Terry Freedman's ICT & Computing in Education blog — ICT & Computing in Education

Book review: How to think like a coder

May 9, 2019

This book aims to teach you how to think like a coder, rather then merely learning how to code. How far does it succeed?

What I've been reading: The Teacher's Guide to Tech 2018

October 2, 2018

Read this article for a review of this book — and a nice surprise!

Thumbnail sketch: Bad Choices: How Algorithms Can Help You Think Smarter

August 29, 2018

Here is a short review of this book about algorithms.

Arduino: The ultimate guide to Arduino, including projects, programming tips & tricks, and much more!

July 17, 2018

Here’s a quick look at a book which takes you through the Arduino.

What I've been reading: Reflective Practice

June 26, 2018

This book looks at the benefits of writing in order to reflect on and improve your practice, and suggests numerous exercises for doing so.

What I've been reading: Weapons of Math Destruction

September 5, 2017

What's worse than being governed by algorithms? Not even knowing what the algorithm is doing. This very timely and readable book lifts the lid of what goes on in many walks of life.

What I'm reading: Understanding the Digital World: What You Need to Know about Computers, the Internet, Privacy, and Security

March 2, 2017

My first impressions of a new book about computers, networks and data.

What I've been reading: So you've been publicly shamed

February 7, 2017

A harrowing, but very readable, account of how public shaming affects the victims.

Articles on Ed Tech: Retrospective #5

September 23, 2016

Here are some articles you may have missed in the past week or so. Topics featured include inspection, book reviews and Word macros.

Review of Ada's Algorithm: How Lord Byron's Daughter Ada Lovelace Launched the Digital Age

January 4, 2016

Ada's Algorithm goes into minute detail about Ada Lovelace's life, and her influence on the development of Computer Science.

Recent book reviews

Review: Social Media for Academics

This book is very readable, and if I sound surprised that is because it’s not always true of academics!

Quick looks: VIBE Coding by Example

For the time being, this book is free in Kindle format.

Review: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too

Despite the relative paucity of immediately obvious National Curriculum links, teachers will find several of sections of this book to be highly engaging.

Review: The Dictators: 64 Dictators, 64 Authors, 64 Warnings from History

In some respects one could view this book as a single warning repeated 64 times.

Review: The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street

Taking readers from the Middle Ages to (more or less) the present day, Gray charts how the places where we do our shopping and what we buy have changed over the centuries.

Review: Extraordinary Learning For All

As a source of potential ideas and inspiration, the book could be very useful indeed.

Review: Bad Education: Why Our Universities Are Broken and How We Can Fix Them

One has the impression that the main role of the university these days is to maximise profit, while that of the majority of teaching staff is to ensure the ‘correct’ views are passed on to students. All the while, students’ main concern seems to be to seek protection from anything that might make them feel unsafe.

Review: Next Practices - An Executive Guide for Education Decision Makers

Is a 2014 book on managing the computing provision in a school still worth buying?

Still relevant (sadly): How to lie with statistics, by Darrell Huff

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.

Quick looks: Bad Education: Why Our Universities Are Broken and How We Can Fix Them

It was a great source of pride to me, getting hundreds of students through their A levels and encouraging them to go to university. But for some time I have asked myself a question: would I recommend this route now?