Welcome to the Spring 2008 issue of Computer Education. In this issue we bring you a further perspective on the use of data, this time from Mike Bostock, while Helen Boulton and Pete Bradshaw explore the use of weblogs in supporting student teachers' use of reflective journals, a technique that readily transfers to younger learners. Jason Ohler offers further reflections on the philosophy of ICT in the classroom while Alex Savage provides a personal insight into BETT'08 and Jim Merret updates us on funding sources. A report on MOSEP is given by Ray Tolley while a series of articles from Christina Preston explores braided learning and social networking between professionals. Your Editor meanwhile considers 'interesting times' and how we are so close to transformational change but might never get there.

Going to BETT is always an exciting prospect. Will there be new interesting technologies that can enhance the teaching learning process? It is impossible to see everything at BETT, in fact sometimes I think it is impossible to find anything at BETT, it's so huge but I always hope to make new discoveries.

Waiting outside in the weak winter sun I talked to the people around me to understand who was coming to the exhibition. I talked to South Africans, Australians and I could see from the badges that this was a truly international exhibition. We should be proud and realise how lucky we are this event has such a draw.

This article is a personal view of some of the things that caught my eye and it is not meant to be representative of the whole exhibition.

This article will explore the use of blogs and other tools to support student teachers in writing reflective journals. The main context for this is the school (or college) experience of trainee teachers on the one year secondary PGCE. Blogs are also used in the first year professional studies module in the School of Education's BA Joint Honours programme. The approach and lessons learned are equally applicable to students on other programmes, and at other levels.

Students are already coming to school wondering how their cell phones, i-pods, laptops and other PDAs 'dock' with what technology already exists in their classrooms.

In 1988, while teaching a professional development course for teachers concerning the use of telecommunications in education, I had an experience that changed me irrevocably. I had just finished describing the expectations for the final project, when a student raised her hand and asked if she could produce a video instead of writing a paper. The question caught me totally off guard. As I paused, mouth agape, I could feel old thinking and new paradigms chafing against each other like psychic tectonic plates. Watching a video was easy enough - but evaluating it as a school assignment? In the end, I told her that I would be happy to accept a video. In reality I was troubled by the fact that my print-based education had not prepared me for that moment or for the many moments like it that were sure to come.

Although there are risks in using the wonderful resources on the Internet, there is a great deal of advice and support available to parents, teachers and pupils. Here is a selection of some of the best online resources for those who need to update and get to grips with the issue of online safety, reviewed by Jim Merrett.

More self-esteem with my e-portfolio (MOSEP) is an innovative European project that started in August 2006 for a two year period and is being funded under the European Commission's Leonardo da Vinci programme. The latest report can be read on their website but Ray Tolley takes issue with the current thinking on e-portfolios.