I’m thinking that even if I gave a book I reviewed a rave write-up and five stars, it might still not make the list if a book I deemed deserving of four stars is comparatively better.
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Wow! By Terry Freedman
Inspection of a Computing department in the form of a really bad TV documentary 2021
Fortunately, such an inability to explore interesting and sensible questions would not be found in a real inspection. Would it??
Read MoreWho needs "21st century skills"?
Has there ever been such a frenzy of thinking and activity over a concept which does not even exist? I am referring, of course, to the ridiculous notion of so-called '21st century skills'
Read MoreCreating filler text: useful tools for teachers
If you produce the school’s newsletter, or a departmental newsletter, or a newsletter for parents, filler text will enable you to quickly test a new template without worrying about the actual content.
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Hazardous area! Photo by Terry Freedman
Must you always obey instructions?
The short answer to the question that forms the title of this article is “Yes”. Even so…
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Burglar! By Terry Freedman
The Great Training Robbery
There must surely be few things more annoying than, having put a lot of work into a course, you discover that someone has ripped you off. They are using your materials in their course. They might even be selling your materials somewhere online.
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On this day: a spreadsheet grade predictor
On December 7th, 2015, I wrote an article explaining how you could set up a spreadsheet in Excel to help you predict and analyse students’ grades.
Read MoreReview: Teaching Machines
There seems to be no end of attempts to improve education by people who have either never worked in it, or not understood what they were looking at.
Read More14 ideas for edtech company incentives
I was once offered discounts on buying a suite of computers for my school if I persuaded my colleagues to take out an insurance policy!
Read MoreFake news and media literacy
I like to try and give people the benefit of the doubt, but is that always the right approach? Ambrose Bierce defined a cynic as someone who sees things as they are, and not as they ought to be.
Read MoreDid you know Google was a search engine, preparing for Bett 2001, plus guidance that has stood the test of time
Back in the year 2001 Google was still very much the new-ish kid on the block.
Read MoreReview: A Student's Guide to Python for Physical Modelling
While this book is comprehensive, and gives instructions step by step, it is not what you might call an idiot’s guide.
Read MoreWhy you should test your product
This article was originally published on the Bee Digital Marketing website. Although it was mainly aimed at companies, many of the principles apply to anyone wanting to implement a new application in school.
Read MoreReview: Teaching Machines (for SchoolsWeek)
Here is a very strange paradox. On the one hand, everyone agrees that a key ingredient for success in life is having great teachers. On the other, there’s a relentless narrative that education is somehow broken and that fixing it entails replacing teachers or transforming some or all of what they do.
Read MoreOf COURSE classrooms have changed in the last few hundred years!
Is it really true that classrooms haven’t changed since the year 1600?
Read MoreThe art of listening: full article
It seems to me that one of the most important skills a salesperson should possess is to be able to listen. Yet some salespeople and technical support people launch into a script or a flowchart when you call the company, or when you meet them.
Read MoreA perfect example of why you should keep copies of your articles...
Your article is not available at the moment. Ain’t that a shame?
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The Homework Excuse Management System, by Terry Freedman
Blast from the past: the homework excuse management system revisited
You can use a spreadsheet to solve even relatively trivial problems — but why should you do so?
Read More3 reasons your students are bored in Computing lessons, and 9 solutions
Are your students yawning, checking their email, launching paper aeroplanes in your lessons? Perhaps you’re making one of these mistakes.14 Ways to Make the Most of Teaching Assistants in Computing lessons
In my experience, many teachers make poor use of teaching assistants, regarding them as a sort of junior helper on the same level as a school pupil doing a holiday job. This is unfortunate.
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