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

Education technology qualifications update

August 31, 2018

Computing and related qualifications: I’ve updated my spreadsheet of qualification at Key Stage 4 and 16-18. Please read on for details.

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

August 29, 2018

Here is a short review of this book about algorithms.

Books in brief: Technically Wrong

August 17, 2018

This is one of a current spate of books about the in-built bias found in many automated processes.

The cover of the latest issue of Digital Education

Digital Education AI edition

August 8, 2018

The latest issue of the free newsletter Digital Education is about to be published. It has a special focus on artificial intelligence, and there’s a chance to win a book in a prize draw. Read on for more details.

Photo by Štefan Štefančík on Unsplash — Photo by Štefan Štefančík on Unsplash

My worst IT training days #1: Internet training day

August 6, 2018

Here’s the first article in a new series about my worst training days — the ones in which I was the trainer I mean!

Recent book reviews

When 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.

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.

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.

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.

Quick look: AI For Educators

There are some good ideas here, especially for prompts.

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.

Education book reviews of 2024

This pdf contains the reviews of mine that were published in Teach Secondary magazine in 2024.

Review: How I review books on edtech

My views on what constitutes a book on edtech are fairly catholic. Indeed, it would me more accurate to denote the books I review as books for teachers of ICT, Computing, digital literacy etc etc,, rather than books on edtech. The latter tend to have titles like “How to teach Computing”, or “How to use Excel in the classroom”.

Review: Nuts and Bolts: How Tiny Inventions Make Our World Work

It's rather disconcerting when one considers that buildings like The Shard are essentially held together by nuts, bolts and washers.

Review: Love Triangle: The Life-changing Magic of Trigonometry

Like, I suspect, many people, I have never knowingly come across an isosceles triangle in my life, and wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did. However...

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