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19 June 2004

MAY/JUNE MIRANDANET NEWSLETTER

May/June MirandaNet Newsletter

In this newsletter further information about Viruses, and other nasties, Tools for Schools update, Towards a Unified elearning strategy – analysis of responses, British Library and Google on archives, ICT in Practice Awards 2005, and lastly a new MirandaNet Fellow and a new Scholar.

Viruses, spam, phishing and other nasties

Spam is becoming a problem for us all. In recognition of this, Francis, our web editor, recently sent round an article with some hints on dealing with this menace, including the latest nuisance which is known as ‘phishing’ – messages which seem to come from your bank asking for sensitive data, but which in reality come from would-be thieves. You can see this item in full in our Newsletter Archive at

http://www.mirandanet.ac.uk/news/letter_display.php?recnoField=21

This item sparked off several replies, including this one from Chris Thatcher - thanks Chris!

‘The anti spam tool at www.keir.net is free and very good - it traps almost everything after it has learned from you what you consider to be spam. You can then set a rule on Outlook to move and mail identified as such straight to delete. I've used it for months and it is almost 100% accurate.’

Tools for Schools update

MirandaNet supports the national charity Tools for Schools which is receiving donations of increasingly higher spec. computer equipment from its corporate donors.

Consequently they have adjusted prices to match:

MirandaNet Fellows outside the UK should email Christina Preston for details of how to reply.

For those considering providing computers for use by pupils and their families, teachers or teaching assistants at home please ask Trevor Matthews for the flier which explains details of the Tools for Schools Premium Package.

Tools for Schools research

We also have research by the Institute of Education into questionnaire responses from Tools for Schools users and a selection of quotations which show how effective these computers have been. Tools for Schools acted on suggestions from schools most notably in raising the minimum specification of machines provided and instituting tighter quality control at refurbishment.

Trevor Matthews
Education and Business Development Officer
tmatthews at tfs.org.uk

'Towards a Unified e-Learning Strategy' - Analysis of Responses to Consultation

The Department thanked MirandaNet for taking the time to respond to the 'Towards a Unified e-learning Strategy' consultation. In total 430 formal responses were received. Further detailed feedback from over 300 individuals at the three main consultation events about the strategy which were held in Sheffield, Birmingham and London, a further 150 at the ICT Industry and Learners' events, and from the many people who spoke to members of the e-Learning Strategy Unit at a further 120 events where the Department was represented. The Department were very grateful for the energy and thought that so many people have given to helping them think through how to get the best out of technology for the benefit of education.

We are fortunate in this country that the ICT in Schools Division does consult with teachers. It would be interesting if any of you want to comment on the final result on Mirandalink.

The analysis of the responses to the consultation document can be found on http://www.dfes.gov.uk/elearningstrategy/  

British Library puts sound archive online

Members might find these resources useful. The British Library plans to make available online thousands of recordings from its archive of historic audio material. The digitised sound files will be available free for educational use to UK universities and further education colleges.

http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,1193479,00.html

Google launches research archive project

MirandaNet researchers and action researchers will be pleased to hear that Google has launched a pilot project with 17 leading universities around the world, including Cranfield in the UK, to make academic papers and research more accessible on the internet. The world's 'most popular search engine' has turned its attention to the problem of digging out scholarly gems from the mass of material thrown up by its internet searches.

http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,1191091,00.html

ICT in Practice Awards 2005

The Becta 'ICT in Practice Awards 2005' aim to identify models of excellent practice and use these to develop and promote effective practice in the use of ICT in teaching, learning, and leadership.

The Awards allow Becta to share this information with the wider teaching community while rewarding individuals and teams who demonstrate exemplary practice in ICT. Nominations are open until 23rd July 2004.

Do you know a MirandaNet member you think should be nominated? If so let Christina Preston know by email.

http://www.becta.org.uk/corporate/display.cfm?section=21&id=2403

New Fellow – Well done Emmaline for your publication

Emmaline Wood
See Emmaline’s report on her work with the school in Pleasantville, USA in the World Ecitizen Perspectives newsletter this month.

New Scholar: Anne Winter

I have been a primary teacher for 10 years. For the past 4 years I have been working part-time, specialising in ICT. I have been teaching all the classes in the school in the ICT suite or using the interactive whiteboard. I am currently studying for an MA in Primary ICT at the University of Plymouth. I have been researching The Use of Interactive Whiteboards and Factors affecting the use of ICT in the Primary Classroom (I was very impressed with your article on Motivating Teachers to use ICT).

This summer I am going to Bainbridge Island, USA for a one year Fulbright Exchange run by the British Council. I am planning to do a comparative study between ICT provision in Devon Primary Schools and Washington Primary Schools for my MA dissertation.

I also hope to run a project, using the web, e-mails and videoconferencing to link up the Reception classes of three Devon Primary schools and the pre-school class in Bainbridge Island. I think that MirandaNet could really help me with ideas and information next year. I would welcome any help you could offer with either the comparative study or this project.

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