ICT Support for Oxfordshire Primary Schools

123 ICT Newsletter: April / May 2013

For ICT updates and teaching ideas follow @123ICT on Twitter

1

New year, new staff, new schools….

As more Oxfordshire schools join 123, the 123ICT team

continues to grow. We have recently welcomed Matthew

Markland and Alison Richards.

Matt is Banbury based and brings with him a great range of

ICT skills gained during his years as an IT technician at the

North Oxfordshire Academy. In his spare time he enjoys

music and letting off steam taking part in extreme sports!

Alison will be working behind the scenes to provide

marketing and administration support. Alison has nearly 20

years’ experience of working in IT Sales and Marketing. As a

parent and PTA Chair, she is well aware of the challenges

facing primary schools today. Alison enjoys running, cycling

and walking in our beautiful Oxfordshire countryside. Nick

MIS Update …

Due to the MIS transition, last term turned out to be busier

than anticipated! The lack of time meant it was challenging

to understand the MIS options open to schools and to offer

accurate impartial advice. As the dust begins to settle, we

are really confident that our recommendation of either RM

Integris or Scomis SIMS will be justified.

Over 160 SIMS data migrations to RM IntegrisG2 are now

underway and the feedback from 123ICT schools is

overwhelmingly positive. Ease of use is the main advantage

and the only negative comments relate to the RM IntegrisG2

school calendar. OPT mark sheets are currently unavailable,

so schools are advised by OCC to continue to record OPT

assessment data in SIMS. This data will be migrated to RM

IntegrisG2 when the OPT resources are ready in June.

123ICT have formed an excellent working relationship with

Scomis and following our recommendation, approximately

30 schools have signed up to Scomis SIMS. We oversaw

three installations at the start of term (Rush Common /

Cutteslowe / Woodstock) and the good news is that all three

went very smoothly with schools up and running within two

hours. The remaining schools will be completed in the next

two weeks and Scomis will be holding a SIMS update for

School Administrators in Oxfordshire on the afternoon of

Tuesday 9 July at the Witney Four Pillars Hotel.

We are happy to collate and feedback your MIS experiences and

views to RM and Scomis, so please feel free to let your 123ICT

consultant know your MIS opinions. Alison

123 curriculum update …

The draft version of the new IT Curriculum for KS1-4 was

released during February. If you agree with us that teaching

computer programming rather than just general ICT skills is

essential, then the new IT curriculum looks promising. The

consultation period has now ended and on page 4 you will

find a summary of the proposal. Andy

123 technical update …

1. Microsoft Office 2013 –If you are planning an upgrade or

in need of a new office licence for a PC, we highly

recommend that you purchase the latest version of the

popular MS Office Suite. Leafield CE Primary School have

already successfully upgraded all their curriculum and

staff laptops. Great new features include the vast range

of templates - ideal for creating quick certificates or

custom number grids. Oxfordshire schools are currently

able to obtain a licence of Office 2013 Professional Plus

from Bytes for around £32.00 per machine. Stephen

2. Windows XP – This much loved version of Windows is

reaching “end of life” status. We are now actively

recommending schools upgrade to Windows 7 Pro (rather

than Windows 8) as soon as possible. Dominic

3. Use Dropbox for your end of year reports – With end of

year pupil reports on the horizon, have you thought about

using Dropbox? Many of our schools use Dropbox at this

time as year as it allows collaboration / checking of

reports to be done without the need for emailing through

reports. It also gives teachers that essential backup! Bill

4. V-Tech Kidzoom twist camera – came highly

recommended by an EYFS Teacher. These digital cameras

have a twistable lens and lots of photo or video storage.

There’s also plenty of wacky editing features and effects.

They are designed for little fingers so as well as being lots

of fun they are highly durable. Dan

E Safety …

Our November newsletter outlined the new Ofsted leadership

requirements relating to e-safety. In response, we are pleased

to announce that Charlie is now a certified Ambassador for

CEOP. 123ICT will begin to put together e-safety training

which can be tailored for either staff meetings, direct input to

children or parent workshops as requested.

More details to follow but please let your consultant know if

you are interested in E-Safety/CEOP training. Alison

ICT Support for Oxfordshire Primary Schools

123 ICT Newsletter: April / May 2013

For ICT updates and teaching ideas follow @123ICT on Twitter

2

123 latest curriculum news … click on the links below:

Tellagami review – digital story telling

April is poetry month … need some inspiration?

Children’s Folk Concert

Wideo.co review

Knowmia’s Lesson Creation Challenge

Air Display Review

Petra’s Planet Review

Make St George’s Day special in your school!

Teach your Monster to Read Review

Gooru Collections Review

Draft Version of the upcoming IT Curriculum for KS1-4

Alice … a 3D programming environment

Childnet’s Film Competition 2013

Phrase.IT review … literacy website resource

ShareTakeCare a Digital Footprint Game

APPSHED – Build your own app

Valiant Roamer-Too

2Do It Yourself App

2Build a Profile review

Power My Learning review

Tinkatolli review

Griffin multidock proving popular in 123ICT schools

Scratch 2.0 Beta now available to download

Cyberwise – No Grownup Left Behind … review

Nanoogo – a new way of creating posters

All About Explorers

Free on-line typing programs

Pora Ora Educational Games – free resource

Treefrog Treasure

The Big Eggsibition Competition … sign up now!

Simple Machines

Bomb Site – WW2 resource

Skoolbo

All the above articles plus many more are available on our website: http://www.123ICT.co.uk/

ICT Support for Oxfordshire Primary Schools

123 ICT Newsletter: April / May 2013

For ICT updates and teaching ideas follow @123ICT on Twitter

3

123 latest hardware deals …

RM iPad Special Offers:

The use of iPads continues to grow in primary schools and recently we have a number of schools that have opted for the iPad-mini. The prices below give an indication that schools can get 3 iPad-minis for the price of 2iPads which is proving attractive. Phil

New iPad with Retina Display: £315.00 (ex VAT) Apple iPad Mini: £215.00 (ex VAT)

XMA Offer … ideal Office computer:

HP Compaq Pro 4300 has just been installed at St Johns in Banbury. It is small form (size of an A4 piece of paper) which is popular with school administrators; excellent specification for the price. Matt

HP Compaq Pro 4300 SFF - Core i3 3220 / 3.3 GHz - RAM 4 GB - HDD 500 GB - Gigabit LAN - £100 cash back on purchase of a 3 year warranty £35

123 Price: £389.57 (ex VAT)

C-Touch Offer … an alternative to an IWB

Eynsham Primary School saw these C-Touch interactive touch displays at Bett. The price below gives an indication that they are now an exciting alternative to an interactive whiteboard / projector. We were also impressed as teachers get an excellent display and no more replacing bulbs or cleaning filters! Charlie

123 Price: £1995 (ex VAT and mount) 55” Display

Isis Concepts Offer

Isis iPad Charge and Synch Carts give an alternative to the Griffin multi-dock. They are lightweight and sturdy for easy movement between classrooms; plus it looks easy for pupils to take iPads in and out of the trolley without supervision. They are also suitable for the iPad-Mini and lockable doors give extra schools superior security. Stuart

123 Price: £1,034.10 (ex VAT and delivery) 30 bay

ICT Support for Oxfordshire Primary Schools

123 ICT Newsletter: April / May 2013

For ICT updates and teaching ideas follow @123ICT on Twitter

4

ICT Curriculum Reform:

The draft version of the upcoming IT Curriculum for KS1-4 was released during February. If you agree with us

that teaching computer programming rather than general ICT skills is essential then the new IT curriculum

looks promising:

The National Curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

can understand and apply the fundamental principles of computer science, including logic, algorithms, data representation, and communication

can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems

can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems

are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

However, it will interesting to see what primary school teachers make of it … will they have the skills and knowledge to deliver the new programme of study … teaching algorithms to 5 year olds should be really fun!

Key Stage 1 - Pupils should be taught to:

understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by following a sequence of instructions

write and test simple programs

use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs

organise, store, manipulate and retrieve data in a range of digital formats

communicate safely and respectfully online, keeping personal information private, and recognise common uses of information technology beyond school.

Key Stage 2 - Pupils should be taught to:

design and write programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts

use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output; generate appropriate inputs and predicted outputs to test programs

use logical reasoning to explain how a simple algorithm works and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs

understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the world-wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration

describe how internet search engines find and store data; use search engines effectively; be discerning in evaluating digital content; respect individuals and intellectual property; use technology responsibly, securely and safely

select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information

Full details: Computing Programmes of Study (also available via www.education.gov.uk/nationalcurriculum)