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ICT & Computing in Education

Articles on education technology and related topics
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  • Search
  • Newsletters
    • Digital Education
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An awful shock, by Terry Freedman

An awful shock, by Terry Freedman

Training sessions that threatened to go wrong -- and how I rescued them

March 26, 2025

The chapters in this article were originally published as separate articles. For a pdf version, sign up to the free Digital Education newsletter and download it from the Digital Education Supplement area, where it goes under the title of My Worst IT Training Days.

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In Best and worst IT lessons Tags worst IT training, worst IT lessons

My worst IT training days #6: The day my website was shut down (updated)

September 4, 2021

I wonder if there is anything more discombobulating than announcing, with great fanfare, a brilliant resource to a class full of teacher trainees, only to be greeted by a dreadful error message instead?

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In Best and worst IT lessons Tags worst IT training, website, security
blank screen, by Terry Freedman

blank screen, by Terry Freedman

Problems in the edtech classroom #5: Where's my website?!

May 27, 2020

In 2006 my website went down right in the middle of a lesson. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time.

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In Best and worst IT lessons, Blast from the past, Leading & Managing Computing & ICT, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT, Tips for teachers, Audio Tags internet, edtech problems, problems, audio
An awful shock, by Terry Freedman

An awful shock, by Terry Freedman

My worst IT training days #6: The day my website was shut down

September 5, 2019

I wonder if there is anything more discombobulating than announcing, with great fanfare, a brilliant resource to a class full of teacher trainees, only to be greeted by a dreadful error message instead?

Read More
In Using and Teaching Computing & ICT, Best and worst IT lessons Tags worst IT training, website, security
Logging in -- Photo from www.pexels.com CC0

Logging in -- Photo from www.pexels.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons #8: Logging in

February 8, 2016

logging in should take seconds -- not a whole lesson!

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In Best and worst IT lessons Tags Best and worst lessons, logging-in
Picture from Pixabay.com CC0

Picture from Pixabay.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons: why?

January 25, 2016

Why did I start the series called "My best and worst IT lessons"? Shelly Terrell interviewed me and asked:

What inspired you to share your best and worse lessons?

How can reflecting on our best and worse lessons enhance our teaching? 

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In Using and Teaching Computing & ICT, Best and worst IT lessons Tags Best and worst lessons, Shelly Terrell, interview
Questions, questions, questions Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0

Questions, questions, questions Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons #7: What's the interest rate?

January 18, 2016

Whether or not you can easily look up the answers to questions is far less important than asking the right questions in the first place.

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In Big ideas, Best and worst IT lessons, Research, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT Tags questioning, questions, questioning toolkit, Jamie McKenzie
Suspicious enthusiasm? Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0

Suspicious enthusiasm? Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons #6: Adorable spreadsheets

January 14, 2016

Why a lesson on spreadsheets became the highlight of the kids' day, and a nightmare to haunt me forever.

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In On the lighter side, Unintended consequences, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT, Best and worst IT lessons Tags spreadsheets, unintended consequences
Modelling and reality. Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0

Modelling and reality. Picture from www.pixabay.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons #5: Modelling

January 13, 2016

How objective are computers really? It's importtant to try to work out what is actually going on when it comes to modelling or running simulations.

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In Best and worst IT lessons, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT Tags modelling, simulation, Running the British Economy, Economics

My best and worst IT lessons #4: Murder Mystery

January 12, 2016

Flat file databases don't have to be boring: they can be an opporttunity for pupils to test their detective skills!

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In Best and worst IT lessons, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT Tags database, murder mystery
Learning together. Photo from www.pexels.com CC0

Learning together. Photo from www.pexels.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons #3: Internet training

January 11, 2016

"An incomprehensible error message scared the living daylights out of the teachers on the training course, all of whom thought it was their fault."

What I learnt about running a succesful course for teachers.

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In Best and worst IT lessons Tags internet training, training session
It's all about setting up the right conditions. Photo from Pixabay.com CC0

It's all about setting up the right conditions. Photo from Pixabay.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons #2: The history lesson

January 8, 2016

What were the elements that made a history lesson (in a computer lab) about JFK so good?

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In Best and worst IT lessons, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT Tags history, JFK
Working together as equals can produce excellent results. Image from Pixabay.com CC0

Working together as equals can produce excellent results. Image from Pixabay.com CC0

My best and worst IT lessons #1: VBA conundrum

January 7, 2016

In this new series I look at some of my best and worst lessons in ICT and Computing, and analyse what caused them to work -- or not.

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In Best and worst IT lessons, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT Tags VBA, authentic learning, project-based learning
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