Computers in the Curriculum, King’s College London
This was originally a Schools Council project at Chelsea College (which merged with KCL) and was also funded by a series of acronym-ed QUANGOs such as MEP and MESU. The project was led by Deryn Watson (now retired professor at KCL) and also involved David Riley and Richard Millwood (later at Ultralab, see his amazing PhD site). The group of Kent geography teachers was led and inspired by Ian Killbery, then director of Kent Education Television Centre. I also joined a team producing three items for British Gas which involved David Butler, British Gas, and Brian Nichol and Jenny Selfe of NS Partnership.
I was in the working groups that produced:
The South Eastern Railway Game (Longman, 1986)
Landscapes (Longman, 1987)
Choosing Sites (Longman, 1987)
Working Under Pressure (British Gas, 1988)
Delivering a Service (British Gas, 1992)
Consulting the Community (British Gas, 1992
Learning Geography with Computers
I also wrote:
- a paper in “Exploring Geography with Micro-computers” edited by Deryn Watson (Council for Educational Technology, 1984)
- a case study in “Micros in Action in the Classroom – P542” (Open University, 1984)
- software reviews in “Teaching Geography”, Geographical Association
- a chapter in “Learning Geography with Computers” (MESU, 1989)
Consulting the Community
(British Gas, 1992) from the ‘Network for the Nation’ series for British Gas
From a review of Network for the Nation series – Times Educational Supplement 3 April 1999
“The packages are well presented, with plenty of support materials, and each, especially Consulting the Community, is a major activity demanding serious commitment in time and effort. But if the subject matter appeals to you the investment should prove worthwhile.”
These products were leading edge but, with rapidly-changing technology, short-lived.
I have written about school-based CPD using computers here >
This work provided excellent experience for the next post of
Curriculum Development >
Postscript
I came across this item from a July 1984 archived newsletter from the Computers in the Curriculum Project. [opens in new tab]
“Angus Willson (Deal Secondary School) a leading author in the Kent Geography Group, has also been working on the rewrite of the Phase 1 unit South Eastern Railway Game. Kent Educational Television Centre has produced a short 8 minute video of Angus teaching a 4th year class using the unit HILLS, together with another video of Richard Ashlin (Maplesden Noakes School) teaching with the Population Pyramids unit, DEMOG4. Copies of these videos are available on VHS or U-Matic on application to KETV, Tel. Dover xxxxxx.
They aim to raise issues concerning the practical use of CAL in the classroom.
Angus Willson has also devised a Landscape Evaluation unit which provides a focus for an interesting experiment in micro-controlled video (grant aided by Southern Region MEP). The project aims to produce a simple and cheap link together with software to enable teachers to explore some of the potential of interactive video-disc using the existing technology already in schools. A pilot verion controlling a Ferguson Videostar VHS recorder through its remote control socket by a BBC micro is already in operation and Jim Wynn hopes that the whole unit, with Angus’ trial software, will be ready for demonstrations in a few weeks.
Ian Killbery”
