I have been dying to get my hands on these new Pearson publications, in GCSE Edexcel Business flavour. So, here is my review of these two new books:
Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Business Revision Guide + App
This one comes with an app, which was easy to download from the app store and sign up to. You then put in a code, which comes with the book.
There are two parts, the first is the GCSE business theory, which appears in the REVISION GUIDE part of the app, and I have to say the picture quality was really sharp. It has that great feature of being able to zoom in, my eyesight is really bad so this was a bonus feature for me. I make my kids howl with laughter when they see my attempt to use an app without glasses on, it may as well be attached to my nose.
What appears on the screen is exactly the same material as in the book, but handier to carry in a pocket on a phone, ideal for revising anywhere. The theory pages can also be downloaded to the phone, which I imagine would be to be able to revise when there no wifi.
The second part is a QUICK TEST which had questions with multiple-choice answers and actually made me stop and think and go back to the revision guide part to make sure I had it right. It flips easily between the two parts and also has a nifty bookmark feature. I thought that the question level (GCSE) was about right. These are not easy questions, there is plenty for the 8s and 9s to be challenged by.
Overall, I would recommend it, as students can use the book and the app at the same time. It’s certainly a world away from the photocopied articles from newspapers and text books, that we used to give out to kids to revise from, when I was training to be a business teacher back in 1999.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Workbook
This is a sister book to the revision guide which I talked about above. This book is just worksheets in a book, no theory. It has one topic per page, which I love, as often worksheets that we give out during two years of study, can end up a jumbled mess in student's scratty, doodled on folders. In one school I started at, I was told that they kept the year 10 and 11 folders in a wardrobe at the back of the business room, I decided to investigate and what fell out when I opened the door, was not exactly inspiring. This book helps students be more in control by being organised.
There are exam style practice questions on every topic with space for them to write in, if you prefer workbooks to worksheets and folders then this is for you. I liked the layout of the questions with some hints and tips to help boost grades.
I think the combination of the revision guide + app + workbook give students a really good grasp of the Edexcel GCSE Business syllabus. I am all about the revision and this very much ticks my boxes.