Books — Terry Freedman's ICT & Computing in Education blog — ICT & Computing in Education

Books of 2020

December 31, 2020

These are the books I’ve encountered in 2020.

The importance of reading in education technology: 3 books to read and recommend

May 22, 2017

Why background reading and reading around the subject are good things to do, plus three books I recommend for students (and teachers).

Getting the most out of Education Conferences -- now available on Kobo!

May 18, 2017

Information about my ebook, Education Conferences, plus where to buy it on Kobo.

7 books for teachers of computing and ICT

July 25, 2016

Micro reviews of 7 books. Inspired by a particular branch of "flash fiction", these reviews are just 6 words long! Ideal if you don't have much time to read a full length review, but would like a heads-up on what's out there. However, longer reviews are available if you prefer. Details are in the article.

What I've been reading: What's yours is mine

July 21, 2016

This book provides an interesting -- and disturbing -- perspective on the so-called sharing economy.

What I'm reading: Bounce

July 7, 2016

What does it take to become an expert? And what can the Computing teacher do about it?

What I'm currently reading in the world of technology

May 26, 2016

Here are three thumbnail sketches of books I'm reading at the moment or have recently read. I hope it's useful.

What I've been reading

February 16, 2016

Some educational research books are better written than others. "Making a difference in education" is one of them.

Books for teachers of Computing and ICT

January 9, 2016

News about the ever-expanding Books Recommendations page on the ICT & Computing in Education website. This complements the book reviews that I publish fairly regluarly.

Recent book reviews

Review: Social Media for Academics

This book is very readable, and if I sound surprised that is because it’s not always true of academics!

Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example

For the time being, this book is free in Kindle format.

Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too

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

Review: The Dictators: 64 Dictators, 64 Authors, 64 Warnings from History

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

Review: The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street

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.

Review: Extraordinary Learning For All

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

Review: Bad Education: Why Our Universities Are Broken and How We Can Fix Them

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.

Review: Next Practices - An Executive Guide for Education Decision Makers

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

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.

Quick looks: Bad Education: Why Our Universities Are Broken and How We Can Fix Them

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?