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In case you missed it...

06 January 2021

I wanted to kick off the blog this year with a round-up of last year, in case you missed something in all the noise that you might find useful or interesting. In particular, there are resources that might be helpful as we enter lockdown again.

Before I do that, I'd like to share some thanks. Last year was a tough year for nearly everyone, so thanks to everyone who made it easier, with their many kindnesses online and in their communities. I had an opportunity to work on interesting copywriting projects last year and learn about many new technologies, so I'd like to thank my clients for their continued support. Finally, thanks to everyone who read my books, listened to music, shared tweets, and sent feedback. It is all greatly appreciated.

Here's a whirlwind tour through my blog in 2020:

The 2nd Edition of Scratch Programming in Easy Steps is out now. Fully updated for Scratch 3, and including new projects and updates throughout, it's a great resource for young people who want to start coding or develop their skills, as well as for their parents and teachers.
My Scratch tutorials and assets are still available here, and may be useful for young people and their parents looking to take on coding projects in lockdown.
My book 100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel is now available. It's a concise pocket-sized and budget-priced book that shows you how to be more productive with Excel. One reader said "You had me at Flash Fill!" and that's in the free sample. I recently added the social media tips cards to the book's page here.
I wrote an article showing how to add a virtual Easter Egg hunt to the Escape game from my book Mission Python. Mission Python was popular with families looking for a home coding project in 2020. If you don't have the book, you can still download the code, play the game, and try customizing it, for example by creating a new space station layout.
I released a new video for my song Broken Shell, a hypnotic new video for Import/Export, and a four-track EP called Artificial Additives. They complement Artificial, my album of electronic music. You can listen to them all for free now or any time. At some point, I'll share some of the lessons I've learned while releasing my music. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
The Beginner's Step by Step Coding Course, which I contributed to, was published by DK. It's a hardback book that has been flagged as #1 Bestseller at Amazon.co.uk in the categories for General Introduction to Programming and Computer Programming for Young Adults.
I released a free sound pack for Scratch and Python projects, called Press Play. It includes a number of tunes you can feature in your games, with code examples.
I updated my free disc of Amstrad CPC 464 and 6128 games. I relished the challenge of hacking my game Further Adventures of Fred to make it easier to play, even though I didn't have access to the original source code.
I created a Pomodoro timer using the micro:bit, which has helped me improve my productivity. If you've got a micro:bit, give it a go!
I wrote an article for micro:mag showing how to create a sound-based game, like Bop-It (get the PDF for free here), and a blog post explaining how to use the micro:bit with Scratch.
Sandbox magazine featured one of my Scratch projects. The magazine aims to inspire girls aged 6 to 12 with technology, and you can read it online for free.
I wrote an article about debugging in Scratch for Hello World magazine, based on my talk at Scratch Conference Europe.
Over the Christmas break I also managed to fix my Google Travel Photography Map.

As always, you can find my free book chapters here and my games here. If you got a Raspberry Pi for Christmas, you might want to check out Raspberry Pi For Dummies. It hasn't yet been updated for the latest models, but if you've got your computer set up, this comprehensive book guides you through the software and introduces you to Python and Scratch programming and electronics.

I wish you all the best for 2021.

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Credits

Visit www.sean.co.uk for free chapters from Sean's coding books (including Mission Python, Scratch Programming in Easy Steps and Coder Academy) and more!

Discover my latest books

100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel

Power up your Microsoft Excel skills with this powerful pocket-sized book of tips that will save you time and help you learn more from your spreadsheets.

Scratch Programming IES

This book, now fully updated for Scratch 3, will take you from the basics of the Scratch language into the depths of its more advanced features. A great way to start programming.

Mission Python

Code a space adventure game in this Python programming book published by No Starch Press.

Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps

Discover how to make 3D games, create mazes, build a drum machine, make a game with cartoon animals and more!

Raspberry Pi For Dummies

Set up your Raspberry Pi, then learn how to use the Linux command line, Scratch, Python, Sonic Pi, Minecraft and electronics projects with it.

Earworm

In this entertaining techno-thriller, Sean McManus takes a slice through the music industry: from the boardroom to the stage; from the studio to the record fair.