Tag Archives: google

“in loco parentis” – Silicon Valley and Seattle

Posted on July 27, 2017 by edwin bruce

Having safely returned from leading a group of 27 Wellington East Girls College (WEGC) students to Silicon Valley and Seattle over 12 days I now have a pretty good idea of what the term in loco parentis means ie in place of … Continue reading →

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Silicon Valley and Seattle… the sequel (and maybe some help needed)

Posted on May 30, 2017 by edwin bruce

Following a successful trip in 2014 to Silicon Valley (Google, Facebook, Adobe, Dreamworks, Intel, Tech Museums..)  and Seattle (Microsoft, Boeing, Museum of  Flight…) WEGC is doing it all over again – in about 5 weeks time. The tech firms have … Continue reading →

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Schools need to do better

Posted on October 21, 2016 by edwin bruce

Kirk Hope of Business NZ writes regular articles for Stuff. A common theme of his articles is the mismatch between what the education system produces and skills required by NZ businesses.  A recent article stated: “Engineers are needed, and qualified IT people, and … Continue reading →

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Google Student Ambassador program : Open Source equivalent?

Posted on January 15, 2016 by edwin bruce

I was pleased to hear that a former student of Wellington East Girls College has been appointed to a Google Ambassador role. The Google Student Ambassador Program is an opportunity for students to act as liaisons between Google and their … Continue reading →

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Google Code-in and Ubuntu

Posted on December 12, 2015 by edwin bruce

This years Google Code-in contest for teenagers (ages 13-17) started on 7 December and runs through to 25 January. A perfect time frame for those students wanting something to do over the summer break. A handful of WEGC students have … Continue reading →

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Hour of Code

Posted on October 16, 2014 by edwin bruce

  I asked my Year 10 students to undertake the “Hour of Code” tutorial for Beginners. Not that they are beginners, they have been using Scratch the last few weeks. But it did serve three advantages: They got to have … Continue reading →

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Excel and Word tests to gain employment

Posted on August 1, 2014 by edwin bruce

Quite interesting that for many entry level jobs applicants have to complete Microsoft Excel and Word competency tests. This makes me wonder if we are doing our students a dis-service by migrating them to Google or Open Source equivalents. Having … Continue reading →

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Advertising a small business

Posted on January 12, 2014 by edwin bruce

I had a brief look at what was involved when advertising with both Google AdWords and Facebook “likes” for small local businesses. The default setup via Google AdWords resulted in circa $2.00 per click. This could potentially be quite expensive … Continue reading →

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Facebook and Google the musicals

Posted on July 1, 2013 by edwin bruce

These are very good … I have been showing them to classes recently and following up with questions that challenge their thinking (hopefully) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2JhpNbe2Io https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftQ6A3DKKeg

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Google +

Posted on June 7, 2013 by edwin bruce

Google + is worth looking at. Circles are a good way of defining relationships and managing information flows. This is critical for teachers who can choose to include a class in a circle, while using the same account for professional … Continue reading →

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