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Category: Education, languages and health

Mobile phone in classroom

5 reasons why mobile phones should not be banned in schools

There is a lot of hype around the issues of mobile phones in schools. Culture Secretary, Matt Hancock, admires headteachers who ban the use of mobile phones and the Chief Ofsted Inspector is reported as thinking that the place of mobile phones in classrooms is dubious at best. Professor of Education (Futures) for the Faculty […]

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Critical digital literacy is vital for education today

Critical digital literacy is vital for education today

By Philip Seargeant and Caroline Tagg, Open University Applied Linguistics and Literacies (ALL) Research Group In the ‘fake news’ era, critical literacies education is vitally important, and the Open University is leading the way in developing learning initiatives to help students and the population at large. How do we know if what we read in […]

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Robot teaching

5 reasons why robots can’t replace teachers

The world seems to be at your fingertips every second of the day. If you want to know something then you just look it up on the internet. We can find out facts about anything and everything instantly. So why do we still need teachers? We put the question to some of the team behind […]

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Translator listening to speech

Trump and Putin: why interpreters should never be called to testify

Interpreters play a crucial role in high-level multilingual meetings. Donald Trump’s recent summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin took a rather unexpected turn for the US president, resulting in much controversy over what was said during it. And now his interpreter has been caught up as well. Trump’s meeting with Putin has created much turmoil […]

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Learning, online

The need to transform education is huge; online is an essential part of the solution

Education – we value it as a measure of achievement and success. It encourages social mobility and provides us with the skills to develop, both personally and professionally. But is our education system outdated? CEO of the online social learning platform, FutureLearn, Simon Nelson, explores the power of online learning in transforming education. Online learning […]

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Africa healthcare

International project aims to cut cancer deaths in East Africa

A cross-continent health project is now aiming to address an emerging health crisis in East Africa, by creating lower-cost care for cancer patients.  Led by The Open University, it brings together researchers in India, the UK and Africa and has been awarded nearly £700,000 from the Economic and Social Research Council. Dr Mercy Njeru, from […]

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E-therapy image

E-therapy: a technological step too far?

Talking therapies are psychological therapies where people talk to a professional about their thoughts, feelings and behaviours. They aim to give people a safe time and place to talk to someone who won’t judge them, help them make sense of what is happening, assist them to resolve complicated or unhelpful feelings, and to support them […]

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Futuristic man

From babel fish to skill pills – the future of technology in education?

  Martin Hamilton, a futurist at JISC – providing digital solutions for UK education and research – shares his thoughts on the future of technology in education as part of our #TomorrowsEd series… Remember the Babel Fish in the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Just pop one in your ear and it will translate […]

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VAR referees

Video assistant refereeing (VAR) in sport: the good, the bad and the ugly

With the debate over Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) technology at the Men’s Football World Cup 2018 ringing in our ears, Ben Oakley and Alex Twitchen from the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport take a look at its effects. To date 18 high profile sports have introduced VAR technology, with Ice Hockey, American Football (partly) and […]

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Photo of Alex Brooker

Memories tell 70 year history of NHS in new BBC series

Thursday 5 July marks the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service (NHS), one of the nation’s best loved institutions. To celebrate this milestone and the vital role it plays in our lives, the OU and the BBC have co-produced three programmes that showcase the NHS’ achievements and debate its future.  The NHS: A People’s History One of these […]

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