Microsoft Office 2010 at a bargain price… June 15, 2010
Posted by smckane in IT, Pupil, Teacher.add a comment
One of the best things about the new version of Microsoft Office 2010 is that you can buy an Academic License version off the shelf.
Even better, however, is the continued ability to get the volume license version at academic rates. Any pupil or teacher at a UK school is eligible
Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Student Software UK Download | Software4Students.co.uk.
I’d expect the ‘ultimate steal / deal’ offer to return in the new academic year for University students too.
Snap it up whilst it’s hot off the presses!
Logging into edexcel? May 12, 2010
Posted by smckane in Teacher.Tags: Download, Edexcel, Secure
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One of the things that annoys me about certain websites is how difficult they make some things. A major annoyance for me is getting access to the secure downloads on the edexcel website. I don’t mind that they’re secure, I’m annoyed that there isn’t an easy way to log in!
You can search and hunt for hours, but the solution was right on the page all along…
click on the “My email alerts” link
you’ll be prompted for your username and password. From here you can head back to where you need to be to download whatever it was you wanted in the first place!
What’s going on? May 9, 2010
Posted by smckane in IT, Pupil, Teacher.Tags: CERN, LHC, Twitter
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You don’t hear much from CERN about the LHC unless they’ve got big news. If you want the inside story on exactly what’s happening inside those super cooled beam pipes underneath Geneva, then have a look at the LHCstatus twitter feed.
If you’re not a twitter fan, can I suggest you sign up and post! Leave your user name in the comments if you’d like others to find and follow what you have to say; discussion is good! If you’re after a great (and cross-platform!) client I’d suggest tweetdeck.
What did you say? May 8, 2010
Posted by smckane in Pupil, Teacher.Tags: Guide, Pronunciation, Web
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Come across a term you don’t know how to pronounce?
You need a pronunciation guide then.
I’d disagree with their Huygens phonetic spelling (I’d go Hough-enns) but if chi or phi fill you with phi-ear then have a look.
A searching question… May 5, 2010
Posted by smckane in IT, Pupil, Teacher.Tags: ICT, IT, Search, Web
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In need of a reliable source of information? Tired of googleing only to find wikipedia, then try Intute, the educational & research search engine.
As they put it…
“Intute is a free online service that helps you to find the best web resources for your studies and research. We can also help you develop your Internet research skills through our Virtual Training Suite tutorials, written by lecturers and librarians from universities across the UK. Intute is created by a consortium of seven universities, working together with a whole host of partners.”
It seems to be reliable, giving good resources, try plugging in keyword today and see what pops up… Nothing? Then have a look at their training videos to see how to improve your results!
Mapping the mind… May 4, 2010
Posted by smckane in IT, Pupil.Tags: FreeMind, ICT, IT, Mind Map, Revision
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Everybody knows it’s quick and easy to throw together a mind map. A bit of software to help you keep your mind map (or brain storm, thought shower or even spider diagram) organised is FreeMind
Here’s a screenshot of the centre of a mind map I’ve put together for my Y11 revision class. You can easily close down branches and spread them out, to help focus on just one topic. Or you can open it up and show how all the knowledge fits together. FreeMind is, as the name suggests, freeware and it is also cross-platform (Mac, Windows, Unix, Linux…).
Link to my Y11 example – right click and save as otherwise you’ll just open the XML!
Excel Graphs May 3, 2010
Posted by smckane in IT, Pupil.Tags: Excel, Graph, ICT, IT
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I came across this post today (http://bit.ly/9QdlpD) about how to make your Excel graphs look a million times better for your science needs. I then found two posts for how to set this as your default for Excel 2003 and Excel 2007.
I’ve copied the pertinent points below…
Step 1 – Fix the data points themselves
Nobody in their right mind plots data points as little diamonds – we use crosses. Selecting “Format Data Series” enables you to set the background colour to Transparent and the style to a little cross. The colour of the cross is up to you; stick with traditional black.
Step 2 – Get rid of the background
Grey background? Why, Excel, why? Set the ‘Plot Area’ colour to none.
Step 3 – Gridlines
“Standard” graph paper tends to have two sets of lines – thicker major gridlines and thinner minor gridlines. I see no reason why Excel graphs should be any different. Under “Chart Options” there are checkboxes for major/minor gridlines on both the x- and y-axes.
Setting the minor gridlines on both axes to a pale grey makes things look nicer. If you’re going to print your graph (or photocopy it) then you’ll want to increase the thickness of the lines too.
Step 4 – The legend
Most of the time it’s not needed, and when it is needed it’s far more space-efficient to put it at the top or bottom of the plot area.
Step 5 – Line of best fit
Excel calls lines of best fit ‘Trendlines’ so make sure you add a trendline. Make sure that you choose the right type – exponential for radioactive decay, power for simple pendula, etc.
Step 6 – Axes
Your axes need to be properly labelled. It’s a good idea to adjust the scales as well.
Step 7 – Excel 2003 – Set as default
Right click on your chart and select Chart type then click the Custom Types tab. At the bottom of this page you will see the Select from box. From in here select User defined, now click Add. Type in a name for your chart and a description if needed, click the Set as default chart button. Now each time you create a chart it will default to your custom type. Then click OK.
Step 7 – Excel 2007 – Set as default
On the Chart design tab choose save as template. Once saved then click change chart type, then with your template selected (you’ll find it under templates, top of the list on the left) choose set as default (button at the bottom).
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