I daresay there are schools in which teachers are expected to divide all their lessons into manageable chunks in accordance with Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). The fact that CLT is light on the specifics and is a load of rubbish is seemingly no deterrent.
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?
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From Tom Gauld’s Revenge of the Librarians
Is this the future of ChatGPT for authors?
A depressing future for writers?
Read MoreAn advertisement for my newsletter -- courtesy of ChatGPT
I asked ChatGPT to write some dialogue advertising my newsletter in the style of a 1930s wise guy gangster.
Here’s what it came up with….
Read MoreSeason's greetings!
Season’s greetings from Freedman Towers.
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.
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Snow on tracks by Terry Freedman
A brief interlude
Here in England it’s cold, though not quite as cold as it has been, and walking and cycling are treacherous.
Read MoreThe Oldest Blogger? (revisited)
So you thought that blogging started circa 2002, did you? I have incontrovertible proof that it has been going a lot longer than that.
Read MoreThe Society of Breakers
Too many brilliantly-working things are screwed up for it to be just accidental.
Read MoreUse a spreadsheet for literary criticism: it's more accurate (Updated)
It seems to me that if you’re going to encourage students to use computer programming in literature studies, one very worthwhile project would be to get them to create a random book review or literary essay generator.
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A zombie, by Terry Freedman
Beware the zombies
“It never occurred to me at the time that we have zombies amongst us in the form of ex-Secretaries of State — not just in education, but in other areas too.”
Read MoreWhen technology goes wrong (Updated)
Just a couple of cogitations – hopefully worthy -- about technology and our relationship with it.
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I should have booked in person. Liverpool Street Station, by Terry Freedman
A web-based labyrinth that would have made Borges or Kafka delighted
Can using a computer be injurious to one's health? If you're trying to book a particular rail journey via a particular website in the UK, the answer is a resounding "Yes".
Read MoreGovernment education technology initiatives for schools: a modern example of Parkinson's Law?
As always the secret motto seems to be: “When in doubt, reorganise”. It doesn’t have to deal with the real problem, but it does have to look like activity.
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 MoreHow to convince colleagues to use education technology in their lessons
If you’re the education technology lead in your school, and your job involves encouraging other teachers to use education technology, what’s the best approach?
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On top deck of a number 8 bus, by Terry Freedman
A Touch of Humanity (updated)
It is a sad but incontrovertible fact that one of the unfortunate effects of technology is that it provides some people with the excuse they need to abrogate all sense of personal responsibility or discretion.
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Christmas at Selfridges, by Terry Freedman
End-of-year message from ICT & Computing in Education
Unfortunately, my end-of-year message got a bit mangled, but I’m posting it here anyway. See if you can figure out what it is supposed to say.
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Wow! By Terry Freedman
Inspection of a Computing department in the form of a really bad TV documentary 2021
Fortunately, such an inability to explore interesting and sensible questions would not be found in a real inspection. Would it??
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