What does 'Edugeek' actually do?

[Guest theeldergeek]

I have looked over the Edugeek site, and for the life of me, I really can't find the answer, or at least the answer I think I need.

 

What does Edugeek actually do?

 

OK, there are the forums which for me are my biggest use of Edugeek, but surely there must be lots of other stuff going on?

 

After all, Edugeek is a business, is it not, making money, paying wages?

 

I see Edugeek works with other organisations and has commercial supporters. Is this how it makes money? What work is going on with these other organisations? Why the stand at BETT or is there a commercial interest in this? Why do businesses support Edugeek? Is Edugeek a 'portal' to connect the users to the suppliers and vice versa?

 

Let me get it straight, I know people behind the scenes work hard at Edugeek, that's blatantly obvious by how much went into BETT alone, but what is the daily routine? What is the aim? Was this a question asked by visitors at BETT "what do you do?" and what is the answer?

 

I see how Edugeek started, and what it was for, but I honestly don't know what Edugeek is all about now, where is it (or we?) going? I guess I only see the forums, I don't see what else is happening behind the scenes, so a little insight into what goes on would be good.

 

A genuine silly question of the day I'm afraid, please feel free to berate me.

Edited January 18, 2010 by theeldergeek

[korifugi]

I thought Edugeek supplied a place where IT professionals within education can support each other, trade ideas and generally form a united front for resources and support.

 

...or something like that.

[AWicher]

I’m sure there are lots of people who can give a nice long answer to your question.

 

For me Edugeek is a live knowledge base.

 

I would say it's primarily education based and most people inc resellers will offer their input into questions posted if they feel they have had dealings in that area or had a similar problem and found and answer.

 

Now I pass it over to an edugeek admin who will be lurking to answer the question in more depth, including the money Shhhhh He is worth it though .

 

Still not got round to seeing the office at the docks

[russdev]

Ok what does EduGeek.net do...

 

We are an organisation for IT support staff in education and to try and improve working lives of IT support staff in education. So from that stems the successful community in the website to providing free conferences and tech days (for example the Microsoft Tech days we have ran for members).

 

Our BETT presence is three fold really we run the technical help point for BETT (Something we need to make sure is more clear in future years) and then for us as org meeting you lot and also gaining new members to the community.

 

Then other angle is working on what we coin "National Agenda" issues so working with quangos and other orgs. Idea is when someone comes up with an idea we can say "look if you change it like this then that makes it easier to adopt for IT support staff in schools". Also got to remember that as org there are stuff we work on that never seen publicly due to legal reasons.

 

As for how we make money simple the adverts on site pay for it and yes contra to what people think it does pay for it and no we do not sell the database (no supplier believes us when we say we do not sell the database).

 

At BETT we had one director of a company tell us how much he though we could sell EduGeek.net for and and wasn't pence... (I would like to point out we are not planning on selling it)

 

We have a fundamental rule that is what we do is free for the members so conference and other stuff are all free for you to attend. Conferences started due to lack of free technical conferences. Again ran in holidays so people could be freed to attend. Again tech days we have ran free. The site free to access and use.

 

Hope that gives you some idea about us.

[Dos_Box]

Wot Russ sed!

 

More seriously though, we don't sell your details or spam you.

We were orgionally set up for the reasons Russ has said and as time goes on we are now becoming more of a place where the IT indusrty feels it can come and talk to you all on 'neutral' ground. Not only commerial companies who sponsor teh forums, but larger product development types who can get feedback and ideas on what your needs and requirments are, as well as correcting any existing issues. Obviously we charge for this (not a lot mind you), and this with teh advertising and sponsorships keep us going. Any excess funds we make often go back into the conferences and events as we make a large effort not to be nameless and faceless, for an online community such as ours this is very important, ask anyone who met us at BETT or at a conf.

[tom_newton]

Sponsor's viewpoint:

We've sponsored EG for ages. It was my idea (no this is not a windows 7 ad, get lost! ) - so I know "why"!

 

We do it because edugeek is great. Honest.

We're a relatively small business. We can't afford billboards. We don't find print advertising generally cost effective. We do have a bunch of (usually) very happy customers though. This is a place where those guys can spread the word for us, and where people can get more "ad hoc" tech support. It is just brilliant. It gives me as product manager an insight into what troubles you guys, and what we need to write. It gives us a great, informal channel of communication to our customers. It gives me something to read whilst the wife is watching $celebrity_masterchef.

 

We'd love to see edugeek spread further afield - simply because as long as we keep our friends here happy by producing a decent filter and generally trying to be pleasant, people will say nice (truthful) things about us. We help support edugeek so it stays around, and grows.

 

Interestingly we are now up to 9 or 10 SmoothWall users on the site, across all departments - dev, sales, marketing, me , one of the directors, tech support...

 

($celebrity_masterchef = "Ice dancing wotsit" for now)

[tmcd35]

 

Then other angle is working on what we coin "National Agenda" issues so working with quangos and other orgs. Idea is when someone comes up with an idea we can say "look if you change it like this then that makes it easier to adopt for IT support staff in schools". Also got to remember that as org there are stuff we work on that never seen publicly due to legal reasons.

 

I was thinking about this the other day, don't know why - just was!

 

How far away is EduGeek from being a political machine? How much lobbying of the various political parties and relevent government departments goes on? Does EduGeek work at that level and if we do what sort of things are being discussed?

 

Also, given the membership how far away are we from being some kind of union? Is there a network, other than these forums, of job related advice and support available?

[lionsl2005]

For me Edugeek is a life line knowledge base. i gained the confidence. when i was looking for job i have been reffered by an ICT Co ordinator in a job interview. Now day to day im backed by edugeek portal community when ever i need help in my professional life. This may applied to many new staters as i hope.

[smadison]

For me EduGeek is a place where we can share skills and experiences as we should all know that no one knows everything.

 

Without this how would you have to goole to find an answer and could you trust it?

 

Well done EduGeek and all those people who contribute to it as it makes everyones life easier.

[Guest theeldergeek]

For me EduGeek is a place where we can share skills and experiences as we should all know that no one knows everything.

 

Without this how would you have to goole to find an answer and could you trust it?

 

Well done EduGeek and all those people who contribute to it as it makes everyones life easier.

 

Yeah, that's good, but I wasn't really asking what Edugeek does for you on a personal level, I was asking what Edugeek is an an organisation, if you see what I mean?

 

At a personal level though, I applaud what Edugeek is, and does, most definitely.

[rob101]

This is the place to talk with like minded people who will have done or had the same problem as you at some point in there work life, and as such its the first place i personaly look when i have a problem i cant solve.

[Guest theeldergeek]

This is the place to talk with like minded people who will have done or had the same problem as you at some point in there work life, and as such its the first place i personaly look when i have a problem i cant solve.

 

OK, as I said to someone else, it's not about you it's about Edugeek.

 

I was trying to gauge who they were within the industry, why they are there, where they are going and so on.

 

We all get something out of Edugeek at a personal level I'm sure (which is undoubtedly why 'they' exist) but I was poking my head around the 'curtain' as I wanted to know what makes the process tick when the public show is over.

Edited January 18, 2010 by theeldergeek

[alan-d]

What is Edugeek?

 

What is religion? What is a thought? Why do trees exist and what time is it on the other side of the universe?

 

Edugeek - just is!

 

[localzuk]

One thing I can say that edugeek does - it grows. From a small education based IT forum to a site used by educationalists, companies, people in the health industry and into an organisation which provides conferences, training days and much more.

 

It will undoubtedly keep growing and becoming a more formidable force in the world of IT.

[mattx]

And there was me thinking it was just a website......

[russdev]

Are we union no it costs way too much money to do (Tony looked into for us once).

 

As for what level we get involved in all I say is it gets higher each day and yes we do lobby to certain degree. Lets put it like this ideas are often bounced to us before they go public.

 

What I would say is senior people within lot of areas take us very seriously a small example EduGeek.net has been asked to talk by most senior person in an RBC (director) to talk at there annual conference.

 

Would I say has Ed Balls heard of us not sure but wouldn't surprise me if he had I suspect some people senior in DCSF have heard of us.

 

Maybe this will help we were discussing how we fit into BETT and education market and we are either..

 

Google before it became evil...

 

or

 

We are like the brother or sister that no one in the family admits to but heck you secretly want to be them.

 

[beeswax]

Yeah, that's good, but I wasn't really asking what Edugeek does for you on a personal level, I was asking what Edugeek is an an organisation, if you see what I mean?

 

The simple answer is that Edugeek as an organization is the members. Without us it wouldn't continue to exist. Looking at it from a dry, academic point of view, it is a Community of Practice. It exists because there was/is a need for it. It also seems logical to me that if such a disparate bunch of people are to have any impact on the community outside of IT Professionals then there has to be a focus, someone who can be the "face" of Edugeek when "Going to meet 'The Man' on our behalf". I believe the site and its members serve as a weather vane for government and private companies alike, and to this end we cannot escape the fact that we are a political entity, however, it is not a trade union.

 

This is one of the most democratic sites I've been a member of. Over the years I've seen it metamorphose and adapt to accommodate a growing worldwide membership in an almost organic fashion to reflect the online community. Some of the level of debate (religion, ironing) has been of the highest calibre. So what was Edugeek four years ago is possibly not what Edugeek is now, though Dos_Box will correct me if I'm wrong here.

 

What Edugeek isn't is a closed community.

[AWicher]

The simple answer is that Edugeek as an organization is the members. Without us it wouldn't continue to exist. Looking at it from a dry, academic point of view, it is a Community of Practice. It exists because there was/is a need for it. It also seems logical to me that if such a disparate bunch of people are to have any impact on the community outside of IT Professionals then there has to be a focus, someone who can be the "face" of Edugeek when "Going to meet 'The Man' on our behalf". I believe the site and its members serve as a weather vane for government and private companies alike, and to this end we cannot escape the fact that we are a political entity, however, it is not a trade union.

 

This is one of the most democratic sites I've been a member of. Over the years I've seen it metamorphose and adapt to accommodate a growing worldwide membership in an almost organic fashion to reflect the online community. Some of the level of debate (religion, ironing) has been of the highest calibre. So what was Edugeek four years ago is possibly not what Edugeek is now, though Dos_Box will correct me if I'm wrong here.

 

What Edugeek isn't is a closed community.

 

OH, Nicely Put!

[witch]

One thing I can say that edugeek does - it grows. From a small education based IT forum to a site used by educationalists, companies, people in the health industry and into an organisation which provides conferences, training days and much more.

 

It will undoubtedly keep growing and becoming a more formidable force in the world of IT.

 

One day, edugeek may even need a southern office.....

[tmcd35]

Are we union no it costs way too much money to do (Tony looked into for us once).

An interesting response. I was expecting more of an 'on you bike' to a 'we did look into it but'. It's one of those things, it almost feels like a natural evolution considering the membership and support this site attracts.

 

 

Google before it became evil...

When did that happen? I'll never believe that Google is evil. It's not true I tell you! Next you'll be telling us that Steve Jobs is the anit-Christ - blasphamy!

 

 

We are like the brother or sister that no one in the family admits to but heck you secretly want to be them.

Nice quote, I like it.

[Domino]

Everybody likes edugeek because we tell it like it is - with little or no bull.

 

Who doesn't want that..?

[GrumbleDook]

An interesting response. I was expecting more of an 'on you bike' to a 'we did look into it but'. It's one of those things, it almost feels like a natural evolution considering the membership and support this site attracts.

 

The conversation with 2 other unions (who are not interested in being the union for support staff in schools) went a bit like this.

 

Every wondered why professional bodies charge a lot of money and you often feel like you get little from them ... and then you are also willing to pay money to a union to provide extra cover?

 

A union gives advice and support on a wide range of areas, acts as the representative of its members, will a support the development and growth of the industry it is in and will try and get as many members as possible.

 

To do the above you have to have staff in the union to give advice and training on the legal position and implications of the jobs which are done by its members, provide legal support during disputes, provide contract support, negotiate pay and benefits, help to standardise training and qualifications, run workshops and conference, be the face of the collective, do the PR ... the list goes on and on and on.

 

This was before talking about getting shop stewards in each area, regional reps, a national committee ...

 

A conservative figure was given to me for a union to cover 3000 people as £100,000 a year for running costs. This could be reduced by making as much use of the members as possible to chip in, and getting legal support on a pro-bono basis. To set the union up would cost 5 times that due to legal costs. It would actually work better to get everyone to join a single union, get a few members to progress up the union structure and then decide whether to split off ... taking some resources with us. The legal fee to cover that would only be around £250,000 if you are lucky (plus further setup costs!)

 

The two big costs are legal costs and insurance.

 

I suppose if every single member was to pay £100 a year then it might get somewhere ...

[localzuk]

One day, edugeek may even need a southern office.....

 

Oh, oh, I wish. Buy you know it'd end up in the south east...

[localzuk]

The conversation with 2 other unions (who are not interested in being the union for support staff in schools) went a bit like this.

 

Every wondered why professional bodies charge a lot of money and you often feel like you get little from them ... and then you are also willing to pay money to a union to provide extra cover?

 

A union gives advice and support on a wide range of areas, acts as the representative of its members, will a support the development and growth of the industry it is in and will try and get as many members as possible.

 

To do the above you have to have staff in the union to give advice and training on the legal position and implications of the jobs which are done by its members, provide legal support during disputes, provide contract support, negotiate pay and benefits, help to standardise training and qualifications, run workshops and conference, be the face of the collective, do the PR ... the list goes on and on and on.

 

This was before talking about getting shop stewards in each area, regional reps, a national committee ...

 

A conservative figure was given to me for a union to cover 3000 people as £100,000 a year for running costs. This could be reduced by making as much use of the members as possible to chip in, and getting legal support on a pro-bono basis. To set the union up would cost 5 times that due to legal costs. It would actually work better to get everyone to join a single union, get a few members to progress up the union structure and then decide whether to split off ... taking some resources with us. The legal fee to cover that would only be around £250,000 if you are lucky (plus further setup costs!)

 

The two big costs are legal costs and insurance.

 

I suppose if every single member was to pay £100 a year then it might get somewhere ...

 

£100 a year isn't a lot, considering the usual union costs... Unison, for someone earning a network manager's pay is at least £168 pa. However, I agree that it is an unlikely event to happen, with it being so costly.

[Guest theeldergeek]

One day, edugeek may even need a southern office.....

 

wow yeah! you could come and make tea for us, that'd be cool