of two years. When the report came out, I expressed some scepticism about this which remains, but I have got interested in the whole area known as e-portfolios. The fundamental idea: give…

When I first floated the idea of Paperless School three years ago, one of the common concerns voiced was that parents would object to the cost of their kids being online all the time. “Don’t worry,” I said, “everyone will have broadband soon, and permanent connection to the internet will be seen as a civil…

Feeling somewhat remorseful at having taken a pop at the British Library building last week, I took the opportunity to visit it today. Approaching through the lychgate on Euston Rd, I crossed the courtyard and entered by the main doors. The entrance hallway is arranged in a series of ascending platforms, some containing rows of…