lickydog

Cheers Steve - apologies - I should have been clear - this is for external accounts registered on specific educational websites, where the accounts are now under SAP-CDC (as was Gigya) - a CIAM solution that is being integrated across the publisher's portfolio of sites and services (one account to rule them all as it were). I don't mean to be cagey about which site/publisher, but I'm conscious of the potentially career threatening fallout that may come my way if I do (or more worryingly - can't) stamp this issue out. The accounts are typically on-site registered accounts that only exist for those sites (SSO is not really in play for the majority - and would be far preferred imho) . Like registering on Amazon for shopping, carry through the same identity to Amazon Prime, Kindle etc. insert educational publisher {here} - register on any site, use same details for purchasing, browsing products, teaching and learning sites. As standard, we would request an email address to register, and on receipt of a confirmation (click the link/add the text) would create the account. Alternately, a bulk load of users can be processed, to get through back-to-school, ensuring that accounts are created, and passwords pre-set for distribution by the teacher (that's pretty standard). Thereafter, I would expect students to have to set their password on first login, relieving the teacher of that information going forward, and maintaining privacy. Someone in our authority chain is insisting that the passwords do not need to be unique to the user, and that they should not require reset on first login. Putting these requirements together lays the accounts open to teenagers wreaking havoc with no consequence for them, but plenty for us - picking up the pieces etc.

As per title... (kicks hornets nest) I've been asked to allow teachers to set a shared password for all class users, that they will then use to log on to a specific cloud service for digital resource access - in scenarios where SSO integration is not used. Note that this is not (I hope) in relation to their school AD accounts, but notwithstanding this, expecting students to respect each others accounts on an external system where they know each other's email address to log in, and have the common password at their disposal rubs up so many hackles I can't count (traceability, privacy principles under law, account abuse, account lockout, falsification of assessments taken etc.). The key arguments being laid out are: 1. Too much class time is lost with students not knowing their password (hence password in common), students failing to check their email for a reset message (hence no reset or TFA required), or not having set up their account in the first place (hence bulk provisioning - which I should note I have no issue with in and of itself). 2. "All the competitive publishers" offer this (?!) I *cannot* find any examples where this is a supported service by any educational publisher, has anyone actually come across this before - and can you name *any* providers that offer this as a service to schools?

Just been sent a mail from this partnership between CUP, OCR and Raspberry Pi foundation. (disclosed interest, I do actually now work for CUP) They're seeking contributors to help create short video content for a free online GCSE computing course, if you or anyone you know (teacher, student, industry contacts) feels like getting involved then please read on... To the best of my knowledge this is a non-profit endeavour, and as such will not pay, though healthy credits (and kudos) will be applied. PM me for the removed email address to respond if you'd like to help. Here's a synopsis: Who we are: Cambridge GCSE Computing Online represents an ambitious new approach to the teaching and learning of computing. Driven by a Cambridge based partnership of the exam board OCR, the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Cambridge University Press, we aim to transform the way computing is taught so as to inspire the next generation of computing practitioners and pioneers. What we are doing: We are creating the first online GCSE Computing course, which will be free and open to all - schools and their pupils and teachers, or parents and adults, or computer clubs, or community groups; open to all and not just in the UK but abroad as well. The course will be made up of nearly 120 core videos, developed and delivered by teachers and others from industry and education. With the use of the Raspberry Pi and the support of Cambridge University Press resources, this will create an exciting stand-alone course.We are currently working with Google to have the platform and a third of the content (the first term's worth) ready by the end of August, in time for the new academic year. What we need from you: The course alone is not enough to inspire the next generation and what we need are the inspirational words from those who lead the industry. We'd be grateful for a short video of up to 5 mins in length aimed at young people (14-16 year olds). The aim of the videos is to excite young people about the opportunities computing can open up for them and to get a sense of what's happening in the industry, the highs of being involved, etc. It would be great to get a personal perspective (e.g. what you do, what you love about your job, what you studied, what your typical day is), but if possible it would also be helpful to link examples of how businesses in the real world are using the 'core learning episodes' so that students can get an appreciation of how the theory they're studying has a real world application You'll find a list of these attached (you will see there are 117!). GCSE_Computing_core_learning_episodes.docx If there are any that resonate, please do reference them, but equally please don't feel bound by them if they don't fit with what you'd like to say. Your video should provide exciting real world examples of how computer science is all around us and is a vital tool everywhere we look. We aim to position your video alongside the ‘core learning episode’ it relates to. To make it compatible please use the common format types for example mp4, avi, .mov, .mpg. and send this through to me (email address removed). If it's tricky for you to record a video, there are other options; we could come and film you, or you could submit something as an audio file, or just as a written response that we can edit into a Q&A. Time-wise, we'd love to launch with as many industry case studies as we can, so would ideally need your contribution by mid August. However, If that's not possible, we'll be adding to the content on an ongoing basis so happy to have it follow when you can manage it!

Other than pcrocket's links above for the ActiveBook titles the only other relevant file I could find was: http://centraal.uk.knowledgebox.com/kbase/files/CDROM/patches/Exploring%20Science/ActiveBook/ESOR9AB_MSI.zip I guess this is to help with rolling out the patch files. Unfortunately since my day, the support articles associated with these fixes have been lost/taken down...

Have dug up some files off the old support server: for the Assessment CDROM - UNC support http://centraal.uk.knowledgebox.com/kbase/files/CDROM/patches/Exploring%20Science/ESOR_Assess/UNC_patch/Y9_Assess_UNC_patch.zip http://centraal.uk.knowledgebox.com/kbase/files/CDROM/patches/Exploring%20Science/ESOR_Assess/UNC_patch/Y8_Assess_UNC_patch.zip http://centraal.uk.knowledgebox.com/kbase/files/CDROM/patches/Exploring%20Science/ESOR_Assess/UNC_patch/Y7_Assess_UNC_patch.zip These are the only patches I could locate - and to be fair you're pretty much on your own with these... I guess you just need to search for and replace the files provided in the zip.

How did it break? It all looks very forgotten - but these were 2004 releases mind; will have a dig in my archives to see if I can locate anything relevant. Closest I can find is the companion website: Exploring Science QCA - Assessment Materials

Electricity, Magnets & Circuits - PhET Simulations any good?

Thanks everyone for your input, it does help swing things when we push on your behalf... Btw, there are phone charge points on the Pearson stand C40 at BETT, feel free to top off your phones (USB mini/micro and iPhone) plus mains sockets if you have your own) if you find yourself drained. 2 days in and I am. Also, final BETT recommendation is to use the Albion pub - out the National Hall and turn right, 100 yards on the left. Great ales, and good food - though it's getting busier year on year. Thanks again! Ian

Got a vested interest in this topic - working for Pearson Education... There's an internal discussion which I'd like to get your input into. As publishing moves inexorably more toward online services, is it time to give up on CD-ROM and DVD-ROM as a delivery media? Of course, there's a lot of issues which count for and against discs, some people love them, some find them a waste of space and quickly rip them to ISO for storage, but I'd particularly like to get your opinions on the alternatives. Here's a topic list for issues which have been raised on which your thoughts would be appreciated: Online only products. Online download of ISO or self-contained MSI installers for offline use. Copy protection generally. Licence keys and activation (transforms are a must). To date we've largely stayed away from copy protection and product activation, as schools are excellent at self-management, but illegal filesharing is just a fact of life (you never quite know what you're getting of course). Just for the record, the support service chaps recently recorded end-users as wanting to keep operating offline - i.e. local or network product by an unsurprisingly high 66%, 27% were happy for website access to products and 7% by VLE. You guys are really at the pointy end, so I consider your views as highly important inputs to this debate.

Totally agree with what you're saying. You'll find some publishers are OK with a couple of copying scenarios: 1. Copy the disc to use the duplicate in the rough and ready classroom world - in this case keep the original filed away and provide replacements as and when they bring back a scratched and exhausted disc that no longer plays. The teacher really has to buy into the fact that the copy they have has to then be treated as though it really is the original - and that there's no crappy copy-protection applied. Might be worth finding out what the cost of replacing the original disc would be... tech support guys can be helpful. 2. Depending on the usage terms - i.e. site rather than single-user, you may get lucky with authorisation to rip the disc to digital storage and serve it up over the network - bandwidth permitting of course. Key to it is of course, that you get permission from the publisher either way; if you load that little task onto the teacher that'll keep them busy for a few days at least, and make them think about it more carefully.

Page 8 on this annual report illustrate the risks to Pearson overall... not sure it helps, as a lot of the threats are of course non sector-specific - but it's in the public domain. I'm not surprised that your searches are failing to provide an accurate answer - Pearson is a mammoth company with an immensely diverse market and product range, you'd need to narrow your search parameters quite a lot. http://www.pearson.com/media/files/cosec/20F-2010.pdf

I've also used DVD Flick - excellent program - lots of control regarding menu poster screens, looping etc. was a lifesaver when I had a 'can you make this DVD for a conference this week?' dropped on me. Took a bunch of FLV, WMV, MP4 and Powerpoints saved out of PPT2010 as wmv straight into an ISO and then burned it too. Seamless.

Are you loading it with the shortcut that contains the modal switch? These are created on installation. Not sure of the exact syntax, but should be similar to: e.g. Target - "P:\...\...\...\wrapper.exe" -student site I think they have to be installed in sequence too.

Does this help: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows-7/83374-active-teach-sound-distorted.html Also: audiodg.exe uses extreme amounts of memory and is leaking memory - Microsoft Answers How To Disable Audio Enhancements in Windows 7 1. Make sure you have a headset or external speakers available - you may find greyed options otherwise. 2. Make sure the audio drivers are non-generic and up to date - then disable enhanced audio. 3. Keep an eye on the audiodg.exe process to see if it's creeping up when using audio playback software.

Grocers aside, I've always wondered what exactly it is that fishmongers do... er... and cowpokes.