Friday 21st November 2008

Awareness of Telecoms Companies posing as British Telecom & visiting schools on behalf of the LA

Purpose: School Telephone Systems & Telecom Companies

Audience: Headteachers , Governors, Office & ICT  Staff in Cambridgeshire Schools

Between 2006 and 2011 BT will be managing the upgrade of its phone, broadband and ISDN lines to the next-generation network, however most existing telephone systems in schools have been tested by BT and will work without problems after the switch over. For more information on this visit www.switchedonuk.org/home/how/compatibility/ and click on the 'Equipment that has been tested' link.

It has recently come to light that there is a company contacting schools quoting the above out of context and claiming they are the corporate arm of British Telecom and working on with the “schools local authority”. They are offering to carry out a free of charge survey to ensure the school can switch over from analogue to digital system, when the telephone lines in their area are upgraded. Once involved with the school the “free” survey progresses  to the school being tied in to a leased phone system, with high rental costs and excessive contract settlement fees. ICT Service have discovered the company,  BTSDigital, have been registered trading since September 2008 and only associated with British Telecom as a wholesale customer and NOT as part of the BT Group. After bringing this to the attention of BT, the LA received confirmation from BT that they have referred the company and its practices to the Competitor Watch Group.  BTSDigital is in no way associated with or working on behalf of the LA nor in any official capacity with the BT Group as they are claiming as a means to supplying a phone system which could potentially cost the school far more than it’s actually worth. We are already aware of schools in Cambridgeshire that have leased phone systems and have been tied into high rental costs with settlement fees in excess of £10,000. A number of these cases have been referred to the Purchasing Advisory Service for Schools (PASS) for investigation by the schools in question.

We urge schools to be wary of this and similar companies and to contact Education ICT Service for advice and guidance if approached.  If considering purchasing a new telephone system we wish to remind you of recent newsletter from PASS and updated Factsheet 10 - VoIP V1.0 informing schools to first contact Education ICT Service for advice and guidance. The detailed factsheets are available on the Portal by searching for Resource ID: 3465 or contact Procurement Team on Tel: 01223 566456 or Chris Nunn at PASS on Tel: 01223 699250.

Netbooks/Mini Laptops

Purpose: Raise awareness of Netbooks/Mini Laptops

Audience: Headteacher, ICT Co-ordinators, Influencers in ICT procurement

We have had several requests from schools regarding an interest in the Netbooks (small, light-weight laptops optimized mainly for internet based services such as web browsing and e-mailing). 

Although these laptops are very well priced for schools (approx. £280-£300) we would suggest that they are presently unsuitable due to some or all of the features below. 

• The wireless cards in the Netbooks are based only on the 802.11g standard.  This would allow for a maximum of 10 Netbooks to connect concurrently to the Internet (per WAP) without having any performance issues.
• MS Windows XP Home Edition or Linux are the only available operating systems. Windows XP Home Edition does not allow connection to a file server, therefore school resources could not be accessed. There is also a security risk as XP Home edition will automatically connect to an unsecured wireless network without prompting the user, this would allow children to access the internet without any filtering applied; and also could potentially allow a hacker easy access to your systems.  Linux is not a supported operating system by Education ICT Service.
• One year collect & return warranty.  Limited warranty which is non-upgradable, this would suggest that the life expectancy of the Netbook to be somewhat shorter than a standard laptop.
• Non upgradable components.  The hard drive, memory and processor is unable to be upgraded at any stage.
• Video outputs.  Some models do not have any video output, this would prevent the user from connecting the Netbook to a projector.
• Small Screens range between 7”-9”.  Smaller screens & resolutions don’t allow for full pages to be shown, sideways scrolling required which could not be suitable for some children.
• Pricing.  Although inexpensive these Netbooks provide a poor comparison in features compared to a standard laptop (approx £500).

We are aware of several companies manufacturing the Netbooks including Acer, Asus, HP, Samsung & Dell.  However, we understand that Dell will be releasing a model in the near future that should be more suited for schools. Further details will be released when available.

If you have any questions regarding these products or any other then please contact the Procurement Team on 01223 566456 or email sales@ict.cambsed.net

IMPULSE Conference:  ‘Personalisation in Practice’

Purpose: Leadership and Management

Audience: Headteachers and Senior Leadership Teams

Due to the high demand of the recent Impulse Conferences, we have scheduled two further dates:

   Manor Community College, Cambridge

Monday, 8th December 2008

ICT Service, Godmanchester

Tuesday, 16th December 2008

09.30 – 15.00

There are two free places for each school, which includes lunch.  Further details available via the following link: Impulse Conference 

Please note we are unable to accept bookings over the phone. You may call to check availability on telephone 01480 376670 or email: ict.courses@cambridgeshire.gov.uk , unfortunately no places can be provisionally booked.

2009 Film Festival Categories 

Purpose:     Latest Information

Audience:   Cambridgeshire Headteachers, Nursery, Primary, Secondary & Special Schools

The Cambridgeshire Young People's Film Festival has now been launched and the categories for the films are available at www.filmstarz.org.uk

Film themes for the different age groups include:

• The True Story of...
• It's Magic
• History Mystery
• How to

For Special Schools and Secondary Schools the categories have more open themes and in addition Sports in Action is a working title for films for all ages.  Look for the information on the website to see further suggestions and information plus details of support and training opportunities for schools.

School Census and School Workforce Census Briefings

Hands On School Census Sessions.

Purpose:     Training opportunities

Audience:   Headteacher / Principal Admin / Personnel Managers (for School Workforce Census)

9.30 – 11.00

11.30 – 13.00

14.00 – 15.30

Free

* Hands On sessions are helpful for those who are new in school and have never produced a Census return and use SIMS.  The trainer will take you through the process from start to finish.

To book a place at the Census Briefings please contact onevision@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or Tel: 01480 355965 or 355969

To book a place on "Hands on" Sessions please contact ICT Service. Please note we are unable to accept bookings over the phone. You may call to check course detail and space availability on telephone 01480 376670 or email: ict.courses@cambridgeshire.gov.uk , unfortunately no places can be provisionally booked.

Curriculum Newsletter for Primary, Special & Nursery Schools

 Purpose:    Information about the latest issue

 Audience:  Headteacher and ICT Coordinator

 The November 2008 issue of the Curriculum Team Newsletter has been distributed to ICT coordinators.

 Please use this link to download:  November

HelpLines Newsletter

Purpose:   Information about the latest issue

Audience: All appropriate staff in Cambridgeshire schools 

The November issue of HelpLines has now been sent out to schools via the courier bag.

Cambridgeshire Online Training Search 

Cambridgeshire Online Training Search (COTS) is a database of training opportunities provided by the Local Authority.  It can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet without the need for a password; its powerful search engine will help you to find suitable courses.  Eventually, all providers will be using this database, please check the Providers list for the services currently represented.  You will already find the complete listing of courses offered by CAS, CREDS, SLS, Education ICT Service, ISSIS, Cambridgeshire Youth Work and Connexions.  Go to: COTS to access this service now.

ICT Service Blog and Helpline Blog

The information in this briefing is also available through our blog. This means that you do not have to wait for the fortnightly distribution; news items go online immediately. Other relevant information about ICT is posted there too.  It is also possible to use the blog to comment on items and to give us feedback.

There is a link to the blog from our website or you can visit it directly at http://educationictservice.blogspot.com/  If you use a newsreader such as Google Reader, you can subscribe to the blog using the link in the left-hand column; your news reader will automatically highlight new blog items for you. If you would like to learn how to do this, contact the Helpline.

For up to the minute Helpline information, please visit the ICT Service Helplines Blog by searching for Resource id: 3750 from the Education Portal or by using this link: ICT Service Helplines Blog. You can subscribe to this blog in exactly the same way. 

More ICT News on the Portal...

Do you regularly check the ICT News page on the Portal? It features all the latest ICT-related news of importance to Cambridgeshire's schools.

To take a look, simply search for resource ID: 584 from the Portal front page, or click on 'News' on the ICT Service home page (www.ict.ccceducation.net).