Northern Grid has signed a 5 year contract with BT and will be providing new, fast, affordable and robust broadband connections to schools across the North East of England. The update reports are intended to keep you informed about what to expect during the installation process and the services that will be included.

Northern Grid has signed a 5 year contract with BT and will be providing new, fast, affordable and robust broadband connections to schools across the North East of England. The update reports are intended to keep you informed about what to expect during the installation process and the services that will be included.

For winning one of our Teacher Awards last year, Stephen Ainsley from Harton Technology College in South Shields asked for us to develop a mobile app (specifically an iOS app originally) for the school. Stephen wanted an app version of their school planner – in other words, a digital version of a homework tracker, timetable viewer and school information database.

This article is intended to briefly cover the route we took when developing our first mobile application.

A guide for ICT Team Leaders

Cloud Storage - is it safe to use?

Cloud based storage and online synchronisation offers individuals many benefits, one of which is removing the need to carry flash pens and portable disks around. The question that needs to be asked is what issues are raised by this increasingly popular and free service.

Google Apps and Live@Edu have storage space available as part of their email offering. An increasingly popular trend is synchronising online storage. Dropbox and SugarSync are currently two of the more popular. The services mentioned are all available at no charge but with limits be it limited storage, non-existent Service level agreements or limited control over the functionality or how it changes.

The main concern with Dropbox is the significant risk of breaching the Data Protection Act. Staff wishing to store personal information should not use a service that does not comply with the EU Safe Harbor agreement....

TED is owned by The Sapling Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader and there are thousands of videos to inspire, motivate and engage. Some of the talks may act as springboards for teachers to develop and further their own ideas while others will engage and stimulate many of our learners in our schools.

TED is owned by The Sapling Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader and there are thousands of videos to inspire, motivate and engage. Some of the talks may act as springboards for teachers to develop and further their own ideas while others will engage and stimulate many of our learners in our schools.

TED is owned by The Sapling Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader and there are thousands of videos to inspire, motivate and engage. Some of the talks may act as springboards for teachers to develop and further their own ideas while others will engage and stimulate many of our learners in our schools.

or...The Importance of Ownership

A superb eSafety video from Northern Grids' ‘Protecting Adults Who Work With Children’ event.

Schools are well aware of the need to keep pupils, teachers, data and systems as safe and secure as possible. All schools need to ensure that they have an up to date Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). To support schools in meeting their eSafety requirements Northern Grid has a responsibility to ensure that the whole Regional Broadband Network continues to be safe and secure. This means that all organisations connected to the network need to abide by a common Northern Grid AUP. As technology changes rapidly this Grid AUP is updated regularly.

The Northern Grid Acceptable Use Policy has been endorsed and approved by the Northern Grid Directors who are all senior managers within partner Local...