ICT Mark & Accessibility Issues

[Pipodopolos]

Our school is currently looking at gaining the ICT Mark. One of the issues that has arisen is the one of roaming profiles. It has been argued by a member of staff that we will require roaming profiles; so that students can personalise their own desktop to suit their needs. Without significant investment in more powerful servers and storage space we (the IT Dept) believe that roaming profiles will be slow to load and take up masses of storage space for the profiles.

 

For those schools that have already passed the ICT Mark, did you need to change your network to include roaming profiles?

[localzuk]

We don't have ICT Mark I don't think, but the way we handle those kids who have different needs is this - we create a copy of the default mandatory profile and alter it to suit them. No need for roaming profiles.

[Dom_]

Do you have the requirements for gaining the mark? Something I might look into here...

 

Dom

[CyberNerd]

I think that teacher is misinterpreting the ictmark. I don't recall the ICTmark saying that personalisation of the desktop is necessary - it doesn't go into detail, just generally talks about flexilibity etc.

Can you find a link, or the sentence to which the teacher refers.

[jcs808]

We use roaming profiles only for the very few who need a customized desktop. Large icons etc.

[Diello]

We're in the process of the ICT Mark here - nothing about needing roaming profiles.

 

ICT Mark is about how ICT is used to enhanced teaching & learning. The resources merely need to provide the means to deliver those enhancements. Personalised desktops most certainly do not come into it!

[Pipodopolos]

Thanks for your replies so far. This is what I suspected, that it isn't part of the requirements. Although I believe that roaming profiles sound like a good idea, I don't think we have the funds to make it work as it probably does in a blue chip company.

[Diello]

Mandatory roaming profiles for students is a good idea, yes. Most certainly not normal roaming profiles though - would create a few issues!

[steve]

We have the ICT mark and have mandatory profiles - didn't even see the auditor.

 

The LSAs did ask about personalising the profile recently. I proposed 2 solutions - scripting changes for specific users, or having a couple of specific mandatory profiles assigned to users with specific LS needs. I'd prefer to go with the scripting if I could get it to work.

 

Unfortunately the LSAs never contacted me again...

[sahmeepee]

You could allow them to customise their desktop settings and make sure they sit in the same place each week so they don't have to do it repeatedly in the same room. I doubt many schools provide roaming profiles for kids and I'm trying to phase them out for staff.

 

We allow kids to change things like screen res to suit themselves. If you want to reset the screen sizes in a room you could always hack a script together to do it remotely en masse. Alternatively you could script setting it at log on and log off for certain pupils. Or show their SNA how to do it.

 

Because we're crazy, hippy liberals we even let them set desktop backgrounds and change all their title bars to a hideous shade of pink. One day when I'm in a bad mood that privilege may be revoked!