Monday sessions – 10.00am -10.45am

· Windows Vista in Education – Monday 5^th November 2007

· Office 2007 in Education – Monday 19^th November 2007

· Learning Platform for Schools - Monday 3^rd December 2007

Specialist Topics

· The Microsoft Computers for Pupils Package – Wednesday 14th November – 10.00-10.45am

· Live Meeting 2007 – Virtual classrooms and remote learning – Thursday 6th December 3.30 – 4.30pm

See below for details of how to register and participate.

Details of Sessions

Windows Vista in Education – Live Meeting

This session will explore new features in Windows Vista for Teachers and Learners that make Windows Vista a tool for learning. We will also look at the new features for system administrators to create and to protect the virtual education environment.

Presented by Steven Audis, a Microsoft Education Technology Adviser in the UK Team

Click here to put this into your Outlook Calendar with the joining instructions

URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=SQH3DD&role=attend

Call: 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

Microsoft Office 2007 in Education – Live Meeting

Get an overview of the latest Office system from Microsoft, which provides the ultimate arsenal of productivity tools for your students, educators, administrators, and support staff. From word processing to classroom presentations and animated Web design, the Microsoft Office system delivers a powerful and easy-to-use experience. Introducing Learning Essentials 2.0.

Presented by Steven Audis, a Microsoft Education Technology Adviser in the UK Team

Click here to put this into your Outlook Calendar, with the joining instructions

URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=GMBMJ6&role=attend

Call: 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

Learning Platforms for Schools - Connected Learning Community – Live Meeting

The Learning Gateway from Microsoft is a solutions framework that helps improve education by integrating the tools you already use and putting them to work connecting people with the information and processes they need to teach and learn more effectively.

Presented by Steven Audis, a Microsoft Education Technology Advisor in the UK Team

Click here to put this into your Outlook Calendar, with the joining instructions

URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=ZW4ZPZ&role=attend

Call 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

The Microsoft Computers for Pupils Package – Live Meeting

In this half hour slot, we will share how Microsoft have engaged in the Computers For Pupils initiative and dive into the package we can offer, including a discounted Office 2007 productivity suite (including OneNote, Groove and Communicator) and a specially developed curriculum materials pack. See how this can fit into your overall CFP package and join in our Q & A at the end!

Presented by the Education Team

Click: here to put this into your Outlook Calendar, with the joining instructions

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=CFPnov07&role=attend

Call: 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

Live Meeting 2007 In Education – Virtual Classrooms, Remote Learning and more!

With the advent of the new version of Live Meeting (2007) functionality has now been implemented that’s been specifically designed for education faculties, training organisations and educational generalists. Live Meeting can extend the reach of education in enhancing the learning experience. Simon Palmer, former Learning and Development Manager for Dell in EMEA, will demonstrate some of this functionality illustrating how learning styles can be enhanced to improve learning either in the workplace or through educational establishments. Compelling new enhancements such as video, voice, rich media and break out rooms combined with an easy to use interface generates the right virtual environment to capture the pupils attention and will allow them to engage in interactive learning!

Presented by Simon Palmer, Technology Specialist for Unified Communications and former Learning and Development Manager for DELL EMEA.

Click: here to put this into your Outlook Calendar, with the joining instructions

URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=LM2K7edu&role=attend

Call: 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

Via Microsoft Schools Blog

11 .Best educational tech support blog
The best edublog for providing hints, tips and support for your tech needs.

It is good to see that Josie Frasier (http://www.josiefraser.com) and James Farmer (http://incsub.org/blog/) have added this as would like to see more technical people involved in education start blogging.

Anyway just a quick post to say Microsoft are running series on online briefing sessions aimed at education.

http://blogs.msdn.com/ukschools/archive/2007/10/18/scheduled-education-briefings-online.aspx

The sessions are being presented by Nick Umney & Steven Audis both of which we had pleasure of them speaking at various EduGeek.net conferences. In fact, Steven spoke other day at most recent conference at Lodge Park in Corby but more of that in a later post.

Education Infrastructure Optimisation

How mature is your IT Infrastructure? This session introduces Microsoft’s Infrastructure Optimisation (IO) initiative in Education. Get an overview of the tools and methodologies available to help you measure your IT infrastructure maturity, and produce a roadmap towards a dynamic IT environment. The IO model is based on a model from Gartner, and has been used successfully globally in the commercial world by businesses to help them to analyse the next steps in their IT infrastructure development.

Click here to put this into your Outlook Calendar, with the joining instructions

Attendee URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=EDUIO&role=attend

The URL above will let you access the presentation. To hear the presenter call 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

Presented by Nick Umney, an Account Technical Specialist in the UK Education Team

Windows Vista in Education

This session will explore new features in Windows Vista for teachers and Learners that make Windows Vista a tool for learning. We will also look at the new features for system administrators to create and to protect the virtual campus.

Click here to put this into your Outlook Calendar, with the joining instructions

Attendee URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=SQH3DD&role=attend

The URL above will let you access the presentation. To hear the presenter call 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

Presented by Steven Audis, a Microsoft Education Technology Adviser in the UK Team

Microsoft Office 2007 in Education

Get an overview of the latest Office system from Microsoft, which provides the ultimate arsenal of productivity tools for your students, educators, administrators, and support staff. From word processing to classroom presentations and animated Web design, the Microsoft Office system delivers a powerful and easy-to-use experience. Introducing Learning Essentials 2.0.

Click here to put this into your Outlook Calendar, with the joining instructions

Attendee URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=GMBMJ6&role=attend

The URL above will let you access the presentation. To hear the presenter call 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

Presented by Steven Audis, a Microsoft Education Technology Adviser in the UK Team

Connected Learning Community – Learning Gateway for Schools

The Learning Gateway from Microsoft is a solutions framework that helps improve education by integrating the tools you already use and putting them to work connecting people with the information and processes they need to teach and learn more effectively.

Click here to put this into your Outlook Calendar, with the joining instructions

Attendee URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join?id=ZW4ZPZ&role=attend

The URL above will let you access the presentation. To hear the presenter call 0118 909 2000 and use participant code: 9395559

Presented by Steven Audis, a Microsoft Education Technology Adviser in the UK Team

But we are updating http://www.russdev.com/wp-blog/edugeeknet-status/ which has all latest information on current issue.

The first post is now up with more to come each day.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Show
http://www.teachers.tv/blog

I remember my very first mentor, his name was John and I had just started my career working at Loughborough College. I learnt a lot, from hardware to professionalism, in those first few years first as a student then as a technician. At the time I remember there was a big money-saving drive, but the department he looked after always had lots of extra kit and none of other staff could work out why. It was a very simple process: he never chucked out anything that worked. If it was too old to use, but still worked, he would take it apart for spares. His theory was, if you got the spare parts for nothing then you had more money to spend on items that you did not have. I still, to this day, dismantle hardware before getting rid of anything.

The point to this story is that, without his guidance, I would have made far more rookie mistakes, but he guided me, making sure I acted professional as well as teaching me the technical side of the job. Now, mentoring is a very American thing and is used lot less in the UK. Maybe this is something to do with the use of mentors in schools to help ‘vulnerable’ students, and the stigma that the word mentoring currently has. I have noticed that many young people starting out in their career could avoid making the same mistakes again if they had someone to guide them. Everyone makes mistakes, but how does a young person starting out know if they had made a mistake if no one tells them?

So how do we address this balance in education where there are many technicians working on their own, which means there is no way of them being mentored within the school? In this case, is there a need for ICT support staff in education to have access to some kind of resource - meaning they can see how they go about getting a mentor and a list of people willing to accept mentors. Having a mentor is not limited to young technicians starting their career. Having a mentor can be, and should be, a career long thing.

Are you a young technician? Do you feel that you would benefit from mentor? Or, are you an old hand network manager and want to mentor someone but not sure how to go about it? What are your views?

Resources
http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/06/basics-of-mentoring-part-1-of-2/
http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/06/basics-of-mentoring-part-2-of-2/

Let’s start with what WEEE is all about. It is a new EU law that came into force last month, but has been hammered out by policy makers for a number of years. It should have became law in August 2005 (policymakers work fast in the EU).

The problem with WEEE is that depending on when the item was brought, how many volts it is and if it is being replaced with like for like? All these questions will have a factor on deciding what you need to do with the item.

For a full run down on WEEE, there is a great article in IT Week (http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=download&id=981) that gives you all the information you need.

Now do I think WEEE will make a difference? Maybe. For a while big companies will follow the new laws, it will be some of the small businesses that decide to ‘ignore’ the law.

Alternative is that we need to make businesses embrace being green with some incentive aside from the cost benefit of being green. The most important thing is that it would have to be part of the companies’ culture. The other month I was at RM’s head office. They have gone a through lot to become a green company (http://www.rm.com/Generic.asp?cref=GP819631&position=2, http://www.rm.com/Company/PressOffice/PressReleaseDetail.asp?cref=PRR956442&position=10). However, I still wondered if it was just a good marketing ploy. But, when you visit them, you start to realise that it is truly a green company. It needs companies taking the whole green company idea on board and make it an integrated issue into every part of the company. The companies that take a long-term strategy will make the difference and not complicated laws.

Below is a screen shot of a current map I am working on. Click on the thumbnail to open a bigger view of it.

Update - Krill from Bubbl.us left me a nice comment on this post. They have now released XML and HTML export and image export should be coming with in the week I can’t wait.

It seems like the EduGeek.net Technical Help stand at BETT 2007 has been a great success. I am sure all of the admins will have a proper de-brief at sometime in the future and plan for next year

Not managed to get down to the show this year due to Deity being about to produce a little version of me (now that’s scary) anyway with all of that going on I am trying to write my response to KS3 ICT SATS News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6247939.stm )

Also as you can see I’ve changed the layout of the site not happy with it and keep threatening to move away from Wordpress, there’s nothing wrong with it, maybe it is that I can’t quite decide which direction to send this blog in.