All too often, however, keynotes by so-called “visionary” speakers leave me feeling both uninspired and uninformed.
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clock. by Terry Freedman
No such thing as a loose end
What can your students do in the odd five minutes in computing lessons? Here are ten suggestions.
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cup of tea, by Terry Freedman
The tip jars issue
I installed a Buy Me A Coffee button on my Eclecticism newsletter, but felt so “icky” about it that I took it down after a couple of weeks.
Before we can go any further, is this an educational issue? I believe it is, or could be, for the following reasons
Read MoreReview: One for maths teachers
This wide-ranging book takes in probability, fractals, astronomy, Babbage, Lovelace and a host of other areas and people.
Read MoreReviews: Two for History teachers
Two books on the Nazi era.
Read MoreReview: One for English teachers
No book about the craft of writing seems complete without a stern chapter on the importance of eschewing adverbs and adjectives - but what to put in their place?
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Why not experiment when teaching ICT or Computing?
It’s amazing what you can achieve with a paintbrush and a fork.
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Terry's desk, drawn by Terry Freedman
How I used Notebooklm for writing a blog post
I was recently commissioned to write a blog post for an organisation. They gave me loads of stuff in different formats to draw on. Here’s how I coped!
Read MoreI miss the old website
When I first launched the ICT in Education website (since renamed to the ICT and Computing in Education website), it was hard going. Despite using Microsoft Front Page, and experimenting at various times with various HTML editors, it was hard work, in two respects.
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robot, by Terry Freedman
AI Cynicism #3
Have you noticed that more and more companies seem to have outsourced their customer service to an AI bot?
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Click the cover to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Review: The Great Formal Machinery Works: Theories of Deduction and Computation at the Origins of the Digital Age
If you’re of a mathematical bent this could be just the book to delve into.
Read MoreAI Cynicism #2
An AI expert recently advised people to just subscribe to the premium version of one of the AI apps, rather than waste time hopping between several free ones all the time. Hmmm….
Read MoreAI Cynicism #1
I came across a “resource” recently that consists of hundreds of “ready-to-wear” AI prompts.
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Click the pic to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Review: How to lie with statistics
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.
Read MoreUsing fiction as a vehicle for discussing technology
How might you use fiction as a vehicle for teaching computational thinking? Here are some ideas.
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“Erm, what?” Photo by Tadeusz Lakota on Unsplash
On this day: The "voluntary" national tutoring scheme
From ICT and Computing in Education, 6th May 2022
The Department for Education’s newly beefed-up National Tutoring Scheme enables schools to arrange tutoring for their students at discounted rates. It’s purely voluntary, but…
Read MoreWhat I've learnt from teaching online
Since a couple of courses I signed up for moved online, along with my own courses, I find it interesting to observe the issues people have (and to discover new ones).
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That didn’t impress me much
On this day: Should the ICT Programme of Study be disapplied?
"The degree of ignorance displayed by people who seemed not to have read the Programme of Study, or to understand what the unintended consequences might be. “
Read MoreAre you coming on too strong?
There is a danger in overselling your services. Being too overbearing simply does not work.
Read MoreReview: Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
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