Leaders are like harp players

May 10, 2020

The best leaders I’ve come across do not constantly interfere. They are not there “playing notes”, trying to show you how brilliant they are.

My audio files experiment

April 24, 2020

Around 2007 I had a widget embedded in my blog that enabled me to convert the text to an audio file. That stopped working. I’m trying out another one now, and here are my initial results.

You’re going on a journey now, so document it. Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Covid19: Document it!

April 23, 2020

Looking on the bright side, if you have started teaching your classes online, or setting work for your pupils online, this forced closure of many schools is a great opportunity to carry out some research.

Covid19: Why I’m continuing as normal

March 28, 2020

Recently I have been wrestling with my conscience: should I continue to write my usual kind of blog posts, which often assume that teachers reading it are physically in school or some other educational setting, or not?

Promoting Educational Technology: What we can learn from business

March 27, 2020

In this article I draw on the example of how one company's approach to getting repeat business may hold lessons for the ed tech leader whose job it is to encourage the use of education technology throughout the school.

Click the cover to see this on Amazon (Amazon Associate link)

Book review: Leaders Eat Last

March 27, 2020

Most of us have worked for all kinds of leaders, some good, some bad, some outstanding, others dismal, plus the odd one or two whose presence or absence appears to make no difference at all. But what makes someone a great leader?

The Ofsted Inspection Framework

March 9, 2020

Here are some links to information about the Ofsted inspection framework.

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

Review: The School Fundraising Handbook

March 2, 2020

One of the chief banes of my life as a head of computing in a comprehensive school was acquiring enough money to develop the subject and to improve the experience of using education technology for everyone across the school. I only wish this book had been available when I needed it most.

Bett2020: The FutureSource Report

February 9, 2020

With very insightful commentary on the trends spotted, this report is well worth downloading.

Bett2020: Safeguarding

February 6, 2020

Some time ago I compiled a list of ways in which pupils could be unsafe online. The list was extremely long….

Bett2020 Neo Learning Management System

January 29, 2020

Reflections on the Neo Learning Management System, and on implementing a learning management system in general.

Terry catching up -- or trying to! By Terry Freedman

Articles update

January 29, 2020

So many articles (to write), so little time! I’m in the process of writing up my experience of the Bett Show this year: products and reflections. It’s going to take me a while to do, even after setting myself a limit of 100 words per article. So, in the meantime, are a few pieces to be getting on with

Project management: the pink slip problem

January 27, 2020

When you decide to implement a new way of doing things, or a new learning management system, say, or any other major change, you will need to consult with other people at some point. But who?

Bett2020 The scalability problem (part 2)

January 26, 2020

The issue of scalability is not confined to cost considerations, but time as well.

Bett2020: The scalability problem (part 1)

January 26, 2020

Walking around the Bett Show and looking at products and services, I was reminded (as ever) of the need to keep scalability in mind.

Bett Seminars in the morning of Day 3 of Bett 2020

January 23, 2020

Here’s a quick reminder of the seminars I thought looked interesting in the morning of Day 3 of Bett 2020.

Virtual Reality Headset, by Terry Freedman

A good application of Virtual Reality (I think)

January 23, 2020

Using the MEL VR headset and software at Bett2020, I entered the molecule of a diamond, followed by that of a pencil.

Bett 2020 Seminars in the afternoon of Day 2

January 23, 2020

Here’s a quick reminder of the seminars I thought looked interesting on the latter half of the afternoon of Day 2 of Bett 2020.

Bett2020 Preview, screenshot by Terry Freedman

The Bett2020 Floor Plan

January 21, 2020

As the Bett Show has grown immensely in terms of the number of halls there are, it’s worth grabbing the Preview Guide. It has floor plans spanning four pages.

Terry Freedman's Bett 2020 Supplement

January 20, 2020

Here is my list of interesting-looking seminars at the Bett Show. It’s divided into days, from Wednesday to Saturday. I hope you find it useful.

Recent book reviews

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...

Review: Making Sense Of Chaos – A Better Economics for a Better World

Before you rush off on the grounds that this book has nothing to do with Computing, let me reassure you that it does.

Bjork & Bjork’s Desirable Difficulties in Action

The original work on which this volume is based has perhaps been honoured more in the breach than in the observance.

Review: Coderspeak – The language of computer programmers

This book won’t necessarily help a student pass a computing exam, but it will almost certainly make them a more aware, and thus better, programmer.

Review: Quiet Power, by Susan Cain

Introverts thrive by being allowed to be quiet, having time for reflection and not being required to 'perform' all the time.

Quick look: Desirable difficulties in action

The idea of desirable difficulties has always appealed to me. In my teaching I’m partticularly in favour of applying Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development.

Review: The Collaboration Book – 41 Ideas for Working Better

Most people would agree that collaboration is a good thing – so how can we collaborate more effectively in school settings?

Review: Listen: On Music, Sound and Us

This book might not directly address obvious aspects of the music curriculum, but it can certainly give teachers access to a rich seam of facts and anecdotes with which to embellish their lessons.