Review of ASAP Utilities for Excel

November 16, 2017

A program to put Excel on steroids. Loads of utilities that can be applied straight away, no programming involved, and it's free!

Thumbnail sketch of the Raspberry Pi User Guide

November 2, 2017

I always dread having to open any kind of manual. For a start, it’s against the natural order of things. (I don’t ask for directions either, even when I’m hopelessly lost.) Secondly, they usually seem to be written for people for whom they are superfluous.

Imagine, then, what a pleasant surprise it was to open this book and discover that it is not only well-structured, but an enjoyable read.

I wouldn’t say it is bedtime reading exactly (mind you, I used to read books on Excel functions and VBA before retiring for the night). However, it is very comprehensive.

For example, if you are interested in setting up your Pi to take time-lapse video, this book takes you step by step through the process.

If you’re serious about pushing your Raspberry Pi to its limits, and even if you’re already pretty familiar with what it can do, this book is a must-have for your bookshelf or workbench.

Raspberry PI User Guide (Amazon affiliate link)

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5 Must-have conference apps

October 23, 2017

If you go to at least one conference a year, you should consider using these five apps.

What I've been reading: Weapons of Math Destruction

September 5, 2017

What's worse than being governed by algorithms? Not even knowing what the algorithm is doing. This very timely and readable book lifts the lid of what goes on in many walks of life.

Review of FotoJet

July 11, 2017

Fotojet is an online design application. Here's what I thought of it.

Droning on: Review of Drones in Education

July 4, 2017

What a fascinating idea: using drones as part of the curriculum. This book tells you much of what you need to know.

Our lives in data: privacy

May 16, 2017

How much data are you prepared to give away, and what are you prepared to allow organisations to do with it? The answers in my case surprised me.

Using Fiverr in schools

March 9, 2017

What's Fiverr, and why might it be useful to both teachers and school-leavers?

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.

What I'm reading: Understanding the Digital World: What You Need to Know about Computers, the Internet, Privacy, and Security

March 2, 2017

My first impressions of a new book about computers, networks and data.

What did you see at Bett 2017?

February 16, 2017

If you went to Bett this year, what struck you as good, useless, interesting, quirky etc etc? I'm going to compile a round-up of impressions, so please complete a really brief survey to share your views. Thanks!

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.

Thoughts on Bett 2017

January 30, 2017

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

Exclusive: Review of Bett 2017

January 18, 2017

An exclusive review of Bett 2017, even before it's taken place!

review of the PA-BESA conference 2016

December 2, 2016

The annual conference of the Publishers' Associationand the British Educational Suppliers Association took place on November 25th in London, and had the theme of "Shifting Landscapes". Here's an overview of it, and how it related to education technology.

What I've been reading: Digital Literacy Skills for FE Teachers

September 27, 2016

Although this book is aimed squarely at teachers in Further Education, I think it would be a useful resource for school teachers too, and even university lecturers.

Articles on Ed Tech: Retrospective #5

September 23, 2016

Here are some articles you may have missed in the past week or so. Topics featured include inspection, book reviews and Word macros.

Review of the Thule Gauntlet Laptop Bag

September 21, 2016

An expensive mishap concerning my laptop led to my buying a Thule laptop bag. Here's what I think of it.

A useful book for your education technology library

What I've been reading: Academic writing and grammar for students

September 19, 2016

A well-structured book that will prove a handy reference in the secondary classroom and beyond.

What I've been reading: How to read journal articles in the social sciences

September 14, 2016

While not specifically concerned with Computing or education technology, this is a very useful book for students undertaking research in journals.

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.