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.

Students who perform very well in some subjects can often, inexplicably it seems, do poorly in others. This is a common problem in almost every school in the UK. In fact, when compared to virtually every other developed nation, the UK performs very badly in terms of varying standards within schools. Tackling these differences has become a focus for many schools.

The use of ICT for performance data is fast becoming an issue as important for ICT professionals as its use in the curriculum. There is a wide gap at present between the 'Data-Confident' schools that use performance data systemically and know themselves well, and schools that use data in a more basic, functional way. The changes in the way that 'school standards' are being viewed require schools to demonstrate that 'Every Child Matters' rather than just those who gain five A*-C grades. New data analysis tools are simple enough to support action research by all teachers into their pupils' performance. Schools could demonstrate the consistency of provision by publishing measures of 'Within School Variation'.

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.

Embedding ICT in history teaching: blogs, wiki's and podcasts

In the summer term 2006 I set myself the challenge of mastering blog's, wiki's and podcasting. Why? I was intrigued by these emerging on-line communication tools and wanted to incorporate them into the way I taught Year 6 history.

Is our current education system more a product of the Industrial Age than the Information Age?

A report on a digital video project developing oracy and literacy for
all pupils, including those learning English as an additional language (EAL).

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.