Information is one of the most important assets of public sector organisations. Unlocking the value of information and making it available for citizens, regulators and management whilst avoiding any data privacy issues is a constant challenge.
Microsoft and The Register have recently commissioned an independent study conducted by Freeform Dynamics on the challenges relating to Business Intelligence in the Public Sector.
At our webinar, hosted by Jon Collins of the Register, you can find out more about this illuminating research and hear directly from:
Webinar: Unlock the business value of your information
When: Tuesday March 13th 2012, 11:00-12:00
Register: Online here
The webinar will address a number of key issues identified by the research and explore real-world solutions that may help you to make more effective use of your current investment in business intelligence tools:
You can find out more and register online here to take part in the Microsoft and The Register interactive webinar on how to ‘unlock the business value of information’ in your organisation.
All participants at the webinar will also receive a FREE copy of the report on ‘Unlocking the business value of information’ prepared by Freeform Dynamics on behalf of Microsoft and The Register
On 6th March 2012, 13.00, Microsoft, in association with Eduserv, will host a ‘’Licencing students and servers’’ webinar for Higher Education.
This webinar will look at two programmes at Microsoft -
With changes in the Sector over the past couple of years, many Universities are considering more flexible ways of purchasing products for students (in order to increase student satisfaction and add value). In addition, as the complexity server licensing has increased, alongside the added confusion sometimes brought about by virtualisation, institutions may welcome a simpler way to purchase and account for all of their Server licences from Microsoft.
The purpose of this webinar will be to look at both ESP-A and Student Office and consider whether or not either of these options may be attractive to the institution.
Please register for the webinar and you will then be mailed a direct link, allowing you to connect on the day and view the slides and take part in the discussion.
Dates and Times of LM
Friday 6th March 2012 – 13:00
Delegate Registration – Link
Invitation Key: A5505E
We would like to give you the opportunity to invite you to register and attend the Best of Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) UK 2012 in May in Manchester, Reading and London respectively. These will be our official System Centre 2012 launch events in the UK.
· 8th May, Manchester (Hilton Deansgate)
· 10th May, Reading (Thames Valley Park)
· 17th May, London (Cardinal Place)
Alternatively, if you have difficulty with T&E, you can attend by registering to one of our System Center 2012 – Virtual Launch Events on 22nd March and 21st June
We have a wave of new product launches and announcements for the Microsoft Private Cloud in 2012 starting with the release of System Center 2012, which allows you to manage your virtual, physical, and cloud environments from a single console, using common and consistent management experiences that provide full control across your existing datacentre investments.
We have also introduced a new edition line-up and simplified licensing for System Center 2012 to address both your server and client management needs including Virtual Machine Manager, Operations Manager, Configuration Manager, Data Protection Manager, Service Manager, Orchestrator, Endpoint Protection and App Controller.
Best of Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) UK 2012
This 1-day event will provide you with the best possible opportunity to learn about what’s new in System Center 2012 and our next step forward in the Microsoft Private Cloud vision, strategy and roadmap with deep dive sessions on infrastructure management, service delivery & automation, application management, desktop & device management.
TIME
AGENDA
08.30-09.30
REGISTRATION
09.30-10.00
Microsoft’s Private Cloud: Built For The Future, Ready Now
10.00-10.30
What’s New in System Center 2012
10.30-11.00
BREAK
11.00-12.00
Infrastructure & Fabric Management
12.00-13.00
LUNCH
13.00-14.00
Service Delivery & Automation
14.00-15.00
Application Management
15.00-15.30
15.30-16.30
Desktop & Device Management
16.30-17.00
NETWORKING & CLOSE
The University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE Bristol) has around 30,000 students and 3,500 employees. Like all universities in England, UWE Bristol faced decreased government funding due to the economic climate. Though it was confronted with the challenge of reducing costs by 25%, the university saw an opportunity to enhance its business processes and increase academic opportunities for student by improving its use of technology. UWE Bristol partnered with HP, a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, to understand how it could take advantage of its existing Microsoft solutions to achieve its goals. After upgrading its Microsoft communications and collaboration platform and implementing new programs developed jointly with HP, the university found it could reduce costs, improve collaboration, and create new academic opportunities.
To learn more, view/download our case study below:
With so much change in the world of Higher Education, UCISA 2012 seems to have come around even more quickly than usual this year. Microsoft are a Platinum sponsor again and we will be sponsoring the formal dinner on 15th February. In addition, you can also find us during the first two days of UCISA, in the main exhibition hall on stand no. 22.
One of the unavoidable challenges facing everyone in the sector regardless of size, is the need to save money. Microsoft address this in a number of ways and we’re fortunate in that our strategy enables a truly flexible approach. One way of reducing costs is by moving certain aspects of your IT into the cloud. The reality is that cloud computing is still a technology which in certain areas, Universities are wary of.
· Student e-mail is a well-trodden path, whereas staff e-mail in the cloud is by no means as well progressed.
· Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is far more acceptable and popular than Platform as a Service (PaaS).
Microsoft have a cloud strategy which allows complete flexibility in terms of which parts of your IT (and therefore data) you place where. You could have:
· An on premise solution
· A private cloud solution (provided within a University or perhaps shared between Universities or hosted via a Microsoft Partner)
· A Private cloud solution (think Live@Edu, Office 365 or Windows Azure)
· A hybrid model covering any combination of those above.
The reality is that all institutions will have some form of hybrid model. The benefit of Microsoft’s hybrid model is that we use the same products across each of these environments, providing compatibility and management that is in our humble view, unsurpassed. Come and talk to us about how this could work for your own Institution.
In addition to cloud based strategies which can reduce costs, there are specific Microsoft products which are very hot topics within the sector at present. One of these is Microsft Lync.
Lync provides a number of things such as Instant Messaging, Presence, OnLine Meetings (video and voice) across multiple locations and also Voice, as a replacement for traditional PBX switches. The savings are in the region of hundreds of thousands of pounds per institution, with savings reaching seven figures for some of the larger institutions. Add to this the significant productivity and flexibility increases and Lync makes a very compelling case indeed. We will be presenting alongside a customer during the break-out sessions, so come along and hear more about this from one of your Sector colleagues on the day.
Over the past year, IT departments have increasingly had to cater for the fast growing “bring your own technology” or “consumerisation of IT” movement. Support for multiple devices, entirely different form factors, running various operating systems now need to be incorporated into the organisation. Clearly IT can drive this movement or be dragged along by it. Microsoft’s strategy is clear in this area and we’d be happy to talk to you some more about it on the stand. One of the key areas of our strategy can be seen in the forthcoming release of System Centre 2012. This will allow the management of iPads for example. Increasing use of the browser to access applications also opens up access to many Microsoft applications to non PC devices. Basically anything that runs Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox or Chrome.
Finally, we hope to have made some announcements as a company by the time UCISA is in full motion which will be of interest to anyone interested in the evolution of cloud computing. We are becoming more and more open as an organisation and have some exciting announcements just around the corner. We are also expect to have some early versions of Windows 8 tablets on the stand so do drop by and see us.
We are thrilled to announce the availability of our latest eBook, titled ‘Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education’.
Written by leading light in this field, Ollie Bray, this eBook combines thoughts, observations, tools and practical tips to help you understand more about using and making computer games in the classroom. In short, it is a guide to get children excited and re-energised about learning.
View/download the full eBook on Gaming in Education below:
If you are keen to learn more about the use of computer games in education, Ollie will be speaking on this topic at the Microsoft sponsored breakout session at the NAACE 2012 Conference. Hope to see you there!
With the plethora of device types now available, the power to work and study where you choose is now a reality. Want to revise in the park sipping a latte, or update a presentation on the bus, there is now an app and device perfectly suited to your needs.
This trend, commonly known as the Consumerisation of IT in Education or BYOD, is driving the demand for flexible working and studying often using more consumer orientated devices. Within an academic institution, this is not without its challenges, though, and IT professionals within schools, colleges and universities need to consider the impact and management of BYOD from a more holistic perspective to ensure the needs of both the user and enterprise are met.
Lets consider the needs of the students for a second. Gen-Y, who are predominately active users of social media and mobile technology, expect to also use these technologies as a core element of their learning experiences. Is this is often a reality within institutions, though?
Furthermore, with Forrester research reporting that 35% of workers in the US already use a personal device at work, and I am sure the UK numbers are not far off this, the BYOD trend in the enterprise is rapidly gaining momentum. With people becoming more tech savvy, how are institutions also embracing the opportunities of consumerisation of IT in education/BYOD with faculty and admin staff within institutions? Are institutions working to meet the needs of their users?
Via my conversations with network managers and teachers at institutions across the UK, I get a mixed set of responses to these questions. Some institutions are openly embracing BYOD, while others are passionately against these trends.
Ultimately, I don’t see these trends as a threat to an institutions IT strategy, but does require IT managers within institutions to work in a new way and to think differently.
People power, or BYOD, is not without its challenges but requires a balance between freedom, risk and cost to ensure a practical and workable solution for IT users within an institution. IT Managers want to enable anytime, anywhere learning/working for all, I am sure, but also have a responsibility to keep systems and data safe.
To make this a reality, a solution needs to provide anytime, anywhere access to data and apps, consider the most suitable device type to meet the needs of users and, as mentioned previously, mitigate cost and risks.
The consumerisation of IT video below discusses this in more detail.
So, how do IT managers within academic institutions make this a reality?
From a device perspective, multi purpose devices should be front and centre of BYOD strategies. With the pace of change in devices types, it is now possible to get devices that are light weight, have a great battery life and are well suited for both content creation and consumption. These multi-purpose devices can also be managed within a standard IT management environment with increases the security of the device and reduces the overall cost of ownership.
UltraBooks, for example, offer much of the flexibility of slate devices but, in the case of Windows 7 devices, can be managed and secured electronically.
iPads, for example, are fantastic content consumption devices, but offer challenges when it comes to content creation and security/central management. This often leads to the need to have multiple device types to cater for both sets of needs. This adds to the overall cost of the device estate and, particularly in the case of education, adds significant cost to an overall IT budget.
The video below showcasing some of the latest PC's, for example, gives a good feel for how powerful multi-purpose devices are becoming.
With the advances in the cloud, access to data and apps via the browser irrespective of platform is also becoming commonplace. App virtualisation, via VDI and remote desktop, can also help provide flexible and secure access to core apps and act as a fundamental element of an institutions BYOD strategy.
When these 3 elements, device type, the cloud and unified management comes together, institutions have the perfect recipe for BYOD success.
Food for thought, for sure. What do you think about this topic? How are you meeting the needs of your users in the age of BYOD? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Anthony Salcito’s session from the recent Learning Without Frontiers 2012 Conference has now been made available online.
For some inspiring thoughts on the future of teaching and learning, the session is well worth taking 20 minutes out of your day to check out.
We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Originally posted on the daily edventures Blog
Deirdre Butler’s passion in life is exploring what being digital in learning can mean. This means finding new ways for digital technology to revolutionize learning — by challenging us to examine how we learn and to question our assumptions about “traditional” models of schooling. Butler’s expertise led to her serving as a judge at Partners in Learning regional and global forums since 2006, and as lead judge at the recent European Forum in Moscow and US Forum in Seattle. We recently asked Butler about her passion for digital learning and her work in training the next generation of teachers.
What role does digital technology play in teaching?
Technology in teaching is not new – I’ve been using technology to teach for more than 30 years. At first, it was video and audio, then computers. Today, using every available tool, we can shift from text-based teaching to multiple modalities. Teachers once were simply transmitters of information. Technology makes learning dynamic.
You started as a teacher, and then became a researcher. Now your focus is on teacher education. What inspired your career path?
Like Nelson Mandela, I believe that “education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” To do this I believe that teachers are the key change agents. Mindful of Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “You must be the change you want to see in the world,” my work centers on teacher learning. The challenge is how best to design sustainable, professional development models and support structures that will foster and develop teachers as self-determined learners. I have tried to understand this complex problem by designing challenging yet supportive and sustainable learning environments for teachers.
How has the community you’ve built supported your efforts?
I have worked to build alliances with people in other institutions and agencies, establishing an extensive network across education, government and industry sectors. The network includes links with students and teachers at primary and post-primary level as well as advanced learning institutions nationally and internationally.
What projects have come out of these partnerships?
I’m particularly proud of the Empowering Minds (EM) Learning Community, which is a collaboration between St. Patrick’s College, the MIT Media Lab, Media Lab Europe, the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) and primary schools across Ireland. Project work engaged in by the community’s children and teachers (50+ schools nationally) is shared at the Annual National RoboShow at St. Patrick’s College. I’m also the National Director of TeachNet Ireland, a continuing professional development project that encourages Irish teachers at primary and post-primary levels to develop educational resources for publication on the web. To date, the project has published 500+ online curriculum units and these are available free of charge through the website www.teachnet.ie.
Over the past two years, TeachNet Ireland has focused on developing a Web 2.0 strategy which builds on teacher collaboration and use of web tools such as blogs and podcasting. We have also developed a range of high quality online courses to reach a greater number of teachers. The TeachNet portal now includes a blog, podcast and teacher project resource listing as well as a range of online courses to support teachers.
As someone training the teachers of tomorrow, are you optimistic about the future of education?
I am – so long as we continue to shake up assumptions and beliefs. Technology is not a silver bullet. We must set up environments to stimulate teachers and to enable them to experience different learning environments. We must change hearts and minds.
Deirdre Butler believes we must question our assumptions about the learning process. How have you questioned your own assumptions, and what was the result?
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About Deirdre Butler
Deirdre Butler is a senior lecturer in St. Patrick’s College (a constituent College of Dublin City University) with chief responsibility for designing and coordinating learning programs for undergraduate and postgraduate students using a broad range of digital technologies. Butler has consulted for and participated in educational development work using expressive computational materials in Mexico, Costa Rica, many European countries, as well as rural and urban areas of Ireland. Prior to St. Patrick’s College, Butler worked in primary schools for nearly twenty years.
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland Current residence: Dublin, Ireland Person who inspires me most: Seymour Papert, whom I had the privilege of working with as my PhD advisor. Favorite childhood memory: Getting that much loved Crolly Doll for Christmas when I was very young, particularly in light of my escapades some months earlier when I had done some “interior design” work on the much prized new bathroom that been installed in our home. I had found a container of gloss paint which my father had been painting the fence in the back garden with. He had briefly left the paint outside the back door while he nipped inside to have a cup of tea. Seeing my opportunity to put my artist skills into action and spruce up what I thought was a very boring bathroom, I took the paint brush and container and set to work. Let’s say when I was discovered singing and painting happily a short time later my parents were to put it mildly less than impressed. So that year I had been rather worried that Santa would definitely have me on the “naughty list” and keeping with tradition he would leave me a bag of cinders at the foot of my bed instead of my much longed for Crolly doll. Next travel destination (work or pleasure): First week in March to Austin, Texas to meet with the other members of Microsoft’s Higher Education Advisory Board. I will also be presenting at the SITE (Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education) Conference on the teacher professional development work (LEAP21) that I have been involved in with ITL (Innovative Teaching and Learning) research (www.itlresearch.com). Favorite book: Currently, Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. A constant favorite since my early teens is The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran.
During a regular catch-up with my colleague, Greg Pearson, he shared some interesting stats around the global IT industry and how this relates to job growth, with a particular emphasis on the tech sector.
I thought it might be worth sharing some of these stats on the blog. It definitely got me thinking about young people and the skills they need to find employment after they graduate. Food for thought, for sure…
That is pretty impressive potential growth figures, yet during the same conversation with Greg it turns out that the tech industry is actually struggling to find the right skills.
The following stats puts this into perspective:
With these stats in mind, there are clearly huge opportunities for young people who possess the right skills to pursue careers in the tech sector. The challenge now is for the curriculum in schools and beyond to offer the correct platform for people to embrace these opportunities and meet the demands of industry.
So what are hiring manager within tech firms looking for from a qualifications perspective? Maybe the following stats can help answer these questions:
It is going to be interesting to see how the curriculum develops and evolves to create an environment that provides the best platform for the UK to achieve its full potential in the tech sector. To support this, Microsoft's IT Academy programme can help provide industry specific skills and knowledge needed to achieve success.
Keeping with the theme of stats, 60% of IT Certification Holders say a certification led to a new job₂. Additionally, 53% of individuals believe that obtaining a certification makes them more marketable3.
Earning Microsoft Certifications Will Help Your Students:
More information on the ITA Academy can be found on our website, or alternatively download/view the presentation below from our 2011 ITA Summit event.
**Source: IDC Economic Impact Study, Global, 2009
** Source: IDC, Microsoft’s Economic Impact, 2011
*** Source: eskills Technology Insights report, 2011
**** Source: www.itjobswatch.co.uk
***** Source: TEKSystems Report, October 2011
Sources
1 MCP Program Satisfaction Study 2010
2 Network World, November 2011
3 Intrepid Survey