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Others

There are many more who have been mentors, close collaborators and influences, but I have had to limit detailed reflection to some of the most influential. Those listed here (and others I am sure to have missed as my memory fails - tell me and I'll correct this!), have provided moral support, critical friendship and intellectual stimulation. Sometimes even the briefest connection has made a major impact!

Abject apologies to anyone who I have left out or misrepresented - it probably means you were so close, I have failed to notice, like water to a fish :)

Thanks to:

My supervisors, formal and informal: extra-brother Stephen Powell, Keith Alexander, Dai Griffiths, Bill Olivier, Margaret Nelson, Gill Green.

My family

My mother Elizabeth and father Richard who laid the foundations of a life-long passion for education, mathematics, science and appreciation of the arts, crafts and music (to say nothing of some manners, reading and writing, commitment and confidence).

My sisters Elizabeth and Bridget and brother Seán, who debated minutiae for every minute of my childhood and still haven't given up, making me what I am.

My teachers at school, too many to mention, who made me think and gave me confidence.

My companions in my teens in Dumfries (Scott Kerr, Chris McKinnell, Judith Gallon, Jimmy Archibald) and in my late teens in Barking (Terry H).

My flatmates at Kings College London, Steve Robson and Steve Wood (Wilf) and student friends John Hughes, Cathy Sims, Susan Beacham & Richard Wakeford.

Ursula Millwood, my first wife, who suffered my obsessions for the first half of my career and partnered me in many adventures both professional and personal including the gift of my first two children, Patrick and Ben.

School teaching

Alistair Buckenham, Mathematics teacher at St Marylebone Grammar School in 1976, who inducted me into teaching and helped me find the attitudes, values and practices which have endured ever since.

Oleg Liber, Mike Humphries, Europe Singh, Brian Harrison, Keith Philip - the mathematics department at Scott Lidgett School who supported my growing interest in developing learning materials and assessment.

Computers in the Curriculum

Bob Lewis, Peter Smith, Margaret Cox, David Riddle, Deryn Watson, David Riley, Grant Alderson, Royston Sellman, Angie Donoghue, Sophie McCormick, David Squires, Keith Shaw, Diane Moody, Eva O'Donoghue, Colin Smith, Alan Edis, Marianne Atherton, Jean Seechurn, Terry Hinton, David Johnson, Jonathan Osborne, Joan Bliss, Paul Black, Margaret Brown, Kath Hart, Jon Ogborn, Ian Kilberry, Angus Willson, Steve Hurd, Ken Randall, Margaret Brown, Kath Hart and many others in the Computers in the Curriculum Project, Educational Computing Unit and Centre for Science and Mathematics Education at Chelsea College (subsequently King's College) throughout the eighties as I grew from school teacher to education lecturer and researcher.

Long term friends amongst colleagues I met in the '80s and '90s including Ian Sillett, Gary Stevens, Tony Parkin, Steve Oram, Mike Aston, Diana Freeman, Mike Bostock, Peter Bratt, Tony Kiddle, Vivi Lachs, Phil Langshaw, Norbert Pachler, Mary Webb, David Hassell, Bill Tagg, Tony Wheeler,

Ultralab

Stephen Heppell, Ann Constable, Stan Owers, Sheila, Andrew Wood, John Sharkey, Sam Deane, Anne Bradbury, Nikki Gamble, Nick Easingwood, Heather Crouch, Chris Curran, Geoff, Sue Clacher, Tom Smith, Lys Johnson, all from early days as Ultralab was formed and then all my colleagues in Ultralab in the period until 2006 when it closed, some of whom are in this photo:

My best list of all of them is:

James Brain, Tony Browne, Lori Camm, Craig Carey, Carole Chapman, Ann Constable, Mark Constable, Antonia Coppen, Andy Cunningham, Sam Deane, Martin Doherty, James Dorling, Jonny Dyer, Matthew Eaves, Tim Ellis, Colin Elsey, Jonathan Furness, Alison Gee, Jean Gray, Claire Gregory, Andy Grey, Maureen Gurr, Rhys Harries, Colin Harrison, Graham Hart, Michael Hartley, Melissa Heppell, Stephen Heppell, Clare Ingram, Jean Johnson, Lys Johnson, Sarah Jones, James Kadirire, Ioanna Kita, Kostas Kokkinopoulos, Geraint Lang, Hal MacLean, Paul Martin, Lesley McGuire, Hilary Messeter, Alice Mitchell, Greta Mladenova, Malcolm Moss, Gerome Oldfield, Stan Owers, Simon Patton, Shirley Pickford, Nick Platts, Stephen Powell, Leonie Ramondt, Gina Revill, Gill Roberts, Anthony Russell, Hamish Scott-Brown, Alan Seargent, Teresa Selvey, Beverley Simpkin, Andy Simpson, Matt Sisto, Manoah Smiley, Tom Smith, Tom Stacey, Vicki Swan, Gail Taylor, Ian Terrell, Kevin Thompson, Craig Tindal, Ian Tindal, Richard Tydeman, George Variopoulos, Alison Wade, Weiya Wang, Jean Whitehill, Tim WIlliams, Lindsey Wingate, Rex Wingate and Kirsty Wooldridge.

Greta Mladenova, colleague at Ultralab and my second wife who inspired much creativity, worked tirelessly, suffered my pedantry and raised the third gift, Sasha.

My PhD students (and colleagues), from Ultralab days - Carole Chapman, Abraham Doron, Nili Naveh, Anthony Russell, Geraint Lang, Lesley McGuire, Mark Penny and my supervisor colleagues Gill Robinson and Vernon Trafford.

Colleagues at Anglia Ruskin University - Roger Clark, Colin Harrison, Woody Caan, Mike Salmon, Dawn Hillier, Diana Powell, Tony Powell, Robin Smith, Michael Haynes, Mick Betts, Gina Wisker, Richard Winter, Maidi Brown, Sharon Waller and many others, and those on projects - Marc Blasband, Josep Blat, Mimo Caenepeel, Steve Lay, Robert Harding, Joachim Wedekind.

Nick Billowes, Vince Ham and Derek Wenmoth who built and sustained Ultralab South which become Core Education in New Zealand with Ali Hughes, Ronnie Davey, Julia Atkin, Carole Moffatt and others at Core having a huge influence on my thinking. Also Paul Rodley at Christ's College, Paul Cathro, Murray Leach and many other New Zealand colleagues.

Core Education UK

Maureen Gurr, Malcolm Moss, Alison Gee, Sarah Jones, Rex Wingate, Graham Hart who helped form Core Education UK, and Steve Capper who helps sustain it still.

University of Bolton

Oleg Liber, Julie Halliwell, Mark Johnson, Paul Hollins, Stephen Powell, Bill Olivier, David Sherlock, Scott Wilson, Simon Grant, Wilbert Kraan, Adam Cooper and all the others in the Insitute for Educational Cybernetics at the University of Bolton, including PhD students I help supervise -  Ian Wilkinson, Michelle Singleton, Lynn Campbell, Tim Goddard, Kesiena Clement-Okooboh, Roz Fox.

Margaret Nelson has offered her experience and support freely as I have struggled with this PhD, and acted as a critical friend too many times to count and connected me to my supervisor, Keith Alexander. Other influential colleagues at the University of Bolton include Ebun Akinsete, Mohammed Tammo, Bobby Nisha, Donna Vick, Grainne Gordon, Hilary Birtwhistle, Rob Campbell, Paul Birkett, Gill Green and Sue Burkinshaw, Mike Lawrence, Mike Lomas, Peter Marsh, Marie Norman, Patrick O'Reilly.

Professional

Information Technology in Teacher Education (ITTE) colleagues of long standing including Martin Owen, Avril Loveless, Sarah Younie, Tony Fisher, Bob Fox, Mike Hammond, David Benzie, Graham Jarvis, Bill Gibbon, Jon Coupland, Roger Keeling, Sue Brindley, Steve Kennewell, Chris Higgins, Peter Twining, Michelle Selinger, David Longman, Libby Jared, Suresh Jethwa, Margaret de Jong-Derrington, Angela McFarlane, John Potter, Bridget Somekh, Neil Stanley, Peter Twining, Jean Underwood, John Woolard,

Other colleagues in the world of education that have provided support, advice and provocation include Gabriel Goldstein, Brenda Gourlay, John Davitt, Merlin John, Eileen Freeman, Bryn Holmes, Brendan Tangney, Clive Holtham, Sergei Christochevsky, Andrei Fedoseyev, Todorka Damianova, Leo Højsholt-Poulsen, Paul Clark, Eddie Gulc, Andy Black, Terry Freedman, Steve Moss, Charles Crook, Leon Cych, Doug Brown, Roberta Weber (who I should have got to be my supervisor), Roger Carlsen, Elizabeth Oldham, Thomas Winkler, Marilyn Leask, Darren Leafe, Sandra Crapper, Sue Owen, Keri Facer, Dylan Wiliam, Christina Preston, Mary Ann Kernan, Hidayah Amin, Stephen Carrick-Davies, Drew Buddie, David Garland, Stephen Capper, Linda Thompson, Hannah Davies, Richard Green, Mary Harris, Tina Preston, Dave Smith, Tore Hoel, Vana Kamtsiou, Joy Hooper, Bill How, Simon Humphreys, Paul Lefrere, Gillian Lovegrove, Peter Maher, Tim Marshall, Harvey Mellar, Peter Mitchell, Sean O'Sullivan, David Baugh, Ian Wilson, Julian Coultas, Mike Rumble, Seb Schmoller, Jim Shelston, John Siraj-Blatchford, Lampros Stergioulas, Dan Sutch, Ralph Tabberer, Tim Tarrant, Matthew Taylor, Sydney Thornbury, Jamie Tuplin, Sue Walton, Mick Waters, John Williams, Theo Wright and Arthur Tatnall.

Partners in the professional and business worlds including Alan Bennett, Chris Binns, Bob Rogers, Alan Matcham, John Rudkin, Michael Ambjorn, Tilly Blyth, Cathy Derrick, Greg Childs, Iona Walters, Andrew Chitty, George Auckland, Alan Greenberg, David Heath, Caroline Hook, Aynsley Jardin, Steve Moore, Andy Pendry, Bob Rogers, Tarek Shawki, Barbara Strebel, Conrad Taylor.

My good friends in Brentwood in the Labour Party, Educating Brentwood, CND, The Brentwood Arts Cinema Club, Brentwood Community Print and pottery at The Fold. The many friends made at the Royal College of Music.

Personal

My extended family of extra-brothers-and-sisters-in-kind: Detty, Stephen Powell, Joy Hooper, Jed Burroughs, Hazel Bartlett, Tony Bartlett, Sally-Anne Maidment, uncles, aunts, nieces - Sineád, Maeve, Catlin, Tess and extra-special-niece Lily and nephews - Watty, James, Hal, James Burrows, extra-special-nephew Martin Bartlett have all supported me and egged me on.

Finally I must thank my fantastic children, Patrick, Ben and Sasha who have inspired and exemplified so much of what I value in life through their own (and independently developed) moral framework, determination and sheer hard work.

(Words: 1514 )

Lewis Carroll describes a fictional map that had:

"the scale of a mile to the mile."

A character notes some practical difficulties with such a map and states that:

"we now use the country itself, as its own map, and I assure you it does nearly as well."
— Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, Lewis Carroll, 1893