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

Inspecting Computing in schools: 6 research questions

September 27, 2017

The schools inspectorate in England (Ofsted) aspires to become a research hub. How might or should this affect Computing?

Forthcoming education conferences in London, England

September 25, 2017

Here are a few interesting-looking conferences coming up in London, England, up to January 2018.

In the next issue of Digital Education

September 20, 2017

Algorithms, book reviews and review copies of my book. All in the latest issue of Digital Education.

Women and girls and technology: a matter of biology?

September 20, 2017

Are girls and women biologically predetermined to not be natural programmers? No, I don't think so either. This article contains some interesting points based on recent discussions, and links to (hopefully) useful articles.

8 Reasons to use project-based learning in computing

September 13, 2017

I’ve long been an advocate of project-based learning, or PBL. Done properly, it can be much richer in terms of learning opportunities, and more fun. I believe it is entirely applicable to the teaching of the new Computing Programme of Study, for the following 8 reasons.

Why recipes are a poor way of teaching algorithms -- and why they're not

September 12, 2017

Recipes as algorithms is one of the themes I'll be exploring in the next issue of Digital Education, which will be out soon.

Other themes include 'Is educational research worth the paper it's written on?' and much, much more.

Drones in the Computing curriculum

September 6, 2017

If you're considering using drones in your Computing curriculum, where do you start? This article has a few ideas.

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.

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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