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ICT & Computing in Education

Articles on education technology and related topics
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Quick look: Hitler's People

September 24, 2024

Yes, I know that this has nothing (ostensibly at least) to do with ICT or Computing, but I thought it might be an interesting book in general, and for history teachers in particular.

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In History, Quick Looks Tags Hitler's People, quick looks
A blogger, by Terry Freedman

A blogger, by Terry Freedman

AI for bloggers?

July 16, 2024

In my recent blogging course, I abandoned my carefully-prepared lesson, or part pf it, threw caution to the winds, and suggested to the class that we experiment with using AI for writing blog posts. Here’s a partial blog post it came up with, which you will agree is utter rubbish…

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In AI, History, Discussion topic Tags blogging, AI, artificial intelligence

Ah, those were the days -- not

November 29, 2023

Here at Freedman Towers I have been trawling through the archives, hoping to salvage something of my legacy to donate to the nation, or indeed the world. Anyways, all joking aside, I came upon this email I wrote…

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In Blast from the past, History, News & views Tags Practical ICT, old technology

#Flashback Friday: Sexism in computer stores

June 17, 2022

In 1994 I set out with my wife to discover the best place to buy a computer system -- and discovered a lot of sexism along the way.

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In Blast from the past, History, Discussion topic, News & views Tags sexism, gender, buying

Resources, copyright, useful tips for using education technology in the classroom

January 1, 2022

This issue of my Computers in Classrooms newsletter, dates from 2001. I am reproducing these newsletters partly in order to make sure that some of the history of using education technology is preserved, and partly because some of it is still relevant. That applies especially to the Tips section.

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In History, From the Archives, Audio Tags Computers in Classrooms, history, audio

Ofsted, National Curriculum and other edtech stuff

December 29, 2021

This newsletter, from 2001, demonstrates four main things….

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In From the Archives, History Tags Computers in Classrooms, newsletter, National Curriculum, Ofsted, history

Review: Teaching Machines

December 6, 2021

There seems to be no end of attempts to improve education by people who have either never worked in it, or not understood what they were looking at.

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In Bookshelf, History, Leading & Managing Computing & ICT, Reviews Tags Teaching Machines, Audrey Watters, review

Review: Teaching Machines (for SchoolsWeek)

November 28, 2021

Here is a very strange paradox. On the one hand, everyone agrees that a key ingredient for success in life is having great teachers. On the other, there’s a relentless narrative that education is somehow broken and that fixing it entails replacing teachers or transforming some or all of what they do.

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In History, Bookshelf, Reviews Tags Teaching Machines, Audrey Watters, Review

Back through the time tunnel: techno-romanticsm

October 16, 2021

Having to wait a week for computer results may have been fine at the time, because we knew no better. But who in their right mind would look back on all that as some kind of golden age?

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In History Tags effects of technology
Planning, by Terry Freedman

Planning, by Terry Freedman

Implementing a whole-school IT policy

May 28, 2021

Here is the very first article of mine that was published in an education magazine. Not all of it is relevant today, but perhaps surprisingly much of it is.

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In History, Leading & Managing Computing & ICT Tags whole-school IT policy, IT policy, planning, cross-curricular ICT

Broadband in schools -- circa 2003

February 15, 2021

If you look up broadband in schools, the story these days is that the provision is deemed “inadequate”. I think that’s a lot to do with how aspirations have risen over the past couple of decades, and is therefore a good thing.

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In Blast from the past, History, From the Archives Tags Broadband
Archives, by Terry Freedman

Archives, by Terry Freedman

The Key Stage 3 ICT Scheme of Work, NOF Training, and other issues in 2000

January 31, 2021

“There are people around now who are 17 years old. They started formal schooling when they were 5 years old -- in 1988. And some of them have come out of school not knowing one end of a computer from the other!” I hope this still isn’t the case today, but then I tend to be an optimist.

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In Computers in Classrooms, From the Archives, History Tags Computers in Classrooms, scheme of work, NOF
On this day, by Terry Freedman

On this day, by Terry Freedman

On this day #8: You mean this technology is new???

December 4, 2020

It really is quite an eye-opener when you discover kids’ idea of tech history!

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In From the Archives, History, On the lighter side, On this day Tags technology history

Thank goodness for the wayback machine

November 15, 2020

I always find it mildly depressing when I click on a link in an old blog post and discover that it no longer “works”.

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In History, Leading & Managing Computing & ICT, News & views, On this day Tags Internet Archive, Wayback Machine, dead links

Have Ada Lovelace in your Computing or education technology classroom

February 13, 2019

Help to bring education technology alive by introducing a letter from Ada Lovelace to Charles Babbage into your Computing or education technology classroom.

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In Blast from the past, History, Using and Teaching Computing & ICT Tags Ada Lovelace, Lovelace, Charles Babbage, Babbage, history, computing history
Photo by Jills, issued on a CC0 licence.

Photo by Jills, issued on a CC0 licence.

The Computing curriculum in England: A timeline of hopes and experience

July 5, 2017

Has the Computing Programme of Study been an unequivocal success? In my article It Wasn’t Me Wot Done It, Sir! The Depressing State Of Computing As A Subject, I said that many students were voting against Computing qualifications with their feet, and also that girls were under-represented. Moreover, I stated that the situation was entirely predictable (many of us indeed had predicted it).

In this article I set out what I see as the key milestones in the journey to where we are now. I have included quotes from the sources, and also given the source in each case so that you can check out the sources yourself. 

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In Computing, History, Leading & Managing Computing & ICT, News & views, Research Tags Computing curriculum, Computing

Sexism in computer stores

February 28, 2017

In 1994 I set out with my wife to discover the best place to buy a computer system -- and discovered a lot of sexism along the way.

Read More
In Blast from the past, History, Discussion topic, News & views Tags sexism, gender, buying

R.I.P. Micro Mart

January 6, 2017

The UK's weekly computing magazine, Micro Mart, has just published its last issue. This article looks at what made it so good.

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In Blast from the past, History Tags Micro Mart, Micro Computer Mart, history
Recent book reviews
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This book is very readable, and if I sound surprised that is because it’s not always true of academics!

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Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example
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For the time being, this book is free in Kindle format.

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Despite the relative paucity of immediately obvious National Curriculum links, teachers will find several of sections of this book to be highly engaging.

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In some respects one could view this book as a single warning repeated 64 times.

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Taking readers from the Middle Ages to (more or less) the present day, Gray charts how the places where we do our shopping and what we buy have changed over the centuries.

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As a source of potential ideas and inspiration, the book could be very useful indeed.

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One has the impression that the main role of the university these days is to maximise profit, while that of the majority of teaching staff is to ensure the ‘correct’ views are passed on to students. All the while, students’ main concern seems to be to seek protection from anything that might make them feel unsafe.

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Is a 2014 book on managing the computing provision in a school still worth buying?

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Still relevant (sadly): How to lie with statistics, by Darrell Huff
Still relevant (sadly): How to lie with statistics, by Darrell Huff

Although this book is over 60 years old, it is remarkably apposite for our times -- and especially in the fields of educational research and assessing pupils' understanding and progress.

Read More →
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It was a great source of pride to me, getting hundreds of students through their A levels and encouraging them to go to university. But for some time I have asked myself a question: would I recommend this route now?

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