Monthly Archive

I’ll try and keep this short; for myself as much as anyone else.

I was alterted this week to the March 2008 survey results for the Top 100 Tools for Learning via Judy O’Connell.

Here are my quick, initial observations (I’m sure I’d have more given the time):

• Really pleased that del.icio.us is #1
• Really pleased that I use 9 of the top 10 (sorry Skype!  I might get there one day)
• It’s good that the list is a top 100 and not a top 10; simply because there are so many good tools from 10 down that to only do a top 10 would be an injustice
• Facebook slid from equal 17th to equal 28th.  Am I surprised?  Not really; I know my interest in it has waned somewhat
• Every Microsoft Office Application, yes every Microsoft Office Application has slid down the list…
  Word was 10th, now equal 22nd
  Excel was equal 22nd, now equal 48th
  PowerPoint was 5th, now 7th
  Publisher and Access don’t get a look in

  I think this says something about a decreasing reliance on these apps for learning, especially given the multitude of Web 2.0 tools (just scan the top 100 list) and the rise of online work products such as Google Docs and Zoho (11th and equal 36th respectively)

• Finally, one can’t ignore how many of these Top 100 tools are free.  Software developers take note: school budgets are tight.  Thanks to Web 2.0, etc., your products inspire very cheaply-available replicas.  There are also many other exciting products out there that you can’t buy off the shelf.  Teachers will keep looking for cheap, exciting and useful tools to maximise learning.

(Cross-posted at Think :: Learn :: Do) 

I hate paper.

Well, that’s a very strong statement, and probably not 100% true, but when I do start to hate it is when there is more around than what is really necessary.  When you consider how much paper goes through my pigeon hole in the staff room, the notes that leave the office, and the sheets that come across my desk, it’s a lot of paper.  If I don’t need to have it printed on paper, I’d rather have it some other way.  So there’s my problem.

Then I know there’s a problem many of us have at school.  The photocopier.  It’s a frustrating mechnical animal.  Especially the older machine that seems to have been deliberately engineered to cause trouble after the service contract has expired, what with all its jams and misfeeds.

There’s a simple solution to our problems.  Stop photocopying.

There may be some times when it’s useful or even necessary, but are there ways that are more efficient in terms of cost, time, eco-friendliness and learning benefit?

Holy Family at Luddenham is obviously asking a similar question, so when I saw that somewhere there was thinking what I was secretly thinking here (ok, the office staff would say my thinking was not so secret to them), I thought it might be good to blog about it to get it out of my system.

Just don’t expect me to produce and photocopy a survey for people to complete about the topic.  Yes, I can see the irony.  I might email you if I feel so inclined…

Photo credit: Day in the Life by zebble