Bob Harrison

This article is part of the Spinwatch privatisation of Schools Portal project.

'Bob Harrison is Education Adviser to Toshiba Information Systems Northern Europe. He is described as a 'writer, presenter and researcher on mobile learning, digital technologies and next generation learning'.

In 2016, Harrison told a conference on digital technology in the classroom: 'can I just explode a myth about online and blended learning [a mix of online and face-to-face teaching]... I think, the initial reaction was, oh, that will make things cheaper. It’s not cheaper, it needs investment up front, online and blended learning needs investment in infrastructure... It might lead to efficiencies in the longer term, by engaging with more learners, that don’t currently engage, by keeping them for longer, and progressing them better. But, it needs a different infrastructure, and a different skilled workforce than we’ve currently got.'

Harrison has also been an adviser to the UK government as a member of ETAG, a national expert group advising government, to look strategically at technology in education.

He is also Vice Chair of Governors at Beacon College and governor of Trafford School.

He has also been involved in the following edtech initiatives:

• a “Digital Leaders” project, which supports pupils and students to become digital leaders and help with teachers professional development.
• Chair of the Teaching Schools New Technology Advisory Board, a group supported by the Department for Education which aimed to ensure that the next generation of teachers were skilled in digital teaching and learning.
• visiting scholar at Stanford University where has links with the Education’s Digital Future project.