In my experience, an expectation of compliance was baked in to the system, and that really does mitigate against innovation.
Read MoreThe scream by Terry Freedman
When it comes to PR, learn from the worst
At best, “corporate guff” deadens the senses of the reader, and is simply regarded as a written equivalent of background noise.
Read MoreReview: Teaching Computing in Secondary School
While the author is an experienced teacher and subject leader, what is striking about the book is the extent to which his suggestions are grounded in academic research.
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Zoom meeting, by Terry Freedman
Working with schools during lockdown: 7 activities that work
A lot of edtech businesses and other organisations provide resources, and some provide lesson plans. Unfortunately, the resources on their own can become just one more free resource, and the lesson plans are often useless.
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The 4 key elements of word of mouth
It’s a challenge to think of what to do in order to stand out, but from the examples given in the book, it doesn’t have to be anything fiendishly difficult.
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On this day, by Terry Freedman
On this day #22: When to be over-cautious
I’ve seen a lot of half-baked initiatives emanating from schools. As for governments, well it’s almost what we’ve come to expect.
Read MoreResearch, teacher training, teachers' email addresses -- in the year 2000
“It seems to me that the folks at the Teacher Training Agency have not so much *lost* the plot as are still looking for it.” Another delve into the edtech issues of the day in the year 2000!
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Discussing, by Terry Freedman
Discussing exam grades with students
Is there anyone in the Department for Education who understands that education is more than issuing edicts?
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Conference, by Terry Freedman
Conference: The future of education technology UPDATED
* UPDATED * The folks at Westminster Forum are running a very timely conference on 11 March 2020, about the future of edtech.
Read MoreConverting an offline course to an online one: ebook
This is a fairly comprehensive account of the steps I went through to convert a course from one I taught in a physical classroom to one I could teach online.
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Me after writing the article
Completed at last: my longest blog post ever
Adult learners may have different characteristics from younger ones (at least theoretically), but decisions like matching the technology to ones pedagogy, how to assess progress, what resources to use, how to conduct discussions — all these, surely, are pretty much the same challenge in both cases?
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In the cloud, by Terry Freedman
Taking a course online
This morning I completed my magnum opus (nearly 3,500 words) on the process I went through when converting a course from one I’d taught in a physical classroom to one I could teach online.
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On this day #19: Who's in charge
Target, by Terry Freedman
On this day #18: Don't focus on the goal
As an education technology leader you need to have a vision, you need to have goals. But once you have established the vision and goals, it’s a good idea to forget about them.
Read MoreOfsted's guidance on "remote learning"
I think that this guidance is useful in making the idea of online teaching sound doable, but there are too few details or links to details that would make it truly useful.
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Zoom meeting, by Terry Freedman
Remote teaching during a pandemic
Lau provides a useful article that contains much information, based on research, that not everyone will have been aware of.
Read MoreWhy are some teachers reluctant to use educational technology?
In the following archived issue of my newsletter, you might find the following articles in particular interesting:
Why do it? (This reports the results of a survey enquiring into why some teachers shy away from using technology).
Responses to a problem posed in the form of a scenario, about teachers using technology as a reward or a time-filler rather than for serious work.
A preponderance of tech, by Terry Freedman
24/7 Learning vs 24/7 Teaching
I wrote this article , in which I discuss the importance of students having 24/7 access to technology, in 2005. And in 2020 we’re still talking about it.
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On This Day
On this day #15: Technical support
I would say that these days an efficient and effective technical support function is more important than ever. I have been at the sharp end of technical glitches in Zoom and so on, and although I was able to figure them out for myself, it was a very frustrating experience.
Read MoreLosing the Plot: the Importance of Asking, "So what?!"
If, by the end of a lesson, the students are none the wiser about the topic in hand, all that's been achieved is that the teacher can tick off the topic in the scheme of work.
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