Posts Categorized: Parents

Students: You don’t need an iPhone!

“What laptop should I buy for my son/daughter/grandchild?”. This is a question I am asked at least once every week or several times a week when Christmas is on the horizon. I’m always very happy to chat with anyone who wants my tech advice. I’ll listen to their requirements and make a couple of suggestions for… Read more »

School Email: 9 Top Tips for Teachers & Students

Staff and students are expected to be fully conversant with school email. Not only do users need to check their email regularly enough so that they don’t miss important announcements but they also have to understand and apply the complex landscape of netiquette, respond to emails quickly (and politely) and action any instructions that they receive…. Read more »

Pokemon Go (and never come back?)

Pokemon Go is everywhere. It’s been in the news, discussed and dissected in blogs, highlighted as an e-Safety concern for children, advertised in Churches, created additional workload for emergency workers, provided work for ‘professional‘ Pokemon Go hunters and has helped discovered a dead body. Oh, there’s even some people playing it. The summer of 2016 will be remembered for, technology speaking,… Read more »

Don’t goggle at Google. Time for a fling with Bing…

Search Engine Logos

Which search engine do you use? I suspect probably Google. But have you ever stopped and wondered why you use Google rather than another search engine like Yahoo or Bing? I’m pretty sure that most people won’t be able to answer this. No-one blinks at the phrase “let’s Google that” when some online information needs to be gleaned…. Read more »

Face-off with Facebook: a stand for ‘community standards’

Facebook Login Page

Extreme graphic violence – acceptable. Nudity – banned. Is this how you would expect Facebook to interpret its own Community Standards? My Facebook wall recently contained a video which had been shared by one of my friends. “This is amazing!” my friend proclaimed and before I had even decided to watch it or not, the auto-play settings on… Read more »

Cl’apped out? The demise of apps

Apps

There’s no denying that apps have transformed the way we work, learn, live and communicate. I use them, students use them and I strongly suspect that you use them. However, I’ve always been very wary of apps and consciously avoided tablets, like the iPad, that run nothing other than apps. While apps can be helpful, informative and even… Read more »