Is 'making' really an effective -- or cost-effective -- way of learning programming?
Read MoreJust because everyone says something is good, doesn't mean it is.
Review: A student’s guide to Python for physical modelling
The book’s primary concern is enabling Python to be used for manipulating and plotting large datasets, dealing with image “noise” and other advanced topics.
Read More3 reasons your students are bored in Computing lessons, and 9 solutions
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
21 "laws" for computer users
The next time something goes terribly wrong when you’re using technology, console yourself that it’s happened to everyone!
Read More12 ways to prepare for teaching Computing
If 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 MoreBritish Gas and the Internet of Things (Updated)
Most 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 MoreAda Lovelace Day 2021
Imagine what Ada Lovelace might have achieved had Babbage actually built his “computer” and she hadn’t died at the age of 36.
Read MoreOn this day: 5 reasons to join Computing communities
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?On this day: Presentation: 10 stimulating ideas for the Computing curriculum
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.
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Question mark - Terry Freedman
National Coding Week: why?
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 MoreOn this day #13: Welcome back, VBA!
To borrow from Mark Twain, reports of the death of Visual Basic for Applications as a viable programming language to teach in schools are exaggerated.
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On this day #11: Making ICT and Computing real
This article, published on 5 December 2015, was one of a 7 part series on ways to make Computing be more interesting.
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Letter from Ada Lovelace to Charles Babbage. From the British Library. Licence: Public Domain
Ada Lovelace Day
Imagine what Ada Lovelace might have achieved had Babbage actually built his “computer” and she hadn’t died at the age of 36.
Read MoreBett2020: Python in Pieces
Python in Pieces is a visual interface for the Python programming language.
Read MoreA self-marking spreadsheet UPDATED
I 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.
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Frustration, by Terry Freedman
How to fix a paper jam that doesn't exist
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.
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Thumbnail sketch: Bad Choices: How Algorithms Can Help You Think Smarter
Here is a short review of this book about algorithms.
Read MoreComputing in the UK
The Royal Society recently produced its report into Computing, After the Reboot. Here are my notes and comments on that report.
Read MoreThe importance of touch in Computing
Making 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.
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Picture from Geralt on Pixabay. Licence: CC0
Two cheers for the internet of things
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?
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