So many authors think they ought to be the recipient of the Nobel prize for literature.
Read More10 ways to make an impact
The way some people describe Computing makes it sound (let's be honest here) dead boring. The subject gets reduced, in effect, to 'coding'.
Read MoreReflections on assessing computing
This article was originally published some time ago, when there was a previous iteration of the National Computing. However, although the context has changed, many of the issues remain, which is why I've decided to republish. I hope you find it useful. It has been lightly edited to remove dud links)
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Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
The Joint Consultative Committee
Every so often I read about a headteacher caving in to students ‘demanding’ their rights, or demanding something or other. The usual technique is to go from zero degrees to boiling in no seconds flat, bunking off lessons to ‘protest’. My response would be to (a) suspend the lot of them
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Get off of my lawn
One of the few good things about the emphasis on ‘coding’ now is that as most people acknowledge that they know nothing about it, they leave the people teaching it in peace.
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On this day: 27 December 2019 and 2022
On the ICT & Computing in Education blog I had one of my peridodic digs at politicians. Over on my Eclecticism newsletter I wrote about my writing process.
Read MoreAh, those were the days -- not
Here at Freedman Towers I have been trawling through the archives, hoping to salvage something of my legacy to donate to the nation, or indeed the world. Anyways, all joking aside, I came upon this email I wrote…
Read MoreBlast from the past: the homework excuse management system revisited -- now with comments!
I have republished this post, or a version of it, on my Substack newsletter. The comments are interesting!You can use a spreadsheet to solve even relatively trivial problems — but why should you do so?
Read MoreFirewall Foibles, And How I Survived Them Revisited
It was when my wireless router told me that there was no printer on the network that I finally flipped.
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Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
What? You mean...
This is a blast from the past. But kids are kids.
Read More#Flashback Friday: Sexism in computer stores
In 1994 I set out with my wife to discover the best place to buy a computer system -- and discovered a lot of sexism along the way.
Read More#Flashback Friday: Review of The Long Tail
The “Long Tail" has been lauded and quoted at length. But what does the book actually say, and how does it stand up to scrutiny. In this lengthy review I give it a cautious "thumbs up".
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TfL data by Terry Freedman
An article about data
Elaine keeps telling me to remember to clock in and out at stations, even if the barriers are open. She’s right.
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Just a section of the Freedman archive collection (artist’s impression)
Computers in Classrooms #10: The end of the line
Here’s a rum thing. While trawling through the Freedman archives looking for something exciting to read (actually, an excuse for not getting on with the work I’m meant to be doing), I came across this old newsletter.
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 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.
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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 MoreThe problems with rubrics
Rubrics look like an easy way to tackle assessment. But they can be deceptive in that respect, and can cause the unwary to slip up.
Read MoreReports of the death of the textbook have been exaggerated
Is the demise of the traditional textbook really something to be welcomed?
Read MoreThe blog is dead. Long live the blog
From an educational point of view, we should encourage students to work out which form of writing is most appropriate for the job in hand, not encouraging them to drop one type of writing all together.
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