Ebook sales end today

control centreHere at the control centre of ICT in Education we’re preparing to wind down the selling of our ebooks. Unfortunately, the new EU ruling on VAT has meant that we need to spend time looking at whether it is cost-effective to continue selling ebooks, and if so how best to do so. In the meantime, the shop is being shut down from midnight GMT tonight, ie 30th December 2014.
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Book review: Go on, bore ‘em: how to make ICT lessons excruciatingly dull

by Jacqui Wilson

BoredI received a very nice review from Jacqui Wilson, a classroom teacher in Tasmania. Is a book about what made ICT boring still relevant if the focus is on Computing? Well I think so, because the issues I highlighted with respect to ICT are in danger of arising again with respect to Computing. Anyway, read what Jacqui says about the book.

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Digital Education December 2014: Double issue, Free resources, 50% discount on ebooks, 75+ links and 10 guest contributors

blog readingThe Spectator does it. The Economist does it. Even children’s comics do it. So I thought: Let’s do it. Let’s make a Christmas double issue of the Digital Education newsletter.

I’d like to be able to say I’d planned it that way right from the start, but that would be something of (to use Winston Churchill’s wonderful expression) a terminological inexactitude. In truth, the November edition was delayed due to a family illness, so it made sense to bring out a bumper edition now so people who subscribe have plenty to keep them going until January! I’ve included articles on a wide variety of topics:

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Big data: is small beautiful?

My Big Data InfographicAccording to the 2014 Horizon Report for K-12 education (ie Kindergarten to 18 years old), big data and analytics will be adopted by education within the next two to three years. Big data. It’s the current buzzword in education (one of several, at least), but what exactly is it? And is it really of any practical use? And should we be using it anyway?
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The hidden dangers of doing digital business: what schools, teachers and students need to know

Diverted TrafficIn theory, setting yourself up to sell products on the internet is the easiest thing in the world. Once you’ve created the product, you upload it to a 3rd party platform that will handle all the sales and deliveries automatically, and you just sit back and watch the money roll in. If only it were as simple as that. But why would  a school want to do something like that anyway
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Our ebooks may be discontinued

Paperless officeNew EU rules on VAT (value-added tax) come into force on 1st January 2015. At present, the tax applied is the rate prevailing in the country of supply. Thus my ebooks are taxed at the rate of 20%. From the beginning of next year, this will change, and the rate of tax applied will be according to the place of purchase.

There are technical difficulties associated with the administration of this approach.

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When it comes to coding, how secure is your network?

Darren Bartlett outlines the options.

IMG_0969With a new Computing curriculum that focuses on students learning to code and writing simple programs it’s important for school ICT and Computing heads, teachers or those responsible for ICT/Computing to make sure their school network is secure and able to handle the new requirements without compromising the rest of the system.

Here are a few considerations to help with that and make sure your data is safe and the students can enjoy exploring new learning securely.

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Encouraging girls to do computing: an economics approach

Discussions about getting more girls to do computing tend to focus on strategies like providing role models or some form of positive discrimination. Unfortunately, providing role models is not always easy, and I disagree with positive discrimination on principle. So what's the alternative?
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Whiteboards: not dead yet

Getting Ready for OLED Technology - A Small Collage of Interactive Wall Applications on Our Smart Boards at the Interactive Interactive Show and Open Houses - Sheridan Interactive Multimedia One Year Post Grad College in OakvilleI heard an interesting snippet from Mike Cladingbowl, National Director at Ofsted, recently. He said that when interactive whiteboards were first introduced, Ofsted inspectors saw an increase in “chalk and talk”. Hardly surprising, because interactive whiteboards made chalk and talk, ie teaching from the front, easier.
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Computing and ICT vocabulary

Vocabulary - Words Are ImportantTrawling through the articles published on my original website, I came across this one about vocabulary. Happily, the “new” publication it refers to is still available. Incidentally, I’m a great believer in paying attention to vocabulary and the correct use of correct terminology, so at the end of this “reprint” I’ve inserted a couple of references to other articles I’ve penned on this subject. The original article was published in 2008, and is shown in a different font, below.
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