We are famous.

[russdev]

We are famous.

 

Apparently we are in TES last week and your truley was mentioned but hopeful not called me founder like last time.

 

Anyway it is article ict buying ict I am told so if someone has the paper can you you look through it and scan it in and post up here for us please.

 

Will look at works copy when get in tomorrow.

 

 

Russell

[Oops_my_bad]

sure it wasn't ICT "bullying" and not "buying"? what with all the teachers coming from the woodwork here recently

[russdev]

lol

 

Well I am told it is page 10 the main article.

 

Russell

[john]

eer I bet its been recycled at work now with it being Thursday today, and hence the mad rush for staff to hit the staffroom at 8am to rip open this weeks TES and find there ticket out of here

[webman]

Ahh, yes I think our copies are still in the staffroom - will have a checksies in the morning

[PEO]

Not sure if we get this. will have a poke after my 10 days half term hol

[mattx]

I didn't think it was all about being 'famous' - I thought the site was about sharing ideas and helping others with advice and knowledge through ICT in schools..............

[russdev]

@Matt

 

famous I was being overtop with phasing on purpose....

 

 

 

I thought the site was about sharing ideas and helping others with advice and knowledge through ICT in schools..............

 

 

Point is we get new members when we get mentioned in article like tes articles that is why we do it not to be famous but so more people know about the site.

 

I was just letting members know that edugeek get mentioned somewhere...

 

 

Russ

[Geoff]

I demand a scanned image

[russdev]

when i have one so will you lot

 

Rusell

[apoth0r]

Grats guys, we appreciate all you do for us.

You've certainly helped me out with legalities alone, let alone all the other technical aspects.

 

May Edugeek.net become as popular as Google

[russdev]

She didn't mention edugeek's name as just seen artiicle but we do have me and one member quoted in it.

 

Steve moss was quoted but think he may of misunderstood where article was coming from as see reporter was trying to do light hearted spin on serious matter and Steve picked upon the fact that she was saying technicians needed space to work but main issue was the fact that lack of ict suites in classrooms.

 

Anyway here is article.

 

 

IT staff come out of the closet into the world of wi fi

 

Irena Barker

Published: 12 October 2007

 

SCHOOL IT technicians are used to emerging from pokey workshops in converted cupboards to tinker with broken printers. But they now fear they may lose even this meagre space as ICT rooms are left out of plans for new schools altogether.

 

The Building Schools for the Future programme advises schools to ditch traditional computer suites in favour of wireless technology, laptops and portable tablet PCs.

 

Zbysiu Rodak, a technician at a Manchester secondary, predicts in-house technicians will disappear entirely. In future, an anonymous central pool could serve a large number of schools.

 

At the Djanogly Academy in Nottingham, one of the first schools to abolish IT suites, technicians have been given an underground "den" to work from. A team of six technicians are constantly on the move maintaining around 1,300 desktop, laptop and tablet PCs.

 

A visitor to the school commented: "I didn't like the way the techies were kept in two dark, windowless rooms below ground, almost as an afterthought."

 

But Sanjesh Sharma, assistant principal in charge of ICT at Djanogly, said the basement space had been planned from the start. "It's much better than the room they have under the building in The IT Crowd" (the Channel 4 sitcom), he said. "It's air-conditioned, staff are near the servers and the equipment is safe from theft."

 

Another technician said he had to fight "tooth and nail" for adequate space for staff and computer suites as his BSF pathfinder school was being designed.

 

Russell Dyas, a network manager at a secondary school in Leicestershire, said the needs of IT staff were usually considered at the end of the design stages. "Space for support staff should be considered at the beginning along with the basics such as electrics and plumbing," he said.

 

Steve Moss, strategic director of ICT at Partnerships for Schools, which oversees BSF, said the move away from computer suites was inevitable if schools wanted to embed technology into all areas of the curriculum. "We have to ask if we are designing schools where the facilities are for the students or to make the lives of technicians easier."

 

He said the organisation was consulting technicians' representatives to ensure their voices were heard.

 

Russell

[gaz350]

Sanjesh Sharma, assistant principal in charge of ICT at Djanogly, said the basement space had been planned from the start.

 

They should have got a better person to do the job then. running water/heating pipes above the server room was a great idea! don't these people realise the data held in these rooms are insanely important?!?!?!

 

"We have to ask if we are designing schools where the facilities are for the students or to make the lives of technicians easier."

 

Designing the building(s) with everyone in mind is surely going to get the best results?

[russdev]

As said think Steve moss got wrong end of where article was trying to come from but I am sure somone will ask Steve for us

 

Russ

[webman]

That article doesn't seem to know whether it's coming or going and can't decide which topic to focus on. Typical TES. Or Steve Moss hasn't got a clue.

[Netman]

That article doesn't seem to know whether it's coming or going and can't decide which topic to focus on. Typical TES. Or Steve Moss hasn't got a clue.

 

Correctamundo on both counts Fonzi...

[tom_newton]

Well, edugeek got a plug in the letters page months ago... I do try and get edugeek in any education sector PR we do... also any techs I meet, I make sure they know about edugeek. More members = more helpful community = happier techs = (ultimately) better education for all

[Oops_my_bad]

"We have to ask if we are designing schools where the facilities are for the students or to make the lives of technicians easier."

How goddam rude :x

[mattx]

That article is a load of crap. And just think, some joker got paid for writing that...

[localzuk]

Indeed it is rude. Considering that making lives of technicians easier ultimately results in better education for the kids... Unhappy workers = low productivity. Low productivity = slow repairs. Slow repairs = less facilities available for kids.

 

As Steve Moss is the Strategic director of ICT at PFS, this kinda indicates the way they are thinking - technicians and support are an afterthought. They are severely underestimating what technicians and NM's do - and education in the UK is going to suffer because of this.

[pallen]

Lets be honest guys - planning to make life easier for technicians? Everyone knows that we all we do is sit around all day waiting for someone to give us some work to do.

 

Unfortunately poeple still believe we do nothing but browse the web drinking tea in our little cupbaord.

[webman]

It's OK, new buildings won't have techies anyway, remember?

 

Even if they did have techies; they'd be "constantly on the move maintaining around 1,300 desktop, laptop and tablet PCs" because the hardware is so useless it needs constant maintenance!

 

Oh, hang on..... "1,300 desktop" PCs??? :? Didn't Djanogly "do away" with desktop PCs?

[Dos_Box]

That would be the tablets that are soooo good for graphic design and (working on an average of 1 new battery per year under heavy use would cost £24,000 per year for new batteries working on an average of £60 per item for 400 tablet PCs.

Nice.

[Dos_Box]

Oh and the multimedia capabilties are truely stunning!!

[GrumbleDook]

As said think Steve moss got wrong end of where article was trying to come from but I am sure somone will ask Steve for us

 

Russ

 

From previous conversations with Steve I know where he is coming from on this and I am sure he will let me know if I need to correct this point.

 

Ultimately a school is an environment for learning. The client is the student and they are the most important thing ... because they are there we get paid and we, as a school, are measured against how well they perform in a variety of tests.

 

The design of a learning environment should be done to ensure that the needs of the clients come first. That is what a heck of a lot of people have said. The design should be based around what is needed by the students.

 

Then you get onto how you deliver the services ... and that is where there is the sticking point. Yes, the services and the support for the services should be designed so that it is fit for purpose but we start getting into Catch-22 situations.

 

We talk about physical server security ... so the Server room is put in a windowless room with single access ... we say that we want to be close to the server room in case we have to do things in there (increasingly not needed really) ... so we get stuck next door to it ... in another windows less room.

 

We say we need to be were users can get to us easily ... so we are stuck next to the library and then we moan that because it is open access it is not secure.

 

Yes, we are not like other businesses ... and there are so many different models about what works and what doesn't ...

 

Please note at the end of his comment ... he said they are in consultation with groups ... yes, that means us. The BSF forum (and others) get read by a heck of a lot of people and comments are noted and taken on board. If people have ideas about the perfect setup (with some real world examples about what works and what doesn't) then go and post them on the BSF forum.

 

Whether people believe it or not there are more people on our side that you think ... as long as we remember that the primary goal of a school is to provide an learning environment for students and to ensure that they make full use of it and the staff in there.