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

On this day #1: Assessment

September 30, 2020

Why bother with theories of assessment? Surely all that matters is whether or not it works?

The importance of making mistakes and dealing with them properly

September 27, 2020

What does dealing with mistakes “properly” mean in practice?

15 ways to keep on being a learner

September 27, 2020

Learning is necessary, useful and pleasurable! Here are 15 suggestions for continuing to learn, ranging from some pretty easy almost costless ways to a major commitment. Hopefully there’s something for everyone in this article.

My best IT training days -- index

September 26, 2020

Technology goes wrong from time to time, but isn’t it wonderful when the technology and the training go well?

My worst IT training days -- index

September 25, 2020

We all have the occasional awful experience when giving training. Here are mine!

The myth of the unchanging classroom

September 24, 2020

Is it really true that classrooms haven’t changed since the year 1600?

Authors of education books earn a fortune!

September 23, 2020

Is it true that education authors earn a fortune?

Chairing discussions online

September 21, 2020

Is it rude to not respond to people in an online discussion?

An ed tech slap on the forehead moment: Something I didn't think of but wish I had

September 20, 2020

Dang! Why didn’t I think of this great idea for inspiring confidence in technophobic colleagues?

Achieving stuff straight away in Computing lessons (Updated)

September 18, 2020

Why shouldn’t you start your course with lots of apparently useless techniques?

Automatic Writing part 2

September 17, 2020

What might it be like to be able to write an article straight from your head?

Automated writing part 1

September 17, 2020

The Guardian newspaper has published an article “written” almost entirely by AI. How worried should writers be?

Which online platform?

September 15, 2020

Google Meet, Zoom and Google Classroom are all viable contenders for the task of teaching your classes online. But which one is best?

Encouraging colleagues to use education technology

September 15, 2020

How can you make online learning more attractive to colleagues?

Footprints -- Covid19, by Terry Freedman

Teachers' experiences in the time of Covid

September 15, 2020

What has been the experience of teachers during this pandemic? An interim report will be discussed in a couple of virtual symposia.

The blame game

September 14, 2020

When it comes to responsibility, what can we learn from politicians and others?

Click the cover to see this book on Amazon UK (affiliate link)

Review: Learning Theories for Everyday Teaching

September 11, 2020

Is this book useful as a quick way in to educational research that’s relevant to classroom practice?

Review: The Fourth Education Revolution

September 11, 2020

Will robots and AI take over from teachers?

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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