School Suppliers Directory Blog

Data security in schools

The TES today reported that at least 20 schools in and around the UK have have their websites hacked and content replaced with hardcore porn.

All the sites were running the out of date versions of the popular open source VLE Moodle.

Whilst it’s important to stress that the schools firewall’s would have blocked any such content being viewable from within the schools, it does somewhat dent the reputation and creditability of the website providers and schools involved.

However, there is a much wider issue here that needs to be addressed. As more and more applications, services and software products aimed at the education market head towards web-based formats, encompassing the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model, suppliers need to treat data and system security as a top priority. SaaS products are really leading innovation and progress in the education software market at the moment, and it’s great to see. They have some real benefits over traditional desktop based applications, and can be delivered at a fraction of the cost. It will be a great shame for schools to have to shy away from these products due to concerns over data security.

This isn’t an issue specific to the education industry; just this week Sage, the accountancy software giant has had to temporarily pull the plug on it’s new web-based accounting software due to serious security issues.

The ball is very much now in the software supplier’s court, to further improve on data security, as without doing so, schools will have no option but to stick with traditional, desktop based software for the forseeable future – which’ll be a terrible blow to the industry.

admin Industry News data security, school data protection, school software, websites hacked

New Supplier’s in the School Suppliers Directory this week:

Art > Artworkshops
Catering/Kitchens > Swift Catering Equipment
Drama > eclipseArts.com
ICT > LapSafe® Products
PE > Cheap Football Team Kits
School Trips/Visits > SunSports Spain
School Websites > Fresher Schools
Science > Preproom.org
Special Needs > Visual Learning for Life

admin Uncategorized

ParentPay wins prestigious e-Government award

The London Borough of Croydon Council has won a prestigious e-Government National Award for its ground-breaking project to create cashless schools across Croydon.

Working with ParentPay, the online payment and income management solution for schools, Croydon has delivered a unique, socially inclusive service with ambitious targets including the removal of all dinner money from Croydon schools. During academic year 2008/9 online dinner money collection is expected to climb to in excess of £3.4 million.  The project has increased the safety of Croydon’s school children, vastly reduced time spent on dinner money administration, increased the uptake of both paid and free school meals and removed cash collection vehicles from the busy streets of Croydon.

The e-Government National Awards are the UK’s highest level commendation for the best e-Government and technology-driven services – services which, through innovative online delivery or IT implementation, have positively transformed the lives of citizens, local communities, businesses and stakeholder groups.

ParentPay Chief Executive, Clint Wilson, speaking from the awards ceremony with colleagues from Croydon said, “The project has been a clear winner in creating cashless schools across Croydon and demonstrating measurable advances in cost-effective administration solutions for schools. The positive impact on children’s lives that have resulted from this project cannot be understated. We are delighted that Croydon’s visionary approach and hard work has been recognised at such a high level.”

For more information please click here of visit the ParentPay website www.parentpay.com.

admin Supplier News cashless catering, online school payments, ParentPay, school admin, school administration

Finding key dates, conferences, half terms and events can often be a time consuming task for school suppliers. Therefore, we’ve put together a list of key dates in 2009 for School Suppliers detailing all the key conferences, exhibitions and holidays. If you’ve got any to add, feel free to add a comment below.

February
11 & 12th  –  Northern Education Technology Show, Newcastle
11 & 12th – The Building Schools Exhibition and Conference, Manchester Central
9 – 13th – February Half Term (Scottish Schools)
16- 20th -  February Half Term

March
13 – 15th  -  ASCL Annual Conference, Birmingham
23 – 25th – Computers & Learning Conference, Brighton
26 – 28th   -  The Education Show, NEC Birmingham
27th – Education Resources Awards 2009, Birmingham

April
6 – 17th  -  Easter holidays
24 & 25  -  Early Years & Primary Teaching Show, Manchester
24 & 25th – Special Needs North, Manchester

May
1 – 3rd  -  NAHT Annual Conference, Brighton
4 – 8th -  May Half Term (Scottish schools)
25 – 29th  -  May Half Term

June
26 & 27th  -  The Childcare & Nursery Show, Olympia London
29th – Summer Holidays begin (Scottish schools)

July & August
23rd July  -  Summer Holidays begin
18th August – Autumn Term begins (Scottish schools)

September
2nd  -  Autumn Term begins
23 & 24th – Scottish Learning Festival, Glasgow

October
2 – 3rd – TES Education Show, London Olympia
12 – 23rd – October Half Term (Scottish Schools)
16 – 17th  -  Special Needs London, London
26 – 30th – October Half Term

November
12 & 13th  -  National Association of School Business Management Annual Conference, Leicester
19 – 21st  -  Design & Technology with ICT Education Show, NEC Birmingham
26 & 27th – Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Annual Conference, ICC Birmingham

December
21st  -  Christmas holidays begin

admin Industry News education events 2009, education shows, educational events, school events, school exhibitions, school supplier dates, supplier dates

New Suppliers in the School Suppliers Directory this week:

English > Teachit
History > Mill Publishing
ICT > Keep I.T. Easy
ICT > WebBased Ltd
ICT > Interactive Education
ICT > On-Line Computers
ICT > Response Technical Solutions
ICT > Viewtech Educational Media
School Furniture > Intelligent Furnitur
School Furniture > Remploy Furniture
School Furniture > Thorpe Kilworth Ltd
Science > ASCOL – Academic Sciences Company
Science > PrimaryViewPoint Limited
Special Needs > Winslow

admin Links, Site News

BETT Show 2009

Well the stands have been dismantled, the purple carpet rolled up and the salesmen & women retired back to their desks for another year!

BETT 2009 was, for all intents and purposes, pretty similar to 2008. Sadly, there was very little ground breaking ‘new’ technology, nor was there the usual number of fantastic new innovations and gizmo’s, which was a little disappointing. Last year was definitely the year of class voting, but this year’s show really lacked any such ‘wow’ factor.

On a more positive note, many suppliers launched new or updated versions of existing products, giving teachers more to play with, and suppliers such as Promethean and Smart had some great demonstrators on hand, with some really interesting products being showcased.

The show also hosted a vast array of seminars, which received a mixed reaction, from being absolutely fantastic to boring and total rubbish! But you can’t please everyone!

Once again the big boys dominated the vast majority of the ground floor space, with the smaller, niche and more often than not most innovative suppliers crammed upstairs, in what felt like the loft space! In future year’s, the smaller, niche suppliers really need to be brought to the forefront of the show to really make it great once again as they are very close to being both driven and priced out.

admin Industry News BETT 09, Bett 2009, BETT Show, Bett show review

Virtual Learning Environments (VLE's)

A report published earlier this week by Ofsted revealed that despite the hype, the take-up of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) across UK schools has been somewhat slow.

The report highlights that VLEs perform best where there are enthusiastic members of staff in the driving seat, but it also comments that only a small percentage of schools & colleges are actually using them at all, and that where they are used they represents only a small percentage of overall learning.

The philosophy behind VLEs is to enable resources, homework, video clips, website links etc, to be made available around the clock to learners on the internet, which they can access from anywhere. This in turn is designed to enhance the learning experience whilst giving schools and colleges the facilities to deliver content in the form of digital media (Powerpoints, videos, podcasts) easily.

One of the findings of the report was that VLEs are still very much in their infancy, and that much further development, training and education is required before they are able to be used to their full potential. Another area which was highlighted was the need for content for all area’s of the curriculum. The report commented:

Over three quarters of those surveyed who had a VLE showed aspects that were good, however none had a VLE that covered every subject area comprehensively.

Although content can be developed by anyone, and many teachers do create exciting and engaing content for VLE’s, there is a real need for school software and content developers to produce quality, value for money content for all subject area’s to really help drive the use of VLE’s forward.

A copy of the full report can be found here.

admin Industry News, Supplier News e-learning, virtual learning, Virtual Learning Environment, VLE content, VLEs

New suppliers in the School Suppliers Directory this week:

Drama > Bounce Theatre
English > Morrells Handwriting
ICT > e-gadget Factory
ICT > Fusion 1
School Communication > FAB Enterprises & Innovations Ltd
School Lockers/Storage > Staylock Ltd (Lockers)
School Software > Bluebeam Security
School Software > SANAKO
School Trips/Visits > Educating Adventures

admin Links, Site News

BETT Show 2009 Opens

The prestigious BETT Show 2009 opens later this week, and will be celebrating it’s 25th birthday.

The event is topped to be one of the best yet, with many supplier’s, organisations & government departments launching or previewing new products, services and initiatives.

This year BETT are hailing ‘learning elsewhere’ as their main feature, focussing on mobile, remote and distance learning and showcasing products and services that can support and enhance it. This includes a range hardware and mobile devices as well as digital content and software.

Other highlights include the vast array or seminars being laid on, which appeal to many, meaning they get a much more ‘enhanced’ experience and can justify the day-out a little bit more. The seminar programme has also been improved based on how well recieved they have been in recent year’s at  the SLF (Scottish Learning Festival). The traditional software & special needs zone’s are also back as well as a ‘Future Schools’ mini-zone with information & idea’s for those that are already, or are soon to be involved in the BSF and Primary Capital Programmes.

Notably, Apple UK are not exhibiting at this year’s event, despite other big players, including RM & Mircosoft being present. Their reason being that they feel there are better ways for them to communicate with their customers. That said, it will be interesting to see if after this year’s show, others follow suit.

All in all, it’s set to be a good show, and we hope it lives up to expectations.

admin Industry News BETT, Bett 2009, BETT Show, BETT Show 2009, Education trade show, The BETT Show

Cambridge University Press - Race to Learn

Race to Learn is an exciting new development from Williams F1 in association with Cambridge University Press.

The easy-to-use interactive DVD-ROM launches in Summer 2009 and will provide real-life contexts for cross-curricular topic-based learning.

For more information, and a chance to win an exclusive visit to Williams F1 HQ, take a test drive at the Cambridge University Press BETT stand G30 or visit our website: www.cambridge.org/racetolearn

admin Supplier News BETT 09, BETT Show, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Race to Learn