If paying for something that you can get for free seems far too altruistic, then perhaps you can consider using the services of a theme designer to make a school website or blog look presentable. Even in this day and age, many websites look crap. This is as true of school sites as it is of those set up by ICT folk. I’m in the middle of sorting out my company site for a relaunch and as a starting-point, I’m using a great theme designed and made freely available by Brian Gardner. However, he will create you a simple custom theme for about $200. This seems like incredible value. I’m...

Suffering from a sort of design hyperactivity, I’ve changed the look of this blog yet again. The designer of this WordPress theme, Fredrik Fahlstad, offers this and other cool designs to the community to use for free. It must have cost him a fair bit of time though to design this template and I think it only fair that I should throw a financial ‘thank-you’ his way. I found a donate button on his blog and sent him 20 quid via paypal. I had never done that before for a free theme design. This particular theme has been downloaded 1308 times so far. If everyone contributed something...

BETT is the world’s leading educational information & communications technologies (ICT) event, attracting 600 educational suppliers and over 28000 visitors, and bringing together the global teaching and learning community for four days of innovations and inspirations. The quest for educational freebies will be in full swing next week when swarms of educators will descend on London’s Olympia for the annual BETT Show. The suppliers’ stands will be stripped bare of all promotional merchandise and only the very best salespeople will be able to break the concentration of those...

Dave Winer writing about Google: I stopped believing in Google fairplay when they added a Blog-This feature to their toolbar, and didn’t use open APIs so users could post with any blogging tool, not just Google’s. Google is becoming an all-embracing, accepted part of our societal furniture. It buys up companies for fun. Only the other week, I went to access my JotSpot account, only to find that it has joined the Google family. I am assured that this is good for me as the consumer. I’m not convinced. In 2002, I was concerned that using only Microsoft products with my students would...

I could probably count on one two hands the number of blog/web2.0 consultant-types that I think would effect positive change within the realities of educational settings. That is not to say that there are not many more competent and effective consultants out there. I just have not had the pleasure of meeting and working with them yet To my list I can add Josie Fraser who is definitely one of the good guys (or gals!) All the very best Josie on you foray into independent consultancy Josie’s consultancy site is over at www.josiefraser.com and her new blog is here.

Mirror mirror on the wall Who are the greatest edubloggers of them all? Why are you asking me. I don’t know. Give them their own trumpet and let them blow. The loudest sounds will provide a gist, about who aspires to life on the ‘A-list’. Another clue is link-showering determination, to join the elite of mutual appreciation. If for this lofty goal you wish to fumble, Ensure everyone knows you are ‘so very ‘umble.”