On this day: Manual labour: what's your documentation like?

July 27, 2025

Is your documentation well-written but useless?

The hazards of writing software manuals

December 29, 2021

Writing software manuals or books, or even mini tutorials on how to do something in a particular program comes with a huge occupational hazard.

Manual labour: what's your documentation like?

July 29, 2020

Is your documentation well-written but useless?

Writing technology manuals for school: why, what and how

June 4, 2019

Do you really need software and hardware manuals in school? (Spoiler alert: yes.)

Books erratum

March 16, 2017

In a recent article I said that a particular book was my first 'proper' book -- and then I remembered the previous half dozen or so! This article sets the record straight.

In The Picture: Help!

August 23, 2010

I’m a firm believer in helping youngsters (and colleagues) to become as self-sufficient as possible. As well as being healthy, in my opinion, it is also a requirement of some examination courses.

Recent book reviews

One for your Geography colleagues perhaps? Review: A Little History of the Earth -- two reviews in one!

For your English colleagues: A Word for all Seasons -- two reviews in one!

For your maths colleagues: The Mending of Broken Bones: A Modern Guide to Classical Algebra -- two reviews in one!

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.

For your History colleagues: The Worst Exhibition in the World: Degenerate Art, 1937 -- two reviews in one!

Is The computing Curriculum Too Masculine? Revisited 16 years later!

One of the apparently insoluble problems of the age is how do you encourage more girls to take up Computing? I think a lot can be done, and have done so myself, but I wonder how far a lot of the effort fails to get to the heart of the issue, which could be the curriculum itself, the way it is taught, or a combination of the two?

Book review: The best writing on mathematics, 2016

I think this could be an excellent resource for teachers of mathematics.

For your Eng Lit colleagues? The Penguin Book of the International Short Story -- two reviews in one!

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!

Two reviews in one: Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals -- art and history

One for your colleagues, perhaps: art, art history, ploitics with a small ‘p’.

Two reviews in one: State of Ridicule: A History of Satire in English Literature -- politics, history, English

One for your colleagues, perhaps. Sperrin has provided a wealth of information that can be used to provide a rich experience for students of politics, history and English literature.

Two reviews in one: A Little History of Mathematics