An appy ending, full stop
A concerned mother was so shocked by her son’s lack of knowledge of punctuation that she has developed an iPhone app to help explain the rules. Joanna Gutmann, a business writing trainer, wrote “Dots and Squiggles” so users can check the use of a mark or simply browse to develop an understanding of punctuation. Warminster School in Wiltshire is now offering it to its students. It is available from the App Store for #163;1.19 or from www.dotsandsquiggles.co.uk.
Naace accreditation boost
There is limited funding available to small schools that are applying for ICT Mark accreditation. Successful schools will receive a #163;200 discount from their final invoice and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. To qualify for the offer, the school must have fewer than 100 pupils. Thirty-four schools have already benefited from the initiative. For more information, contact ICT association Naace. Email ictmark@naace.co.uk or telephone 0115 945 7242.
Online community keeps growing
Not-for-profit organisation Gemin-I has launched a new version of its online learning community, Rafi.ki, which means “friend” in Swahili. Thanks to a grant from the Nominet Trust, Gemin-I has expanded the software to improve the experience for those with special educational needs, as well as including more games, polls, quizzes and functions such as video-conferencing. Rafi.ki connects 60,000 teachers and pupils in 129 countries. Visit www.gemin-i.org.
