A selection of articles on education technology you may have missed, from last week, last year, and the Digital Education newsletter.
Read More24 must-have features of computer labs
If you still have, or are planning to have, a computer lab, then these 24 things are essential to include.
Read More70 kinds of educational blog posts -- offer
I've created a crib sheet of 70 types of blog post. These ideas have been selected on the basis of how well they can be adapted to educational blogs -- either the teacher's or the school's.
Read on to find out how to get it.
Read More7 ideas for story-writing in Computing
Here are 7 ideas for encouraging pupils to write stories on Computing and related topics -- and the announcement of a brilliant new and free resource: 70 Kinds of Blog Posts.
Read MoreArticles on ed tech: Retrospective #1
Here are links to some articles about Computing and ICT from last week, and one from last year and also information about an article on the subject of teaching Computing in our newsletter.
Read More10 things to do with old IT equipment
Just because a laptop, tablet or printer isn't good for general or intensive use any more doesn't mean it cannot serve any purpose at all. Here are a few suggestions you may wish to consider.
Read MoreOde to Code
"I wonder if it's possible to write a poem about coding", I thought to myself. Well, it is, and here it is. First Chaucer, then Shakespeare, and now me. No doubt schoolchildren of the future will be studying this for their Eng Lit exams, but in the meantime you can read it here first! Enjoy.
Read MoreDoes ed tech improve learning? 7 questions to ask
Asking whether education technology improves learning is too broad a question really. In this article I suggest 7 questions that need to be asked in order to find out.
Read More5 types of review for computing and ICT books
When it comes to writing reviews of computing and ICT books for education, I've found that a one-size fits all approach not to be very useful. Here are the 5 types of review I write, ranging from the full length, everything but the kitchen sink version, to zero words except to say "This book exists"!
Read More7 books for teachers of computing and ICT
Micro reviews of 7 books. Inspired by a particular branch of "flash fiction", these reviews are just 6 words long! Ideal if you don't have much time to read a full length review, but would like a heads-up on what's out there. However, longer reviews are available if you prefer. Details are in the article.
Read MoreWhat I've been reading: What's yours is mine
This book provides an interesting -- and disturbing -- perspective on the so-called sharing economy.
Read MoreUsing a time machine in your lessons
Imagine how your lessons would be transformed if you had the right technology.
Read More4 reasons your PDF report can't be read on a small device
Having waxed lyrical about the joys of reading PDF documents on my Kindle instead of having to lug around a load of paper (see 5 reasons that educators should use a Kindle), I had a rude awakening today. I downloaded a PDF research report and fired it off to my Kindle, with the intention of reading it on the train. Unfortunately, it proved to be unreadable on my Kindle, and trying to read it on my phone was not exactly an unequivocal success either.
Here are the reasons, which I suggest ought to be addressed by anyone who decides to create a PDF. Google penalises websites that are not mobile-friendly. PDFs that are not mobile friendly will be penalised simply by virtue of the fact that people won't read them or pass them on to others. So thinking mobile is important if you want your stuff to be read.
Font is too small
One of the drawbacks of reading a PDF on the kindle is that you can't alter the font size. So if the font is too small to start with, that's a big disadvantage. On a phone you can expand the text, but at the cost of having to scroll horizontally as well as vertically. It's not a great experience.
Poorly contrasting colours
Trying to read orange text on a white background is challenging at the best of times. Trying to do so on a Kindle that displays only in black and white is next to impossible.
White text on a black background
It might look good, but it's much harder to read than black text on a white background.
All capitals
IT'S PRETTY HARD TO READ TEXT THAT IS ALL UPPER CASE (ESPECIALLY IF THE TEXT IS SMALL, AND EVEN MORE SO WHEN THE COLOUR SCHEME IS POOR). WHY DO YOU THINK ROAD SIGNS TEND TO BE IN LOWER CASE? LOWER CASE AIDS READING BECAUSE BY SEEING THE SHAPES OF THE WORDS YOU CAN READ THEM MORE QUICKLY, AND IT'S LESS STRAIN ON THE EYES.
Conclusion
These days, a huge number of people access web-based content on a mobile device. According to a recent report, by 2017 mobile devices will generate 68% of internet traffic.
Unreadable PDFs, in which form is considered more important than function, really ought to be relegated to the dustbin of digital history.
5 reasons that educators should use a Kindle
This article gives 5 reasons that individual educators might find the Kindle useful as a personal device.
Read MoreReview of Amazon Prime
I thought I'd review Amazon Prime today because there are quite a few substantial discounts for members for today only. For example, something I've been cogitating on for a while has nearly 20% off today. I've only talked about the UK site in this article.
Read More10 questions arising from lazy thinking in ICT and computing in schools
There's plenty of lazy thinking in the world of education technology, ICT and computing. Here are 10 useful questions to ask when you come across it.
Read MoreHow to evaluate a Computing scheme of work
Faced with deciding which scheme of work to use for your computing, ICT or digital skills course, what criteria should you apply?
Read More6 useful ideas for computing lessons
What can a book written 40 odd years ago have to say about teaching computing? Nothing, actually, but it did inspire me to write an article suggesting routines in computing lessons. Read on to find out more.
Read MoreTeaching computing, assessing computing, and a lot more
I'm on the final proof-reading stages of the latest issue of Digital Education. It's a free newsletter for people with a professional interest in ICT and Computing in education, ed tech, digital skills etc. This issue includes an article by William Lau on the 5 mistakes he made when teaching Computing, and an article by Sam Hunter on the ladders approach to assessing Computing.
For more information on what the new issue contains, read on.
Read MoreWhat I'm reading: Bounce
What does it take to become an expert? And what can the Computing teacher do about it?
Read More