What I've been writing: articles around education technology: innovation, parental engagement, teaching programming and digital illiteracy

April 21, 2017

Here are links to a few articles I've written recently. They cover parental engagement, innovation, how to teach computer programming and, finally, "digitally illiterate and proud of it".

Making and coding

April 18, 2017

Is 'making' really an effective -- or cost-effective -- way of learning programming? Guest contributor Derek Blunt has his doubts.

National Backup Day: points for discussion, and 8 potential elements of a Computing project

March 27, 2017

Some topics to discuss arising from a recent survey, plus a possible Computing project for your kids.

Assessment and the black swan problem: a new free resource

March 12, 2017

A new, free, resource.

I've been thinking about, and running courses on, assessment for a long time. In a mini essay called Assessment and the black swan problem, I discuss an issue that I think receives scant attention. In this short article I tell you how you can get hold of the essay.

Fake news: Resources and suggestions

March 6, 2017

Fake news? Alternative facts? Post-truth? Read on for information about very useful and interesting resources to use in the classroom.

The book is available as an iBook or a PDF

What I've been reading: Thinking Critically with Digital Media

March 5, 2017

This book by Nik Peachey is an excellent resource book for teachers of media and digital literacy.

But does she understand what she's doing? Photo by Gerd Altmann.

Collating resources for my Assessment in Computing course

March 3, 2017

I'll be running a course in Assessing Computing soon. What are the challenges in compiling a list of recommended resources for course particpants?

Maybe you should have checked the tech first! Photo from pixabay.com CC0

A useful rule of technology

February 17, 2017

What do trainee teachers or colleagues who are new to education technology need to know?

Sir Bob Geldof at Bett 2017. Photo (c) 2017 Terry Freedman.

An interview with Sir Bob Geldof, and other articles

February 10, 2017

Here's some information about what's in the latest edition of our newsletter, Digital Education.

Bett 2017: Themes, Strategy and Economics

February 8, 2017

What were the main themes of this year's Bett show? And if you attended, how can you think about strategic decisions based on what you saw?

What I've been reading: So you've been publicly shamed

February 7, 2017

A harrowing, but very readable, account of how public shaming affects the victims.

Some interesting e-safety resources

February 6, 2017

It's Safer Internet Day on 7th February this year. Here are some reading and some resources to do with e-safety. I hope you find them useful.

Bett Radio 2017, with Russell Prue

January 31, 2017

Relive the Bett 2017 experience with Russell Prue's Bett Radio. Four days'-worth of chat, interviews and observations. And it's free!

Thoughts on Bett 2017

January 30, 2017

Updated. Some reflections on Bett, plus links to other articles about Bett.

Photo from Ian Stannard CC BY-SA 2.0 — Photo from Ian Stannard CC BY-SA 2.0

3 e-safety pins

January 29, 2017

Here are three useful pins from Pinterest on the subject of e-safety for kids.

Bett Bulletin #7: two stands to visit at Bett

January 27, 2017

Two pretty good products to see at Bett 2017.

Bett 2017 Bulletin #6: What I've seen, what to see

January 26, 2017

Here's a summary of what I saw on the first day of Bett 2017, and the products and seminars I think worth looking at.

Bett 2017: Wednesday's seminars

January 25, 2017

A selection of seminars going on at Bett 2017 on Wednesday, the first day.

Bett 2017 Bulletin #3

January 20, 2017

I know from past experience what next week at Bett will entail, so I've written a program to summarise it....

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.