The way ahead for computing in schools

The recent report by the UK Government that learning IT (or ICT - Information & Communications Technology) in schools was boring and focused mainly on teaching students how to use Microsoft Office has been swiftly followed up with a solution.

The solution is a £26 computer designed to encourage students to learn how to program them. It's called the 'Raspberry Pi' and it is designed to start students off in the world of programming which I remember helping my brother with in the early '80s.

My brother was the techie. I was the one reading out the code from a magazine while he typed it into his home made computer, made up from parts he had bought from a catalogue. My brother went on to university to take a degree in microelectronics and then went into industry where he ended designing mobile phone software.

Since then, things changed making it increasingly difficult for young techies to learn software programming and many students of computer science arrive at university not knowing the basics.

The Raspberry Pi computer could have a dramatic impact on the 'grass roots' of Britain's software industry.

See the BBC video below to learn more about.

Microsoft Office could soon be a new iPad app - Guest Post by Molly Mitchell, EconomicsDegree.net

According to an article posted today on The Daily.com, a Microsoft Office application for the iPad has been completed and will soon be submitted to Apple for approval.

The site that files for Word, Excel and PowerPoint can be created and edited locally or online with the new app.

The prototype of the software is said to have a similar interface as the current OneNote app, but it also has a design that is reminiscent of the new Windows Phone and as-yet-released Windows 8 desktop operating system.

Although the exact release date is not yet known, the site says that the project has been completed and that the app is expected to be submitted for approval very soon. This makes editors at TheDaily.com believe a release date could be as soon as a few weeks.

Sources for TheDaily.com article also say that an Android version of the Microsoft Office application is not in the current plans. They also say that an updated OneNote iOS app will be released that reflects the Metro design language used in the new Windows Phone and the forthcoming Windows 8 system.

Although TheDaily.com has been reporting for quite a while that Microsoft has been working on an Office app for iPad, ZDNet.com says that these claims have yet to be confirmed. ZDNet.com says that if there is a Microsoft Office app, it won’t be made available for download until sometime after the late 2012 release of Office 15 for Windows on ARM.

ZDNet.com does say, however, that Microsoft CFO Peter Klein was quoted last week saying that, “Microsoft believes it has a great tablet experience with Office.” Klein did not specifically mention which tablet product the company believed it had a great Office tablet experience with, though.

Even if an Office app has been created and submitted to Apple, Microsoft has yet to confirm this story.

Look to the coming weeks for the truth.

Article written by Molly Mitchell, owner of EconomicsDegree.net.

Sources:

http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/02/21/022112-tech-apps-office/

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-office-for-ipad-separating-fact-from-fiction/11952

Alternative to the iPad

If you are looking for an alternative to the Apple iPad, then take a look at the Asus Transformer Prime TF201 Tablet PC. It's a tablet PC running the Android operating system which comes with a detachable keyboard. 


It's slim and, with the advantage of a good battery life, it stacks up as being a device which you can carry around with you and be as productive as using a laptop with the flexibility of using the tablet.

Ebuyer is selling them for under £500.

See the video below for a glossy overview from Asus.