Books we recommend
Course books
Most of our courses are accompanied by comprehensive course booklets, usually written by the course teachers, and which are used during the hands-on part of the sessions.
University members can download many of the course booklets from the ITLP Portfolio.
If you would like to extend what you learn on our courses, our teachers have selected some books that they use themselves that they think you would also find useful.
For your convenience there is a link next to each book to the Amazon book store. You can of course, purchase these books from any book store, and we encourage you to shop around to obtain the best value. Should you decide to purchase through Amazon by following our links, the small commission we are paid is used to subsidise the introductory courses that we offer for free to University members.
Apple course books
Apple Training Series: iWork 09
Richard Harrington
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"This is the Apple approved book with which to explore the features in iWork 09, and is used in our 3 hour introductory iWork course." Steve Eyre
Note: If you attend one of our Apple approved courses, the relevant course book below is included in the course fee. However, if you want to self-study, then we recommend the following:
Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 3
Dion Scoppettuolo
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
This is the Apple approved book for the Aperture 3 training course.
Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 7
Diana Weynand
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
This is the Apple approved book for the Final Cut Pro 7 training course.
Design
The Non-Designer's Design Book
Robin Williams
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"Few of us are lucky enough to have professional design skills, and it is easy to turn a great design idea into a mediocre one by making common design errors. This book is easy to follow and will help you avoid the classic design errors in your posters, brochures, newsletters and presentations." Dave Baker
Digital Video
The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age
Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"This book was recommended to us by one of our external teachers who is a professional cinematographer. It is accessible to the beginner and an essential reference to more experienced filmmakers." Dave Baker
The American Cinematographer's Manual
Stephen H Burum (Ed)
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"Another book recommended to us by one of our external teachers who is a professional cinematographer. It is the 'bible' of cinematography." Dave Baker
Presentation Skills
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)
Garr Reynolds
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"Garr Reynolds is widely recognised as one of the leaders in the creation of presentations that engage audiences and aid communication. Many presentations fail to make use of the graphical medium that PowerPoint (and other presentation tools) provide - instead it is used as a text tool with which to produce slide after slide of bulleted lists. Reynolds shows how simple slides can be used to deliver complex messages. His book is required reading for anyone who needs to give presentations; even if you decide not to adopt all his ideas, you will find some that will transform your slides." Dave Baker
The Craft of Scientific Presentations: Critical Steps to Succeed and Critical Errors to Avoid
Michael Alley
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"Don't be put off by the word 'scientific' in the title of this book; there are ideas in here that are applicable to all disciplines. In addition, this is not just about presentations using PowerPoint and the like - it covers other formats such as posters." Dave Baker
Programming
Alice: The Programming Language
Jose M Garrido
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"The only way to learn how to program is to write programs, and to become a competent programmer can take a significant investment of your time. If you want to dip your toes in to the programming water and see whether it's for you, then the Alice programming language is worth a look. It is a freely available graphical programming environment that can be downloaded for Windows, Mac or Linux. It is object-oriented, and so teaches good object-oriented programming practices right from the start. It is also fun! This book is not a full guide to the language, but it is inexpensive and will guide you far enough into the language to enable you to take full advantage of the many on-line Alice tutorials available." Dave Baker
Web Design
Dreamweaver CS5: The Missing Manual
DS McFarland
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"This is a comprehensive guide to using Dreamweaver CS5, suitable for the beginner and for those with more experience. It is not only a great reference book, but also the use of examples that are relevant to real world web sites makes it a valuable learning tool." Dave Baker
CSS: The Missing Manual
DS McFarland
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"An understanding of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is essential for any web designer. Although simple in concept, CSS can rapidly become complex in implementation, particularly when dealing with multiple browsers. There are many guides to CSS, including some great web sites, but if you want only one CSS book on your limited bookshelf space, this is a good candidate." Dave Baker
Designing Web Usability
Jakob Nielsen
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
"Usability is a key element to the design of any website, not least those in academia. Jakob Nielsen is one of the foremost experts in the assessment and implementation of usability on the web. His blog is worth subscribing to, but hsi books, of which this is probably the most well-known, are also worth reading." Dave Baker
Other books
These books are not directly related to a specific ITLP course, but you may find them interesting nonetheless.
Designing Learning (Key Guides for Effective Teaching in Higher Education)
Christopher Butcher, Clara Davies, Melissa Highton
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
From the book cover: "New lecturers, part-time teachers and graduate teaching assistants are often required to both deliver an existing course and design their own teaching based on a module description. But where do they start?
"Underpinned by sound theory, Designing Learning is a practical guide that aims to help busy professionals design, develop and deliver a course, from module outcome outline to effective teaching. Illustrated with useful checklists and action points, this book covers the essentials of designing learning."
When Teaching Becomes Learning: A Theory and Practice of Teaching
Eric Sotto
Buy this book from Amazon.co.uk
If there is one book that kept me (relatively) sane when I was studying for my teaching certificate and thrown into a den of lions (otherwise known as twenty four 16-18 year olds on an AVCE ICT course), this was it! It is full of anecdotes and practical advice that helped me retain my perspective on why I wanted to teach. Sotto uses his own experiences to suggest how we can ensure our teaching really does result in learning. And the real test - whenever I start to feel jaded about my own teaching, I revisit this book to get myself back on track. A recommended read for those involved in post-compulsory education of any sort. Dave Baker