Podcast


Season 4

Episode 4.06 - Tara Durham - Everything works somewhere, nothing works everywhere

Hall of Fame: LinkedIn

Cupboard of Shame: HTC Shift

As we draw to the end of another series of LearningDust and another school year, we are joined by Tara Durham, Learning Resource Manager (EdTech) at Shipley College, the smallest college in the UK. Tara shares her, and the college's, edtech journey, talks about the rate of change in that journey and underlines the importance of the partnership between leaders and technologists.


Episode 4.05 - Aaron Saxton - Directing Digital Disruption

Hall of Fame: (Sir) Gary Neville

Cupboard of Shame: Crypto Currencies

In our first ever LearningDust road trip we visit UA92, via the Death Star, to speak to Aaron Saxton, Director of Disruptive Learning. Sax tells us about the opportunities they provide for the region's young people to gain experience working with multinational tech companies; and how he is much faster than Andy at running!


Episode 4.04 - Phil Bagge - PRIMM and Proper

Hall of Fame: The PRIMM model

Cupboard of Shame: School Leaders who don't attend INSET sessions

Phil Bagge, Computing Inspector / Advisor stars in the latest episode of LearningDust. He talks with Dave and Andy about how PRIMM works really well in KS2/3 in different programming languages whilst completely forgetting to promote Phil's new set of KS2 curricula books, details of which can be found at https://code-it.co.uk/ 


Episode 4.03 - James Griffiths - Paying Somali Pirates with iPads

James Griffiths, ex-military and GCHQ IT and  information security expert joins us to discuss what schools can do to keep their systems, staff and data safe. We also ask James what teachers need to be aware of to support themselves and their students and what to do if your school is hacked. 

Hall of Fame: Sir Richard Branson

Cupboard of Shame: Lying Politicians

Episode 4.02 - Dan Fitzpatrick- Talkin' Bout A.I. Revolution

Hall of Fame: Generative AI (or Chromebooks)

Cupboard of Shame: Educational Separatists (or iPads)

We are delighted to be joined by Dan Fitzpatrick, educator, Edufuturist, expert in the use of AI in education, and soon to be best selling author. Dan tells us about the power of ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies and their potential to give us back the most precious resource - time.


Episode 4.01 - DavE & Andy- Back once again like a radical pasty

Hall of Fame: The podcast effect

After a not so brief hiatus, LearningDust is back for season four. Join Dave and Andy to hear about what has been going on at LD Towers, and to learn more about what you can expect for the new season.


Season 3

Episode 3.17 - David Morgan- Replit’s a wonderful world 

Hall of Fame: Silicon Valley Startup Culture

Cupboard of Shame: GreenFoot (old 90’s Java)

Fantasy EdTech Product: AR Data glasses for schools (we really must get these made)!

David is a passionate and talented educator and self confessed pedagogy nerd. He joins us to take us through his progression in education and speaks with relish about his new role with Replit who aim to bring the next billion software developers online.

Replit's EdFest is over for 2022, but the recordings of keynotes and amazing sessions (including one by our very own Andy Colley) are available on their YouTube playlist.

Episode 3.16 - Louise Campton - Achieving Your (Primary) Goals

Hall of Fame: The Digital Ecosystem by Philippa Wraithmell

Cupboard of Shame: LEA’s who restrict schools from choosing their own apprenticeship providers

Louise Campton is a careers adviser and entrepreneur, an unusual mix to say the least, but she has taken the lemons that life threw at her and made lemonade in the form of Primary Goals, a company providing digital apprentices with opportunities to develop their schools’ use of edtech in the classroom.

Episode 3.15 - Anna & Harry Wake - Mission Encodeable

Hall of Fame: Harry -  well thought out brand guideline documents; Anna - the Information is beautiful website 

Cupboard of Shame: Harry - pulling & pushing directly to the master branch on GitHub; Anna - badly designed PowerPoints

Fantasy EdTech Product: Harry - More Mission Encodeable; Anna - AI Teachers

Harry & Anna Wake share their remarkable tale of how at 15 years old they created Mission Encodeable, a website designed to teach people to code. They discuss the benefits of brand guidelines and even manage to dissuade Andy from joining TikTok! 

Episode 3.14 - David Morris - Trust in me

Hall of Fame: CPOMS

Cupboard of Shame: The National Tutoring System

Fantasy EdTech Product: Acronym Translator / Revision Support App

CEO of Heart Academies Trust David Morris shares his experience of joining a Trust lacking in trust and how his military background helped him to break down barriers and develop the culture of his schools.

Episode 3.13 - Ian Stockbridge - Average Familiarity

Hall of Fame: Phil “Wizzy” Wisdom

Cupboard of Shame: Keyboard Error, Press F1 to Resume

Fantasy EdTech Product: Mind Meld Communication

Concord College IT Manager Ian Stockbridge shares the benefit of his expertise and experience in cyber-security, bemoans the lack of SLA’s in education and champions the importance of making connections with human beings. 

Episode 3.12 - Michael Bodekaer - Rock LAbster

Hall of Fame: Canvas 

Cupboard of Shame: The LTI 1.1 Protocol

Fantasy EdTech Product: 3D Mind Domes

We are delighted to be joined by Michael Bodekaer, CEO of $100 million edtech company Labster. Michael discusses how his product can benefit teachers and students, the implications of the Metaverse on education and how failure can be productive.

Episode 3.11 - Ryan Evans - Aspiring 2 Be Inclusive

Hall of Fame: IncludEdu Ambassadors 

Cupboard of Shame: Lack of fonts in Google Forms 

Fantasy EdTech Product: Edit button on Twitter (this episode was recorded BEFORE Elon Musk stole Ryan's idea)!

Ryan shares his experiences of moving from the classroom to learning tech company Aspire2Be. He also shares details of his Google Innovator project, IncludEdu which provides a framework of tools for supporting learners' needs when using technology.

Episode 3.10 - Simon Antwis - Keeping people out of the river

Hall of Fame: All the hard working, sometimes unrecognised pastoral leaders making a difference to young people's lives

Cupboard of Shame: Student surveys - in particular the question "Do you feel safe?"

Fantasy EdTech Product: Student state of mind emoji cloud

Simon Antwis, a consultant for STEER education explains how a student voice tool has transformed his schools’ approach to student wellbeing. He also discusses the results of a recent survey focusing on the mental health of young people.

Episode 3.09 - CLAY SMITH - Fall in love with the problem

Hall of Fame: Screen casting 

Cupboard of Shame: Teaching from the front of the room 

Fantasy EdTech Product: E-wallpaper with AR (in conjunction with Andy)

We are thrilled to be joined by Google’s Clay Smith, who talks with us about his journey from talent agent through computing teacher, coding superstar and breaker of things, to Solutions Engineer for Google. He also exclusively reveals the game that is taking the corridors of Google by storm...

Episode 3.08 - Andy Murden - Coaching the holy trinity

Hall of Fame: South West Grid for Learning

Cupboard of Shame: Fujitsu EDAs

Fantasy EdTech Product: True SSO Logins

Andy Murden, Head of Learning and Development at Go Live Services joins us in this episode to discuss his career progression through teaching and school leadership to his current role delivering a course for EdTech Leaders. He also discusses the importance of coaching in schools and how the coaching model is used in his course.

Episode 3.07 - Sky Caves - Engage Learning Mode

Hall of Fame: Twitter

Cupboard of Shame: Visualisers (or bad visualiser software, at least)

Fantasy EdTech Product: The Edu-Wellbeing Fitbit

LearningDust kicks off the new year with a look at how we can support learners from both a curriculum and digital wellbeing perspective using edtech. The expertise is provided by Sky Caves, Senior Learning Technologist at BCOT.

Episode 3.06 - Simon Howe - Spinning Plates

Hall of Fame: Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth 

Cupboard of Shame: GameMaker Studio

Fantasy EdTech Product: Automatic Marking

LearningDust draws 2021 to a close with a guest who was so good that we recorded him twice. Simon joins us to talk about innovation, how to visit BETT effectively, and the benefits of public speaking for both the individual and the school.

Episode 3.05 - Ed Fairfield - Do you Want A Flake With That?

Hall of Fame: The visualiser (again)

Cupboard of Shame: Paper based homework

Fantasy EdTech Product: Power user implants

In this episode we hear from marketing guru, parent governor, vice-chair of NAACE and erstwhile ice-cream salesman Ed about the importance of relationships, digital strategies and how to be a better buyer.

Episode 3.04 - Alan Harrison - Find your Alan

Hall of Fame: Quizlet

Cupboard of Shame: Teachers who proclaim to be technophobes 

Fantasy EdTech Product: Brainwave Scanner 

Alan fulfils his lifelong ambition in appearing on a podcast that he describes as “not terrible”. In the episode we discuss the usual wide range of topics, introduce our first listener giveaway and exclusively reveal the winners of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Episode 3.03 - Jonathan Coy - The Power of the Chocolate Biscuit 

Hall of Fame: The HeadteacherChat planner

Cupboard of Shame: The Banda Machine

Fantasy EdTech Product: Teacher Rewind Button

Jonathan’s company HeadteacherChat provides information and support for school leaders across the UK and now he is sharing his experience and insight with LearningDust listeners. Join us to learn about support models, using tech to improve staff wellbeing and whether there is a place for technical staff on a school’s leadership team.

Episode 3.02 - Adam Robbins - You've only got so much RAM

Hall of Fame: The visualiser

Cupboard of Shame: The false promises of IT consultants

Managing editor of CogSciSci and author of Middle Leadership Mastery, Adam Robbins joins us to talk about how we can use cognitive science to empathise with our colleagues, the curse of knowledge, and much more that your brain probably doesn't have room for after reading this far! 

Episode 3.01 - James Garnett - Talk to the Duck

Hall of Fame: Professor Sonia Livingstone

Cupboard of Shame: Erm... the Cupboard of Shame!

LearningDust is back for season three and for our first episode we are joined by James Garnett of United Learning. James talks about the importance of strategic thinking, how to translate between network managers and senior leaders and much more.

Season 2

EPISODE 2.22

Oiling the points of friction

Lauren Thorpe

Headlining LearningDust Series 2 is Ark’s director of Strategy, Lauren Thorpe. Lauren talks about her delight in solving problems, how MAT’s determine whether centralisation or personalisation is best for their schools, and how to oil the wheels of a large organisation.

Release date: 23rd August 2021

EPISODE 2.21

We all have a voice, we all have value

Tom Sherrington

Tom shares his experience as a teacher, school leader and erstwhile network manager and reflects upon the challenges of maintaining a modern school IT infrastructure, the benefits of AI and automated feedback tools, and the importance of a real world audience for student work.

Release date: 16th July 2021

EPISODE 2.20

Engagement Without Technology

Tristan Kirkpatrick

We are thrilled to be joined by Tristan Kirkpatrick who digs deep into forming relationships, the power (or otherwise) of edtech tools and the joy to be had with oversized mini-whiteboards.

Release date: 4th July 2021

EPISODE 2.19

Be More Dave

Gemma Gwilliam

Gemma demonstrates the importance of being part of a team who can call upon each other for support; communicating in ways that we can all understand, and team building on buses with no sides.

Release date: 23rd June 2021

EPISODE 2.18

Educational Feng Shui

Dr. Neelam Parmar

Neelam joins us to talk about the importance of digital strategy, ensuring that technology supports the needs of teachers, and the lessons that UK schools can learn from international schools, and vice versa. She also reflects on the benefit of introducing digital KPI’s to schools.

Release date: 14th June 2021

EPISODE 2.17

Who are your Captains?

Phil Denton

We are delighted to be joined by headteacher, author and football scout Phil Denton. We discuss the similarities and differences of the cultures in his spheres of operation and look at the lessons that can be learned from them.

Release date: 17th May 2021

EPISODE 2.16

Believable Peers

Dom Norrish

Dom has worked in a number of roles in his time in education and he shares with us his insights into what makes a successful team. He also suggests a new potential official beer sponsor for the show, although we haven’t given up on the other two yet!

Release date: 3rd May 2021

EPISODE 2.15

All That Twitters Is Not Gold

Joe Dale

MFL EdTech legend and curator of the #MFLtwitterati Joe Dale joins us to share his extensive experience in sharing the best voices, practices and technologies in language teaching.

Release date: 20th April 2021

EPISODE 2.14

Outward Mindset

Seth Wilkins with Alec Grimsley

Seth shares his experience of launching the Outward Mindset programme at Witton Park Academy and brings along the MD of Arbinger Institute UK, Alec Grimsley to help explain the benefits of the scheme and the ways that it can help staff build better working relationships. 

Release date: 12th April 2021

EPISODE 2.13

Apologies, Appreciations & Stands

Jamie Portman

In this episode we are joined by Jamie Portman, Executive Head at XP East in Doncaster. Jamie shares with us his experiences in setting up a new school and the unique way in which staff and students at XP forge relationships. 

Release date: 26th March 2021

EPISODE 2.12

It SHOULD work...

José Picardo

José brings a touch of class to LearningDust, sharing his experience as a user of tech, a school leader and a linguist. The discussion covers topics as diverse as one to one device schemes, etymology and pancakes. His calm, considered conversation was a joy to experience; we hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.

Release date: 26th February 2021

EPISODE 2.11

Small is the New Big

Paddy McGrath

We are delighted to be joined on this episode of LearningDust by EdTech stalwart and thoroughly nice guy, Paddy McGrath. Paddy discusses the important role that technology plays in improving accessibility to learning for all students and shares stories and experiences from his distinguished career at TextHelp.

Release date: 10th February 2021

EPISODE 2.10

Sell The Sizzle, Not The Steak

Andrew Walls

Andrew sits astride all three of the LearningDust core groups. He talks with ease about teaching, supporting and leading IT in schools and academies and shares some of the secrets of his success.

Release date: 20th January 2021

EPISODE 2.09

Chimpan-A to Chimpanzee

Adam Wright & Tim Buckle

Professor Steve Peters’ book The Chimp Paradox offers a model of understanding our psychological make up. Tim and Adam join us to share their work with Steve’s company, Chimp Management and help us to understand how to tame our inner chimp. Featuring a guest appearance from King Terence III.

Release date: 4th January 2021

EPISODE 2.08

A (Laura) White Christmas

Laura White

Laura joins us to talk about thinking skills, PHSE, digital wisdom and empowering young people to understand how to use digital media safely and effectively. She is pursuing a PhD investigating how combining tech and reflection can inform teachers.

Release date: 21st December 2020

EPISODE 2.07

A Man of Many Hats

Al Kingsley

We are thrilled to be joined by the wearer of many hats and voice of reason, Al Kingsley. Al shares his considerable experience in many areas of education and discusses the importance of digital strategies, apprenticeships and his “zen approach to life”.

Release date: 9th December 2020

EPISODE 2.06

Interviewing the Interviewer

Olly Lewis

LearningDust heads East to the UAE for this episode where we are joined by @OLewis_coaching. Olly shares his thoughts and experiences on education in the UK and abroad and flips the tables on the LearningDust team by firing questions back at Dave!

Release date: 25th November 2020

EPISODE 2.05

The Fifth 'C'-eatle

SJ White

We are thrilled to be joined by stalwart of the C-Learning Virtual Staffroom, champion of tech in the maths classroom and recent #VIA20 graduate SJ White. In this episode we discuss maths, engagement with adult learners and how to integrate tech into lessons. There's even a rare performance of Andy's charts and graphs song!

Release date: 9th November 2020

EPISODE 2.04

Liquid Learning

Prof. Damian Hughes

Damian shares his vast experience of working with leaders in the arenas of sport, business and education. He discusses how the culture of an organisation is intrinsically linked to outcomes, and provides anecdotes from sporting greats to illustrate his points. Don't miss this one if you are a sports fan, but don't be put off if you aren't; Damian's experiences are fascinating for all.

Release date: 26th October 2020

EPISODE 2.03

The Mental Health Episode

Cat Lamin

Cat  Lamin joins us to talk about the importance of looking after our mental health and that of our colleagues and loved ones. She shares valuable strategies including yoga, meditation and running away from zombies!

Release date: 12th October 2020

EPISODE 2.02

Every Day is a School Day

Mark Anderson

We are joined by the ICT Evangelist himself - Mark Anderson to discuss the tyranny of shiny things, how to get the most out of staff working at all levels of an organisation and one or two shouts out to colleagues who have helped Mark on his journey to EdTech stardom.

Release date: 28th September 2020

EPISODE 2.01

E+R = O

Jake Miller

Season Two of LearningDust kicks off with a bang as we are joined by teacher, tech coach, host of the Educational Duct Tape podcast and all round legend of EdTech - Jake Miller.

Release date: 14th September 2020

SEason 1

EPISODE Nine

Upconfidencing

Miles Berry

Miles brings a unique perspective to this episode as he has worked as teacher, techie and school leader. His current role at Roehampton University allows him to impart his considerable knowledge to his students, some of whom just happen to be the next generation of Computer Science teachers. When you couple this with Miles’ well respected work for a plethora of computing organisations, you can see why we were so pleased that he agreed to speak with us.

Release date: 30th June 2020

EPISODE Eight

You Can Shut Up More!

Zaitoon Bukhari & Dan Manley

For the first time LearningDust features a double bill of top educators. Zaitoon Bukhari and Dan Manley work together at Witton Park Academy in Blackburn. Zaitoon teaches science and is the whole school EdTech teaching and learning lead, while Dan is the Network Manager and heads up the Inclusive Digital Services team. Together they have created a culture of growth at Witton Park which has benefitted staff and students. We talk to them about their career paths, hopes for the future and how they work together.

Release date: 15th June 2020

EPISODE SEVEN

What is Truth?

Mariana Martins

In this episode we investigate some of the challenges that support staff encounter in schools, discuss the merits of mobile phones in the classroom and get into deep philosophical debates with Mariana Martins.
Mariana is a former teacher and deputy headteacher who now works as a librarian at a school in South London.

Release date: 1st June 2020

EPISODE SIX

A Blueprint For Success

Jamie Smith

We are thrilled to be joined on this episode by the co-owner and Executive Chairman of C-Learning, Jamie Smith. Jamie joins us to share his thoughts on the skills required by school leavers to succeed in employment. 
His calm, thoughtful and insightful comments are a must listen for anyone involved in shaping the lives of young people, or anyone who wants to build harmonious relationships with other human beings.

Release date: 20th May 2020

EPISODE FIVE

Blend Me, Shake Me, Anyway You Want Me

Emma Pass

Emma's experience of teaching in a hybrid school has given her a great insight of how to engage with students working remotely. She has been in great demand recently as teachers around the world try to get to grips with having to work in this way. 
Emma shares her views on what makes a great remote lesson and explains how teachers, techies and school leaders work together to deliver high quality education from afar.

Release date: 10th May 2020

EPISODE FOUR

Openly Figuring It Out

David Price OBE

David is one of the great thinkers in our education community. He has travelled the world advising schools and organisations about some of the biggest challenges that we face as a society. His first book, the Amazon best seller OPEN: How We'll Work, Live and Learn In The Future  is regularly cited as one of the must read educational texts. 
In this episode David joins us to talk about his follow up to Open, We’ll Figure It Out: Mass Ingenuity & The Power Of Us which is due to be published in Autumn 2020. He shares with us some of the stories and characters that feature in the new book, and we chat about how education has been forever changed by the outbreak of COVID-19.

Release date: 29th April 2020

EPISODE THREE

The Babel Fish

Scott Hayden

Scott is a Lecturer/ Manager of a team that supports and trains students and staff in using digital, creative, and innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
Scott joins us to talk about how he manages to speak the language of teacher, techie, SLT and apprentice as effortlessly as if he had one of Douglas Adam's tiny fish implanted in his ear. His empathy and self-awareness make for fascinating listening.

Release date: 19th April 2020

EPISODE Two

It's the Same the Whole World Over

Georgina Dean

We've gone global for episode two of LearningDust! Georgina Dean has worked in schools in five countries and is currently working as an Education Technology Consultant in Amman, Jordan. In this episode Georgina shares her perspective on how teachers, techies and school leaders work together around the world and offers us hope with her suggestions for the Hall of Fame and Cupboard of Shame.

Release date: 9th April 2020

Episode 1.5

Be Excellent to Each Other

Dave & Andy

Join Dave & Andy for a special bonus episode as they discuss how working from home as a result of a global pandemic is affecting them as teachers, techies and parents. There's also a special guest appearance from Andy's ONLY son...

Release date: 31st March 2020

EPISODE ONE

Everybody needs good neighbours

Ben Whitaker

Ben joins us to talk about his experiences working in education and we discuss what it means to be a part of the Edufuturist movement; the barriers that we face when attempting to implement technology in schools and colleges; and how teachers and techies can support each other in their attempts to be innovative. We also find out what Ben has added to the LearningDust Hall of Fame and which products he consigns to the Cupboard of Shame.

Release date: 15th March 2020

Episode Zero

Welcome to LearningDust

Dave & Andy

LearningDust aims to promote harmonious relationships between teachers, technicians and leadership teams. In this special preview episode Dave & Andy introduce what to expect from future episodes and place the first products into the Hall of Fame and the Cupboard of Shame.

Release date: 2nd March 2020