Taking the first step into the cloud can be daunting, and often brings up questions about security and back-up of data, but there’s a lot of great reasons to make the move. As well as the productivity benefits, the cost savings elements of embracing the cloud cannot be ignored. Think about how many times teachers print hand-outs or photocopy work for students in their class, how much your institution spends on licenses every year, or how long IT support spend ensuring the services are running as required.
There are a number of ways to approach cloud computing for education, from cloud storage to VLEs and services such as Office 365, there’s really no reason not to join in and take advantage of these great anywhere working tools.
We’ll start with Office 365 for Education, which gives your institution everything it needs to fully embrace the cloud. Re-launched only last month, Office 365 Education plans provide you with enterprise-grade communication for all your users and industry-leading management capabilities for your IT.
How can it save your college money?
With the majority of students today being part of 'Generation Y' it's important for colleges to embrace and encourage technology use in education, both during contact and personal study time. A virtual learning environment (VLE) is an essential step into the cloud for any college, and connects students and educators in a central, online learning environment. Microsoft's SharePoint 2013 is a easily managed learning platform which provides a single infrastructure for all your internal websites and allows users to share documents, collaborate on projects and publish information within a secure environment, which can be accessed from almost anywhere.
How will it help?
Amongst many productivity and collaboration benefits, SharePoint can make a real difference to your outgoing costs:
For an in-depth look at how SharePoint can be deployed in a college, check out Kentucky Community and Technical College System who used SharePoint to provide simplified access to data for over 100,000 students and 16 colleges across the state.
Earlier this week we showed you Khan Academy, an app which enables students to learn through a library of almost 4000 videos.
Today, we’re showing you Corinth, the original interactive education app which lets you discover plant microbiology in a completely new way. This fun yet insightful app allows you to explore 200,00 times magnified images, 3D interactive models of all elements of plant life and different forms of plant viruses, creating a learning experience you just can’t get from a textbook.
Corinth embraces all of the integrated features of Windows 8, giving the user the option to share the information to OneNote, specific users, or any other app they have installed which subscribes to the share function.
Corinth is free to install, so why not try it out today and wow your students!
Guest post from Daley Robinson, Stone Group.
As most will already be aware of, the de-support date for Windows XP is 8th April 2014. After this time, PCs running XP will be exposed as there will be no security updates, no new bug fixes or patches to the legacy operating system - leaving networks critically vulnerable.
There’s a desperate need for those educational institutions running XP to act now and make sure their organisation's data is protected by ensuring their entire PC estate is migrated over to Windows 8 - if not a minimum of Windows 7 - before this date.
With most educational institutions doing the majority of their hardware refresh and significant network projects over the summer break, then action needs to be taken now.
As well as the fact that migrating to a more modern Windows platform will help you to minimise the risk from any security breaches, you’ll also save money. In June 2012, leading analysts IDC, put the additional cost of running XP over Windows 7 at an incremental £460 per PC per year for IT and end-user labour costs – representing a staggering potential return on your software and hardware investment.
Recognising the benefits is one thing, but actually migrating is a different matter altogether. And while there are tools such as Windows Deployment Services that make the process of centralised Operating System (OS) deployment as simple as possible, as always with any IT change project there are common threads to follow which will help avoid the most common pitfalls:
Understanding what you have
It’s important to understand if the PCs you currently have will run Windows 8. Some older PCs in your estate (e.g. those without a dual-core processor, or without 2GB of RAM) will need replacing as they won’t meet the minimum technical specs required to run the new OS.
Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant is a handy tool for individual PCs. It’s feasible small primary school ICT suites of 30 PCs could use this individually, but secondary schools, FE colleges and universities should undertake a network-level audit of what hardware will work and what won’t.
From a software perspective, it’s critical to get a picture of what you currently have. In situations where software installations are managed, this is far more straightforward than those situations where users are free to install whatever applications they like.
If you have a managed environment, then chances are you’re already using System Centre Configuration Manager or another similar tool to keep tabs on what applications you’re managing. In unmanaged environments, the task of asking each teacher or checking the start menu on each machine and keeping a manual log in Excel or SharePoint may be cumbersome, but doable for a primary school. In larger institutions, this process would require significant time and admin overhead.
Testing, testing…
Depending on the applications you uncover, there will be varying degrees of testing required before full rollout. This will allow you to isolate any compatibility problems. Your test machines can be Microsoft Hyper-V based to save on space, time and money.
Fixing any software compatibility issues
Any applications which have software compatibility issues should be resolved wherever possible. Once you believe they’ve been resolved, test it just to make sure. The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit has everything you may need for this kind of activity.
Establishing a pilot group
Pick individuals from each role within your organisation. In a primary school, this will be pretty straightforward – getting increasingly more challenging as you go through the key stages and into higher education. This ultimately works up towards…
Sign off
By getting each member of the pilot group to sign off on application use within the new operating system, you’re building a credible and validated list of managed applications.
Once the list of applications used by each user group has been fully signed off, then pilot deployments can be completed - leading to the whole estate being migrated across to the new OS in an appropriate timescale.
Importance of training
Evaluating the different methods of training end users on their new operating system would be a new blog in its own right. No matter how much more intuitive Windows 8 may be over the legacy Windows XP, you should still plan effectively for ensuring all users can use your new technology efficiently. Depending on your institutions and the different roles, this can be done at various stages in the process and all have their advantages and disadvantages.
Things to consider:
· The experience curve - with an operating system upgrade project, experience can be everything. Consider bringing in a Microsoft partner to help with your project – and factor in knowledge transfer into your scope to give you the tools to manage future central deployments.
· Server engineering - ensuring your domain is upgraded to the latest level to allow appropriate control over your systems. Microsoft have a great collection of tools to help (Windows Deployment Services, System Centre Configuration Manager), but they must be configured correctly up front otherwise you will run into unforeseen challenges during your implementation.
· Maintenance and on-going management – if an OS upgrade spurs you into getting more serious with your asset management, look at setting up proven FITS compliant processes to make things easier going forward.
· Don't forget, even if you have devices which won’t run your new OS, there’s a chance they still have residual value left in them. Speak to a Microsoft Authorised Refurbisher, you may get a chunk of cash to offset some of your new tech investment.
Originally posted on the UK Faculty Connection blog.
Updating your game for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 with GameMaker: Studio™ is easy
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On 25th April, the fashion and technology worlds collided at a schools event where girls were encourage to create Wearable Technology. The event, held in celebration of International Girls in ICT Day, was hosted by social enterprise company Little Miss Geek, who aim to inspire upcoming generations of women to become engaged in the technological world of work.
The stats speak for themselves. The number of women working in technology is decreasing even though the overall number of jobs is increasing. Astonishingly, only 17% of jobs in the UK tech sector are held by women, yet the next generation of workers have grown up with technology at their fingertips. We should be encouraging these young girls to embrace the technology they use and enjoy every day, and turn their passion into a career.
Little Miss Geek wants to change that, and want to run Little Miss Geek academies in every school in order to help young girls realise that those exciting jobs in technology could be theirs.
During the Wearable Technology event last month, young girls were encouraged to make technologically advanced fashion designs throughout the day, and were inspired by successful women in technology from Dell and Microsoft, as well as fashion designer Francesca Rosella, known for her interactive and futuristic designs such as the Nicole Scherzinger Twitter dress.
Check out this video to see the girls’ creations!
This week we’re going to be showing you some of our favourite Windows 8 apps for education.
First up is Khan Academy, a great app which gives you free resources to learn almost anything. Perfect for teachers and students alike, the Khan Academy app has a library of over 3800 videos across a vast range of topics from Maths and Science to Finance and History.
Here’s what VP of WW Education at Microsoft, Anthony Salcito, thinks of the app.
Last week, Michael Gove announced a new vocational education performance measure for young people aged 16 to 19 as an alternative A-level. The new Technical Baccalaureate, or 'Tech Bacc', will combine new and existing qualifications to form the programme which is aimed at the 50% of school-leavers in the UK who do not go on to university.
Whilst not a qualification in itself, the tech bacc "will be a mark of achievement for young people who successfully study three key elements…" (Matthew Hancock, Skills Minister). It will be "on par" with A-levels, and offers those aspiring to a vocational career "a first class alternative to the more traditional A-level route".
The measure, to be counted in school and college league tables from 2017, will consist of three strands:
Reading UTC, a Microsoft sponsored technical college, will be the first institution to deliver this once it opens in September 2014, and are working to use ITA modules within the qualification.
For more information on the tech bacc, check out the DfE's press release.
Guest post from freelance writer, Gerald Haigh. Gerald writes regularly for the Microsoft education blogs.
In February this year, we reported the news that Liverpool Community College (LCC) had bought 600 Lenovo Windows 8 Tablets for distribution to teaching staff.
At that time, according to Microsoft FE Business Manager Mike Morris,
‘Liverpool Community College might well be the first educational institution in the UK to have them.’
The blog was an early heads-up on the project, so it ended with, ‘Watch this space’, as the enthusiasm and know-how behind the project made it clear there were going to be some good stories.
Now, those stories are beginning to appear. Ken Ryan recently passed on to Mike Morris a brilliant example of good practice from a lecturer – John Bainbridge of the Business Department. In an email to Ken, John writes.
‘On Monday of this week (first day back after Easter) we wanted to radically change the way that we assessed students and we needed some method of recording the assessments. We initially thought about obtaining some recorders and then a light came on that we could use the tablet. ‘We are going to use the tablets to record professional discussions and presentations. It was fantastic that we had the tools at hand! I spoke to Dennis and Steve at Clarence Street (IT support ) and they showed me how to make both sound recordings and videos. I have cascaded this information to my team and we are videoing our first presentation today! Dennis and Steve were brilliant. We have moved a long way in three days and that is due to your foresight and providing us with the tools. ‘Most importantly… you, and we, have 70 students extremely happy, revolutionised our assessment methods and enabled us to achieve better results, inspire students, improve the grades of students and improve the success of our courses (hopefully). Oh and reduced the workload of staff!’
‘On Monday of this week (first day back after Easter) we wanted to radically change the way that we assessed students and we needed some method of recording the assessments. We initially thought about obtaining some recorders and then a light came on that we could use the tablet.
‘We are going to use the tablets to record professional discussions and presentations. It was fantastic that we had the tools at hand! I spoke to Dennis and Steve at Clarence Street (IT support ) and they showed me how to make both sound recordings and videos. I have cascaded this information to my team and we are videoing our first presentation today! Dennis and Steve were brilliant. We have moved a long way in three days and that is due to your foresight and providing us with the tools.
‘Most importantly… you, and we, have 70 students extremely happy, revolutionised our assessment methods and enabled us to achieve better results, inspire students, improve the grades of students and improve the success of our courses (hopefully). Oh and reduced the workload of staff!’
Of course, when I read this I had to speak to John Bainbridge, and when I did, several days after that email, and after they had actually done some assessments, he was still bubbling at the capability of the Windows 8 tablets to change their way of working. The department, he told me, has a continuing difficulty with assessing vocational students (In this case BTEC Extended Diploma courses) in a way that preserves the evidence. Written assessments by vocational students don’t always reflect the quality of their knowledge, and teacher judgments are, by their nature ‘soft’ evidence.
‘Before the holiday we’d been talking to Edexcel about innovative methods of assessment,’ John told me,
‘And when we came back from the break we realised we could use the tablets to record video and audio of students talking about their work. Now, they have to know the material, but they don’t have to write it down. Recording gives us hard evidence that’s available if assessments have to be verified.’
Freeing students from written assessment means that grades now more fairly reflect a student’s achievement. So, says John Bainbridge.
‘Some students who were going to fail will pass. Some who were going to pass will get merits, some who were going to get merits will get distinctions.’ Unsurprisingly, perhaps, throughout our conversation John sounded buoyant and excited. ‘Its revolutionized everything. I get excited about things, and we’re all excited about this.’
‘Some students who were going to fail will pass. Some who were going to pass will get merits, some who were going to get merits will get distinctions.’
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, throughout our conversation John sounded buoyant and excited.
‘Its revolutionized everything. I get excited about things, and we’re all excited about this.’
He pays warm tribute to Ken Ryan and his team.
‘Our technical staff are fantastic, and I wanted him to know about this. If want to know something, like how to record, I ask the technical staff and cascade it out.’
Talking to Ken makes it clear that this is just a start.
‘We’re starting on our ‘Lunchbyte’ training sessions, covering how to use the tablets to improve teaching and learning – exactly the kind of thing that John’s doing. We’re also looking at how we can use the tablets to save the money we were spending on separate video cameras.’
‘We’re starting on our ‘Lunchbyte’ training sessions, covering how to use the tablets to improve teaching and learning – exactly the kind of thing that John’s doing.
We’re also looking at how we can use the tablets to save the money we were spending on separate video cameras.’
Also, in what Ken calls a piece of ‘out of the box thinking’, he and the team are looking at using the Windows 8 tablets to replace desktop computers as they come up for replacement.
‘The idea is to take the desktop computer away and replace it with a docking cradle for the tablet. They already have the monitor, keyboard and mouse, and the there are no issues with performance and memory. We can just squirt a desktop image to the tablet.’
The same kind of thinking leads him to another possibility.
‘Every teaching area has a computer linked to the electronic whiteboard. We could provide an HDMI cable for the tablet and take the computer away. Even better we’re investigating the possibility of a wireless link for the table to the data projector. ‘
It’s very much a matter, says Ken, of gleaning value from the investment.
‘The tablets have a shelf life, and we have to think carefully how to make them pay.’
Given all of that, what else can we do at the end of this blog other than repeat what we said last time – ‘Watch this space’.
The Daily Edventures Web Show series with Anthony Salcito, Worldwide VP for Education at Microsoft, will debut on 7th May.
These will be 5-minute videos featuring interviews between Anthony Salcito, and other leaders, as well as worldwide stories to highlight the meaningful change taking place in education today across the globe.
On May 7th, Anthony Salcito will be joined by Lauren Woodman, GM Microsoft WW Education Programs to discuss the topic of "Building Teacher Capacity". This kicks off the month-long focus on teachers on the Daily Edventures blog in May.
Originally posted on the Microsoft Education in the Cloud blog.
Collabco is a specialist Microsoft Partner focused on SharePoint, Dynamics CRM, Lync, UAG, Mobility and deliver the following services: Technology Consultancy, IT Strategy Consultancy, Development, Project implementation, Support and Training. They are also the focus of our next post in our partner blog series. Over to Brendan Nel and Oli Newsham from Collabco for some more info and a cool demo.
With over 60 million users, Moodle is a well-known VLE used in schools, FE and HE establishments all over the world. Whilst offering the ability to customise to meet individual requirements there has been no easy way to present student information in an Office 365 environment until now.
UK-based Collabco, whose MyDay product enables educational establishments to aggregate the information students need on a daily basis and present it in a highly intuitive Windows 8 style environment, have just announced the launch of their new MyDay Moodle app to overcome this.
Easy to setup and use
The MyDay Moodle app links an existing Moodle installation to SharePoint. Once the app is installed it guides an administrator through the process of setting up their Moodle installation to talk to the app. All the administrator needs to do it fill out a couple of fields then copy some files into Moodle that the app generates.
Once setup, users of the app are presented with a set of tiles in SharePoint showing their current and outstanding assignments categorised into time periods.
Moving the mouse over a tile shows details of the next assignment in that category and clicking the tile takes you to a detailed view of your assignments.
Clicking on an assignment in the detail view will automatically sign the user into Moodle and take them directly to the selected assignment.
Check out our video demo to see this in action.