The writer does an excellent job of both reflecting the annoyance of dealing with a computer program that has no flexibility as well as no intelligence, and highlighting the need for programs to invite human input when the consequences of not doing so can be catastrophic.
Read MoreWhat makes your product different from others?
If you sell a similar product or service to that of another company, what is it that makes yours stand out?
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Cross-curricular ed tech evaluation, by Terry Freedman
9 criteria for evaluating a school’s education technology and 8 criteria regarding Computing provision
Whether you are moving to a new school, or staying where you are, it’s good to stand back and try to gauge what the school’s education technology and Computing are like. Why you would want to do that if taking up a new post is obvious: you want to see how the land lies so that you can start to identify any improvements that could be made.
Read MoreThe value of ebooks
If you’re a teacher, and especially if you’re a head of department, ebooks are a great way of making available key information.
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4 Ways to come up with innovative ideas for teaching Computing
To borrow from Dr Johnson, I find that most innovative ideas in Computing I read about are both new and exciting. Unfortunately, the ones that are new are not exciting, and the ones that are exciting are not new. It’s all very well “pushing the boundaries”, but all that does is give you more of the same.
Read MoreThe problems with rubrics
Rubrics look like an easy way to tackle assessment. But they can be deceptive in that respect, and can cause the unwary to slip up.
Read MoreAre you serious?
We seem to be living in an age in which the more half-baked the idea, the more likely it is to find traction. I wonder, often, if this is because people think, “X has said this. X is an intelligent and wise person. Therefore this must be sensible.”
Read MoreReview: Sort Your Brain Out
Instead of sitting down and having an actual break, you consume your lunch while diving into a pile of marking….
Read MoreReview: Teach Like a Champion
This book starts from the premise that while teaching is an art, it also relies on the mastery and application of skills.
Read MoreBeing too pushy simply does not work
“… not only will it be informative to those colleagues who wish to be informed, it will save you from being an insufferable bore to those who don't.”
Read MoreBack through the time tunnel: techno-romanticsm
Having to wait a week for computer results may have been fine at the time, because we knew no better. But who in their right mind would look back on all that as some kind of golden age?
Read MoreAda Lovelace Day 2021
Imagine what Ada Lovelace might have achieved had Babbage actually built his “computer” and she hadn’t died at the age of 36.
Read MoreThe trouble with gurus
I once wrote a scathing (but, of course, very polite) article about something a well-known person had written. Later that day, I was going down an escalator at Waterloo Station, and he was coming up the other escalator!
Read MoreAnother criterion of IT project success: nothing
You can end up being so focused on measurable criteria that you miss really important stuff.
Read MoreObtaining customer feedback
In my experience, it’s quite nerve-racking to seek customer feedback. I mean, what if they say the product sucks, but that they have to use it because there’s not much of an alternative?
Read More15 Ways To Make an Educational Technology Project Successful (Updated)
How can you make an educational technology project, for example a school research initiative, successful? In a sense, the fact that it's to do with ICT in education is irrelevant. There are some generic 'rules' which ought to be abided by.
Read MoreWhy Is The Curriculum Like a bus Timetable (updated)?
I’ve observed lessons in which the teacher feels obliged to race on in order to get through the scheme of work. That results in some, if not all, students being left behind.
Read MoreOn this day: 5 reasons to join Computing communities
Teaching can be a lonely profession, especially if, as is often the case, you are the sole teacher of ICT or Computing in your school. Whether you’re on your own or part of a team, I’d thoroughly recommend joining a community or several. Why?On this day: Presentation: 10 stimulating ideas for the Computing curriculum
This is an article I originally published on 2 October 2017. The conference it refers to has been and gone, but I’ve added a few annotations relating to my methodology.
Read MoreWhat should a customer newsletter contain?
Once a school buys your product or service, a newsletter is a great way of keeping them informed of new developments. In this article, we look at what kind of content works well.
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