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Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink ; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Derek Wenmoth points out an Albatross, the bird of good omen, and I share his frustration at being becalmed.

He says, “But consider the following…

• a global shortage of skilled science and maths teachers means that we’ll never be able to staff all of our schools with specialists in these areas (and other areas besides!)”

We are on a planet which is mostly covered in water but still we cry drought when we are in the wrong place.

Derek raises the opportunity that technology provides to alleviate the drought.  I just wanted to expand on the HOW.

In the ‘Connate Model’ (combined in one) outlined in my blog post here I describe how the model is centred on the examination system. That is for two key reasons. Most teachers are involved in some external assessment process with their students. Insisting that communication, including some assessments,  happens in one place ensures that teachers have a purpose and are regularly engaged in the online community. It also serves another purpose it allows teachers to identify and communicate with others who can support students in specific ways. That same platform could be used by teachers and students for sharing expertise.

Computer education, for example, in the UK is in a dire state. In 2005 there were 7242 students sitting (815 were female) A Level computing exams. By 2014 that is predicted to drop to around 1500 and all of them will be male, based on figures released by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).

It ‘s wasteful to have one teacher to one school with the skills necessary to alleviate the drought when the thirsty are scattered around them. Even more unforgivable is the fact that other experts working day to day in that area of knowledge are only a mouse click away.

All this is obvious when pointed out but that still needs a mechanism for it to happen. It needs that utility, a common national or international grid which all can self manage and exploit.  If the grid is to endure it must be like the internet and have many interconnected nodes ensuring that the network remains robust even when one node fails. Many government initiatives along these lines are innately fragile because they are short term and localised. We need boldness and soon.

One final point, Derek raises the topic of Higher Education. The ‘Connate Model’ suggests participants could be rewarded with qualifications which recognise their expertise and the extent to which they share it. HE has to change too. Most degrees are instruments of selfish endeavour they reward students for what only they know not for how well they share and exploit that understanding. Radical change in H.E. regulations, systems, assessment and attitudes is needed.

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