IT Network

Digital Learning / IT Network / Leadership / Management / Teaching — 2 Comments
21
Dec 10

Coming Soon… Tablet PCs

google-calendar-iconEvery January, just four months into the current Laptops4Learning programme, our E-Resource Manager and I began planning, researching and procuring test devices for the start of the next academic year. Each year we remind ourselves, it is not about the device, but rather the teaching and learning that technology enables. It is supporting staff to rethink their role and redesign their delivery model, that matters most. It is getting the systems and communication right. It is secure and resilient IT infrastructure and wireless. It is effective deployment. It is not about the device, but I  just can’t help but be distracted aware of the acceleration of the tablet PC market.

Let first define our ‘space.’ It is not a consumer space, nor personal space, it is somewhat mobile / transient though. Studens moving between lessons and owning the device 24/7. It is most certainly a networked, organisation space. Students need access to their ‘evidence’ everywhere they go and our parents have requested more IT support. Although it is a space where Open Source opportunities are being explored, I doubt many schools have the capacity to be fully immersed in Open Source systems. It is a financially constrained space and therefore ‘the suitability of Ipads in Education debated’  is mute, given our budget of £300 inc Operating System, Software, Accidental Damage and Warranty. So the focus reverts to netbooks / laptops vs tablets or hybrids, more about Gloria later…..

With the space almost defined, let me outline why I am getting distracted. Microsoft rumours of numerous tablet models,  rumours of a version of Windows for the ARM processors, used in most smartphones. I am distracted by the potential of "pen and touch" computing. Finally, I am distracted by Windows 8, the first Microsoft OS since the tablet was reborn, due sometime in 2012?

I am distracted by Intel’s announcement that Atom processors will feature in 35 tablet devices from 15 brands in 2011. I am always focused on commitments to longer battery life – although standards are now well above the benchmark 5-6 hours needed for a school day.

microsoft-courierBut most of all, I am distracted by the ruthless competition for market share for tablets or slate PCs. That said, I am not particular distracted by single screen Ipad clones, but rather, dual screen clam shell devices (Toshiba Libretto and Microsoft Courier) and to a lesser degree slide devices (Samsung Tablet Gloria). With 3 years 1-2-1 procurement experience, I have grave concerns for anything with a hinge and severe reservations for anything that swivels or flips. Dual screen clam shells maybe the preferred form factor, I expect traditional tablet PCs will fit our budget space.

 

What does all this mean for schools 121?

It means that Chrome OS, HP WebOS, BlackBerry’s Tablet OS Gingerbread are great innovations in their own right but are unlikely to fit the school space. Unless you go the BYO route to 121 computing.

Tablets will abate the ‘handwriting issue’ concerns of parents, made more interesting by ‘pen and touch’ technology.

Tablets will raise the profile of Microsoft OneNote in your school.

2012-13 will be the year of the tablet for early adopters.

Popularity: 16% [?]

IT Network / IT Services / Leadership / Reflections — No Comments
18
Oct 10

Content Control

Content control or filtering of the internet in schools remains a hot topic of debate within schools. Not just for LEA administrators, school leaders and Network Managers but believe me, for the students. Frustrated by the disparity of home and school internet access, students and Networks Managers engage in the traditional cat and mouse tomfoolery, usually reserved for the Caretaker, now Premises Manager.

This evening I have read guidelines, browsed acronyms ‘PIES’, perused case studies and had my ‘awareness’ raised on numerous occasions, but who is actually responsible for what a student accesses online at school? Now that is much harder to pin down.

We update our AUP annually, share it with students via the background image and through a start-up window that logs the user off if it is not accepted. The policy is reinstated term but does that make us devolve us of our responsibility? In the PC classrooms we have traditionally used AB Tutor to add an additional layer of content control by as we expand our technology support so new scenarios emerge.

Our next focus in our Laptop4Learnign scheme, supporting 1-2-1 netbooks for students in Years 9-11. Students being distracted or misusing the hardware are part and parcel of school policy but what students challenging the accuracy of what they are being taught (quietly supported by Google or Bing)? Or students piggy backed unsecured wireless connections for school neighbours? We have pre-empted situations, we have written guidelines, we have engaged with students and their parent / guardians, we are learning every term, but where does our schools responsibility to student e-safety end? Now the real big question. Who is responsible for online content accessed using the supported hardware but through their own ISP? Is the responsibility now solely with the parents / guardian?

I am a strong advocate of 1-2-1 learning, especially the continuity of learning. I have seen the logs, students engaging via the VLE in class, clamming down, only to reconnect later that afternoon, submitting their homework later that day. IMHO continuity is one the clearest benefits. Access to knowledge, and different types of knowledge comes a close second. Listening the a Thomas Hardy ‘The Withered Arm’ recording, watching and re-watching key scenes Romeo and Juliet (1996) scenes via host video sites (ironically blocked in school), chatting, quizzing, flash-carding…. you have heard the case for blended learning a thousand times before. Within these walled gardens that is exciting, but in the big wicked wonderful wide world, who is responsible for what the students access? Who is going to advise education? Who will ultimately take responsibility?

Popularity: 3% [?]

e-Tools / IT Network — No Comments
19
Aug 10

Office Talk

Microsoft Labs posted an interesting article / update on OfficeTalk testing today (testing for quite some time if you take into account the first official posts were in March 2010). ‘Microsoft’s Twitter for businesses‘ application. The most notable statistic highlighting that

83%of OfficeTalk’s regular users found interesting information they wouldn’t have found otherwise and that 72%agreed that OfficeTalk helped them find out what others are working on and reach out to ask questions.

Effective communication within an any organisation is essential. From my conversations with @stuartridouttoday, its clear that email is not the answer, indeed it may be part of the problem. Misuse of distribution groups and general email overload seem to be prevalent in both our schools. Is Office Talk a possible remedy? Sadly, the update didn’t suggest where the development roadmap and product deployment was heading, so I left a blog comment.

Where / how do you expect it to be deployed commercially? As an addition to Microsoft Office? As a separate product? As a add-in for Outlook? Sharepoint?

Later adding Outlook Social Connector. I will update with any feedback. Anyone have experience of trialling OfficeTalk or using Micro-communications tools within school? Statusnet? Messenging (IM)? We trialled Sparklast year but didn’t proceed with a roll it out to the whole school community and we have more than enough new IT for September but OfficeTalk is definitely a product to review in January.

Popularity: 5% [?]

IT Network / L4L — No Comments
4
Jul 10

Netbooks for 2010

I orginally drafted this post back in March when we were finalising our procurement. It was important that we got all our information confirmed before I posted it, I then duly forgot it was in DRAFT. (Incidentally thats the not the first time I have done that.) We met with Lenovo, they appreciated our position and accepted points of concern. In fairness, their returns procedures have finally sorted themselves out, but its too little too late.

The key reasons for changing from the Lenovo S10-2 to the SAmsung NB30 are quiet simply these;

The Lenovo unit available in our price range remained the S10-2 and build quality on the hinges remained a concern.

We are in the process of installing a new wireless system capable if exploiting N, a faster maximum speed and best signal range aswell as being more resistant to signal interference. We felt that this was important for whole class blended learning.

The very poor start to the relationship with Lenovo could not be discounted.

Communication with head office and the team did not meet the needs of the IT Services staff @ Hamble College. Moving to a vendor relationship means we had someone ‘responsible’ to contact.

Lenovo S10-2 Samsung NB30
CPU.      N280
RAM.     1Gb
HDD.      160Gb
Screen  10.2”
Wifi       G
Bluetooth
Webcam
£195.00 + Case		 CPU.      N450
RAM.     1Gb
HDD.      160Gb
Screen  10.2”
Wifi       N
Bluetooth 2.1
Webcam
£199.99 Inc Case

Since announcing the new product, it would appear that the brand is important to the students and their parents. Some existing students are frustrated and some new customers are far happier. All units will offer Windows 7 andOffice 2010. We are currently investigating Securus as a monitoring tool to support parents.

Final learning gem. Always offer a ‘null response’ to all parental correspondence. Not knowing whether a family wishes to proceed is far worse that a no and the time to confirm that answer is an expensive misuse of staff time.

Popularity: 8% [?]

ICT / IT Network — No Comments
21
Jun 10

Movie Maker or Just a Frozen Project File?

I am pretty sure that full featured online video editing is not far away? Youtube have just announced that you can now ‘Edit in the Cloud‘ and thats fun, but its also limited and perhaps ‘rough around the edges’ but promising, offering the ability to;

  • Combine multiple videos you’ve uploaded to create a new longer video
  • Trim the beginning and/or ending of your videos
  • Add soundtracks from our AudioSwap library of tens of thousands of songs
  • Create new videos without worrying about file formats and publish them to YouTube with one click — no upload necessary

In the meantime, our students are still fighting with Windows Movie Maker. We have looked for cost effective alternatives but there is not much out there in our price range (FREE). It seems to be the case that whilst Movie Maker does the job, its difficult to justify any expenditure however after another frustrating term, our patience is wearing thin.

So, Windows 7 Movie Maker Live Essentials. Is up to the job, our technicians seem to think so. Our plan is to test it over the next few weeks (given time) as a stand alone installation, before we make the move to a Windows 7 environment in Sept. We will let you know what our students think.

Popularity: 2% [?]

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