Terry Freedman's ICT & Computing in Education blog — ICT & Computing in Education

Picture by Mohamed Hassan on Pixabay. Licence: CCO

Creating a culture of innovation, #6: Attend talks

February 28, 2018

Why attending talks can be a good way of fostering innovation, and six things to consider before you do so.

A session in full swing at the London Book Fair -- photo by Terry Freedman

The London Book Fair 2018, and why you should be interested

February 23, 2018

The seminar sessions at this year's London Book Fair look great. Here are three reasons I think the London Book Fair is a great event, and a link to my top 11 seminar sessions (so far).

The importance of Creative Problem-Solving Skills

February 21, 2018

Why is creative problem-solving so important for young people today? Read on to discover the results of Adobe's recent research into this area.

Photo by PhotoMix Company on pixabay.com Licence: CCO

How to set up a teachers' computing area

February 21, 2018

Teachers need areas where they can work on computers quietly, efficiently and away from pupils. Here's how to go about setting one up.

How to evaluate digital content: a 25 point checklist

February 15, 2018

Thinking of buying some software, or subscribing to an online platform of some sort? Use this handy 25 point checklist to help.

Photo by Stevepb on pixabay.com. Licence: CCO

Creating a culture of innovation, part 5: Budgets

February 14, 2018

In part 5 of this series on creating a culture of innovation, we consider another aspect of delegation, and a special type of fund.

Teachers of the future? I don't think so. Picture from pixabay.com Licence: CCO

From AM to AI -- or why teachers should embrace the robot revolution

February 13, 2018

AI should be embraced, not avoided, because it has the potential to enable teachers to do their job withoiut much of the associated drudgery.

Not too late to enter a prize draw for one of three Computing in education books

February 12, 2018

To be in with a chance of winning one of three really good books, just follow the instructions in this article.

Why I disabled blog comments

February 9, 2018

If you don't like wasting valuable time dealing with spam or horrible comments on your blog, do what I did: disable the commenting facility.

Safer Internet Day: Can social media companies be trusted?

February 6, 2018

Are social media companies doing enough to keep children safe?

I'm done talking about Bett 2018

February 5, 2018

Now that Bett 2018 is well and truly over, here is some information about my reviews of 26 products and services I saw there, and how to access them.

Review of Enhancing Learning and Teaching with Technology

February 5, 2018

David J Longman reviews this new collection of essays on the theme of what the research says about using technology to enhance learning and teaching.

Start a teachers' reading group. Picture from Pixabay.com Licence: CCO

Creating a culture of innovation, part 4: Spreading good practice

February 2, 2018

Where are you most likely to discover good practice? And how can it be spread more widely?

Bett is a great opportunity for networking and discussion. Picture from Pixabay.com Licence: CCO

Bett 2018: A report

February 1, 2018

My review of Bett 2018. covering:

why it's useful to attend Bett, generally speaking
the main themes going on this year
a couple of wishes
where I'll be writing more about the products and services I saw

Bett 2018: Interview with Drew Buddie

February 1, 2018

An interview with Drew Buddie, aka @digitalmaverick

Recent book reviews

Review: Social Media for Academics

This book is very readable, and if I sound surprised that is because it’s not always true of academics!

Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example

For the time being, this book is free in Kindle format.

Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too

Despite the relative paucity of immediately obvious National Curriculum links, teachers will find several of sections of this book to be highly engaging.

Review: The Dictators: 64 Dictators, 64 Authors, 64 Warnings from History

In some respects one could view this book as a single warning repeated 64 times.

Review: The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street

Taking readers from the Middle Ages to (more or less) the present day, Gray charts how the places where we do our shopping and what we buy have changed over the centuries.

Review: Extraordinary Learning For All

As a source of potential ideas and inspiration, the book could be very useful indeed.

Review: Bad Education: Why Our Universities Are Broken and How We Can Fix Them

One has the impression that the main role of the university these days is to maximise profit, while that of the majority of teaching staff is to ensure the ‘correct’ views are passed on to students. All the while, students’ main concern seems to be to seek protection from anything that might make them feel unsafe.

Review: Next Practices - An Executive Guide for Education Decision Makers

Is a 2014 book on managing the computing provision in a school still worth buying?

Still relevant (sadly): How to lie with statistics, by Darrell Huff

Although this book is over 60 years old, it is remarkably apposite for our times -- and especially in the fields of educational research and assessing pupils' understanding and progress.

Quick looks: Bad Education: Why Our Universities Are Broken and How We Can Fix Them

It was a great source of pride to me, getting hundreds of students through their A levels and encouraging them to go to university. But for some time I have asked myself a question: would I recommend this route now?