With all the fuss about Gove ideas on Maths and English I think it is worth reminding us all that the Gove speech at BETT had some very sensible points. It remains to be seen how things will work out but the idea of some flexibility around computer and web skills has potential. It has been suggested that Gove was influenced by large companies at BETT such as Google but I think he formed his own views. The speech is on YouTube with a Creative Commons licence so can be remixed. This is not yet usual for UK public content so should be seen as an informed and positive decision.

My only worry is that for some people in the department IT and web stuff is seen as not that significant so a tightly specified knowledge is not really needed. Writing in the Times Educational Supplement today Nick Gibb mentions Orwell and spelling, Beethoven and practicing scales, then Einstein and the times tables. "Media literacy" is just one of the things that campaign groups lobby MPs about and want included in the curriculum.

Stay tuned to BETT radio, an informed source on who will be speaking at BETT.

Nick Gibb writes that recent developments started with a look at the "most successful education systems around the world" - Singapore, Hong Kong, Massachusetts and Alberta. My guess is that there may be some connection with government support for broadband. Is there any research about this?