Author Archives: Finn Smith
First add-on published
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Switching to Squarespace
When I started this blog, I tried out Squarespace and found its UI kind of annoying. It felt like I was spending too much time learning how to use Squarespace, rather than simply editing HTML and CSS directly. Recently I’ve
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 … Continue reading
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! Continue reading
“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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
