simpsonj

The Octopath traveller, sounds good, just need to get the originals on the 3DS and get the time to play them...

The Persona series is a spin off from the Shin Megami Tensei games (I think), along with Devil Summoner and Devil Survivor (And Tokyo Sessions by the sounds of it). I'm interested in the SMT games, but I remember the ones on the PS2 being a touch linear, and not altogether that interesting for me as I enjoyed the social aspect of Persona 4. Was there a promo for a Bravely Default game or spin off for the Switch?

That's brilliant! Thanks

Yep, same people. Persona 4 Golden on Vita is in my top 5 games of all time... Also worth looking at Devil Survivor on 3DS.

The main reason I'm delaying is because I was expecting to pay around £279-299 with Zelda included. At the £300 mark for just the system, which may be good value if the video posted before is anything to go by, is still substantially more that I was hoping. I think the switch will be something of a sleeper hit. Once all the bigger IPs are brought onto the switch (Zelda, Mario, Smash Brothers, Pokemon, Monster Hunter) then it'll be a very interesting platform. In the short term, I'm more interested in the Atlas SMT and Xenoblade games, but they won't be released until the summer at the earliest by the looks of it. Maybe they're giving the console time to bed in before expecting a bigger rush for xmas next year, which is an interesting (and very Nintendo) approach.

I've definitely changed my mind from wanting one for the Easter Holiday, and now waiting until Summer to see what games are available. A PS4 with Persona 5 is now looking a far more tempting prospect...

As I've just done it, when mapping a drive using GPP, don't add the trailing \ mark. So use \\server\fileshare not \\server\fileshare\

I've got the exact same setup, except mine is using a domain account. But, reading another thread, it's bad security to use a domain account as the username and password is sent out in plain text when in a GPP apparently... Best bet would be to find the minimum security requirements to run the command, and create an account purely for this purpose.

Of course I wasn't the first to join the Dots... How the Amazon Echo Could Be a Classroom Assistant | Instructional Tech Talk

So Amazon released a new toy in September in the UK called Amazon Echo. For those unaware, the Amazon Echo allows for voice control of various different functions, such as a calendar, shopping list, music and web searches. It can also do IFTTT (If this then that) functions, as well as control your Internet of Things household, such as smart switches and lights. In something of a rarity for voice commands, the Echo, or Alexa as I call her, is actually pretty decent at picking up and understanding the human voice. But I didn't want to turn this into advertisement for the Echo, but rather ask the question of whether a voice controlled device like the Echo has a place in the classroom? Students use devices in classrooms to access the internet to answer fairly simple questions. What if you could ask a device that sits in the classroom that question? What year was the Battle of Hastings? How long do you bake a Mushroom for? How much wood does a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I like the idea that facts are just a question away, and could see it being useful in lessons where skills are more important to learn than just straight facts. If we acknowledge that learners are always going to have Google to find facts, an Echo device would make it near instantaneous to find out information, rather than waiting for laptops to login, browsers to load or relying on batteries to be charged. So will I be introducing an Echo to a classroom any time soon? No, I don't think the current Echo is quite prepared for the classroom just yet. As it has access to radio stations and music that you wouldn't necessarily want, and no ability to restrict what the Echo can do. Also it's voice recognition, whilst very good, isn't perfect, and it could lead to some frustration for students and staff alike. You have to quite specific to get the answer your looking for. For example, asking 'How to cook a Mushroom?' doesn't get an answer. But ask 'How long should I cook a Mushroom for?' Does get the desired answer. Then there's the questionable issue of having a microphone listening to everything that happens in a classroom... But niggles aside, I think there might be a market for a Education Echo. As Google, Apple and Microsoft start to move in this direction, a voice enabled electronic assistant in the classroom might not be too far away.

I believe @sonofsanta has been doing some blogs on this if you want ideas! EduGeek.net - sonofsanta - Blogs

I believe, though I may be wrong, that as long as your Google image search is for images labelled for reuse, reuse with modification, noncommercial-reuse or noncommercial-reuse with modification, you're probably alright to use them. Just conduct a normal google search, click tools, usage rights. Similar options available for Bing.

Done

It must be a Christmas thing, but I'm going back to an idea I had a year ago, but didn't really take on, my Technicians non-technical guide (or TNTG). I'm going to try to put together a blog post each month (we'll see how well that goes...) on different aspects of a technicians job that sometimes aren't always obvious or in any manual, guidance or job description. It's designed for people who are finding their way into a technician's job, but I'm hoping it can provide food for thought for those of us who have been doing the job for years. Anyway, there's a blog post explaining the idea, so I'll just crack on with the first segment before I lose the motivation. Helpdesk It's not an original sentiment. There's a lot of forum posts on Edugeek that will hammer home the need for a helpdesk, so it's perhaps not a big surprise that it's the first segment in the TNTG. At it's most basic, a helpdesk is a way of recording all the work that the IT department is conducting. Even for a single person department, a helpdesk is invaluable for: Tracking your workload Keeping tabs on longer projects Spotting recurring patterns Organising your time Setting individual/departmental priorities Some IT Departments like to only work to the helpdesk (no ticket, no help), which is a valid methodology, but not one I've ever stuck to. I've always preferred to be use the Helpdesk as a guide to work that needs to be completed, and as a way for me to ensure myself and my technician are on the same page. Regardless of how it's used, my advice to any new technician is to make sure you know how your school's helpdesk works, and to keep it updated with everything you do. If there isn't a system in place, I would recommend looking at Spiceworks or Freshdesk, or one of the numerous threads on the subject on Edugeek. Or, at the very least, some kind of spreadsheet noting what you've done, and when, just something digital to refer to for use at appraisals, job reviews or just for your own good practice. I'm perhaps not the best person to write about Helpdesks, as I'm not a massive devotee. I find it incredible useful for setting tasks for my techie, but I'm not great at adding my own jobs to the list as I tend to use an old fashioned diary unless it's a job that affects the both of us. Staff are encouraged to use the helpdesk, but there's certainly no punishment for them not using it (more on 'Managing teaching staff' in a future segment I think). My appraisal tends to me far more strategic in view, rather than a count of how many tickets I've completed (for which I am very grateful, as I find target setting of that kind not suited to the job). But that said, it can be useful to show if an IT department is overworked, and it can be used to highlight the need for an extra technician, extra hours or overtime. As usual, any comments or constructive criticism gratefully received.

Looks really interesting, and could nicely tie our Office 365, Windows and BYOD environments together, but got to ask the obvious question, any rough indication of cost?

To login locally, use .\ and a local account username on the login screen

Couldn't find any issues using that site @Blue_Cookeh but thanks for the heads up Only one email address (my headteacher's) was blocked, and we just added him to the Governor's contact list and it sorted the issue.

Try changing the port that Spiceworks runs from (Right click system tray icon, and enter a new port number for http and https access, for instance, mine are running on 9675 for http and 9674 for https), then enter the new address with port number, for example, mine is http://spiceworks:9675/ and try logging in.

Rumours abound that the Switch will sell for £200 at launch, or £250 with a games bundle...

Use it here, and we keep pushing/reminding students to use it, but teachers and students like it, and those students who do use it seem to get better grades (ours have gone up year on year since GCSEpod was introduced, but I'm sure our LT would cite other factors!).

Has anyone got a simple set of instructions to whitelist an email address or domain for bt internet/yahoo? Without an account myself, and the BT Internet site having out of date information, I'm struggling to instruct our governors on how to unblock school messages!

I read the comments. I regret that decision... Still @hardtailstar you started a thread about this very FOI request back when it was requested in March! http://www.edugeek.net/forums/behind-red-door/167734-foi-big-brother-watch.html

Nope, whilst emails from my Office 365 account reach btinternet.com addresses just fine, the Headteacher's emails are being rejected...

Seemed to have solved it by adding an exception to our Disclaimer policy so that any emails sent to a btinternet.com domain don't have the disclaimer applied. Not ideal, but a useful workaround for the time being.

Just to rectify my own points. It IS possible to see whether the profile has been installed using Lightspeed (Click on Device, then profiles tab). But I'm getting iPads that are being obstinate about installing the required profile, no error messages or log to work with... So annoying that it works on some iPads, but not on others, and the settings are identical.