The Judges
Now all the nominations for the 2011 LWF Awards for Hero Innovators & Innovations for Learning are in our illustrious panel of judges will sift through them and argue amongst themselves until there is a shortlist for you, your friends, colleagues and the general public to select the winners by voting via standard rate SMS on your mobile phone or even via Skype (to make it fair for international voters you see!).
We think this is a nifty way of keep things fair whilst using funky tech!
But who are these mysterious judges?
Well mystery no more because here they are and we thank them for their time and wisdom.
MAGGIE PHILBIN
TONY PARKIN
BOB HARRISON
JILL ATTEWELL
ANDY BLACK
MONISH KHOOT
CHRIS DEERING
BILL HOW
FRED GARNETT
MERLIN JOHN
ADRIAN HALL
GRAHAM BROWN-MARTIN - CHAIR
MAGGIE PHILBIN
Maggie Philbin has worked in radio and television for 30 years on a wide range of science, medical and technology programmes. Currently providing analysis and comment on technology for BBC Breakfast News and a regular reporter on BBC1's "Inside Out", and BBC 1 "The One Show" she has a unique resonance with audiences, having grown up with them on much loved shows like "Swap Shop", "Hospital Watch" and "Tomorrow's World".
Many of the everyday gadgets we now take for granted were demonstrated on live television for the very first time by Maggie, the first truly mobile phone, the first car navigation system, the first fax machine, even the first supermarket barcode reader.
Additionally, Maggie's extensive radio and television career has also included working with ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. She has covered stories all over the world, from earthquake prediction systems in Iceland, to wave power technology in Norway, to possibly the most dangerous system for rescuing people from ski cable cars in Switzerland! In September 2008 she worked on a project with the BBC, NHK (Japan) and RAI (Italy) to give the first live international demonstration of Super Hi-Vision, the broadcasting system that will be used in ten years time!
Her reporting career on live programmes from "Hospital Watch" to "This Morning", on network television and on local radio has taken her into every imaginable and unimaginable situation. "The most memorable moments have come from people I've met, who have been generous to trust me with their stories and experiences".
In 2007 she and the BBC Radio Berkshire news team beat the Today Programme at the Sony Awards for the quality of their news coverage.
She is keen to help improve the visibility of successful scientists and engineers, both to encourage young people and women to pursue careers and reach top positions in these areas.
http://www.maggiephilbin.com/
TONY PARKIN
Tony Parkin has worked in education for the greater part of his career, as a secondary school teacher, a lecturer, an educational technologist then latterly as an information technologist. He joined the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust in July 1998, where until recently he was Head of ICT Development in Leadership and Innovation Networks. He nows works independently as a freelance writer and consultant, using his extensive experience of educational technologies to help with futures thinking.
His goal since 1978 has been to help shift the educational focus from teaching to learning, and he has been exploring the way that a variety of pedagogies and technologies can assist in that transfer. Paradoxically that has meant increasingly working with school leaders or teachers rather than learners directly. His challenge has always been, and continues to be, keeping the educational technology focus on the first word, whilst so many want to talk about the second.
BOB HARRISON
Bob has been in secondary/further/higher education for 35yrs.
As a Principal, Bob established robust partnerships with a range of providers including the schools in his area. He has had extensive experience in schools and colleges as a teacher, senior manager and consultant. He has worked with head teachers and senior leaders in developing leadership skills for the National College and worked on the BSF Leadership programme. With strong expertise in the post 16 sector Bob is also Vice Chair of Governors at a Beacon College and a school governor and chair of the personnel and curriculum in Trafford.
In recent years he has worked for Government departments as a consultant to their Improvement Group where he has provided advice and support for the workforce development plan and leadership development.
Bob is an Honorary Life member of CGLI for services to Vocational Education.
Bob is also one of Becta’s expert consultants and was supporting the implementation of the Harnessing Technology strategy, he was also a judge for the Next Generation Learning Awards and a member of the “Fit for the Future” task group.
He has been Toshiba’s Education Adviser for 10 years is a writer and researcher on mobile learning,digital technologies and next generation learning.
He is guest blogger for Futurelab http://flux.futurelab.org.uk/ and can be reached at www.setuk.co.uk
JILL ATTEWELL
Jill Attewell leads the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Research Centre at the Learning and Skills Network (LSN). TEL centre research focuses on the use of ICTs to facilitate, enhance, support or improve access to teaching and learning, especially post-compulsory learning. Jill is also Programme Manager of the Mobile Learning Network (MoLeNET).
Jill’s experience includes 13 years in education, mostly with LSN and predecessor agencies, and 10 years in the IT industry in the UK and the Far East.
A particular focus of the TEL centre’s work for seven years has been new and emerging technologies for learning including mobile phones, PDAs, computer games and interactive digital television.
Jill led m-learning (2001-2004) the first large mobile learning project funded by the EU. She co-chaired the MLEARN2003 and MLEARN2004 international conferences and is Vice President of the International Association for Mobile Learning.
ANDY BLACK
Andy Black has worked in the Education sector for more than 20 years, primarily in the land based college sector. Major interests are the how the use of ICT can overcome barriers to learning among disengaged and disadvantaged learners. He has worked remote rural communities on this, changing staff attitudes to e-learning. He has written extensively on the subject and role of emerging technologies He has developed a sideline demonstrating gadgets and gizmo's, such as 40 gadgets in 40 minutes. He lives on line via his blog http://andysblackhole.blogspot.com.
Andy joined British Educational Communication Technology Agency (Becta) in July 2003 and was involved in supporting the Learning and Skills Sector. His current focus is as a Technology Research Manager.
He is most proud of a project involving an ICT terms glossary in British Sign Language on the web http://www.slcresources4ict.net. The project and a proof of concept mobile device version was show cased in October 2006 at Mlearn in Canada. He has attended all three previous HandHeld Learning conferences and is regular contributor to the HHL and GBL forum's.
His raison d'être is "don't forget the learners" and "flexibility is the key to the future". He intends to write a book titled "What do when the kit doesn't work", apart from tell jokes.
MONISH KHOOT
Monish is an experienced strategic advisor and programme management consultant with over 15 years experience in education, with over 10 of these years involved in the area of ICT & education.
He has worked as a consultant for national Government and private companies, within the Department for Education he worked with both the Technology Futures Unit & ICT in Schools Division. Previously he spent 6 years at the Funding Agency for Schools as Head of the Operational Research Unit.
Monish’s international work has involved consultancy work for the Maltese Government, advising, developing and jointly writing a national e-learning strategy. Working with all the key stakeholders of academia to industry and different Ministries within the Maltese Government
http://www.okapiconsultancy.com/
CHRIS DEERING
Chris has led multicultural motion picture video and computer game publishing for nearly 3 decades, starting with his role as international marketing head at the original Atari in 1982, and as VP -International for Spinnaker educational software He was COO of Columbia Tristar International Video for 7 years and headed Sony Computer Entertainment in PAL countries from 1995-2005. Now in "retirement", he chairs and serves on several boards, including Learning Without Frontiers Ltd as non exec Chairman.
BILL HOW
Bill How has worked in the Education sector for over 22 years, primarily in the FE sector in Teaching and Leadership roles and is currently ICT Development Coordinator and Project Director (Intel Teach Advanced Online), working within Leadership and Innovation at the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.
A keen advocate for the potential of ICT as a learning tool, Bill became involved in shared practice on a wider scale in 2001 as a Becta ILT Champion and soon followed secondments with the LSDA as an e-Learning Coordinator and NILTA as its National Manager for the regions.
In 2004 Bill joined Northamptonshire LA’s innovation unit, the Learning Discovery Centre where he led a mobile learning project with the counties primary schools and could often be found travelling between the counties schools and colleges carrying bags full of mobile goodies to deliver ICT-Lite sessions to teachers and senior leaders (micro ICT lessons using only pocket devices). Bill co-authored Creative ICT in the Classroom: Using New Tools for Learning.
These days, Bill leads the Intel Teach Advanced Online CPD project (working with teachers from France, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Jordan, Israel and Portugal) and the SSAT’s Personalising Learning Using New Technologies think tank events.
FRED GARNETT
Following a range of teaching posts, from US universities to UK Further Education and Head of Community Programmes at Becta, Fred is now affiliated with the London Knowledge Lab. He's active in the informal Learner-Generated Contexts group. He's interested in how learners deal constructively with the unknown and how they reframe problems in an unpredictable world.
MERLIN JOHN
The founder and past editor of the very excellent TES Online magazine, now provides a service to educational ICT enthusiasts and professionals through his website, Merlin John Online.
ADRIAN HALL
Adrian Hall is an independent consultant with a respected profile in the use of mobile, game and social media technologies for learning. Prior to this Adrian held the position with Steljes Limited, one of the UK’s leading technology integration companies, is to develop thought leadership around the use of technology in education. He has worked on the Project Inkwell Group, an American based international think tank/lobby group for one to one access to technology for children.
Prior to this, Adrian worked for the UK’s Department of Education and Skills as a senior policy advisor on educational software. His responsibilities included developing the government’s policy in relation to the educational software industry, commissioning new and innovative curriculum software, including software to work on mobile devices, and developing thinking on the use of games in education.
Prior to this Adrian worked as an Archaeologist.
http://www.okapiconsultancy.com/
GRAHAM BROWN-MARTIN
Graham Brown-Martin is the founder of Learning Without Frontiers (LWF) a global platform for thinkers and practitioners from the education, digital media, technology and entertainment sectors to explore how affordable disruptive technologies are radically improving learning and equality of access.
Prior to this Graham has enjoyed a career spanning the education and entertainment software industries, having built a number of creatively and technologically innovative enterprises that were sold to larger corporations including Philips Electronics and Virgin Interactive. Before starting his own companies Graham worked with the Open University and Research Machines. Graham has also worked in several developing nations.
Aside from his work and entrepreneurship in technology, Graham has also directed music videos for The Fall, Malcolm McLaren, Salt Tank and Future Sound of London amongst others and with artist, Buggy G Riphead, he designed the ship’s computer for the feature film, “Lost in Space”.
Graham has also appeared in a variety of media including The TES, The Assignment, Trace, Transculturalism, the BBC Money Programme, The Guardian, Management Today and The Times.
Graham has 4 children and lives in a leafy enclave between Peckham and Deptford in South-East London, UK.
