In an ever-evolving digital world, it’s no surprise that money is getting a futuristic upgrade. But what does the UK’s proposed digital pound really mean for you and me? Let’s dive into the world of cryptocurrencies, privacy concerns, and financial inclusion with a touch of humour and plenty of insight.
What are Cryptocurrencies?
Imagine your traditional money, but dressed in a slick digital outfit. That’s cryptocurrency. Decentralised and powered by advanced technology, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are shaking up the financial world. Bitcoin is the rockstar, the Beatles of digital money, while Ethereum is its artsy sibling with a penchant for smart contracts. Yet, for all their cool factor, these currencies are notoriously volatile—like the stock market on a rollercoaster.
Enter the Digital Pound
Now, the UK is considering its own cryptocurrency—the digital pound. Issued and managed by the Bank of England, it promises stability and security, unlike its wilder crypto cousins. But is it all sunshine and rainbows? Not quite. The digital pound could revolutionise payments, making transactions faster and safer, but it’s also raising a few eyebrows.
Privacy Concerns
Let’s be real—do we really want the government knowing every time we buy an overpriced latte or splurge on a cheeky takeaway? With the digital pound, privacy concerns come front and centre. Every digital penny could be tracked, potentially giving authorities unprecedented access to our financial habits. It’s not just Big Brother—it’s Big Banking.
Inclusivity: Who Might Get Left Behind?
There’s also the risk of excluding those who depend on physical cash—think the elderly, the unbanked, and those in areas with unreliable internet. As we rush towards a cashless society, we need to ensure no one gets left behind. Cash is more than just paper—it’s a lifeline for many.
The Verdict
The digital pound could be a game-changer, offering a stable, state-backed alternative to volatile cryptocurrencies. However, with issues like privacy and inclusivity at stake, the UK needs to tread carefully. Will the digital pound be the future of money, or will cash still cling on for dear life? Only time will tell.
Want to learn more?
Check out the full video on our YouTube channel for a deeper dive into the digital pound.
What’s the difference between the topic filters in Smart Revise?
28 January 2025
Smart Revise will always try to prioritise questions from newly unlocked topics so that students see new material first. As a teacher you will then have data about misconceptions and knowledge gaps quickly after a topic has been taught, however it does require you to remember to unlock those new topics for students too!
In the class settings there are three levels of control in addition to setting which particular topics are available to students.
Teacher controlled topic filtering
Teacher controlled is for your day-to-day use of Smart Revise. It will ensure that students focus on newly available questions first and after that the algorithms will choose an appropriate diet of questions from across the topics to ensure knowledge gaps are a priority, in addition to appropriate spaced learning and working towards mastery. Students cannot control which questions they are asked with this setting.
Teacher guided topic filtering
Teacher guided gives students the freedom to choose their own topic filters but only from those you have enabled. Students can do this either from their topic filters button on their dashboard, or by selecting a pie chart on their progress summary report. This option is great when students are preparing for an end of topic test but have not covered the full course yet. You don’t want them to see questions from topics that you haven’t taught.
Student controlled topic filtering
Student controlled gives students full control over all the topics in the course. It enables them to focus on a single topic or a range of topics at the same time. This is great at the end of the course once teaching is complete, and students are in that final revision stage, often on study leave.
You might be tempted to use teacher guided most of the time as it strikes a balance between teacher and student control. However, it will encourage students to engage in what is known as “blocking” where they are likely to focus on a very narrow range of questions, aiming to master a topic before moving on to the next. At face value this seems reasonable, however, there is a real risk that once questions have been mastered and their summary report shows a full green pie chart that students will not see the need to return to that topic again. This will inadvertently introduce the forgetting curve and will not help them prepare for exams.
We need to consider that students are not aware of the academic research that indicates blocking and not returning to completed topics could be detrimental to their success. Instead, they should be encouraged to engage in interleaving and spaced learning. That is mixing questions from different topics causing the brain to context switch and aid memory retention over the longer term. Spacing means returning to a question after a period of time has elapsed and not immediately. Students naturally want to correct their mistakes and work through a tick list of topics until they are all complete, but this is not ideal for learning.
More options
You can also control which modes your students have access to: Quiz, Terms reflective, Terms interactive and Advance. It is fine to enable all these from the start of the course. If you are new to Smart Revise and are following our suggested implementation plan, “The Journey”, you may want students to focus on using Quiz for homework initially. In which case enable Quiz but disable Terms and Advance. When you start to use Smart Revise for baseline assessments or monthly reviews enable Terms. Advance includes longer answer questions and some of these are quite challenging, so enable these when you feel students are ready. Perhaps in preparation for their first end of topic test. It’s really up to you how much or how little of the platform you want the students in your class to have access to.
All these topic filters!
It is worth noting that in addition to the topic filters in the class settings that control questions students will be exposed to, the analytics reports that you can use to track progress use their own filters that are independent too. This means that you can analyse the class performance in one particular topic, discovering the top ten least well answered questions in the most recently taught topic while the class are revising a range of topics.
If you join the class as a student in student mode, for example to demonstrate Smart Revise to your class, remember that you will now have a further set of topic filters as a student, depending on the control you have given to the class.
Our suggestion
To keep things straightforward, our suggestion is to:
Enable all the modes: Quiz, Terms and Advance.
Set the class topic filters to Teacher controlled.
When student prepare for tests set them to teacher guided and remember after the test to set them back to teacher controlled.
At the end of the course set the topic filters to student controlled.
Tick the topics you have taught to date (not the one you are currently teaching) and put reminders in your calendar to unlock new topics as they are taught throughout the course.
Engaging students
Students would much prefer to have complete control over their topic filters! Tell them why that is not such a good idea. They need to trust Smart Revise to choose questions and topics that the data say they need to work on in a spaced and interleaved way. This is the best method for long-term memory retention.
Curious to learn more about Smart Revise or try it for free? You can get all the details HERE.
Be sure to visit our website for more insights into the world of technology and for the best teaching resources for computer science and business studies.
Pavel Durov’s Arrest: The Future of Privacy and Telegram
21 January 2025
Pavel Durov, CEO of the messaging app Telegram, has been at the centre of global attention after his recent arrest at Leou Airport in France. For those who aren’t familiar, Durov is the man behind VK, Russia’s equivalent of Facebook, which he founded at just 22 years old. However, it’s Telegram, the secure messaging platform he launched in 2013, that has truly made his name known to millions worldwide.
Telegram: A Platform for Privacy, or a Haven for Criminals?
Telegram quickly became one of the most popular messaging apps for users who value privacy, offering encryption so strong that even intelligence agencies have struggled to crack it. This focus on user privacy has attracted close to a billion users globally. But this same commitment to privacy is now under fire.
French authorities recently charged Durov with several serious accusations, including failure to moderate criminal content on Telegram and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement. The charges suggest Telegram has become a breeding ground for illegal activities like drug trafficking, child exploitation, and fraud. Critics argue that Telegram’s loose moderation policies have turned it into a “dark web with a better interface.”
Durov has always defended Telegram’s approach, arguing that while the platform moderates content, it does so in a much lighter way compared to the likes of Facebook or Instagram. However, the fact that Telegram has declined to join international programs aimed at combating online child abuse has raised significant concerns.
A Debate on Privacy vs Accountability
Durov’s arrest has ignited a heated debate on privacy and accountability in the digital age. Figures like Edward Snowden and Elon Musk have come out in support of Durov, claiming his arrest is an attack on human rights. However, this situation begs the question: should tech CEOs be held personally responsible for illegal activities happening on their platforms?
Telegram allows massive groups of up to 200,000 users to communicate and share content, which makes moderation a significant challenge. But if platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp have systems in place to tackle illegal content, why not Telegram?
The outcome of Durov’s legal troubles could shape the future of online privacy. Will users continue to trust Telegram if authorities gain access to its encryption keys? More importantly, will Durov’s arrest lead to tighter regulations across all messaging platforms?
What’s Next for Telegram and Online Privacy?
The arrest of Pavel Durov opens a broader conversation about the balance between privacy and security. How do we protect personal freedoms online while ensuring that platforms aren’t abused for criminal purposes? Durov’s case could set a precedent for whether tech CEOs should be held accountable for their users’ actions.
Curious to learn more? Watch our full video HERE and explore the heated debates around privacy, security, and the future of Telegram.
Be sure to visit our website for more insights into the world of technology and for the best teaching resources for computer science and business studies.
Can You Spot the AI? The Rising Challenge of AI-Generated Faces
14 January 2025
We’re diving into the uncanny world of artificial intelligence, specifically AI-generated faces. These days, it’s getting harder and harder to tell what’s real and what’s not. So, let’s explore why AI faces are so convincing, the potential risks, and what we can do about it.
The Growing Power of AI in Creating Human Faces
Imagine scrolling through your social media feed. You see familiar faces, but wait—are they all real? Thanks to advances in AI, computers are now generating hyper-realistic human faces that can fool even the sharpest eyes. A recent study from Aberdeen University showed that most of us can’t reliably distinguish between real human faces and AI-generated ones, with a 65% misidentification rate.
That’s right, most people are flipping a coin when guessing whether a face is AI-made or naturally human.
Why Are AI Faces So Hard to Spot?
It turns out that AI’s secret weapon is hyperrealism. These generated faces have perfectly balanced features and a lifelike sparkle in their eyes. For most people, this makes AI faces incredibly hard to detect. The study found that even those confident in their answers were often wrong, revealing a classic “confidence paradox” – the more convinced we are, the more likely we’re mistaken.
Surprisingly, humans are at their peak face-recognition abilities at around 31 years old, so if you’re not there yet, or you’ve passed it, spotting AI faces might feel like a superpower slipping away.
The Dark Side: Bias, Fraud, and AI
While AI-generated faces can be fun (think video games and virtual avatars), there’s a troubling side to this tech. The data used to train AI is often biased, leading to AI-generated images that skew towards white faces. This ‘whitewashing’ problem creates racial disparities, and worse yet, the potential for misuse is huge. Think identity theft, fraud, or even law enforcement misuse through facial recognition software.
What’s Next? How Do We Stay Safe?
So, what can we do? Aberdeen University is already educating schools about the risks of AI-generated images and online fraud. But there’s more to be done. We need transparency, tools to spot fake faces, and public awareness to ensure that AI technology doesn’t outpace our ability to control it.
AI is rapidly shaping our world, and we need to stay informed. As technology advances, it’s important to remain curious, sceptical and educated. Want to know more? Watch the full video below for a deeper dive, and check out our website for more content on tech, AI, and the future.
The internet is a vast expanse of information, entertainment, and, unfortunately, potential dangers, especially for children. With growing concerns about online safety, Ofcom has announced a major reset aimed at child safety. But can we really scrub the internet clean?
Let’s delve into the details.
Ofcom’s Major Reset
Ofcom’s recent consultation proposes robust age checks, safer algorithms for personalised content, and more effective moderation of content accessible to children. This ambitious plan targets over 150,000 services, making it a colossal undertaking. The goal is to protect young users from harmful content, but the implementation is far from straightforward.
Tech Companies’ Current Efforts
Big tech companies are already taking steps to address these issues. Meta is implementing new safety measures on Facebook and Instagram to combat grooming, while Twitch is trying to shield young users from mature content. However, these measures often feel like playing whack-a-mole with a foam bat—inefficient and somewhat comical in the face of such a serious issue.
The Age Assurance Debate
A significant part of Ofcom’s plan involves age assurance, which has sparked a heated debate. Proposed methods like AI-powered facial scans to verify age raise privacy concerns. There’s also the risk of pushing children towards more dangerous online spaces if these methods prove too invasive or ineffective. Moreover, some parents and siblings inadvertently aid underage social media use, complicating enforcement.
Encryption and Privacy Challenges
End-to-end encryption, offered by services like Signal and WhatsApp, provides privacy but makes it difficult to detect abuse. This creates a tug-of-war between protecting children and guarding digital privacy. Ofcom is prepared to impose hefty fines on companies that fail to comply, underscoring the high stakes involved.
Our Conclusion
The challenge of cleaning up the internet is complex and vital. Striking the right balance between safeguarding young users and preserving digital liberties is crucial. Ofcom’s major reset aims to protect children but faces the massive task of overseeing a vast number of online services. While tech companies are implementing new safety measures, concerns about their effectiveness and the potential push towards riskier online spaces remain. Age verification methods raise privacy issues, and encryption complicates oversight.
So, can we really scrub the internet clean, or is it a pixelated pipe dream? One thing is certain: navigating the information superhighway safely will require ongoing efforts, evolving legislation, and continuous adaptation by tech companies. Stay tuned, stay informed, and most importantly, stay safe online.
WordPress at war: The battle over open-source code
31 December 2024
In the tech world, even the most popular platforms can find themselves in unexpected conflicts. Today, we’re diving into the drama between WordPress and WP Engine, exploring how a disagreement over open-source principles has turned into a legal standoff.
The surprising power of WordPress
WordPress powers an impressive 40% of the internet. From personal blogs to corporate websites, it’s the go-to platform for millions. Part of its appeal lies in being open source, meaning the code is free for anyone to use and modify. Think of it as a collaborative coding project where everyone is invited to contribute. However, this spirit of community sharing is now being tested.
The split personality of WordPress
WordPress isn’t just one entity; it has a dual nature. On one side, there’s WordPress.org, a non-profit that offers free access to its code. On the other, we have Automattic, a for-profit company that offers paid services based on WordPress’s open-source platform. This creates an interesting dynamic where WordPress has to balance community ideals with business interests.
WP Engine vs. Matt Mullenweg: The feud begins
WP Engine is a major hosting provider for WordPress sites, helping users get their blogs, e-commerce stores, and other websites online. However, Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, recently criticised WP Engine, accusing them of taking advantage of the open-source code without giving back enough to the community. He went as far as to call WP Engine “a cancer” on WordPress.
WP Engine was quick to respond, insisting they contribute significantly by maintaining sites, optimising performance, and providing customer support. They claim they’re already giving back to the WordPress ecosystem in many ways.
Escalating tensions: Blocking and lawsuits
To retaliate, Mullenweg took a bold step: he blocked WP Engine from using certain WordPress features. This decision caused major disruption, leaving many businesses uncertain if their sites would continue to function properly. For companies like Tricia Fox’s in Scotland, this disruption has meant unexpected costs and hours of extra work to keep things running smoothly.
Now, the conflict has moved to the courtroom. WordPress wants WP Engine to pay for using its trademark, arguing that they profit from the WordPress brand. WP Engine, in turn, has filed a lawsuit accusing WordPress of extortion and libel.
What does this mean for the open-source community?
The heart of the issue is open source itself. WordPress aims to “democratise publishing,” but its actions against WP Engine raise concerns about whether it’s staying true to that mission. The irony of two tech giants clashing over a platform designed to be free and open is not lost on the community. It’s a reminder that as open-source projects grow, they often face challenges balancing ideals with commercial realities.
Want more tech drama?
This isn’t just a story about two companies; it’s about the evolution of one of the internet’s most influential platforms.
Why using Quiz is better than Tasks for recall activities
24 December 2024
Tasks is the go-to mode for many teachers. It makes perfect sense as it reflects classic teaching methods. You set a task based on what you taught last lesson, the students complete it, marking happens and then you review the outcomes. Although Smart Revise is a sandbox system and teachers are free to use its features in any way they see fit, there are better ways to create recap and recall activities than setting Tasks.
The difference between Tasks and Quiz
Tasks need to be set by the teacher every time you want to use them. Quiz only requires the teacher to tick one new box in the class topic filters after a new topic has been taught.
Selecting only relevant questions based on what you taught last lesson from within a topic when creating a Task is time consuming.
The students all get the same questions in a Task. This removes the opportunity for automatic personalisation, differentiation and intervention that Quiz provides by selecting the most pertinent questions for each student focussing on their individual knowledge gaps.
Setting a Task containing only questions on a narrow body of knowledge creates what is known as “blocking”. Studies have shown that causing the brain to context switch between topics on a larger body of knowledge growing over time, known as “interleaving”, has more impact.
A Task has a defined number of questions resulting in some students finishing early and having nothing to do while they wait for their peers. Quiz prevents this from happening by presenting more questions from a priority queue. With Quiz the teacher chooses when to stop the activity.
Effective recall activities
Recapping knowledge from only a couple of the most recently taught lessons using a Task can be illustrated like this:
Instead, recapping knowledge from everything taught so far can be illustrated as:
Committing knowledge to long term memory requires addressing the forgetting curve, and not simply recapping knowledge from recently taught lessons. Of course it is impossible to recap everything during a single lesson, so the situation is more nuanced. Quiz will always choose the questions that are most relevant to each student focussing on:
Questions that have never been seen before from newly taught topics first.
Questions that have been answered incorrectly most recently and frequently.
Questions that have not been asked for some time, creating “spaced learning”.
Spotting misconceptions
Misconceptions can be spotted using the Questions Analysis report. Use the topic filters on the report to home in on particular topics. As students begin to answer these questions correctly, the top 10 questions will change dynamically. Tasks will give you a snapshot in time, which is great initially, but adds little value later. Use Quiz for recall and Tasks for key assessment points instead.
How to set this up for students
Every time you have finished teaching a topic unlock it for students using the class settings, topic filters. Do not lock the previously taught topics or select a topic you are currently teaching. The number of unlocked topics should increase from one to them all as you progress through the course.
Smarter Lessons With Smart Revise Quiz’s: How To Crack The Code
10 December 2024
Why you should start every computer science lesson in years 10 to 13 with Smart Revise Quiz.
Imagine this scenario. You’ve just taught the topic of computer architecture including the purpose of the registers. In class students engaged in answering questions, completed activities and it was a good lesson.
At the start of their next lesson as a recap activity you ask a student in the class, “what was the purpose of the program counter?” The blank face looks back at you. “How can you not know?” you think to yourself, “we only covered this last week.”
Be honest, this happens in your classroom, doesn’t it? The reality is that since your last lesson those students have been bombarded with new information from English, Maths and Science, their short-term memory can only handle so much.
Does it really matter you might ask. After all, when you get to the end of the course you engage in revision and bring all that knowledge back to the fore; but what if there was a better way to learn? What if students could be more confident, more engaged and perform better in tests, mock exams and real exams if they retained more of what you’d taught them over a longer period of time? What if revision at the end of a course benefits the most privileged learners, but does not help the less privileged in the same way? This classic approach to teaching is actually contributing to the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students.
The better, more successful way
This better way is, “The Revision Revolution” where revision is seen as integral to the learning process. It’s a feature of every lesson. From the very first topic to the very last.
At its heart revision is about repetition, and the best revision starts early, not at the end of the course. Imagine preparing to run a marathon. Do runners prepare by starting to run 26 miles a few weeks before the event? Of course not. They build up greater distances and stamina over months, if not years of preparation. Running almost every day. Why then should preparing for examinations be any different?
Why not give all students, not just the privileged a better chance of success with an opportunity to recall what they have been learning over and over again in every lesson? Better than that, why not include in that repetition the respected learning theories: spacing, interleaving and personalisation.
It’s pretty obvious. If we don’t regularly recall something we forget it. This is known as the forgetting curve. However, the more we practice, the more we repeat, the more we remember and the more confident we feel.
You might be thinking, “where do I find the time to go back over what I’ve already taught?” The solution is surprising simple. The start of lessons and homework.
Regular recall practice through multiple choice quizzing is in vogue right now and is a key feature in the classrooms of the most successful schools.
The research is clear, regular repetition aids memory retention.
Murre, J., Dros, J. (2015) Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve.
The smarter way
This is where Smart Revise adds significant value. So named because it is a smarter way to revise. Start every lesson with 7 minutes of recall practice with Quiz. It’s low-stakes so it’s easy to get student buy-in. If you have Craig’n’Dave starter activities for GCSE these are good for engagement on entry, but they are for schools who don’t have Smart Revise. Retrieval practice has more impact because it’s based on academic research.
Smart Revise will automatically space questions so that there is an appropriate gap between students seeing the same question again (repetition). It will interleave questions, that is selecting questions from different topics causing the brain to context switch which has a bigger impact on retention. With built-in personalisation questions answered incorrectly are shown again more frequently until the knowledge sticks.
Classic starter activities are one-size-fits-all. Smart Revise provides a differentiated activity for every learner
How to set this up for students
Every time you have finished teaching a topic unlock it for students using the class settings, topic filters. Do not lock the previously taught topics or select a topic you are currently teaching. The number of unlocked topics should increase from one to them all as you progress through the course.
Get students into the habit of entering the classroom, logging on and starting Smart Revise Quiz for themselves at the start of every year 10, 11, 12 and 13 lesson. There is no preparation for the teacher to do.
Spend about 7 minutes on Smart Revise. This is an optimal time. The Quiz will never end, it will just loop questions in a priority queue so that the teacher can stop the activity when they are ready for the main lesson.
Ideally students would also use Smart Revise Quiz for homework too. Aim for 35 questions a week at GCSE (including those done in lessons) and 60 for A level. The flight path on the student’s dashboard will show them if they are on track. Teachers can monitor this with the analytics usage report and see strengths and weaknesses in the question analysis and class matrix reports too.
Students will tell you what the purpose of the program counter is with confidence because Smart Revise will have asked them often enough!
If you’re looking for a smarter way to revise or teach, why not try Smart Revise for FREE?
Today, we’re tackling a common conundrum: chargers. Why so many different ones? And is the UK finally moving towards a universal solution, or will things stay tangled? Let’s dive into the ongoing debate over USB-C.
Why USB-C?
USB-C wasn’t always the go-to. We’ve seen everything from mini-USBs to proprietary cables like Apple’s Lightning. But USB-C arrived with a vision: one cable to charge everything. This port is versatile, offering faster charging, quicker data transfers, and a reversible design—no more fiddling in the dark to get it right! But, not all USB-C ports offer the same capabilities. For instance, a MacBook’s USB-C might support Thunderbolt technology, allowing super-fast data speeds and even external graphics card support. Your budget smartphone’s USB-C? It may only offer basic functionality. So, while the USB-C port might be universal, what it can do varies widely.
Is the UK on board?
With the EU already mandating USB-C, the UK is considering doing the same. If adopted, the standard could mean fewer chargers and less clutter. But in reality, companies are already making the switch due to global trends. Apple, for example, has dropped its proprietary Lightning cable for USB-C with the iPhone 15. So, UK regulations may not be a game-changer here.
The environmental impact
One key argument for a USB-C standard is cutting down e-waste. It’s estimated that there are 600 million unused cables lying around in the UK! A universal standard could reduce this number by lessening the need for multiple chargers. However, as people toss older cables, we might see an initial spike in e-waste.
The innovation dilemma
Standardisation could also slow innovation. Imagine if we’d settled on a single charger a decade ago—would USB-C even exist? There’s a risk that locking into one standard could stifle manufacturers from developing new technologies.
So, will USB-C rule them all?
It seems likely that USB-C will be the global standard for now, whether the UK enforces it or not. While it simplifies things, USB-C doesn’t solve every issue—charging speeds and capabilities still vary. So, don’t throw out those old chargers just yet. They might still come in handy!
Ready to learn more? For a deeper dive into the UK’s tech scene and more tech insights, watch The Lesson Hackers video on this topic HERE.
Be sure to visit our website for more insights into the world of technology and for the best teaching resources for computer science and business studies. Stay informed, stay curious!
This month brings another huge update to Smart Revise. We have redesigned the active tasks interface to make it more obvious what the status of a task is. The date of the Craig’n’Dave conference for 2025 has been confirmed, new terminology guides are coming, the Christmas coding challenges are back and is it the end of the Lesson Hacker videos?
Come and see us
You can meet us at:
The BIG Computing Leadership Conference: 12th December at Oxford Brookes University. The conference is now fully booked, but for those of you who want to learn how and why we changed the way we taught A level Computer Science, we can’t wait to see you at our session.
CAS A Level online webinar: 15th January online. We will be giving a talk about supporting students with 8-, 9- and 12-mark essay-style questions for OCR A Level. Book your ticket HERE.
2024-2025 VEX V5 Robotics Competition Cotswold Regional: 25th January at Chipping Campden School. We will be one of the judges. If you’re not part of the event this year, why not consider this extra-curricular opportunity for your students next year? See all the details for the event HERE.
The Craig’n’Dave and Friends conference is back for 2025 at Bromsgrove School! The event next year will be bigger and better, and to capture this we have rebranded it as “The Festival of Computing”. The main event will be on Wednesday 2nd July 2025 with an opportunity of an evening meal and overnight accommodation for delegates and speakers on the Tuesday night. We are indebted to the inimitable Johnny Palmer and Frances Round for working with us to make it happen.
More details will follow shortly.
Smart Revise
Task management update
Have you seen the new interface for managing Tasks yet? We have significantly increased the data visibility and added a status to make it much easier to see the task workflow.
The full release notes for this update detailing everything that is new can be found here: News – Smart Revise
What’s next – have your say
The next major feature will be “Goals”, where Smart Revise uses the data about the progress a student is making to suggest how they should use the platform to achieve their flight path target cone and aspirational target. In addition to what’s on our road map there are other features that we develop in tandem based on your feedback too.
Currently we are finishing work on an option to automatically release marks immediately after AI has marked questions in a task.
Beyond that, here are the top 4 requested features at the moment:
FEATURE 1: Delete and add question option in addition to view and change when questions are chosen for a task.
FEATURE 2: Priority levers to influence the automatic question selection for a task. E.g. prioritise AI markable questions, or questions that have not been set before etc.
FEATURE 3: Tasks that only contain Quiz or self-assessed questions to have an option to present the marking for the question before the next question is shown. Known as the Q-A-Q-A approach in addition to the current Q-Q-A-A approach.
FEATURE 4: Question selector for Advance similar to the deck builder for Tasks.
If you have a preference which you would like us to work on next, please email us: admin@craigndave.co.uk.
Your vote will decide our priorities.
Classroom resources
New terminology guides coming soon
Our terminology guides for AQA, Edexcel and OCR courses that are included with a Craig’n’Dave membership were created some time ago and were based on definitions from the British Computer Society. When we introduced Terms mode in Smart Revise, we refined the definitions included in the platform to make them shorter and better match the requirements of the specifications and mark schemes. This means there is a difference between the older terminology documents and Smart Revise Terms. Nothing is inaccurate, it’s just different, and that’s not helpful!
To resolve this, we have created a new set of reports in the back-end of Smart Revise. This means we can more easily publish one set of key terminology documents that are the same in both the classroom resources and Smart Revise Terms.
We are currently redesigning our website, and when this work is complete, Craig’n’Dave members will be able to download the new terminology documents.
Time2Code
Christmas coding challenges
Our friends Anna & Harry at Mission Encodeable have once again made their Python Christmas coding challenges available for students and teachers. There are nine levels that exactly match the nine levels in Time2Code. This means that students can undertake some more festive themed challenges within the levels they are currently working on while still making progress.
The link to the activities is on the homepage of the Time2Code website.
Episode 52 will be the last video in the current Lesson Hacker series. Each week for a whole year, David Morgan aka “The Lesson Hacker” has produced a 5-minute video on our YouTube channel covering a topical issue in Computing. These also included questions in the video description that you could use for class discussions.
However, all good things must come to an end, but fear not, David is still going to be producing content for us, just with a different style and emphasis.
Next month will see the introduction of our new “shorts”. These new videos will be reduced to just one minute and focus on a core nugget of knowledge with a single question such as:
How do websites remember you?
Would increasing the size of the registers make your processor faster?
What makes a good program?
Why can your computer beat you at chess?
What Makes a supercomputer super?
Craig and OG Dave will also be producing some of these new videos too.
AQA A Level Remastered
SLRs 1 through 5 of our newly remastered AQA A level videos are now available on YouTube.
These videos have a better presentation style, better illustrations, better notes for students and much better audio! We advise you to bookmark the static links, so that your students always have access to the latest video instead of using YouTube directly: AQA A Level (7516-7517) Videos – Craig ‘n’ Dave knowledge video index
Craig’n’Dave members can also download all 187 PowerPoints we used to create the videos, even those that haven’t been published on YouTube yet.
Newsletter in video format
Every month, we also record an extended video version of this newsletter and upload it to YouTube – ideal listening for your commute: Craig ‘n’ Dave Unscripted – all episodes
This is a topic that sparks a lot of debate: technology in sport. Some fans say tech is ruining their beloved sports, while others believe it’s making it fairer and more exciting. Let’s unpack how technology like Hawk-Eye, VAR, and AI have transformed the world of sports, for better or worse.
Precision or frustration?
Tennis fans are in for a big change. Wimbledon’s line judges are being replaced by Hawk-Eye technology—a camera system that makes precise calls on whether a ball is in or out. While this guarantees accuracy, something vital is lost: the drama. Remember when a player would challenge a call, and the crowd would hold its breath? Now, it’s simply “The computer says it’s out.” Accurate? Yes. Thrilling? Not so much.
Football’s introduction of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) was meant to correct bad calls. But has it made the game more enjoyable? While it does improve fairness, it’s hard to ignore the frustration when a game grinds to a halt for a five-minute review over whether someone’s toenail was offside. The precision is great, but the momentum of the game? That’s often the real casualty.
Data and AI: The future of fan engagement
Beyond refereeing tech, AI and data analytics are reshaping how fans engage with sport. Companies like Opta track everything from player speed to match predictions, turning sport into a data-driven experience. While it’s a different way of connecting with the game, some fans miss the messy, emotional moments that stats can’t capture.
So, Has tech really ruined sport?
Not quite. Technology hasn’t killed sport—it’s evolved it. The drama may now lie in data points and AI predictions instead of human error, but the heart of sport remains. Whether you’re shouting at a referee or a computer, the passion is still there.
Watch the full video on our channel to dive deeper into how tech is transforming sport.
Smart Revise: The ultimate tool for effective exam success
12 November 2024
Smart Revise is a continual revision tool with quizzes, exam-style questions, and personalised feedback to boost exam performance and reduce teacher workload.
Smart Revise: Raising attainment and reducing workloads.
So, What is Smart Revise?
Smart Revise, created by Craig ‘n’ Dave, is transforming how students and teachers approach revision. Rather than cramming at the last minute, it promotes continual practice throughout the course, helping students to master subjects like Computer Science and Business Studies gradually. The platform is designed to make revision less stressful and more effective by aligning practice questions with the research.
But what exactly makes Smart Revise such a game-changer? Let’s dive into how both students and teachers can benefit from this innovative tool.
How teachers can use Smart Revise to boost classroom success
For teachers, Smart Revise is not just a revision tool, it’s a workload reducer. Teachers often spend hours preparing mock exams, quizzes, and practice materials. Smart Revise does that for you. With its extensive question bank, all designed by experienced examiners, the platform allows teachers to set quizzes, homework, and mock exams in a matter of clicks.
The platform provides personalised and diagnostic feedback through its advanced reporting tools, allowing teachers to easily track student progress and pinpoint areas needing intervention. Plus, it supports various assessment techniques like self-marking, peer marking, and even AI marking, ensuring that students get the feedback they need with minimal teacher effort.
Teachers can also use Smart Revise to promote active learning during lessons. Features such as “Tasks” allow teachers to assign extended questions that mirror exam conditions, enabling students to practice longer-answer formats.
How students can use Smart Revise to ace exams
For students, Smart Revise offers a structured approach to revision that builds confidence. One of the platform’s standout features is its quiz functionality, designed for daily use. These quizzes help students retain knowledge by revisiting past topics in an engaging, low-pressure way. And for those struggling with exam techniques, the platform includes model answers and self-assessment tools so students can refine their responses based on real exam mark schemes
Another helpful feature is the flashcards, which reinforce essential terms and definitions, helping students retain information over the long term. With Smart Revise, students can practice at their own pace, mixing up topics and question types to keep things fresh and engaging.
The result? Improved exam performance and reduced last-minute stress
Ready to revise smarter?
Smart Revise has already proven its worth in classrooms across the UK, helping students improve their grades while lightening the load for teachers. It makes revision more effective and reduces your workload.
If you’re looking for a smarter way to revise or teach, why not try Smart Revise!
Visit Craig’n’Dave’s Smart Revise website to explore all the features.
What started as a non-profit dream has evolved into a tech giant worth a staggering $157 billion, raising questions about its original mission.
OpenAI’s humble beginnings
OpenAI – once a bold, altruistic initiative aiming to create artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity – has undergone a dramatic shift.
Back in 2015, OpenAI set out with a noble goal: to make artificial intelligence accessible, safe, and beneficial for everyone. Spearheaded by influential figures like Elon Musk, it promised to use AI for the greater good, not just to line the pockets of the wealthy. Initially, a non-profit, OpenAI’s mission was simple: create AI that serves all of humanity, not just the elite.
However, the landscape changed quickly. By 2018, Elon Musk had left, citing concerns that the organisation was straying from its mission. Fast forward to today, and OpenAI’s once “open” nature seems a distant memory.
From non-profit to capped-profit
OpenAI’s transformation into a “capped-profit” organisation marked a significant departure from its non-profit roots. The company now walks a fine line between innovation and commercialisation, securing billions in funding from tech giants like Microsoft and Nvidia. While this has driven AI advancements, it’s also placed enormous pressure on OpenAI to monetise its technology, which risks sidelining its original vision.
Internal tensions and key exits
With the shift towards profit, OpenAI has faced growing internal conflicts. Safety researchers and AI developers, concerned that financial interests are outweighing ethical considerations, have begun to leave. Prominent figures, such as former CTO Mira Murati and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, have stepped down, fuelling concerns about the company’s direction.
The critics speak out
One of the loudest critics has been none other than Elon Musk. From the sidelines, Musk has accused OpenAI of losing sight of its original purpose, claiming it’s now more focused on pleasing investors than safeguarding humanity from AI’s potential dangers.
OpenAI’s journey from non-profit idealism to a $157 billion behemoth leaves us wondering: has it lost sight of its mission, or is this just the price of progress? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Get Your Classroom Buzzing About AI!
Want to spark some lively discussions around AI? We’ve crafted some thought-provoking questions to fuel the conversation:
🤔 Why is the AI industry worth so much money and is it another dot com boom scenario?
💸 Should large language models be free to use, and if so how should they fund the servers, maintenance and electricity? If not, how should revenue be raised?
🌍 In what ways could AI create a new digital divide?
🧠 Can AI advance to a stage where it no longer requires humans?
These questions are sure to get students thinking critically and debating the future of tech!
If you’re curious to learn more, watch the Lesson Hackers video on OpenAI’s and how open it is Here.
We’ve all heard the scare stories: spend too much time on TikTok and suddenly you’re destined to fail your GCSEs and live in your mum’s basement forever. But is social media really as dangerous as some headlines make it out to be?
According to a new study by the World Health Organisation (WHO), there’s been a sharp rise in something called “problematic social media use” among teenagers. This doesn’t just mean spending hours on Instagram or YouTube; it’s when social media starts interfering with real life. We’re talking about skipping activities, arguing with parents about screen time, and feeling like you can’t stop even when you know you should.
The study surveyed nearly 280,000 teens across 44 countries and found that in 2022, 11% of them displayed problematic behaviours, up from 7% in 2018. Unsurprisingly, the pandemic played a major role in this spike, with many turning to social media during lockdowns. The situation is particularly notable in the UK, where teenagers are more prone to problematic use, especially among 13-year-old girls.
But before we start deleting our apps, the study also highlights that social media isn’t all bad.
For most teens, using social media helps them stay connected with friends and feel supported, especially during isolating times like the pandemic. Movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #FridaysForFuture are prime examples of how social media can create positive change on a global scale.
However, for the 11% struggling with problematic use, the situation can be different, with issues like anxiety, depression, and even withdrawal symptoms when they can’t check their phones. Boys, on the other hand, seem to be more prone to problematic gaming, with some spending over four hours a day on games like Fortnite and Minecraft.
So, is social media really that bad? The answer isn’t black and white. For the majority, it’s a useful tool for connection, but like anything, it needs to be used in moderation. The key is balance—managing screen time and not letting it interfere with mental health, studies, or relationships.
To dive deeper into this topic, watch the full video HERE.
Don’t forget to check out our website for more insights on how tech and society are evolving and all the latest Computer Science teaching resources.
On the surface, the gaming industry appears to be thriving, with record-breaking profits and an ever-expanding player base. In 2023 alone, the industry pulled in a staggering $227 billion, a figure set to rise to $312 billion by 2027. But beneath this shiny exterior, cracks are starting to show. Why, despite these enormous profits, are we seeing widespread layoffs and studio closures, like Microsoft cutting 650 jobs after their $69 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard?
The boom-bust cycle of game development
One of the key reasons behind these layoffs lies in the industry’s notorious boom-bust cycle. Gaming companies often hire huge teams to complete major projects, but once the game is launched, developers are shown the door. Take the closures of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks—both produced critically acclaimed titles, but once the work was done, so were the jobs.
Corporate consolidation and layoffs
Another issue is the corporate consolidation sweeping the industry. Giants like Microsoft and Sony are snapping up smaller studios, only to announce job cuts shortly after. These layoffs are not random—they’re often a strategic move to impress shareholders, where ‘cutting costs’ is prioritised over the welfare of employees. It’s a trend that disproportionately affects younger and marginalised workers, who are often the first to go.
The rise of unions
However, hope is not lost. Game developers are starting to unionise, aiming to protect workers from these harsh realities. While unions can’t stop layoffs entirely, they can negotiate better severance packages, longer notice periods, and even job-sharing schemes to soften the blow.
An overcrowded job market
To make matters worse, universities are churning out new graduates eager to join the gaming world, but the industry simply doesn’t have enough jobs to go around. This leaves many talented individuals entering a workforce plagued by layoffs and limited opportunities.
What’s next?
So, where do we go from here? There’s growing pressure for gaming companies to create sustainable jobs, not just temporary contracts tied to individual projects. Players can also help by demanding better working conditions for developers. After all, shouldn’t the people behind our favourite games be treated as more than just disposable assets?
Want to dive deeper? Watch the full video below for an in-depth look at the gaming industry’s complex dynamics.
Can AI create recipes? How artificial intelligence is shaping the culinary world
26 September 2024
The rise of AI in the kitchen: Can robots create recipes that taste good?
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if artificial intelligence designed your pizza? From AI-generated recipes in top restaurants to major retailers using AI to predict food trends, technology is changing the culinary world. But the question remains: can AI really cook up something delicious, or is this a recipe for disaster?
The role of AI in culinary innovation
Artificial intelligence, particularly tools like ChatGPT, is making waves in the food industry. Restaurants are now using AI to analyse thousands of recipes and suggest creative flavour combinations that might not occur to human chefs. One standout example is Dodo Pizza in Dubai, where head chef Spartac challenged AI to create a pizza representing Dubai’s cultural diversity. The result? A surprising combination of shawarma chicken, grilled paneer, za’atar, and tahini sauce—an instant hit! This AI-designed pizza is still on the menu today and has become a customer favourite.
AI wins and fails in recipe creation
But AI doesn’t always nail it. While Dodo Pizza found success with their multicultural creation, they also experienced some AI-generated disasters, like a pizza with strawberries and pasta, or even worse, one with blueberries and breakfast cereal. Similarly, in the US, Velvet Taco in Dallas asked AI to help design a taco of the week. Among AI’s quirky suggestions, one recipe—prawn and steak tacos—was a massive success, selling 22,000 in just one week! Venicia Willis, Velvet Taco’s Culinary Director, is clear that while AI can boost creativity in recipe creation, it cannot replace the human element. Food, after all, requires human intuition to ensure ingredients come together harmoniously.
AI’s impact beyond the kitchen: Predicting food trends
AI’s influence goes beyond just recipes. Retailers like Waitrose are using AI to spot rising food trends, such as the recent surge in popularity of Smash Burgers. By analysing social media patterns, Waitrose was able to introduce their own version of the trendy burger, staying ahead of the competition. This demonstrates AI’s ability to not only create but also capitalise on emerging culinary trends.
The human touch is still essential
While artificial intelligence is making a mark on the food industry, it’s clear that AI-generated recipes still need human oversight. Chefs like Julian De Feral, a cocktail creator in London, are sceptical, arguing that AI lacks the common sense and intuition required for culinary creativity. After all, AI simply pulls from data, often relying on existing recipes or food blogs, which raises ethical questions about originality.
In conclusion, AI’s role in the culinary world is evolving, bringing a mix of innovation and bizarre combinations. While AI can inspire fresh ideas, the human touch is still crucial to ensure the final dish is both delicious and marketable.Curious to see AI in action in the kitchen? Watch our Lesson Hacker video HERE.
