[Links corrected!] My question is: will this be of any use to someone teaching computing, or to students learning computing?
Read MoreReview: Atlas of AI
This ‘Atlas’ takes students deep into the field of artificial intelligence which, according to Crawford, is actually neither artificial, nor intelligent.
Read MoreHow to use pupils to evaluate education technology resources
What people say, and what they do, can be two different things. I have had a situation in which pupils tell me materials are “boring”, having just spent 45 minutes working intensively with those materials without a break!
Read MoreIntroducing kids to programming via a spreadsheet sweet shop
Spreadsheets are dead, right? Wrong! Not only are they a great tool for teaching programming concepts, they can easily be addressed under the Computing programme of study.
Read MoreWhy your Computing department needs a library
Like all educators, computing specialists should read more than just material directly related to what they’re teaching. It’s about being, and being seen to be, an expert in the subject.
Read MoreTo be an ed tech maverick, you need to be sensible (updated)
What does it mean to be a maverick? To me, it means not going along with the general consensus about something, just because it’s a consensus. There is always a natural tendency to think “all those people can’t be wrong”, or “there’s no smoke without fire”, but in fact all those people could be wrong and there could be smoke without fire.
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Book reviewing, by Terry Freedman
6 Graphic "Novels" for Computing teachers
If you’re looking for some good reading material, these “graphic novel” books may be just what you need. They’re all non-fiction, hence the quotation marks.
Read More10 Characteristics of a good Computing Scheme of Work
*UPDATED* What are the attributes of a good ICT and Computing scheme of work? Here's the list of characteristics I've always looked for.
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Click to see this on Amazon (affiliate link)
Tiny Noticeable Things
The following list contains examples of things I did in school that made life much easier for those on the receiving end. What might you do?
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Old technology, by Terry Freedman
Choosing word processing software
It may be true, as we’re often told, that most people use only 20% of the features of Word and other “high-end” programs. That may tempt you to buy or rent less pricey software that do not have so many features. Although that makes sense, I think it’s a mistake.
Read MoreAn email discovery
A prime example of Sattingler’s Principle.
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Nothing esoteric about this! VB example, by Terry Freedman
Esoteric programming languages
Programming languages are meant to be useful, right? I mean, I didn’t miss a memo or anything? That’s what I thought too. However…
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Think outside the box, by Terry Freedman
Technology and communication: less leads to more -- Updated
When it comes to communication, being restricted is definitely better, ie more conducive to effectiveness, than having no limits at all.
Read MoreIn case you missed it: Converting 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.
Read MoreIn case you missed it: Converting an offline course to an online one Checklist
In case you missed this when I posted it during half-term… I’ve written a long article about how I converted a course I’d taught in a classroom to one I was able to teach online. You can grab a checklist version of it in the form of a pdf by signing up to my newsletter, Digital Education, which is free.
Read MoreTackling tech troubles while teaching online (or avoiding them in the first place)
The following seven tips are based on my own experience, both as a tutor and a student, of things not going to plan.
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Zoom meeting, by Terry Freedman
Hybrid Learning
The first thing that struck me when doing the research for this article is how often the terms “blended learning” and “hybrid learning” seem to be used to mean whatever the writer wants them to mean.
Read MoreHow to adapt materials for online learning
You may wish to write some supplementary material to accompany the existing resources, consisting of suggestions or prompts for the teacher. Here is a list of considerations to guide the creation of these supplementary resources.
Read MoreTips for experts who now have to teach online
UPDATED! If you are an expert in your field, and now teach adults online, but don’t have any formal training as a teacher, you may find these tips useful.
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Zoom meeting, by Terry Freedman
Converting an offline course to an online one
In 2019 I taught an introductory course on blogging, for adults. I was invited to teach it again. Then a small event called a pandemic intervened, so I was told that the course would be moved from a physical classroom to an online one. My reaction? Excellent.
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