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Tuesday, August 05, 2008 8:23 AM

Northgate acquiring Anite?

Northgate Information Solutions has agreed to acquire Anite Public Sector Holdings Limited , which incorporates Anite ’s local government and secure information systems businesses, for a total cash consideration of £54.3 million payable at completion...
Posted by AlanDay
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008 7:22 PM

Stuff that's caught my eye - 220708

OFSTED says tests narrow learning Students bring kit worth £6K School design labelled 'mediocre' e-learning 2.0 -= the need for a real 2.0 VLE Corporate social networks are a waste of money Richard Stallman: Free software and beyond Top 5 platforms...
Posted by AlanDay
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Saturday, July 19, 2008 12:04 PM

Stuff that's caught my eye - 190708

It's not the Gates, it's the bars - Anti-microsoft commentary from Richard Stallman, Founder of Free Software Foundation . Government launches data mash-up . Spam experiment overloads inboxes . Job shortage for unskilled youths. Rural diplomas...
Posted by AlanDay
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Thursday, June 26, 2008 5:45 AM

Byron Recommendations? ... Online Information Card? ... Response?

Following this weeks publication of the Byron Review Action Plan , which aims to protect the safety of children online, Times Online reports that the worlds most influential firms have launced their online 'Information Card'. Note that its'...
Posted by AlanDay
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Sunday, June 22, 2008 8:24 AM

Stuff that's caught my eye! 220608

The computer that predicted the future - More than 20 years ago a generation of schoolchildren sat down to complete a questionnaire they were told would predict their future. One tonne baby marks its birth - Sixty years ago the "modern computer"...
Posted by AlanDay
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Monday, June 16, 2008 8:21 AM

Filmclub goes online

As previously posted , Filmclub launched last week. This is aimed at encouraging children to watch and learn, and was set up with support from the UK Film Council . Apparently 60,000 films are being, or have been made available to support 7,000 schools...
Posted by AlanDay
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Sunday, June 15, 2008 9:05 PM

Stuff that's caught my eye! Summary 150608

New Video demos radical Firefox Mobile Four nations appeal against Microsoft OOXML standard Encyclopaedia Britannica dips toe in Wiki waters Gamers not misfits after all Home Affairs Committee Report - Surveillance Society? Secret printer ID codes may...
Posted by AlanDay
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Friday, June 13, 2008 8:32 PM

£250 Ethernet Cable??

Denon the high-end audio firm is selling an ethernet patch cable for, wait for it ... £250!! (normally around £5 or less). Apparently it brings out 'all the nuances of digital music', and has signal direction markings. Don't they know that...
Posted by AlanDay
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Friday, June 13, 2008 8:19 PM

Shine - talent in all young people!

Shine is a national celebration of all talent in all young people providing creative ways to celebrate and showcase students' achievements during Shine week from 30 June to 4 July. Shine is the place for teachers to show off too. Do you have a hidden...
Posted by AlanDay
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Friday, June 13, 2008 7:39 PM

Parental Engagement - Online Reporting

Becta are sending all schools an introductory pack to assist them as they move towards online reporting. Secondary schools are expected to have arrangements in place by September 2010. Primary School's by September 2012. Parents will have secure access...
Posted by AlanDay
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Friday, June 13, 2008 7:21 PM

Kent County Council bans anti-teen device!

Here's a technology snippet! The Mosquito Teenager Loitering Deterrent is a device that emits a high pitch sound that only young people can hear. According to BBC News , Kent County Council has decided to ban the devices, with Mike Hill OBE , Cabinet...
Posted by AlanDay
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Friday, June 13, 2008 6:38 PM

Display Energy Certificates - Go one better?

On reading the recent e-bulletin item on Kent Trust Web (Formerly Clusterweb) I note with interest that from the 1st October schools are meant to display a certificate that shows the energy usage per square metre. This means that every school with more...
Posted by AlanDay
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Saturday, May 31, 2008 9:45 AM

Stuff that's caught my eye! - Summary 310508

Facebook violates privacy law - A Canadian privacy group has filed a complaint against the social networking site Facebook accusing it of violating privacy laws. EU calls for net address upgrade - Work to migrate Europe to the net's new addressing...
Posted by AlanDay
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008 8:19 PM

Open Source! ... about to be taken seriously by Becta?

Becta are encouraging the use of open source software in its latest framework agreement for software. The four year agreement will start in October and replace the current software licensing framework that has been in place since 2005. Up to 10 suppliers...
Posted by AlanDay
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Sunday, May 25, 2008 4:22 PM

XO2 - A new format for the sub $100 notebook

The $100 dollar laptop project has moved on with a new look and format, and is now planned to be $75! The new device created by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project opens like a book and has a new price of $75. It's not aimed to replace the original...
Posted by AlanDay
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Saturday, May 24, 2008 3:34 PM

Post 'Byron Review'?

The Byron Report , Behind the Screen , and Grand Theft Childhood have all thrown their hats into the ring with research and recommendations for the safe use of technology by children; all agree that it is a complex area of research. There isn't much...
Posted by AlanDay
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Saturday, May 24, 2008 3:26 PM

Build Your Playspace

Merlin John pointed me at this kids consultation and my daughter thought it was cool! You get to build a play park whilst giving your views on playspaces. What a great way of getting kids opinions!
Posted by AlanDay
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Thursday, May 22, 2008 9:48 PM

Kent Boss reappointed to Becta

Graham Badman CBE, Managing Director of Kent's Children, Families, Health & Education Directorate has been reappointed for a further term on the Becta board. In addition there are three new members: John Roberts John Newbigin Lopa Patel
Posted by AlanDay
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:12 PM

So, ... I'm out of touch?

My recent post, ' struggling with technology ' prompted an interesting comment from someone closer to the chalk-face than me, and I must admit it caused me to reflect. The essence of the comment is contained in the following excerpt. "That's all very...
Posted by AlanDay | 3 comment(s)
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Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:00 AM

'Repurpose, Create and Share' - call for Bids

Are you using and sharing digital resources for learning and teaching? Becta and the National Education Network invite English schools to join a programme to: exploit online digital resources create new materials to support learning and teaching for secondary...
Posted by AlanDay
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008 7:52 PM

Shibboleth and Athens - descending into middle earth?

This is a post for the purists! Shibboleth is the open standard for identity and access management. It promioses Single Sign-On to resources, and data security. If you want to know how it works, CLICK HERE . Athens on the other hand is the old system...
Posted by AlanDay
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008 7:44 PM

Technophobe Teachers?

The following is an opinion from Andrew Pinder , Chair of Becta in an extract from an article in the Times 7Jan 2008 : "State schools spent £1 billion on cutting-edge information technology last year but 80 per cent of them are failing to make full use...
Posted by AlanDay | 2 comment(s)
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Friday, January 04, 2008 12:29 PM

Intel pulls out of One Laptop Per Child Project.

It would seem that a 'philisophical difference' between Intel and the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project has ended in divorce. It was well known that whilst Intel was on the board of the OLPC project, it was also touting its own solution, the Classmate...
Posted by AlanDay
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Saturday, December 08, 2007 11:24 AM

Podcasting - quick wins for quality

I've been really getting into podcasting and also into adding audio to slidehare and voicethread shows. The latter are two excellent online presentation tools that allow the user to quickly narrate and publish PowerPoints and create stories based around...
Posted by AlanDay | 1 comment(s)
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Saturday, December 08, 2007 9:12 AM

Filtering? 'Control and Constraint' or 'Freedom and Fun'?

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales recently added to a long standing debate about the value of Wikipedia for research. Speaking at the recent Online Information Conference at Olympia, Jimmy is reported as stating that teachers who refuse access to wikipedia...
Posted by AlanDay
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007 5:57 PM

Minor handheld skirmish in Nigeria?

Two competing initiatives aimed at providing cheap computers to children in emerging economies appear to be slugging it out over the same turf. Abuja in Nigeria is where the action is ... apparently! The interesting thing is that two competing projects...
Posted by AlanDay | 1 comment(s)
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Monday, November 19, 2007 5:39 PM

Global Village? ... meet your neighbours!

Sometimes an online experience can be so poignant that I am lost for words. One of these was when the US Holocaust Museum used Google Earth to show the destruction of villages in Darfur.The latest is by French Photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand who aims...
Posted by AlanDay
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Friday, November 16, 2007 6:45 PM

'Cracking' computer ...

We have had some 'cracking' related news items this week. I say cracking because it brings together related technology stories spanning 60 years. The Colossus WW2 code cracking computer has been restored to working condition by the National Museum of...
Posted by AlanDay
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Friday, October 26, 2007 11:42 AM

"Piggybacking" school wi-fi theft - pair cautioned in Maidstone!

In this weeks Kent Messenger (Maidstone Edition) there is a story about wi-fi bandwidth theft from a school ... "Piggy Backing", more formally known as 'dishonestly obtaining an electronic communication service" is an increasing problem, especially as...
Posted by AlanDay | 2 comment(s)
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Thursday, October 25, 2007 8:24 PM

i-whiteboards - the benefits are clear?

Following outstanding claims for the effectiveness of interactive whiteboards in a recent Becta research report and highlighted by my colleagues on their Blog , I read the full report . Its very thorough, and offers some interesting conclusions if you...
Posted by AlanDay | 1 comment(s)
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