The Best 'Back-To-School' Laptops

Laptop recommendations for aspiring coders!

With the new academic school year fast approaching and a busy school year ahead, you’ll want to be comfortable knowing that your laptop is taken care of! Here are a couple of laptop recommendations to get you started.

Generally speaking, we would usually recommend spending approximately €600-€850 on a laptop. You certainly can get laptops for less, but they are often false economies and usually it’s worth spending the extra couple of hundred quid to get something that will last! For our courses, we also don’t allow the use of Chromebooks or tablets (iPads & Android), so do be aware of this if you’re thinking about joining our classes 😊

Samsung Galaxy Book

Price: €769

Samsung’s entry level Galaxy Book is a solid and relatively sleek 15.6 inch model that covers all the basics really well. It’s a lot lighter than most laptops (1.6kg) meaning you or your child won’t need to break your back carrying it around from home to school.

The configuration that costs €769 comes with the latest (11th gen) Intel i5 processor, 8GB of Ram and 256GB of storage. There’s a good selection of ports & connections, including two USB-C slots. one USB-A, a full size HDMI a headphone port (for those Zoom calls) and a MicroSD memory card slot.

Battery life is decent at about 5-6 hours hours between charges. The display isn’t touchscreen but it’s non-glare 108p resolution offers a crisp picture for you to keep an eye on your lines of code!

Lastly, at time of writing you get a free pair of Samsung Buds (€179 RRP) when you purchase this laptop & who doesn’t love free stuff!

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go

Price: €739

The 12.4 inch Surface laptop Go is a relatively cheaper model when compared with other Surface options. The biggest attractions of this model are design related. It comes in a choice of 3 colours and is very light (only 1.1kg). It also has a relatively good battery life squeezing out 7-8 hours of on-the-go charge.

The main attraction is of course the touchscreen that works with several stylus models including Mircosoft’s Surface Pen (RRP €115) to the much more affordable Timovo Pen (RRP €35).

It’s also powered using a USB C connection - meaning the charging plug doesn’t need to be a monstrosity of a thing, it can be a simple USB-C(PD) charger.

The main con is the lack of ports. There’s only one USB-C port on the laptop, and one USB-A and a 3.55mm headphone jack. If you envision needing more ports, you’ll likely also need to invest in a dongle adaptor.

It’s also worth flagging that if memory is what you’re looking for, you might be somewhat limited with the base 128GB model, but you will have the option (for a fee) of upgrading to the 256GB model.

In short, this is a great laptop to turn on out of the box and simply get started - whether that be for study or work. It’s light and effective, and comes in at a relatively competitive price point.

Dell Inspiron 15 3000

Price: €649

If there was an all round solid performer, the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 would be it. Although in certain aspects in can feel a little dated quality-wise (e.g. mediocre 720p webcam and 1.9kg weight) - it has a solid keyboard, good screen size (15.6 inch), and the specs will allow you to handle pretty much any task school or college (or coding classes!) can throw at you.

It comes with 8GB of RAM and the latest Intel i5 processor - plus with 256GB of storage, you’ll have plenty of room for saving your work and projects.

If photography or videography is your thing, this model might be useful as it comes with a full-sized memory card reader and a HDMI port. Although you might think these adaptors are industry standard, many modern laptops have removed them and now ask you to pay for dongle adaptors in order to get this functionality (Apple, we’re looking at you…).

The Intel i5 (11th Gen) model also has both types of USB ports as well as a joint headphone/microphone port.

Macbook Air M1 Chip

Price: €999+

The MacBook Air with M1 chip starts at €999 (with no add-ons or upgrades) and is Apple’s entry-level laptop, sitting below the MacBook Pro with M1 that starts at €1,299. These are the first models in Apple’s move away from traditional Intel x86 processors to arm-based chips similar to those used in iPhones and iPads.

The baseline entry model comes with a 13.3” LCD screen and the bullet fast M1 chip. The M1 is faster than any other laptop chip, rivalling the most high-powered desktop chips, while being very power-efficient. 8GB of RAM and 256GB of flash storage also helps add to the computer’s speed. The 720p webcam is a little disappointing when compared to the laptops overall quality, but isn’t the end of the world. It’s also very light, weighing only 1.29kg - which is a lot of power packed into a slim machine.

The battery life is also exceptional, with up to 16 hours of working time without needing a charge - meaning you can code away to your heart’s content! Although the laptop is certainly not cheap, you are paying for quality, and quality is certainly what you will get.

The Academy of Code merges with Cocoon Education

PRESS RELEASE - 25 AUGUST 2021

Olus Education chief product officer Gavin Molloy and CEO Diarmuid Ó Muirgheasa.

The Academy of Code and Cocoon Education have merged to teach Irish school children the digital skills they will need to know for the future.

The digital learning sector now has a new innovator, with the launch today of Irish firm Olus Education. The technology training solution is aimed at children, teens and schools and combines up-to-the minute content, online platforms, in-depth digital learning and coding for all - in school or at home.

Olus Education’s blended learning portal means schools will be equipped to provide essential digital skills in the classroom and at home, while parents can also register their children directly for Olus’ extracurricular courses, covering everything from basic tech skills right up to masterclass level. Schools who sign up to Olus Education will be able to provide essential digital learning in all lessons - using tools such as Google Workspace, creative media, coding and digital wellbeing. It’s the first time a platform has offered technology training on this broad a spectrum to students in Ireland and the UK.

Olus Education has been formed via the merger of two existing market leaders in digital learning - The Academy of Code and Cocoon Education. The new entity will benefit from the teams’ combined experience and expertise at a point of rapid evolution in online learning. CEO of Olus Education, Diarmuid Ó Muirgheasa says it’s an exciting time: “We’re thrilled to be able to share the news about Olus Education - we’ve crafted an amazing offering for students, parents and teachers which will help them make great strides at all levels of digital learning. Ireland’s young people are already leaders in this area and Olus Education wants to inspire them to reach their full potential”

Gavin Molloy is Olus Education’s Chief Product Officer. He believes the use of remote learning since 2020 has opened many people’s eyes: “This trend was growing before the pandemic but now, digital learning has been accepted as a vital part of a well-rounded education, preparing young people for future careers and a more tech-reliant society. Olus Education is set up to provide the best path from a basic understanding to professional proficiency”.

Irish business leader and founder of Openet Joe Hogan is among the investors in Olus Education - he believes the team is offering the right product at the right time: “Knowing the sector as I do, and the quality brought by the various parties to the Olus Education setup, I have every confidence this will be a fantastic addition to the education and tech landscape in Ireland. Every young person needs to be provided with world-class digital training and I believe Olus Education is the place to find it”.

Schools can choose from three product options that best suit their needs around teacher and student training for digital learning, including one which provides a designated mentor to work closely with them to build and maintain momentum on their progress. Olus Education is also continuing the successful ‘Pathway to Computer Science’ programme, established by Academy of Code, which provides a detailed learning framework for young people who want to develop their coding and technology skills on an extra-curricular basis.

A team of 30 educators and support staff are on board as Olus Education enters the market. The company is aiming for rapid growth, with a target of employing over 100 full-time staff by 2026, when the team also plans to have brought 250,000 students from Ireland, the UK and further afield on board its platform.

Olus Education is also participating in Google for Education’s upcoming ‘Back to School’ event for the Republic of Ireland. Taking place on 30th September, the event will feature education experts across topics of Addressing Digital Inequality, Driving Digital Wellbeing and Getting to know Google for Education partners in Ireland.

Full details of the event can be found here or http://bit.ly/ROIbacktoschool.

For more information on Olus Education visit www.olusedu.com.

Coding and other digital skills to support digital transformation.

We live in an age where linear thinking is encouraged from the moment we learn how to talk.  Our education systems teach us to act like sponges, absorbing as much information as  possible and regurgitating it when needed. This approach creates a 2-dimensional workforce  that can learn and remember countless pieces of information, but not necessarily understand  it. Why is this a problem though? It works, no? Well, it works for a society that encourages  people to operate on a reactionary basis, essentially stifling the ability to think effectively. A  more effective approach will teach people how to think rather than what to think.

Prior to the birth of the Digital Age in the early 1980s, we lived in a society where playing  catch-up and reacting to situations was often seen as the optimal solution to a problem  rather than identifying the problem’s root cause, understanding its systemic nature and  ultimately finding a sustainable solution. For example, if your toaster stops working, what do  you do? Do you immediately bring it back to the shop to see what's wrong? Maybe a better  solution would involve plugging in a different electrical item to see if the outlet itself is  working. If not, then examine the other outlets around the house to see if the same issue  applies. The next step may be to check the fuse box to see if anything looks out of place?  This logical approach requires systems thinking. Those who have internalised this kind of  logic would think it trivial to examine the system as a whole in this example but  fundamentally this problem-solving methodology is at the core of more complex  transformational issues as organisations seek to develop in a sustainable way. 

As the Digital Age gathers pace exponentially, our educational systems, unfortunately, don’t  place nearly enough emphasis on systems thinking. Whilst we have seen some piecemeal  progress here and there in recent times, systems thinking is still far from its rightful place at  the heart of our education and learning systems. Learning to code is a great way to fill this  gap.

Coding forces you to engage with structures and concepts to create a system that is many  times greater than the individual parts. But the benefit from learning to code isn’t confined to  the ability to code itself. The key benefit lies in the systems thinking mentality you gain as a  by-product of coding. Coding begins to demystify the digital world by breaking its  components down into bite-sized chunks, thereby revealing it as a system that is not  impossible to work with. The digital world is structured with different parts and rules that  almost anyone can learn to use in their daily lives. Nothing needs to feel hidden from you.  Comparing the digital world to a car, you don’t need to be able to build a car from scratch, or  even rebuild an engine. However, having a passing familiarity with the elements of a car that  gets you from A to B vastly improves the experience you have with your car especially if you  encounter a problem. Understanding the concept of engines, how to change a tyre, refuel or  check your oil can improve the experience you have with your car. This type of awareness of  a system and how it functions gives you the ability to better navigate the system, analysing  problems and creatively resolving minor issues or setbacks that may originate structurally  from that system. 

Systems thinking isn’t limited to personal benefits - a workforce trained in systems thinking benefits employers, the organisation and the economy at large as well. For example, an employee’s deeper understanding of social media will help to increase company engagement with service users. In addition, a deeper appreciation of search engines by employees will improve the organisation’s search engine rankings. Perhaps simply encouraging employees to access, explore and learn new digital skills online at a more rapid pace will improve their creativity, and improve the organisation’s productivity. As Pablo Picasso said, “Everything you can imagine is real”. The list goes on.

If basic systems thinking is allowed to seep into the culture of an organisation it will improve the long-term sustainability of that organisation and improve various aspects of its employee’s lives. The need to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul and people are one of the key ingredients for organisations to begin their process of Digital Transformation into a sustainable future.

Contributions from: Mahmed Ibrahm, Tom Maher, Diarmuid Ó Muirgheasa of The Academy of Code

Computer Recommendations - 2020

We’ve all been thrust into a brave new world over the past few weeks. Computer hardware is hardly the biggest area where adjustment is needed, but it is the one people have been asking us about, and it’s one of the few areas where we can actually offer meaningful advice.

Our devices at home have probably never been under as much sustained demand as they are currently, with every adult and child in every house dependent on technology to communicate with the outside world and to participate in work, school and play.

Our most common request is something like “I want a windows laptop that’s really cheap/mid-range/future proof”. Let’s take those one at a time.

Budget buy (<€250)

The HP Stream 11 has been our go-to ultra-budget machine for a while now. 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage are both quite limiting, but at €240 it’s a very attractive deal, and a quoted 13 hour battery life is very decent (albeit probably not quite achievable in reality.

(As with all the links in this piece, we don’t explicitly endorse any retailer, and we aren’t taking a cut. Shop around!)

Mid range (€400-700)

If you can stretch a little more you can get a lot for your money in the €400-700 range. We’d always recommend looking for 8GB of RAM and an SSD (solid state drive - a modern alternative to the old-school, spinning disk HDD) with a bare minimum 128GB of storage, preferably more.

Processor-wise you should ideally look for an Intel Core i3 or Core i5 (or Core i7 if you’re pushing the budget a bit further), or any of the AMD Ryzen chips. The difference between all of these chips is obviously important as you move to more expensive machines, but at the this price point any of them will fit the bill. Less desirable are the older/cheaper Intel Celeron/Pentium/Atom chips and the AMD A-series chips.

That’s all a bit much for the non-technical, so let’s get specific. Adrian Weckler had a recent piece (worth reading in its entirety) where he recommended this Inspiron 15 3000. At €599 it ticks a LOT of boxes: i5 processor, 8GB RAM and a massive 512GB SSD. There are slightly cheaper versions available too - this €499 version looks pretty good to us too. Both come with Full HD screens.

Bigger budgets (€700+)

Our favourite ultra-premium recommendation is the Dell XPS 13 - expect to pay well upwards of €1000, and don’t bother with any of the lower specced models (there are a few with 128GB SSDs which really aren’t worth the money). The 15” model (the XPS 15) is also a powerhouse.

That recommendation is tempered slightly by the new trend for ultra-premium laptops to dispense with standard USB ports in favour of the new flavour, USB C. While USB C is undoubtedly the future, you may want to budget for a few adaptors while we’re waiting on that future to arrive!

Coming into this price range also brings Apple computers into your price range, and in spite of recent keyboard issues with some of the Macbook Pro models there is scarcely a bad machine available from Apple - but you’ll need to get your wallet warmed up first!

The new Macbook Air, from €1229, has been very well received, and is probably the go-to model for most people. Like the XPS 13 it has ditched the old school USB ports, but it has at least dispensed with the derisory 128GB storage options. The base model, with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD, is probably the one to go for, and should be more than capable of any office or education task for years to come. The 10+ hour battery life is not to be sneezed at either.

Then there’s the generally excellent Macbook Pros. Ignoring the model with 128GB of storage you’re looking at anything from €1,799 for the 13” model up to €3,299+ for the high spec 16” version. If you need them, great, but probably overkill for most of our students.

Other options

Buying a new laptop is in many ways the easy option, but there are other choices too. When we were adding 20 machines to our mobile lab we went to RefreshedByUs.com and bought refurbished laptops with upgraded RAM and SSDs. Again, 8GB RAM and an SSD is your golden rule here! You may have to settle for something a bit bulkier than a brand new system, but this Dell Latitude E6420 is only £268 (~€300) with those upgrades, and if portability isn’t a concern would make a great home computer.

If you have the space you could of course also consider a desktop PC. While it may seem like everyone these days buys laptops, when we were kitting out our new office in 2017 we opted for desktop computers with huge, 28” 4K monitors. You can get a LOT more for your money when you aren’t cramming it into a laptop case, especially if you’re willing to buy the parts and assemble yourself. But that’s probably a post for another day…

The Grading System - a Rapidly Improving Work in Progress

Back in September we wrote a little bit about what we were planning for the year in terms of our grading system. As the year has gone there have been a good number of changes (“everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”, as the saying goes). Most importantly we’ve learned a lot about how this iteration of our planned curriculum works in the classroom environment, and made course corrections accordingly as we’ve proceeded through the year.

As we reach the end of the year, it now comes time for us to roll out our grading program for the year. Students will be awarded badges and certificates in respect of the grades they have completed, as well as (in some cases) for specific modules they have completed within a given grade. Before we set out that plan, a quick high level recap is in order.

Note also that this structure applies specifically to our evening and weekend classes. Our after-school “Tech Clubs” do NOT operate off this system, nor do our in-school programs.

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Existing Grades

Grade 1:

Otherwise known as “pre-coding”, this has yet to be rolled out.

Action shot! Students hard at work at Coolmine Easter Camp, 2019.

Grade 2:

For students of 2nd-4th class, this course combines introductory computer skills (mouse, keyboard, saving files, etc) with basic Scratch and HTML coding.

Grade 3:

Following on from grade 2. Rolling out September 2019.

Grade 4:

The entry point to our course for anyone from 5th class upwards. Students at this level will learn to write code in Processing (a Java-based graphics framework) and also basic HTML.

Grade 5:

A continuation of grade 4. Students at this level will solidify their understanding of Processing, including a greater understanding of code structure and different types of variables. It is possible for some students to complete both grade 4 and grade 5 in the space of single year.

Grade 6:

Students at this level understand a wider variety of code structures and coding concepts, including how to use external code libraries and developing their own approaches to solving coding problems.

Another student at our Coolmine Easter Camp, 2019

Grade 7:

Students will study code structure (including object-oriented programming) and data structures. External libraries will be used more often, and students will also complete a module in Computer Vision using OpenCV.

Grade 8:

Advanced code structure, introduction to assembly language, string processing, error handling and more. Rolling out September 2019.

Grade 9:

Building larger projects, including integrating with external services (web services, databases, etc). Rolling out September 2020.

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Grading for Summer 2019

Not all grades were delivered this year. The “core” modules were grade 2 and grade 4, and these were delivered to both beginners and some returning students.

At the higher end of the scale there was a lot of consolidation going on. Some students have been with us 18 months, some 24, some 36, while some have done no summer camps and others attend two (or more) every year. Along with ensuring that students were happy and always moving forwards, the other key for us this year was to fill in any gaps in their knowledge, so that heading into September everyone knows where they stand in relation to the grading system, and what next year will be like.

Work in progress - badge design for Grade II student award

Grade 2 Assessments

Grade 2 is largely assessed informally, and attendance is a significant part of the criteria as well. Students have completed several smaller, informal assessments throughout the year. Given the comparatively young age of these students, an emphasis is placed in grade 2 on engagement with material throughout the year, rather than a capstone assessment on which the entire year will be judged.

Grade 2 students also completed a game design module using a block-based Python language. For students who completed that portion of the module there will also be a separate “Game Developer - Grade 2” badge awarded at the end of the year.

Grade 4 Assessments

As with grade 2, grade 4 has its own HTML module and award which has already been delivered and assessed, and the appropriate badge will be awarded to those students who completed this at the end of term.

Grade 4 also has a number of more informal assessments, which have been delivered throughout the year to ensure students are broadly on track. The year will conclude with a multiple choice assessment, testing students’ understanding of the core concepts from this term (variables, if statements, coordinates, shapes and colours). There will also be a small number of “bonus” questions, giving students the opportunity to show extra knowledge they may have picked up from early finisher tasks and extra challenges throughout the year (see “Grade 5 Assessments below”).

Work in progress - badge design for Grade IV “Web Designer” student award

As with any assessment, there may be those who fail to reach the required level. They will be given a second chance to show what they’ve learned during the end of year project, where our tutors will also have a chance to work with them to address the key gaps in their learning for the year. If they are still finding the work particularly difficult at that point we will suggest that they would be best served repeating grade 4 again next year, to ensure they are fully comfortable with the material before progressing to grade 5.

For grade 4 we may also award completion badges based on attendance and classroom participation even to those not ready to progress to grade 5. We feel it’s important at this stage to recognise effort as much as outcome - there will be plenty of outcome-focused assessments later in the curriculum.

Grade 5 Assessments

In most cases grade 5 was not specifically delivered this year. The grade 5 material was delivered as part of the grade 4 classes through a series of “extra tasks” within each lesson. While many students, particularly those who joined this year, will not have had a chance to complete these yet, the grade 5 assessment gives those who have been running ahead of the class a chance to leap past grade 4 and 5 in a single academic year.

Those who reach the required level in the grade 4 multiple choice assessment will also have their end of term projects assessed, and where they can demonstrate a solid understanding of grade 5 topics (advanced variables, maths of collision detection, defining and using functions) they may be awarded the grade 5 badge and progress directly to grade 6.

Grade 6 Assessments

Students who have been with us more than a year will in some cases have been working towards grade 6 for some or all of the year. Grade 6 involves understanding object oriented programming, use of loops, use of external code libraries, and quite a bit more besides.

Students at this level will complete a project based assessment in weeks 16 and 17 of term. It’s important to note that for many this will be more of a “mid term” assessment, as they may not have been working towards grade 6 since September, but rather progressed on to this material during the school year.

Students who reach the required level will progress to grade 7 in September, while those not yet fully through the grade 6 curriculum will start back in September 2019 to a freshly baked, brand new grade 6 curriculum for 2019/2020.

Grade 7 Assessments

Students at this level have already completed informal assessments for their Computer Vision module, which will be a separately awarded badge.

For their capstone project they will complete a similar project to grade 6 over the course of several classes. In addition to what is assessed at grade 6, students at grade 7 will be expected to display quite a high level understanding of object oriented programming, data structures, and code structure more broadly.

By grade 7 we expect our students to be writing code which wouldn’t be out of place in a 2nd or 3rd college course, and this is the standard to which they will be held in the assessment.

What’s Next?

From September 2019 all evening and weekend students will be explicitly following a grade level on the curriculum. This will be communicated to parents at the start of the term, along with some key learning outcomes for the year.

For later grades (grade 6+) we will also be assigning homework for the first time from September. Grade 8 and 9 students will also need to bring their own computers to class. We’ve avoided this up to now, but by requiring students to have their own computers there’s a whole new world of software tools opened up which just aren’t practical to use on a shared computer. In particular, using the students own laptops will mean we can introduce industry standard source control tools and IDEs, as well as facilitating things like local test servers for running web apps, and installation of image editing and sound editing tools that can be prohibitively difficult in a school computer lab setting.

Finally we’re working on a series of other events and partnerships to keep our more advanced students interested and engaged with the wider tech community. We want to show our students how exciting the world of tech can be, and how much bigger it is than what goes on in our classrooms. As always: watch this space!