About Us
Education and technology go hand in hand these days, but all too often teachers, school leaders and technicians don't. Here at Learning Dust we believe that wonderful learning and teaching can be achieved by encouraging SLT, techies and teachers to work together. Our motto is 'Pedagogy and Technology in Harmony', for that is how we can achieve the best results for students and staff working in education.
Our podcast aims to bring people from all camps together to discuss pertinent issues and the latest ed-tech products and services. Co-hosted by Dave, an IT Director, and Andy, a Director of Computing, we aim to make each episode entertaining, informative and thought-provoking. We focus on the common themes of communication, relationships and empathy and have welcomed guests from around the world to share their valuable insights and experiences.
Our name was inspired by a quote from Professor Tom Crick who said that "no-one ever picked up an iPad and magic learning dust fell out of it". Our hope is that listening to the podcast could provide the learning dust that your school needs.
Dave Leonard
Andy Colley
Dave and Andy first worked together in 2003 and have been bumping into each other on a regular basis ever since, often whilst shaking their fists at inanimate objects such as computers, golf balls and Australian cricketers...
Dave makes the outlandish claim to have once had a proper job before working in education. He has been an ICT Technician, Network Manager, ICT Manager and Strategic IT Director in Rochdale since 2003. After brief but meaningful dalliances with Microsoft and Apple certifications he now collects Google badges and is holder of Google Certified Educator, Trainer, Administrator and Innovator awards. He has been promoting the use of educational technology in schools around the UK for a number of years and supports other IT professionals through mentoring schemes as well as through his role as an ANME Ambassador.
Dave believes strongly in making limited budgets stretch to their full potential by deploying free or low cost solutions. He is always mindful of ensuring that any technology deployed is purposeful and has real impact in the classroom. He has spoken on this and other topics at BETT and the Schools and Academies Show and published work for Education Executive.
Dave is a CEOP Ambassador, a Duke of Edinburgh Assessor and was honoured to be named the EduFuturists Network Manager of the Year in 2019. Outside of work he can be found watching Accrington Stanley, enjoying the occasional tipple and travelling the world with his wife and kids.
You can follow him on Twitter as @ITBadger, just don't ask him to tell you the story behind the badger thing without buying him a drink first...
Andy has been teaching ICT and then Computing since 2004 following a brief and terrifying stint as a technician & interim network manager until Dave turned up to rescue him. He gained Advanced Skills Teacher status in 2009 and has been steadily accumulating acronyms ever since. Currently he is a Director of Computing (posh head of department) at a multi-academy trust in the North West of England. Andy spends most of his time in the classroom and the rest of it mentoring trainee teachers, marking books, planning lessons, writing reports, doing break duty……..
Andy’s specialities are curriculum design and delivering CPD. He is a trained facilitator and has run sessions for over 1500 educators from a wide variety of primary, secondary and specialist settings. These sessions have included presenting at the National SSAT Computing conference, the CAS national conference and numerous TeachMeets. He has had articles published in ‘Switched On’ - the CAS magazine & on innovatemyschool.com as well as working with the National Centre for Computing Education to design CPD sessions for non-specialist Computing teachers.
When he’s not at work, he’s usually with his kids, running/cycling/swimming or playing bass guitar.
Andy can be found on Twitter as @MrAColley and shares his lesson plans and resources at mrcolley.wordpress.com.
We’re delighted to announce that Learning Dust has made the shortlist of Learning Ladders’ ‘Best Educational Podcast 2021’ awards.
We were shortlisted alongside 46 other podcasts from a longlist of over 100 entries, for our dedication to providing useful, actionable and credible advice to educators.
The awards panel featured teachers, school leaders, and EdTech entrepreneurs including Learning Ladders’ founder, Matt Koster-Marcon, who is also Chair of the EdTech Special Interest Group at BESA.
For busy teachers, podcasts are increasingly a great CPD resource, providing inspiration, entertainment, and new ways of thinking about education.
We’re proud to be included in the list, and would also like to congratulate the other shortlisted podcasts for their incredible work.
Visit the full list of recommended podcasts, which cover topics such as EdTech, EYFS, and SEND, to read our full entry.