HoL Committee Room, by Terry Freedman — Sadly not my typical committee meeting room! This was taken in a House of Lords Committee Room, by Terry Freedman

The pros and cons of having an e-learning committee in a school

August 14, 2025

In my past roles as ICT Co-ordinator or e-learning co-ordinator, I have formed and chaired an ICT or e-learning committee. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having such a body?

Reasons to have a double opt-in system for newsletters

October 2, 2020

Ever since I started my newsletter — which is now in its 20th year — I have used a double opt-in system. What does that mean, and why do I do it?

Book review: 100 Top Tips - Microsoft Excel, by Sean McManus

September 3, 2020

Could this book of 100 top tips for using Excel benefit heads of department or subject leaders?

Making money for ed tech -- from manual labour

August 24, 2020

How I made money for ed tech in my school: was it worth it?

Reasons to have an e-learning committee in a school

August 13, 2020

In my past roles as ICT Co-ordinator or e-learning co-ordinator, I have formed and chaired an ICT or e-learning committee. What are the benefits of having such a body, and does Covid-19 change anything?

How to generate random text even if you don't use Word

July 9, 2020

Need to create an example document quickly? You don’t have to type it out.

Recent book reviews

For your Eng Lit colleagues? The Penguin Book of the International Short Story -- two reviews in one!

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!

Two reviews in one: Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals -- art and history

One for your colleagues, perhaps: art, art history, ploitics with a small ‘p’.

Two reviews in one: State of Ridicule: A History of Satire in English Literature -- politics, history, English

One for your colleagues, perhaps. Sperrin has provided a wealth of information that can be used to provide a rich experience for students of politics, history and English literature.

Two reviews in one: A Little History of Mathematics

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.

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Review: The Learning Rainforest: Great Teaching in Real Classrooms

This is a great book for dipping into in order to read about different teaching and assessment strategies, backed up by research.

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Review: Outstanding Formative Assessment: Culture and Practice

This book contains numerous assessment for learning techniques.

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Review: New Media in the Classroom: Rethinking Primary Literacy

This provides a great deal of information about the different aspects of "literacy” and how digital tools can be brought into the service of literacy in the primary school.