My first Google sheets add-on is published! To be totally honest, I made it mainly to see what was involved. I really like the work that Andrew Stillman has been doing with New Visions for Public Schools, including Doctopus and formMule, and I wanted to see if I could do similar things for higher ed or international… Continue reading First add-on published
Author: Finn Smith
Startup Weekend Immigration
I attended (but didn’t participate in) another Startup Weekend this week. This one was focused on immigration. I didn’t really have time to work on this – already had previous commitments. I just stopped by on Friday and Sunday to catch the pitches. To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed. Most
New Favorite App: HelloTalk
I don’t know why I wasn’t using this app before – it’s awesome! I heard about it through a friend who is developing his own language-learning app. Here it is on the Play store and iTunes. If you’ve read this blog
Cool things I’m thinking about
I’ve been away for a while because things have been pretty busy at Educents. We recently finished our seed round and we’ve been growing really quickly. It’s been an awesome experience being part of a successful startup that is focused on trying new things. As account manager, I’ve been talking to new partners every week and… Continue reading Cool things I’m thinking about
Bleg: What’s your favorite educational product?
I’m working for a great edtech company and looking for recommendations on educational products we can promote!
“It’s complicated.” — Bourdain in Iran
Under the bridge. Isfahan. Where men gather to spontaneously sing. #Iran pic.twitter.com/SYUjoTeWhG — Anthony Bourdain (@Bourdain) November 2, 2014 Many thanks to the Persian acquaintance who tipped me off to the latest episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown show. This was his first
Tuesday Tip: Using Git with Google Apps Script
One of the biggest issues with Google Apps Script (GAS) is that it doesn’t have any real version control system. Last month I started using GitHub (through this course on Udacity) and was disappointed to discover that there is no way to directly integrate Git with GAS projects. If you’ve never used Git, it’s an… Continue reading Tuesday Tip: Using Git with Google Apps Script
New job, new activities
Big news: I’m starting a new job this Tuesday. I’ll be joining Educents, an edtech startup in Oakland. Educents is sort of like Groupon for educators, with deals on the materials that teachers and administrators use regularly, at wholesale prices. This is a great move for me, and
Where MOOCs are now
Earlier this week, the New York Times published an interesting piece by Jeffrey Selingo on the current state of MOOCs (“Demystifying the MOOC“). It’s an easy read, and it hits on something that I’ve been thinking myself and hearing from people working in a variety of MOOC organizations around the Bay Area. When MOOCs (massive… Continue reading Where MOOCs are now
What is international edtech?
A few weeks ago, I noticed that EdSurge doesn’t have an international section on the Edtech Index (their listing of edtech-related products in various categories), even though they do post a lot about international education. @finnismundi most of the tools in the Index can be used around the world! What kind of tools would go in… Continue reading What is international edtech?