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

After the rain, by Terry Freedman. This photo conveys how I felt after my first visit to the Microsoft shop.

A disappointing experience at the Microsoft shop in London

January 14, 2020

Perhaps I was just unlucky when I visited the Microsoft store in London, and that had I visited at some other time my experience would have been better, but I have no intention of finding out.

More corporate gobbledegook from the Department of Education

January 13, 2020

More corporate guff from the Department of Education. Why can’t they use appropriate language?

Free illustrations for your blog or website

January 10, 2020

11 websites where you can find free illustrations.

6 articles and 13 resources about fake news

January 9, 2020

Here are some interesting articles, plus guides on how to check news on the internet, including photos and videos. Plus classroom activities.

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

Review of Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder

January 8, 2020

I learnt more science from reading this book than I learnt in five years of secondary school.

New Year Puzzles: a coded message, the next decade in ed tech, and possible good news regarding government employees

January 6, 2020

If it takes someone at least three years to become a good teacher, what can a civil servant achieve in eighteen months?

Audio-Visual News

January 5, 2020

Amongst other things, my article (in the magazine referred to here) considers how the 21st classroom really has changed since the 16th century, despite what some people would have us believe.

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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