If you're looking for a handy, no frills book of suggestions for blogging, this book should meet your requirements. Having been designed as an email course, 30 Day Blogging Challenge, written by Nikki Pilkington, consists mainly of 30 very short articles on different aspects of blogging. Being able to buy the whole lot in the form of a book is excellent for those of us for whom deferred gratification is an alien concept.
9 Reasons to attend BETT 2012
Well, here we are again. It will soon be Christmas, and just as we're all hoping to have started to recover from over-eating and over-imbibing (not me though: I'm being sensible!), it's the BETT show. Said to be the largest educational technology show in the world, it's gruelling but also exciting. IF you can get to it, do so -- and if you can't think of why you'd want to, you're in luck, because that's what this article is all about.
There are at least 9 good reasons to attend BETT, these being to:
Review of Problogger’s Guide To Blogging For Your Business
Before looking at the book, written by Mark Hayward, in detail, it’s worth pointing out what the book is, and is not. It is, as the title implies, concerned with blogging in order to promote your business. It is not about blogging as a business in itself. It’s an important distinction, not least because once we take money out of the equation then “business” can be used as shorthand for any type of enterprise, including a charity, a cause – and a school.
A week to remember
People visit the ICT in Education website because they have an interest in ICT in education rather than in my private life, which is why I never post anything deeply personal here. However, recent personal events have affected my working life, the most visible evidence of this being the lack of updates here for nearly two weeks. Less publicly, a number of emails have remained unanswered. Here is what has happened during this period.
Read MoreCollabor8 4 Change at BETT 2012
We had a fantastic three hours at Collabor8 4 Change at Havering on the 17th November. Variety is the spice of life, so with 56 topics to choose from in total, everyone was catered for. To give you a flavour of the event, below is a selection of the talks and discussions featured. Now, if you are feeling really devastated that you were not able to be there, we have two bits of good news.Computers in Classrooms 3D Edition!
At 10:00 GMT today, the latest issue of Computers in Classrooms, the free, e-newsletter for educational ICT professionals, will be going live. It’s a special 3D edition, with guest articles from several teachers who have been smitten by the 3D bug. Here’s the full list of articles:
Read MoreFound on the web: 11/28/2011 (a.m.)
Found on the web: 11/25/2011 (a.m.)
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Learning with 'e's: A convenient untruth
Good analysis of the myth of learning styles. Wheeler argues that a lack of critical evaluation of theory (or, in this case, what I would call "conventional wisdom") is the teacher's biggest enemy.
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How to Turn Your iPad Into the Ultimate Writing Tool | iPad.AppStorm
interesting round-up of apps for writing on an iPad.
What do walls mean to you?
Here's a nice blast from the (not-too-distant) past:
Found on the web: 11/22/2011 (p.m.)
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Interesting approach to encouraging teachers to use technology in their teaching, specifically Web 2.0. It is similar to what some teachers told me about how they encourage their colleagues to use interactive whiteboards more effectively, whilst I was doing research for an article recently.
An experiment with randomly-generated links
I’m currently experimenting with a random link generator called Outbrain. You can see this by looking at the footer of each article and (somewhat annoyingly, I have to say), the article summaries on the front page or some of them at least. I’m interested in whether it enhances the visitor’s experience by providing suggestions for other articles on the ICT in Education website. That’s what I’m hoping, of course, but it could prove to be an irritant.
Read MoreBlogging by email via a phone
Blogging by phone is not ideal under normal circumstances, but is a good way of quickly updating your blog when you need to.
Read More2 days to go, 1 day to go
Reading with interactive books; digital leaders; hacking; games in schools; video-conferencing; future-gazing; theft-prevention.
Read MoreFound on the web: 11/14/2011 (a.m.)
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Blogging and tweeting as a collaborative writing engagement
Interesting ideas here, including use of a projector. I like the way the class is enjoying the work of other schools, and the way they collaborate in their responses.
The importance of not being nice
The trouble with being too nice when commenting on something is that sometimes the underlying message just doesn’t get through. This applies whether you’re looking at students’ work, observing trainee teachers or evaluating a school’s ICT provision.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not advocating going in guns blazing, being really negative or thoroughly obnoxious. But if you don’t point out the shortcomings in whatever it is you’re looking at – or, at least, ask the sort of questions that will lead them to realise them for themselves – then really you’re not being nice, you’re being dishonest.
Are there benefits in having an unread blog?
Most people who blog about their profession (as opposed to, say, people who are keeping a journal for their own records or for their family and friends) like the idea of lots of people reading their blogs. But are there any advantages to having a blog that nobody reads?
Read MorePlanning an ICT Co-ordinators' Day
If you're in the process of planning an ICT (Technology) Co-ordinators' Day -- or really any other kind of similar event -- then this article from 2 years ago should help.
Read MoreIf this, then that
Here’s a web application that’s potentially very useful. IFTTT lets you create your own automated actions using a range of social networking tools. I’ve been messing around with it only for about an hour, so I haven’t thoroughly explored all it has to offer, but already I can see it will prove to have been an excellent investment in time.
The logic of the way it works is as follows:
Found on the web: 11/06/2011 (p.m.)
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Artificial intelligence: Difference Engine: Luddite legacy | The Economist
interesting article about the economic effects of technological change
Why Schools Cannot Ignore Web 2.0
Here are 4 posts from about 18 months ago dealing with why schools cannot ignore Web 2.0.
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