Nathan Ghann (@nathanthatguy) kindly offered this audiobook to me, as a fellow MSP, in return for some feedback.

Firstly

I don't think I have the release version, 250~Mb zip - 1GB+ uncompressed. Quite large, WAV format, not sure if I would have this on my phone or Kindle. I have now re-compressed to be under 250mb. Now, this is my first ever audio book since being a kid with story books - personally I prefer reading books. You can read at exactly your own pace, pick it up, put it down with ease and maintain your place. It is a little more difficult to do this with an audiobook. However, I would love to see a transcript of this made available for download.

Content

The book is not about giving you the motivation you require to achieve a first, but steps to going about it. Rather than sitting about playing a video game or browsing through articles on the internet in your spare time the book gives some tips in how to make more productive use of this time beneficial to your course.

There is a pdf with the diagrams described in the book. The actual content of the book is fairly general, however also heavily related to, what I believe to be Nathan's course. I'm not sure of the relevance to all subjects, however many techniques I would imagine apply to any.

Getting to know terms, time management for tasks, answering questions - becoming known to your lecturer, how to deal with procrastination, tackling group work, importance of attendance. It's very much related to his personal experience. It covers the need to go about surrounding yourself with like-minded, driven people. Prioritising your Degree course as an when it becomes most important.

I hope that I will be able to learn from this book and utilise it in my course. I've been lacking in study skill and determination lately, however this shows how that can be turned around, despite pressure and stress.

Availability

The website for the book is: http://www.1stclassadvice.com.This book will be available in print in 2011, hopefully in enough time for exams. The audiobook has been made available on  iTunes.

I had an amazing opportunity through being an MSP and @bennuk - Academic Developer Evangelist - to meet with Microsoft's General Manager of Education Strategy, Jon Perera. Me and 5 other technically minded students were given an opportunity to have a round-table meeting with Jon pertaining to the future of Microsoft's worldwide and local education strategy.

It was an incredibly interesting meeting with ideas forming thick and fast throughout, with a general consensus as to where we saw the requirements for the future. Even with such a wide variety of backgrounds, to reach the same conclusion says a lot for education as a whole today. As education is something I have enjoyed and found interesting - be it as a result of my mother being a teacher, through the amazing teachers I've had throughout my educational life or just because of it taking up the majority of my life so far - thinking about the future of education was something I hadn't done much before, as thoughts without actions remain as such. But hearing about this opportunity, being able to make a difference and have actions taken as a result was great. I realise now; how important embracing technology to aid in education has become.



With the vastly accelerating volume of information readily available at anyone with an internet connection's fingertips it is only right that a child can make use of it too. Being a part of a meeting with education strategy in mind was enjoyable for me, but your voice can be heard too. If you have an idea for how Microsoft can engage with students better then pop over to Ben's blog post and leave a comment, or leave a comment here and I'll pass it on. Have your say.