As always the secret motto seems to be: “When in doubt, reorganise”. It doesn’t have to deal with the real problem, but it does have to look like activity.
Read MoreCome back, Office Skills, all is forgiven?
it is clearly important to ensure that pupils understand not just the mechanics of mail-merging, but the importance of checking the data that is generated.
Read MoreWill AI take over? Cause for optimism
When it comes to language, there is quite a bit of difference between English English and American English. Actually, the words sound the same, but the cultural context is often quite different.
Read MoreEducation jargon: a natural consequence of government edtech initiatives?
When it comes to jargon, the Building Schools for the Future programme in England takes a lot of beating. I’ve railed against the Department for Education for its awful predilection for driving agendas forward and delivering targets or whatever, but really they’re just amateurs at this stuff.
Read MoreMy Top Ten EdTech books of 2021
While narrowing down the list to ten titles is somewhat artificial, a device, I also wanted to be pretty strict about what I included. I didn’t want this to be just a collation of the beginnings of all the reviews I wrote over the course of the year.
Read MoreTwenty things to do with a computer (Forward 50) -- My review for SchoolsWeek
This is hands-down the most interesting edtech book I received for review in 2021, and easily the most inspiring.
Read MoreWhy your business or your education technology provision or your Computing department needs an ebook (or two)
If you, as a Head of Computing, or leader of Computing in a primary school, created an ebook containing your scheme(s) of work, information about the courses you offer, perhaps some staff biographies (with photos), that would be a great marketing tool.
Read MoreChromebooks for schools at cost price
Having known what it was like as a Head of Computing and ICT Co-ordinator desperately attempting to get hold of extra devices without blowing the whole of the school’s budget, I thought this was worth giving a closer look.
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Review: 50 Tech Tuesday Tips
All of the tools mentioned are free of charge, or have a freemium pricing model. This is important because as a school teacher, Richard understands the importance of affordable solutions.
Read MoreDigital Education next issue: contents finalised -- finally!
Here’s what’s coming in the next issue of my free newsletter, Digital Education.
Read MoreReview: Teaching in the Online Classroom
An excellent observation is that even small changes can have profound effects.
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Review: Organise Ideas: Thinking by hand, Extending the mind
This book is by no means an easy read, but it’s worth persevering with. It explains why graphic organisers or, more accurately, word diagrams work, drawing on various cognitive-related theories to do so.
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Review: The System: Who Owns the Internet, and How It Owns Us
This book will help teachers to address the parts of the Programme of Study concerned with computer systems, communications and online safety.
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On this day: applying computational thinking in the "real world"
I don’t think I’ve come across any examples of how pupils might use computational thinking in a broader context, or how it applies beyond the relatively narrow confines of computer science.
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New York Times Journal. Photo from Jane13 on Pixabay.
Coming soon in the Digital Education newsletter
Here at Freedman Towers we’re all working away at producing the next issue of the Digital Education newsletter. (The photo above is not an entirely accurate portrayal of the team, which comprises Mrs Freedman, myself, one cat and two kittens.)
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Image by Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay
Mixed blessings: primary schools can teach secondary schools a thing or two!
Much as it pains me to say this as an ex-secondary school teacher, most of the really innovative and exciting stuff I’ve seen in education technology and computing has taken place in primary schools.
Read MoreHow to convince colleagues to use education technology in their lessons
If you’re the education technology lead in your school, and your job involves encouraging other teachers to use education technology, what’s the best approach?
Read MoreNew year, new start
There is something heroic about working away on a computer while the rest of the world sleeps, with only a cup of tea and a distant street lamp to keep one company. But the health benefits of caffeine-fuelled nights are yet to be discovered.
Read MoreResources, copyright, useful tips for using education technology in the classroom
This issue of my Computers in Classrooms newsletter, dates from 2001. I am reproducing these newsletters partly in order to make sure that some of the history of using education technology is preserved, and partly because some of it is still relevant. That applies especially to the Tips section.
Read MoreReview: Audio for Authors (Yes, it IS relevant for teachers!)
Many moons ago I started my own podcast. It was called Terry Freedman’s Education Technology podcast, and it consisted of useful hints and tips for teachers of Computing and related subjects. I have to say that I found it hard going.
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