Are your students yawning, checking their email, launching paper aeroplanes in your lessons? Perhaps you’re making one of these mistakes.Rules, rules rules. Photo by Terry Freedman
The next time something goes terribly wrong when you’re using technology, console yourself that it’s happened to everyone!
Read MoreIf you're told you'll be teaching Computing from now on, but don't feel competent to do so, what practical steps can you take in order to get up and running? Here are 12 suggestions.
Read MoreMost talks I have heard on the subject of the internet of things, by which is meant the connecting up of objects with people and other objects through wireless technology, have been completely daft.
Read MoreImagine what Ada Lovelace might have achieved had Babbage actually built his “computer” and she hadn’t died at the age of 36.
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Teaching can be a lonely profession, especially if, as is often the case, you are the sole teacher of ICT or Computing in your school. Whether you’re on your own or part of a team, I’d thoroughly recommend joining a community or several. Why?This is an article I originally published on 2 October 2017. The conference it refers to has been and gone, but I’ve added a few annotations relating to my methodology.
Read MoreQuestion mark - Terry Freedman
I’ve always been of the strong opinion that (a) people should talk about programming, not coding, and (b) people learn best on a kind of need to know basis.
Read MoreTo borrow from Mark Twain, reports of the death of Visual Basic for Applications as a viable programming language to teach in schools are exaggerated.
Read MoreThis article, published on 5 December 2015, was one of a 7 part series on ways to make Computing be more interesting.
Read MoreLetter from Ada Lovelace to Charles Babbage. From the British Library. Licence: Public Domain
Imagine what Ada Lovelace might have achieved had Babbage actually built his “computer” and she hadn’t died at the age of 36.
Read MorePython in Pieces is a visual interface for the Python programming language.
Read MoreI like a challenge so I thought I’d try to create a self-marking spreadsheet in Excel. I was inspired to have a go at this by someone called Lee Rymill, who uploaded a self-marking spreadsheet to the CAS resources area. However, I wanted to take it a few steps further, using the Visual Basic for Applications programming language.
Read MoreFrustration, by Terry Freedman
If your printer keeps telling you there’s a paper jam when there isn’t, you aren’t necessarily going insane. This suggestion worked for me.
Read MoreHere is a short review of this book about algorithms.
Read MoreThe Royal Society recently produced its report into Computing, After the Reboot. Here are my notes and comments on that report.
Read MoreMaking it possible for students to come face to face with real things from times gone by can have an electrifying effect on them. This is especially so when teaching Computing.
Read MorePicture from Geralt on Pixabay. Licence: CC0
What an amazing age we live in: app-controlled devices, connected homes. So why aren't I wildly enthusiastic even though I am not by any means a Luddite?
Read MoreA program to put Excel on steroids. Loads of utilities that can be applied straight away, no programming involved, and it's free!
Read MoreThe Raspberry Pi User Guide 4th Edition
I always dread having to open any kind of manual. For a start, it’s against the natural order of things. (I don’t ask for directions either, even when I’m hopelessly lost.) Secondly, they usually seem to be written for people for whom they are superfluous.
Imagine, then, what a pleasant surprise it was to open this book and discover that it is not only well-structured, but an enjoyable read.
I wouldn’t say it is bedtime reading exactly (mind you, I used to read books on Excel functions and VBA before retiring for the night). However, it is very comprehensive.
For example, if you are interested in setting up your Pi to take time-lapse video, this book takes you step by step through the process.
If you’re serious about pushing your Raspberry Pi to its limits, and even if you’re already pretty familiar with what it can do, this book is a must-have for your bookshelf or workbench.
Raspberry PI User Guide (Amazon affiliate link)
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