Teachers for Supply

Social Science

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A dozen red roses might not be as welcome as washing the dishes on Valentine’s Day, a study by the Open University finds – showing simple acts of kindest are key to helping couples stay together.

New research into consumer choice conducted at UEL shows that negative information can have a way smaller effect than previously believed. Consumers ultimately still pick popular brands over lesser known names, even supposing the famous brands have negative reviews.

Science and technology

Photograph: ACE STOCK LIMITED / Alamy/Alamy

The first basic training package created by researchers on the University of Cambridge and Manchester to educate students and scientists the right way to best use the fruit fly, Drosophila, for research was published. It’s hoped it might encourage more researchers engaged on various conditions from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease to make use of the common-or-garden fly.

A widespread badger cull won’t solve the difficulty of tuberculosis in cattle, in line with new research by Durham University. However the study says that it could play a component in controlling infection levels in problem hotspots within the UK.

Arts and arts

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Lancaster University academics have get a hold of the formula for the ideal love poem to assist thousands of hapless men around the UK this Valentine’s Day. The template combines the rhythm of a 14-line sonnet, with traditional French blazon poetry.

Here’s your perfect Valentine’s Love Poem template

O love your eyes are like …………

So beautiful to see

Your cheeks are ………………….. as ………………….

As fair as fair could be.

Your lips are …………………….. as …………………………

And once I hear you speak

Your voice sounds ……………………………………………..

And makes my knees go weak.

Your skin is soft as ……………………………………..

You’re all my dreams come true

Your hair is sort of a ………………………………. of ………………….

And I’m in love with you.

And finally

Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

Research from the University of Oxford shows Neanderthals died out sooner than previously thought. For the reason that 1990s, scholars have believed that around 35,000 years ago the last of the Neanderthals sought refuge in southern Iberia, in a space referred to as Spain today. However, new dating evidence on fossilised bones from sites within the region means that the fossils might be 15,000 years older than previously thought.

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• I worked in a small geriatric hospital inside the 60s and 70s (i’m now 91) and was heartened by Andy Burnham’s article (NHS targets went too far, 11 February). The hospital I knew was under the care of a matron who was approaching retirement within the 60s, when one of the vital reorganisations was in prospect. Her life were devoted to ensuring the absolute best treatment and maintain the patients in her charge. I had considerable respect for her views and her management of the hospital. She has long since left this world, during which a lot of the developments within the NHS would surely have dismayed and (probably) angered her. I remember her saying: “You can not run a hospital like a business.” Many people who’ve seen 50 years of changes can only despair and feel sad that any such wonderful organisation was and is being frequently interfered with in unnecessary rebuilding.
Jean Sealey
Belper, Derbyshire

• Well done, Polly Toynbee (NHS enemies will declare the service broken. It’s not, 8 February) for being brave enough to seem beyond the deplorable specifics of the North Staffs case. Ever because the coalition came to power there was a relentless drip-feed of negative stories in regards to the NHS, which the media have obediently recycled with none attempt at balance. This breaks down the public’s belief within the NHS and prepares the bottom for wholesale privatisation. Opposition to the unnecessary and dear reorganisation currently under way is virtually unanimous, yet there was no climb-down by the federal government.

This provides a fascinating contrast with education and the hot U-turn by Michael Gove. The likely explanation is that there aren’t any commercial interests waiting greedily inside the wings in education as there are in health. It is going to appear these interests have captured the Lib Dems in addition the Tories. Much have been manufactured from the Lib Dems’ opposition to Gove’s plans – but where was their opposition to the NHS and social care bill
Margaret Pelling
Oxford

The Department for Education’s announcement that computer science could be included within the science options for the English Baccalaureate, to not be confused with last week’s announcement to maintain the GCSE qualification, was welcome news for individuals who want the nation’s school children to go from being digital consumers to digital creators. It was a vital milestone in a two year campaign that began with Nesta’s Next Gen report and was passionately led by Ian Livingstone and Alex Hope with a variety of industry partners.

As I’ve discussed here before, it is extremely important that creative computing becomes as essential component to the varsity curriculum and last week’s announcement was an incredible leap forward. Further still, there’s the hope that it not just inspires those considering the EBacc, but that it improves the general quality of computer science teaching and student involvement.

We now ought to take a look at how computing may be taught in a sense that inspires teens to benefit through making. There are lessons we will learn from the success of initiatives outside of college that support students to be informed or improve programming skills. Organisations like Young Rewired State, Apps for Good, Code Club and Mozilla WebMaker show how solving real problems and harnessing creativity can inspire kids to need to grasp computational thinking and programming.

We may also draw inspiration from our heritage as a superb computing nation. We’ve a history on the forefront of computing, from Ada Lovelace’s work at the analytical engine to Tim Berners-Lee’s creation of the sector wide web – which celebrates twenty years within the public domain on 30th April this year. Yet people which include Lovelace or Berners-Lee aren’t a part of the national consciousness within the same way as Shakespeare, Brunel or Lennon.

Even contemporary role models are ignored. The subsequent Gen report showed just a tiny proportion of schoolchildren knew that the likes of Grand Theft Auto, Lego Star Wars and Singstar were created within the UK, with the bulk believing that they were produced in either the united states or Japan. It’s time we celebrated our success in engineering, digital media and games as loudly as we celebrate our success in other creative industries. If we’re to inspire a generation to be the creators of a better multi-billion pound computer game, ARM microprocessor or Hollywood visual effects artist, we have to give them heroes they will aspire to emulate.

Last week’s second big announcement regarding computing in schools came from another British success story, the Raspberry Pi. Google and Raspberry Pi have committed to provide 15,000 Raspberry Pis to varsity children around the UK. Nesta’s recent report Decoding Learning showed that no technology has an impact on learning in its own right and the report cautioned against seeing any single technology as an answer to education. Nevertheless, i locate this an exhilarating development since the Raspberry Pi is a makers’ tool. You are able to discover ways to code on any PC with a browser, however the Raspberry Pi has a low enough price point that it may be used to create programmable gadgets from motion-detecting cameras to internet connected weather sensors and more. The potential of making something physical using computing immediately opens your mind to the creative opportunities that somewhat code may give you. Creativity is prime.

I’m delighted that computer science goes to learn in classrooms, and that its rigour as a discipline have been recognised. But beyond rigour I’m all for the facility of computing to link science and art; creativity and engineering. The announcement from the dept for Education generally is a watershed moment when the 1st generation of schoolchildren moves from being digital consumers to digital creators. But we have to excite children in regards to the art in addition to the science of computing. How one can try this is to benefit from Britain’s digital heroes and to make fun, exciting and useful things.

Nesta shall be continuing to search in-depth at these areas as we aim to collect great partnerships and concepts so they can give everyone the chance to be a digital maker. As Tim Berners-Lee famously said “this is often for everybody”. It’s now time for everybody to get entangled.

Tom Kenyon, programme director of the education in a digital environment programme at Nesta.

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After Michael Gove’s speech at BETT last year I wrote my first ever Guardian Teacher Network article, entitled Is Gove washing his hands of ICT. Just over a year later, it’s clear that Gove has indeed washed his hands of the topic that myself and my students love. ICT was rebranded as computing. Back in May, I asked the question ‘Is it time to rebrand ICT’, changing it to computing was not what I had in mind. i used to be hoping for something more progressive. The change came as a surprise to me and lots of other ICT teachers. Especially, in view that the draft programme of research (POS) back in November was still called ICT.

So, why am I so upset concerning the announcement

Firstly, i want to claim that i’m completely in favour of educating computing. i’ve been actively adding increasingly computing into my curriculum for several years. In my current curriculum I teach programming, internal computer components in addition to computing history. This can be further developed next year. As is the case with all good teachers, my curriculum is evolving forever. However, what you will see is that it runs alongside ICT.

The current draft POS, is an actual let all the way down to ICT teachers and their students around the country. There must be room for both computing and ICT. In truth I firmly believe that we’re robbing our students, if the present draft stays the way it is. Obviously, computer scientists will almost certainly disagree with me. But isn’t it our job as educators to organize all students for the digital world they’re living in I actually have taught students of all abilities in both comprehensive and independent schools. It can be safe to claim that i believe it can help ‘some’ who eventually enter a career in computer science, but will hinder many more after they realise they may be being taught things which are of little relevance to them. It is very important get the balance right. It is necessary to not restrict our student’s digital education. Let’s improve the ICT curriculum, but let’s imagine the scholars and never pander to lobbying from outside interests.

There can also be a worry that there’ll not be enough curriculum time to deliver the recent KS3 POS. Will schools start taking time from maths, English and science Obviously not, how can they Did those fighting for this variation reflect on this Did they even care about it People who find themselves not teachers or don’t work in education rarely think of this stuff. Not once they have their very own agenda to consider.

Perhaps the foremost potent and universally recognised issue with the change to computing is training. There are literally thousands of ICT teachers who would require CPD in the event that they are to deliver the brand new programme of analysis. The govt. goes to supply free training to current teachers and schools might want to unencumber time to permit this to happen. Then there are our future ‘computing’ teachers. Will the govt manage to recruit enough teachers in order to actually teach this new curriculum Because the UK is currently facing a shortfall in computer science teachers, where will this leave the topic over the following few years i believe, in limbo. Maybe all those non-teachers, pushing for the change, should quit their jobs to become computing teachers.

I suspect, if the draft stays because it is, we can see a fallout in numerous years time. My prediction will be that almost all of scholars leaving schools usually are not equipped for many workplaces. What number employers will care if their employees can:

“…explain how data of varied types could be represented and manipulated within the type of binary digits including numbers, text, sounds and photographs, and have the ability to perform such manipulation by hand.” – Extract from the hot KS3 POS.

So what would i am keen on to see

I want to see a brand new POS that offers students a rounded digital education. In the present day there’s just a tip of the hat to ICT. This isn’t right. It’s going to include equal parts of digital literacy, digital citizenship, digital creativity and computing. Lets not forget who’re crucial people on this educational conundrum. A curriculum at KS3 this is too heavily weighted to computing is doing our kids a disservice and maybe may also put them off pursuing it at KS4 and 5.

There are plenty of ICT teachers doing exciting and innovative things. I attended the RethinkingICT conference last year and it was inspiring for all who attended. Such a lot of ideas, a lot to go looking forward to.

What has transpired recently is that scholars and teachers had been overlooked, in favour of what i think, to be private interest. i think personally betrayed by this transformation, remember this comes from someone who sees the worth of computing and believes it’s a significant section of ICT. For my part the changes are myopic and done for the incorrect reasons.

i’m hoping that Mr Gove thinks again. I hope that the ultimate version of the POS takes my article and the swathe of dissenting voices under consideration. i’m hoping it does the proper thing for the children of this country.

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