I borrowed the words of Paul Simon for the title of this post because, in the circumstances, they felt apt. Bett 26 felt familiar. The usual venue, the same jaw‑dropping scale, and the same background noise around AI. For anyone who has attended in recent years, there were no big surprises. Instead, what stood out […]
Nothing Is Different, But Everything’s Changed – Bett 26 Musings Read More »
I am leaving X. Over the past few months, I’ve been backing up, deleting, or saving bookmarks, and clearing out DMs from my Twitter (X) account, @johnmayo. There were some lovely memories in there—long‑forgotten conversations and, amusingly, the discovery that I won tickets to a Ray LaMontagne concert… 15 years ago. Over the past year,
Traditionally, the New Year is a time to reset, refresh, and try something new in your classroom, and top of your to-do list should be to block off 60 minutes for the Hour of AI. I’ve written before about its previous iteration, the Hour of Code, and the excellent code.org site, which for over a
From Code to AI – Try the new Hour of AI in 2026 Read More »
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept, but a present-day reality offering incredible potential to streamline tasks, personalize learning, and free up valuable time for teachers. For me, one platform that stands out in this evolving landscape is Magic School AI. Magic School AI is an AI-powered assistant specifically designed for teachers. It’s
Unlocking Potential: Magic School AI Read More »
Amplify Polypad is an online maths tool which can prove extremely useful for pupils of all ages n our schools. The interactive nature of the interface ensures pupils can engage with maths concepts and virtual manipulatives across a plethora of curriculum areas. Furthermore, it is possible as a class teacher to set up your class
‘Amplify’-ing Maths with Polypad Read More »
With so many AI tools for educators appearing on an almost daily basis, it is easy to miss out on some of the heavy hitters. Google NotebookLM has added new features to its free option. This blogpost will serve as a quick intro to this tool based on my own experience. The basic functionality of
Me… the Google NotebookLM newbie Read More »
As a Digital Learning Coordinator, one of my ongoing challenges has been managing iPads effectively — especially when it comes to storage and system updates. Over time, devices fill up with photos, apps and student files, and before long, updates fail to install automatically through the MDM. That usually means manual resets, wasted time and
Shared iPad Mode: Early Impressions from Our School Read More »
The new Teach section in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams EDU isn’t just another shiny GenAI tool, it’s a practical, dedicated teacher space packed with powerful features for creating classroom materials like lesson plans, rubrics, and study aids, all in one place. Teach brings a growing toolkit of AI-powered features that let you And the
Copilot’s Teach – Your New Classroom Assistant Read More »
Differentiating effectively has always been one of the greatest challenges I have encountered in my teaching. Every class contains a wide range of abilities, interests, and needs — and meeting each learner where they are can often feel like an unattainable task at times. With limited planning time and resource availability, it’s no surprise that
Differentiating Learning without Burning Out Read More »
I have always been a bit of a hoarder when it comes to links. Thinking back to the early Web 2.0 days, I wondered how many training sessions I delivered on social bookmarking. For younger readers, social bookmarking was the use of online services that allowed users to add, annotate, edit, and share bookmarks. I
Social bookmarking rises again Read More »
