800 hundred years of contributions to humankind

While I'm working at the world's oldest existing printer and publisher, I often reflect on the many centuries of labour and vision that have gone into building, sustaining and growing it, and the valuable inheritance that it represents to humankind.

These thoughts are particularly prominent in my mind this year, as 2009 has been a year of many remarkable anniversaries for both Cambridge University Press and it's parent, Cambridge University.

2009 anniversaries include:

• 425 years of continuous publishing and printing by Cambridge University Press
• the 475th anniversary of King Henry VIII’s grant of ‘Letters Patent’ allowing us to print ‘all manner of books’
• the 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge
• The 20th anniversary of the Brazilian branch, situated in Sao Paulo
• The 40th anniversary of the Australian branch, situated in Melbourne
• The 60th anniversary of the American branch, situated in New York

The African branch, established in 1995, added its own milestone to this year of notable events - 25.1% of its shares were granted to CIDA Empowerment Fund, to fund CIDA University. CIDA provides some of South Africa's poorest black students with access to a world-class university education.

The enduring light that both the Press and Cambridge University have shone on the world, is probably no better illustrated than in the below image of the Empire State Building in New York, currently illuminated in Cambridge blue in honour of that day in 1209 - 800 hundred years ago - when scholars first gathered in Cambridge to found the university.

Cambridge Dictionaries with CD-ROMs

Via the Cambridge Low Price Editions programme, the African branch of Cambridge University Press has ensured that several high-quality Cambridge dictionaries are now even more affordable on the African continent. These Low Price Editions (LPEs) differ only in price; not in content; in comparison to their standard edition counterparts.

In this article, I will highlight some of the features of two of these dictionaries – the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and the Cambridge School Dictionary. To see the full list of Cambridge dictionaries, you can follow the Dictionaries link in my ‘useful links’ section of this blog. (You will not however, see the prices of the Low Price Editions mentioned on the linked pages, as they are only applicable to Africa – so do keep on reading!)



Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary with CD-ROM (LPE)
Third Edition
Paperback ISBN 9780521736527
(Available in Africa only)

• Ideal for FET (Grade 10-12) learners
• For Upper-intermediate to Advanced learners
• Ideal for bilingual education, FCE, CAE, CPE, BEC and IELTS preparation

This impressive, yet very accessible dictionary not only offers 1699 pages of clear definitions and prominent guidewords (including hundreds of pictures and illustrations to highlight variations in meaning), but also contains useful study extras, extra help sections, thesaurus boxes and highlights common learner errors.
download a PDF excerpt here!

The CD-ROM: Tucked inside the dictionary is a really useful CD-ROM. Apart from containing everything found in the dictionary, the CD-ROM also offers thousands of example sentences; sound recordings of every word in British and American English – ideal for learners looking to improve their pronunciation of English words; extra collocation information; a unique thesaurus and a mini pop-up dictionary that can be conveniently accessed while you plug away at your keyboard.

Price: The current recommended price in South Africa is R110.00 (One Hundred and Ten Rands).


Cambridge School Dictionary with CD-ROM (LPE)
First Edition
Paperback ISBN 9780521138536
(Available in Africa only)

• Ideal for Senior Phase (Grade 7-9) learners
• For Intermediate and Upper-intermediate learners
• Ideal for bilingual education, International GCSE and CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning)

This brand new 891 page dictionary contains over 2000 curriculum based entries, from geography and anatomy to finance and literature, carefully selected by specialist teachers and checked by IGCSE curriculum experts. Every word is defined in clear, simple language, and the dictionary also contains hundreds of illustrations and diagrams to explain terms such as the nitrogen cycle even more clearly. The Extra Help section gives great tips on preparing for exams, working with numbers, charts and graphs, as well as ten pages of exercises to help reinforce learning and improve English through using subject-specific vocabulary. Common learner errors are highlighted, and guidewords explain words that have more than two senses.
download a PDF excerpt here!

The CD-ROM: Again, the CD-ROM has recordings (in British and American English) of every word found in the dictionary, a SMART thesaurus and hundreds of interactive vocabulary practice exercises. You can even call up all the vocabulary related to one topic area in a couple of mouse-clicks, and easily access the dictionary via the discreet Quickfind facility while you are working or surfing the Web.

Price: The current recommended price in South Africa is R89.95 (Eighty Nine Rands Ninety Five cents).

Swaziland Form 1 Approvals: Literature

I am pleased to advise that two Cambridge titles were approved for the Swaziland Junior Certificate Examination: Literature in English Syllabus (Form 1) for 2010. download printable version

Reading Matters 8
Paperback ISBN 9780521695138

Find it all inside:
• short stories and extracts from novels, poems, and diaries
• non-fiction and real-life texts of interest to young people
• a wide range of writing from new and established writers
• fact and fiction, fun and fantasy!













High Life, Low Life
Paperback ISBN 9780521788151
Series: Cambridge English Readers

From the award-winning fiction series for learners of English, comes a story of jealousy, estrangement and murder. Private Investigator Nathan Marley is hired by a homeless woman to find her missing son. At the same time Marley embarks on a strange relationship with a rich eccentric widow. The poorest and richest of New York are brought together in this thriller from the American detective series.

CIE: latest issue of Cambridge Outlook magazine!

Cambridge Outlook is Cambridge International Examination's (CIE) official magazine, published twice a year. The magazine is distributed to schools throughout the world.

In the November 2009 issue, read about two exciting new subjects that have been added to the Cambridge IGCSE stable: Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives, and Cambridge IGCSE International Mathematics.

Both subjects are available with full teacher support, and were developed in consultation with Cambridge teachers and piloted by Cambridge International Centres around the world.

The magazine also carries an interesting article about two other subjects which are currently in development - Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise and Cambridge IGCSE India Studies.

AIMS Library Series launched in Cape Town

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a centre for postgraduate study in Cape Town, South Africa. Since opening in September 2003, AIMS has rapidly gained international recognition as a centre of excellence, which prepares students for research and teaching careers in the quantitative sciences.

The AIMS Library Series, a collaborative effort with Cambridge University Press, is a series of compact, up-to-date self-study guides on fundamental topics in the contemporary application of mathematics.

The first two titles in the series, Creative Mathematics (Alan F. Beardon) and Understanding Fluid Flow (Grae Worster) were launched at the AIMS offices in Muizenberg on 29 October 2009. The guest speakers at the launch were Stephen Bourne (CEO: Cambridge University Press), Prof Fritz Hahne (Director: African Institute for Mathematical Sciences) and Prof Alan F. Beardon (AIMS Library Series Editor).

The texts are designed for those who want to learn powerful ideas and techniques in subjects that promise long-term development and applications, and where students and young researchers can hope to make an impact. Prerequisites are kept to a minimum, and each book contains systematic, straightforward examples, and exercises with some solutions.

Titles have been specially priced to ensure that they are accessible to students in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Three further titles are planned for release in 2010, From Measures to Itô Integrals (Ekkehard Kopp), Differential Equations (Bernd Schroers),and Mathematical Modelling (Jacek Banasiak).

Further information regarding AIMS and this important new series can be located here.

Books for Educators

Confronting Cyber-Bullying
This book is directed to academics, educators, and government policy-makers who are concerned about addressing emerging cyber-bullying and anti-authority student expressions through the use of cell phone and Internet technologies.

Shaheen Shariff McGill University, Montréal
Paperback (ISBN-13: 9780521700795)
Extent: 296 pages
Publication date: May 2009



New Learning
This book by internationally renowned experts is an imaginative, future-oriented exploration of contemporary education. The supplementary web site NewLearningOnline.com includes extracts from books and interviews, case studies, keyword definitions and additional learning material.

Paperback (ISBN-13: 9780521691246)
Mary Kalantzis University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Bill Cope University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Extent: 304 pages
Published June 2008

2010 is here... laduuumaaa!

20 October that is!

Technology teachers, here is another reason to dust off your vuvuzelas, and make some noise:

Cambridge University Press has just published three photocopiable resource books called Laduma Technology Projects Teacher's Resource Books.

Sporting individual resource books for Foundation, Intermediate and Senior Phase Technology teachers, this series offers a variety of Technology projects with a soccer theme for learners, and includes fun activities for boys and girls, irrespective of background or experience.

Sure to encourage learners' excitement about the upcoming Soccer World Cup in South Africa, the projects are fresh and relevant enough to be used in the classroom after 2010, making a valuable addition to the Technology teacher's repertoire.

All three content areas for Technology Learning Outcome 2 are covered, and the Learning Outcomes, Assessment Standards and rubrics for each project are provided.

For further information on Laduma Technology Projects, you can view or download a PDF file that I have saved in Google Docs here.