We should encourage pupils to write useless bits of code. Here’s why.
Read MoreThe UserID interface, by Terry Freedman
30 ideas for organising a team meeting with a difference
If you lead a team of ed tech or Computing teachers, you can do a lot with team meetings; in fact, you can turn (at least some of them) into opportunities for professional development. It's a very good idea to occasionally depart from the standard team meeting format and put on a "special". This helps to keep interest high, and enables various goals to be achieved, including staff professional development.
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A pictogram version of the next edition of the Digital Education newsletter
The forthcoming edition of the Digital Education newsletter features some great links and resources. See if you can figure out what topics are covered from these illustrations!
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MS Decoded, by Terry Freedman
Microsoft Decoded Conference
The 2018 Microsoft Decoded event was a good conference, especially in the area of artificial intelligence and its applications. This year’s conference promises to have some interesting sessions too.
Read MoreComputing and computing-related qualifications
Here in England the Government, in its quest to put Computing on the map, did its best to make sure the rest of the map was blank – by getting rid of qualifications that lots of students took (especially girls).
Read More10 ways to encourage reluctant teachers to use education technology
If part of your job is to encourage other teachers to use technology in their lessons, this article, based on my own experiences, may help.
Read MoreComing soon in the Digital Education newsletter
The next edition of this esteemed newsletter has a cornucopia of links that will be of interest to teachers of computing and media literacy especially, and very little commentary! Read on to find out more.
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Presentation on a mobile phone, by Terry Freedman
Actually, it IS about the technology (partly)
“It’s not about the technology” sounds logical, but in my experience it is certainly not the whole story.
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Training manual, by Terry Freedman
How should ed tech training be done?
If you are responsible for the ed tech/Computing/ICT training in your school, here are a few questions which you might like to consider.
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The Scream, by Terry Freedman (with apologies to Munch)
Viruses and other nasties are a leadership issue
How vulnerable are schools to viruses and so on? Here are the results of a survey, plus some comments on the role of the ed tech leader in the school.
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Whiteboard, by Terry Freedman
My worst IT Training Days #5: Whiteboard not working
Worthy cogitations about what I might have done to avoid being faced with a non-working whiteboard — and why that situation arose in the first place.
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admin burden, by Terry Freedman
My worst IT training days #4: Too much admin on a course
How the admin involved in a course led to its being abandoned by one group of trainers.
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What I've been reading: Offline
Why do many people seem to be addicted to their smartphones? This book explains how we get drawn in to constantly checking for updates, and suggests what we might do about it.
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Books for the classroom, by Terry Freedman
How to get the most from school author visits
As well as having an ed tech library, why not look into inviting an author of a computing book to speak to your pupils?
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Computing and Related Qualifications
Computing and related qualifications ebook: why?
Here’s a brief note about why I wrote this mini-guide, and a couple of screenshots from its pages.
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If you’re looking for a course in computing or a related area, and you live in England, look no further! This ebook contains over 200 entries all in one place.
Computing and related qualifications: new e-directory
If you’re looking for a course in computing or a related area, and you live in England, look no further! This ebook contains over 200 entries all in one place.
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Harmonicas by Terry Freedman
7 Ways of Making the ICT and Computing facilities More attractive to use
How can you encourage other teachers to use the ed tech facilities? You may not know this, but there is not a lot of difference between a Lee Oskar diatonic harmonica (the type used by blues and folk musicians) and a Hohner Blues Band harmonica. The Lee Oskar is said to have been engineered to give a “sharper” edge to the tone, which suits the blues sound, whereas the Marine Band, being slightly “softer”, works well for folk music too. Unless you’re a purist, there is probably not much in it. As someone once said:
Read More“A difference is only a difference if it makes a difference.”
TPEA conference
Technology Pedagogy and Education Association Conference news
Good news if you’re thinking about going to the TPEA conference in July.
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Discussion before the discussion by Terry Freedman.jpg
Why outside help can be useful in educational ICT or Computing
This article summarises what I’ve learnt about the benefits of hiring outside help like an agency or a consultant, from my experience of doing so and also as (now) an ed tech consultant myself. I hope you find it useful.
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Assessment machine, by Terry Freedman
Artificial Intelligence and marking: pitfalls
I’m all in favour of making teachers’ lives easier, but automated essay marking is not the answer.
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