This is a serious question. What is the point of teaching kids computer programming, when AI can do all the hard work?
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An awful shock, by Terry Freedman
Training sessions that threatened to go wrong -- and how I rescued them
The chapters in this article were originally published as separate articles. For a pdf version, sign up to the free Digital Education newsletter and download it from the Digital Education Supplement area, where it goes under the title of My Worst IT Training Days.
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An AI experiment to summarise student feedback
An AI summary of feedback received on a course.
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An unrestricted link
Last week I announced a competition to win a copy of A Town Without Time, the new collection of work by Gay Talese. Here is the link again, this time with an unrestricted link!
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A Town Without Time
We all need a break from work, so why not curl up with a good book?
This is a great boook, full of interesting and wonderfully-written stories, and the publisher has made a copy available to win as a prize.
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A big question mark, by Terry Freedman
The DfE's foray into AI for education: the good news and the (potentilly) bad news
We don’t have very long to wait before the educational AI projects funded by the Department for Education are unveiled, if all goes to plan. But I have some concerns.
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Questions, by Terry Freedman
What is 'mastery'?
The devil is in the detail, and the subject is not apolitical.
Read MoreQuick look: Bad Education
Goodwin covers the reasons he left academia, scholars, students and the system. Then he proposes some solutions.
Read MoreWhen AI can write as well as this, I'll worry! Plus a prize competition.
To paraphrase what Arthur C Clarke said about teachers, any writer that can be replaced by a computer probably should be.
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Review: The Shortest History of Music -- two reviews in one!
The music programme of study requires students to possess an understanding of the music they perform and that which they listen to, as well as a grasp of music history, and an appreciation of different musical styles.
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Review: The Art of Uncertainty (two reviews in one)
The Computing department would find the section on facial recognition interesting, because apart from possible ethical concerns, the fact is that even if the system has high accuracy, most of its identifications will be wrong.
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Review: The Newsmongers: A History of Tabloid Journalism (two reviews in one!)
I was intrigued to discover that a popular news magazine of the sixties had been anticipated by Defoe.
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My lesson was inspected and all things tech went wrong
I have long been of the opinion that inspectors should just drop in, unannounced.
Read MoreQuick look: AI For Educators
There are some good ideas here, especially for prompts.
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Safer internet day 2025
These resources cover various aspects of online safety, including protecting oneself from scams, understanding personal information sharing, and recognizing signs of online threats.
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Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich -- Extended review
Nearly a hundred years after the Nazi phenomenon people are still asking the question: how could apparently ordinary or, in some cases, highly cultured, people commit such terrible crimes.
Read MoreEducation book reviews of 2024
This pdf contains the reviews of mine that were published in Teach Secondary magazine in 2024.
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dystopian visions, by Terry Freedman
Dystopian Visions: A Sound of Thunder, by Ray Bradbury (updated)
One of my favourite stories, this one by Ray Bradbury looks at the possible consequences of making a small, apparently insignificant, change in the past.
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Dystopian Visions, by Terry Freedman
Dystopian Visions: The Machine That Won the War (Revisited)
What really happens when a computer is invented that can make every decision in a war?
Read MoreDystopian Visions: Flowers for Algernon Revisited
One of the well-known tropes in science fiction — especially the sort of sci-fi you see in comics and superhero films — is the mad scientist.
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