The notes below formed the basis of a presentation I did at a conference a few years ago. Take from it whatever you find most relevant to your situatiion.
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Students working, by Terry Freedman
11 things to do in 5 minutes in your computer lessons
What can your students do in the odd five minutes in computing lessons? Here are eleven suggestions.
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They're not that shocking, surely?
6 Outlandish things to do in your Computing lesson
Why not try something different in your Computing lessons? Here's a short list of suggestions.
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What if "she" decided whether or not you got the job?
8 ideas for story-writing in Computing
Here are 8 ideas for encouraging pupils to write stories on Computing and related topics.
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4 Ways to come up with innovative ideas for teaching Computing
To borrow from Dr Johnson, I find that most innovative ideas in Computing I read about are both new and exciting. Unfortunately, the ones that are new are not exciting, and the ones that are exciting are not new. It’s all very well “pushing the boundaries”, but all that does is give you more of the same.
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Idea! By Terry Freedman
4 websites to stimulate ideas for Computing projects
Four interesting and stimulating websites with which you may not be familiar. Use them to spark discussion about and ideas for Computing projects.
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15 ideas and tons of resources
If you're looking for ideas and resources for the new school term, here is a really good resource to get you going.
Read MoreWhat if "she" decided whether or not you got the job?
7 ideas for story-writing in Computing
Here are 7 ideas for encouraging pupils to write stories on Computing and related topics -- and the announcement of a brilliant new and free resource: 70 Kinds of Blog Posts.
Read More6 useful ideas for computing lessons
What can a book written 40 odd years ago have to say about teaching computing? Nothing, actually, but it did inspire me to write an article suggesting routines in computing lessons. Read on to find out more.
Read MoreThey're not that shocking, surely?
5 Outlandish things to do in your Computing lesson
Why not try something different in your Computing lessons? Here's a short list of suggestions.
Read MoreIdeas for the computing curriculum: #4 Fun and pointless? Why not?
In this series I’m going to be making some suggestions, putting out some ideas. These are based on presentations I’ve given. I can think of how these ideas, or their implications, might be applied in the classroom. However, I think it better if I stand back and let you do that part of the work!Ideas for the computing curriculum: #3 Be self-referential
In this series I’m going to be making some suggestions, putting out some ideas. These are based on presentations I’ve given. I can think of how these ideas, or their implications, might be applied in the classroom. However, I think it better if I stand back and let you do that part of the work!
I know that this is counterintuitive, but what if you devised an activity to teach programming or computational thinking, but instead of of just telling the kids what to do, you make them solve a problem first – by applying computational thinking or some elementary programming?
Ideas for the computing curriculum: #0 What box?
In this series I’m going to be making some suggestions, putting out some ideas. These are based on presentations I’ve given. I can think of how these ideas, or their implications, might be applied in the classroom. However, I think it better if I stand back and let you do that part of the work!
One of the most depressing things for me is the degree of conformity I come across.
Ideas for the computing curriculum: #1 Talk to the lamp post
In this series I’m going to be making some suggestions, putting out some ideas. These are based on presentations I’ve given. I can think of how these ideas, or their implications, might be applied in the classroom. However, I think it better if I stand back and let you do that part of the work!
There’s a really good chance that in some schools, or in some classes, the computing curriculum will be just as boring as the old ICT curriculum was accused of being. I think the basic starting point for any scheme of work should be a simple proposition: using technology is mostly enjoyable. It can also be exciting. Therefore, learning about technology should be equally enjoyable and exciting. If it isn’t, something is wrong.
4 Ways to come up with innovative ideas for teaching education technology
To borrow from Dr Johnson, I find that most innovative ideas in ICT I read about are both new and exciting. Unfortunately, the ones that are new are not exciting, and the ones that are exciting are not new. It’s all very well “pushing the boundaries”, but all that does is give you more of the same.
In my opinion there are four main ways of generating ideas that are both genuinely new and genuinely exciting. Here they are.
7 Outlandish ideas for ICT
Yesterday I was faced with a grim journey into central London. Now, we Brits like nothing better than to complain about the weather, but this time our moaning was justified. The dreadful heat made it difficult not only for us to work, but also the signals on a part of the rail service into London. The part that I use. Rather than face delays of up to 40 minutes (nearly 50% of the normal journey time), I “asked” Transport for London to find an alternative route for me, one which didn’t involve going by rail.
I'm glad I did.