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

On this day #6: Is it rude to comment

November 30, 2020

Is it rude to comment on blog posts? Is it rude to not comment?

Exams and Covid-19: a solution

November 29, 2020

Now that we must do all we can to save our students from having to ever face up to the cruel vicissitudes of life, or at least to put off the evil day for as long as possible, several suggestions have been made.

Review: Scratch Programming in easy steps

November 28, 2020

This is book by Sean McManus is well set out, with clear print and plenty of illustrations. It starts with an introduction to the Scratch 3 environment, and in next to no time the reader is creating a program.

Thinking Aloud. Graphic by Terry Freedman

A downside of new technology

November 27, 2020

If a colleague using some technology in innovative and effective ways, and getting more out of it that they would from newer technology, and with more certain results, why on earth would they change?

The “two minutes” referred to is not entirely accurate. Graphic by Terry Freedman

Anatomy of a blog post

November 26, 2020

What are the elements of a typical blog post, and why are they useful?

Terry Two Minute Tips, by Terry Freedman. Not all of these tips are two minutes long, but numeracy was never my strong point.

Anatomy of a blog

November 25, 2020

What does a typical blog consist of?

On this day #7: Marking workload reduction

November 22, 2020

The only thing worse than feeling tired but knowing you have to mark 30 books by tomorrow morning is that feeling of ennui at 5 o-clock on a grim Sunday evening when all you want to do is curl up with a mug of tea and watch a movie, but having those exercise books smirking back at you.

On becoming a student again

November 19, 2020

I spend the whole of the lesson in abject terror that I am going to be asked a question.

Thank goodness for the wayback machine

November 15, 2020

I always find it mildly depressing when I click on a link in an old blog post and discover that it no longer “works”.

On this day #6: Do we still need schools?

November 12, 2020

The great and the good who pontificate about how school is no longer needed are the worst kind of hypocrite. They have benefited from a good (traditional) education themselves, and then tell the world that school is no longer needed or relevant.

We will remember

November 12, 2020

Good customer service is more important than ever now.

(Re) Learn 2020: a new online learning festival

November 11, 2020

This online conference looks quite interesting. Not all of it seems to concern ed tech, but it might be useful to attend anyway because of the different perspectives of international speakers.

Great ideas for coping with technology-related stress?

21 rules for computer users (Updated)

November 11, 2020

Great rules for coping with technology-induced stress? This is an updated version of an article published on 10 November 2009.

On this day #5: The importance of not being nice

November 10, 2020

It’s important to be nice — but even more important to be honest. I wrote this article on 10 November 2011, and still think it holds true today.

Audio version of the Digital Education newsletter

November 9, 2020

As an experiment, I thought I’d create an audio version of the most recent issue of my newsletter, Digital Education.

7 rules for ICT teachers, co-ordinators and leaders (Updated)

November 9, 2020

Here is a set of rules that I hope you will find useful.

Course: Writing for blogs: a taster

November 6, 2020

What is MVT, and why have I adopted the MVT approach?

Technology and wellbeing

November 2, 2020

Can technology have a beneficial effect on mental health and wellbeing?

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?