I think the time has come...

...to draw a line under this blog.  When I started it, I promised myself that I would not let it fizzle out ever, and that should I ever find that I had not posted for over two weeks, then that would be the indication that I should stop.  And that has happened - twice!

I have to acknowledge that changes in professional and personal circumstances are now making it hard for me to find time to write worthwhile posts.  I've even had my eye off Twitter for months now, so I'm no longer being fed with the regular diet of ideas and innovation which used to inspire me.

I started the blog as a grumpy, not-really-that-old teacher who was bitterly resenting the imposition of the massively flawed end of Key Stage 3 ICT Test by the Powers That Be, and determined to see them withdrawn.  They were, and I heard the nationwide sigh of relief from thousands of ICT teachers.  The blog then became more optimistic.  I changed the subtitle from something like "Exposing the deplorable state of ICT in British education" to "Finding the way forward in secondary school ICT", and shared those "things ICT" which I found fascinating, amazing, challenging and, above all, useful in classrooms.

Over the past four years, I have been enormously excited by the new opportunities which ICT has offered to our teachers and learners - and I still am excited, no less than ever before.  My regular readers come from over a dozen different countries, Vietnam being probably the one which surprised me the most.  My free inspirational and instructional posters have been downloaded over 4,000 times.  Slideshows for talks I have given at several conferences have been downloaded hundreds of times.  And this blog has been responsible for me speaking at a good number of those conferences.  I have enjoyed it, and I have been led to believe that many others have, too.

I am sad to stop now, but I feel it is inevitable.  Thank you to all of you who have read "Grumpy Old Teacher" for however long, especially to those of you who have given something back, and posted your own comments.  I wish you all the best in your endeavours.  Yet again, ICT is moving into a new phase in schools, with all sorts of possibilities in the melting pot again.  Teachers of ICT have never had an easy job, and that's not about to change!  Keep pushing the boundaries, and never cease to be innovative!

Best wishes to all readers.

Roger Distill, Grumpy Old Teacher.