ed tech strategy — Terry Freedman's ICT & Computing in Education blog — ICT & Computing in Education

Planning a digital strategy without a planned budget

July 8, 2021

In my experience, few headteachers feel comfortable about a rolling commitment to spending money in a particular area, and even if they do sign up to the idea, circumstances can change.

Conference: The future of education technology UPDATED

February 15, 2021

* UPDATED * The folks at Westminster Forum are running a very timely conference on 11 March 2020, about the future of edtech.

Not So Fast (Updated)

October 29, 2019

I once worked out, around 10 years ago, that there was a new education initiative on average every two weeks.

The new DfE education technology strategy: a textual analysis

May 2, 2019

The recent ed tech strategy from the Department for Education leaves much to be desired, not least because it’s so boring to read. I ran it through a word cloud and a textual analysis application. Here are my findings, along with recommendations and the introduction of my new SnoreMaster Awards.

My summary of the new ed tech strategy

April 29, 2019

I’ve drawn a picture to illustrate my feelings about the DfE’s ed tech strategy.

Forward to the past? Becta’s startegy challenges. Photo by Terry Freedman

The Department for Education's Ed Tech Strategy: better late than never?

April 3, 2019

My initial reflections on the Department for Education’s education technology strategy which was launched today. A bit like the curate’s egg, parts of it are excellent.

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?