e-Update January 2005
Welcome to the 2nd edition of e-Update, the new monthly electronic bulletin from
the Buckinghamshire ICT Curriculum Support Team.
The purpose of this bulletin is to keep you informed with the latest developments
in ICT.
This is a shorter edition due to the the Christmas break.
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The information in e-Update has been taken from a variety of sources including
ICTSN, ICT Advice and Becta. Details on how to subscribe to these and other sources
of information can be found at the end of e-Update.
e-Update can also be found on the Buckinghamshire ICT Curriculum Support Team's
website at http://www.bucksict.org.uk/e-update/
If you have any comments on e-Update, please send them to adickson @ bucksgfl.org.uk
If you wish to unsubscribe from e-Update, please send an email to adickson @ bucksgfl.org.uk with
the title Unsubscribe.
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General News
Turn your old AlphaSmart keyboards into cash
AlphaSmart is offering to trade-in old keyboards, including the AlphaSmart
2000 and Pro against the purchase of a new Neo or AlphaSmart 3000. The old
units don't
have to be in working order, but any that are will be going to a good cause:
AlphaSmart is collaborating with an aid agency and all working units sent in
will be donated to schools in Malawi and elsewhere in eastern and southern
Africa. "Our
technology has come on a long way since the Pro and 2000, and we want schools
to have
the chance to trade up to an AlphaSmart 3000 or Neo so that they can get the
most from their existing ICT investment" said Jonathan Thomson, AlphaSmart's
UK Sales Manager. The scheme is being run through participating AlphaSmart
resellers, and anyone interested should go to the AlphaSmart website at http://www.alphasmart.co.uk
for more information, or visit stand W60 at BETT in January.
Department for Education and Skills Report
Using ICT in Schools: Addressing Teacher Workload Issues http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR595.pdf
This 173 page report shows that overall ICT has been of great benefit to teachers,
particularly to those confident with using new technology, although in certain
cases this has led to a feeling that ICT has actually increased their workload.
Based on a national survey of 280 headteachers, fieldwork in 20 schools and a
further survey of 393 staff, the report identifies benefits that include better
management, storage and maintenance of work. 74% of headteachers and 80% support
staff felt they gained from using ICT. For teachers that felt adversely affected
by ICT, this tends to be due to poor skill levels, ineffective training and technical
support or an ICT strategy that does not focus on addressing workload. The research
concludes by identifying seven central issues that still need to be addressed
and recommends strategies to meet these challenges. In particular a number of
additional leadership and management factors were highlighted by school staff
as important factors impacting on the success of an ICT strategy. Particularly
crucial were - the involvement of the whole school in developing a relevant holistic
vision and operational strategy, the personal use and mandating of wider use
of ICT by the headteacher and senior management team, and the involvement of
ICT Coordinators. Appendix 1 includes 12 practical case studies.
Press Release: Increased choice and value for money for schools procuring ICT
products and services
http://www.becta.org.uk/corporate/press_out.cfm?id=3451
Charles Clarke, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, has welcomed
the further action taken by the Becta to improve value for money and to
widen the
choices available to schools in relation to desktop and application software.
Commenting on the recently launched competition to establish framework contracts
for operating system and office productivity software, Charles Clarke said: "whilst
worthwhile savings have already accrued from Becta's engagement with Microsoft
concerning the products they supply to schools, there is room for further improvement,
particularly in the supply chain arrangements through which desktop and operating
system products are made available to schools." The Secretary of State further
indicated that he was particularly keen to see easier access by schools to as
wide a range of products as possible, including those usually described as open
source. Commenting specifically on open source products, the Secretary of State
said: "whilst such products have been freely available to schools for some
time there has been relatively little uptake of them across the system. I believe
therefore that the ICT industry needs to be more pro-active in extending the
choices available to schools and that the industry should take the opportunity
afforded by the Becta procurement to develop and bring forward enhanced training
and support models for open source products. "Such a development would facilitate
the more effective exercise of choice by schools and I challenge the ICT industry
to respond enthusiastically to the current competition. I am however aware that
extending the range of products used in schools could sometimes raise interoperability
challenges (for example in the area of office productivity software), and I have
therefore asked Becta to consider such impediments to interoperability and to
report to me by the end of March 2005." Concluding, Charles Clarke highlighted
the importance for schools to have the opportunity to consider as wide a
range of ICT products and services as possible as they seek to explore the
potential
of ICT to improve teaching and learning.
Owen Lynch, Chief Executive, Becta, said: "Continuing
to improve the value for money opportunities available to schools, and identifying
those suppliers
offering the most competitive packages to provide schools with choice and maximum
value for their investment, are essential strands of Becta's work."
Becta will be announcing details of a seminar for developers to explore further
the opportunities which open source software presents to educational ICT
users in the UK. A report on the effectiveness of deploying open source solutions,
based on the experiences of fifteen schools, is due to be published in January
2005.
BETT 12-15 January 2005, Olympia, London
Data Harvest (Stand L40), will be running free informal Datalogging
and Control Clinics on its stand at BETT 2005. These will offer teachers practical
solutions
and advice on how to transform lessons. There is no need to make an appointment,
all you need to do is visit the stand.
Qwizdom is proud to announce that it has been short listed for the BETT Award
2005 in the category of Secondary Hardware, with The Qwizdom interactive
Classroom Response System. At its most basic, the system is akin to the "ask
the audience" feature in the TV show "Who wants to be a millionaire?" ICTSN
Footnote: A full press release with a list of all the short listed entries
for the BETT Awards can be found at http://tinyurl.com/4f5zk
Following on from a successful launch at Cambridge University, LJ Group have
confirmed that they will be unveiling their brand new online learning resource,
Skills4Enterprise at BETT 2005. Skills4Enterprise is a learning resource
that allows schools to address the QCA framework of work-related learning.
The content runs in a Virtual Learning Environment called ClassCampus. It
includes tracked and assessed research activities, team projects and interactive
business simulations.Lessons cover the underpinning knowledge of Business
Overview, Employability Skills, Sales & Marketing and Finance. The resource
can be found on http://www.skills4enterprise.com and schools can purchase
access licences using eLearning Credits. The extended projects can also be
used to support GCSE and NVQ Business Studies. For more information please
contact Andreas Alexander andreas@ljgroup.com or call 01603 748001.
Richard Lambert (marketing@pa-business.co.uk) at PA Business Systems Ltd
writes:
After the huge success and popularity of last years draw we've decided to
make it an annual event. This year we are putting up a fully installed Digital
projector and 60" Promethean iWhiteboard as first prize. The Projector,
iWhiteboard and installation all carry Becta approvals. Other prizes include
Digital projectors, notebooks, iPaqs, vouchers etc. Registration can be made
via postcard at the EC&T stand (Stand number L49) at the BETT Show or
you can enter online at http://www.orderit-online.com/order/cmp_register.asp
SENCO Forum is Ten Years Old
http://tinyurl.com/3t5g9 Archives - http://tinyurl.com/3rbab
Ten years ago this month one of Becta's first "virtual communities" was
launched. SENCO Forum was set up to support Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators
in mainstream schools. Its intention was to reduce the isolation that many
SENCOs felt in this role which had been created by the 1993 Education Act.
Initially 12 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and one special school
were involved in the pilot phase of the work, using email to offer mutual
support and encouragement on a wide range of issues relating to SEN. The
evaluation report six months later was very positive and persuaded all involved
to continue with their work. By 1997 SENCO Forum had 470 members and today
that number stands at around 1000 members with many more joining and leaving
the list as they need to discuss issues with other professionals. Ongoing
evaluation and feedback has given Becta and others valuable insights into
what makes online communities work. Today the forum is seen by DfES as a
valuable group to consult on a wide range of issues relating to SEN. In 2003
the Forum was officially consulted on the revision of the Special Needs Action
Plan and its response and advice acknowledged.
RM Virus Protect Upgrade
RM Virus Protect is currently powered by a Symantec product called Norton
AntiVirus 7.6. Symantec have notified RM that they will be providing support
and virus definitions for this solution until March 31st 2005. To ensure
you have continued anti virus protection and support after this date, RM
are launching a new anti virus solution - RM Virus Protect 3. http://www.rm.com/support/newsandalerts.asp?cref=nws314336&nav=0&nref=ENL331042&nsid=115958
RM ClassMate 5 and Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
RM ClassMate 5 is being tested with Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2,
and some suppliers are now shipping Windows XP SP2 on new computers, however
RM ask that you do not install RM ClassMate 5 onto these machines until testing
is complete. For more information please read: http://www.rm.com/support/newsandalerts.asp?cref=nws309220&nav=0&nref=ENL331042&nsid=115958
Websites of the Month
Here are the latest websites to have been approved by the National Grid for Learning. http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/whats_new.jsp?sec=6&cat=99&clear=y
Remember Me - http://www.cwgc.org/education/
This educational website of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is
designed for use with students across the secondary age range in History,
Citizenship, Music, English, D&T and ICT. There are 7 curriculum-linked
units and an assembly presentation.
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Subscription Details
Becta/ ICT Advice
To subscribe to the various publications, click here: http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/index.php?section=ab&catcode=registration
ICTSN
ICTSN membership is available to organisations that provide support to schools.
Schools are therefore not eligible for membership. Information about ICTSN
can be found at http://www.becta.org.uk/ictsn/index.cfm.
RM
To subscribe to the various RM newsletters, visit the RM website at http://www.rm.com/Security/Login/FormsLogin.asp
and register. If you are already registered, log in and go to Email Subscriptions
in My Account.
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Disclaimer and Copyright Notice
The information contained in e-Update is collated from a range of non-Bucks
LA sources. Buckinghamshire ICT Curriculum Support Team does not accept any
liability for its accuracy or content. If you rely on this information you
do so at your own risk. All information may be copied for non-commercial educational
purposes, provided that the source is acknowledged.