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

Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash — Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

10 questions new headteachers should ask about the education technology in their school

July 30, 2018

If you’ve just started in a new school, how can you quickly evaluate how well the education technology is being used?

Digital Education: Prize Draw Extended

July 23, 2018

Good news for subscribers to Digital Education: the deadline for entering the current prize draw has been extended, for reasons explained in this article.

Illustration from pixabay.com Licence: CC0

20 Characteristics of Excellent Computing Or ICT Teachers

July 20, 2018

The people who say we can deal with the lack of Computing teachers by using ‘facilitators’, or getting the kids to learn from each other, don’t know what they’re talking about. A good ICT or Computing teacher, by which I mean one that understands what real teaching is, will do everything a so-called ‘facilitator’ would do, and more.

Arduino: The ultimate guide to Arduino, including projects, programming tips & tricks, and much more!

July 17, 2018

Here’s a quick look at a book which takes you through the Arduino.

Machine Learning and Human Intelligence, by Rosemary Luckin

July 10, 2018

Some notes about this new book, plus information about a special discount to subscribers of the Digital Education newsletter, and a great prize draw coming up.

Computing and Qualifications in the UK

July 10, 2018

The recently-published Roehampton University report on the take-up of Computing qualifications by school pupils makes for depressing reading.

Important email alert: I've moved!

July 6, 2018

Here’s a heads-up about a few changes I’ve made that temporarily caused my email address (terry@terry-freedman.org.uk) to be unavailable.

Nesta's FutureFest 2018

July 5, 2018

Here are a few highlights from this year’s FutureFest, which takes place on 6th and 7th July. Lots of AI and ruminating about the future. Looks good.

Happy 4th July!

July 4, 2018

Here’s hoping the folks in the USA have a great day.

Who are you REALLY meeting?

July 3, 2018

Is the person you’re talking to online who they say they are? Here’s a short video that ou could use to discuss this topic with your classes.

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?