LearningDust

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LearningDust aims to promote harmonious relationships between teachers, technicians and leadership teams in schools. Each episode examines a theme through the eyes of people who perform these roles in schools. Our motto - pedagogy and technology in harmony - refers to the aspiration that teachers and 'techies' can work with, rather than against each other.

Dave Leonard


    • Jun 21, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 59m AVG DURATION
    • 63 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from LearningDust

    LearningDust 5.05 - Jose Florido

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2024 63:03


    @JoseFlorido from @Freepik joins us to discuss his career in UX design and the importance of parental involvement in children's education. He shares the benefit of his experience working for @Facebook, @Google & @Spotify and tells us about his work creating beautiful presentations for educators using @slidesgo

    LearningDust 5.04 - William Lau

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2024 72:06


    William Lau, Assistant Head and Learning Tech Lead at Great Ormond Street Hospital talks about the similarities and differences between mainstream and hospital education, he also extols the virtues of giving admin rights to all staff!

    LearningDust 5.03 - Robert Elworthy

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2023 68:48


    Robert Elworthy, Senior Solutions Engineer at Malwarebytes shares his experience working as a teacher and IT Director as well as for one of the biggest cyber security companies on the planet. The episode is notable for Dave & Andy being nice to each other as well as Robert placing himself in both the Hall of Fame and the Cupboard of Shame.

    LearningDust 5.02 - Gemma Drinkall

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2023 65:28


    Gemma Drinkall, creator of Teachers With Boundaries and HeadSphere joins us to discuss the dangers of being a "yes" person, how being a teacher can become all-encompassing, and how doing your best doesn't have to mean doing it all.

    LearningDust 5.01 - Laura McInerney

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2023 74:00


    The wonderful Laura McInerney, founder of Teacher Tapp joins us to explain how research helps to develop policy, perceptions and products. We discuss the development of the app over time and Andy realises that he is getting old.

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

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2023 55:15


    At the end of the academic year we were 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.

    LearningDust 4.05 - Aaron Saxton

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2023 55:06


    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!

    LearningDust 4.04 - Phil Bagge

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2023 74:29


    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/

    LearningDust 4.03 - James Griffiths

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2023 70:21


    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.

    LearningDust 4.02 - Dan Fitzpatrick

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2023 71:05


    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.

    LearningDust 4.01 - Dave & Andy

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2023 10:12


    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.

    LearningDust 3.17 - David Morgan

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2022 82:13


    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.

    LearningDust 3.16 - Louise Campton

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2022 64:47


    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.

    LearningDust 3.15 - Anna & Harry Wake

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2022 55:44


    Anna & Harry 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!

    LearningDust 3.14 - David Morris

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2022 62:21


    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.

    LearningDust 3.13 - Ian Stockbridge

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2022 71:02


    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.

    LearningDust 3.12 - Michael Bodekaer

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2022 58:59


    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.

    LearningDust Episode 3.11 - Ryan Evans

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2022 59:18


    Ryan shares his experiences of moving from the classroom to learning tech company @aspire2be. He also shares details of his Google Innovator project, @IncludEduOnline which provides a framework of tools for supporting learners' needs when using technology.

    LearningDust Episode 3.10 - Simon Antwis

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2022 54:35


    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.

    LearningDust Episode 3.09 - Clay Smith

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2022 54:53


    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.

    LearningDust Episode 3.08 - Andy Murden

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 54:01


    Andy Murden, Head of Learning and Development at Go Live Services joins us in this episode to discuss his career progression through teaching 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.

    LearningDust Episode 3.07 - Sky Caves

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2022 62:39


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

    LearningDust Episode 3.06 - Simon Howe

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2021 54:39


    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.

    LearningDust 3.05 - Ed Fairfield

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2021 72:17


    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.

    LearningDust Episode 3.04 - Alan Harrison

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2021 74:40


    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.

    LearningDust 3.01 - James Garnett

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2021 67:27


    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.

    LearningDust 3.03 - Jonathan Coy

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2021 50:31


    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.

    LearningDust 3.02 - Adam Robbins

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2021 54:27


    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!

    LearningDust 2.22 - Lauren Thorpe

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2021 66:57


    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.

    LearningDust 2.21 - Tom Sherrington

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2021 78:47


    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.

    LearningDust 2.20 - Tristan Kirkpatrick

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2021 65:05


    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.

    LearningDust 2.19 - Gemma Gwilliam

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2021 62:34


    We are delighted to be joined by the wonderful Gemma Gwilliam; teacher, leader and educational technologist. 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.

    LearningDust 2.18 - Neelam Parmar

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2021 49:59


    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.

    LearningDust 2.17 - Phil Denton

    Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2021 66:03


    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.

    LearningDust 2.16 - Dom Norrish

    Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2021 55:46


    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!

    LearningDust 2.15 - Joe Dale

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2021 77:53


    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.

    LearningDust 2.14 - Seth Wilkins with Alec Grimsley

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2021 70:41


    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.

    LearningDust 2.13 - Jamie Portman

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2021 59:41


    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. 

    LearningDust 2.12 - José Picardo

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2021 73:52


    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.

    LearningDust 2.11 - Paddy McGrath

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2021 69:17


    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.

    LearningDust Episode 2.10 - Andrew Walls

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2021 67:45


    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.

    LearningDust Episode 2.09 - Chimp Management

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2021 73:34


    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.

    LearningDust 2.08 - Laura White

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2020 57:21


    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.

    LearningDust 2.07 - Al Kingsley

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2020 76:47


    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”.

    LearningDust 2.06 - Olly Lewis

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2020 59:16


    LearningDust heads East to the UAE for this episode where we are joined by Olly Lewis. 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!

    LearningDust 2.05 - SJ White

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2020 61:21


    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!

    LearningDust 2.04 - Professor Damian Hughes

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2020 66:30


    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.

    LearningDust 2.03 - Cat Lamin

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2020 67:31


    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!

    LearningDust 2.02 - Mark Anderson

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2020 65:09


    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.

    LearningDust 2.01 - Jake Miller

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2020 52:56


    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.

    LearningDust #10 - Shamefest!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2020 50:24


    As we reach the end of Season 1 of LearningDust, we are joined by Dan and Ben from the Edufuturists to help us decide which of our listeners choices will be granted entry to the Cupboard of Shame. Listen in to hear made up words and dodgy festival references. It's not like you've got anything else to do this summer...

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