June 2009
June 2009
Newsletter No.47
Online Workshop
There seems to be a growing interest in online applications and Virtual Learning Enviroments (VLEs). We are considering putting on an online workshop to give schools more information about what is available.
It is likely to be held in late September or early October. It will probably be an afternoon event.
The outline program is:
1) Merlin
2) Music Online
3) Just 2 Easy
4) Online books
5) Incerts (assessment)
6) e-Safety
If you would be interested in attending please fill in this form.
Online Books
Online books are available from DBooks. You can buy books that have already been created or sign up and create your own. More information is available here.
The Midnight Foxes is an excellent example that can be found at http://www.dbooks.co.uk/mfd.html. You may need to download the dbooks viewer.
They can be used on a whiteboard as introductions to lessons or incorporated into your website to make news and information more interesting.
Fujitsu
We mentioned in our last newsletter that Fujitsu were buying out Siemens from Fujitsu-Siemens. The company is now called Fujitsu Technology and is a part of the global Fujitsu company.
The new company is still 'settling in' and do not offer such a wide range of products as before. We have had a meeting and identified the products that schools require.
The standard educational PC has an Intel Dual Core processor, 2gb of memory, 160gb hard drive, a DVD player and a 3 year on-site warranty. Additionally it comes with an inbuilt card reader making it easy to transfer photos from digital cameras.
Current pricing is here.
Stop Press
Educational discounts are available on some servers, PCs and laptops along with selective warranty upgrades at almost half price. These offers last until the end of July. Contact us for further details.
There seems to be a growing interest in online applications and Virtual Learning Enviroments (VLEs). We are considering putting on an online workshop to give schools more information about what is available.
It is likely to be held in late September or early October. It will probably be an afternoon event.
The outline program is:
1) Merlin
2) Music Online
3) Just 2 Easy
4) Online books
5) Incerts (assessment)
6) e-Safety
If you would be interested in attending please fill in this form.
Online Books
Online books are available from DBooks. You can buy books that have already been created or sign up and create your own. More information is available here.
The Midnight Foxes is an excellent example that can be found at http://www.dbooks.co.uk/mfd.html. You may need to download the dbooks viewer.
They can be used on a whiteboard as introductions to lessons or incorporated into your website to make news and information more interesting.
Fujitsu
We mentioned in our last newsletter that Fujitsu were buying out Siemens from Fujitsu-Siemens. The company is now called Fujitsu Technology and is a part of the global Fujitsu company.
The new company is still 'settling in' and do not offer such a wide range of products as before. We have had a meeting and identified the products that schools require.
The standard educational PC has an Intel Dual Core processor, 2gb of memory, 160gb hard drive, a DVD player and a 3 year on-site warranty. Additionally it comes with an inbuilt card reader making it easy to transfer photos from digital cameras.
Current pricing is here.
Stop Press
Educational discounts are available on some servers, PCs and laptops along with selective warranty upgrades at almost half price. These offers last until the end of July. Contact us for further details.
Time to lose weight?
We have recently become an agent for Precedence Technologies, a leading supplier of 'thin client' solutions for education.
Normal PCs (fat clients) have a processor, memory and a hard drive. Thin clients don't have the hard drive - they use the server's hard drive and the server does most of the processing. As a result thin client computers last much longer (7 years is the expected lifespan).
Although thin client systems are generally no cheaper to buy and setup than ordinary PCs, the lower support costs and increased lifespan mean that thin client systems are generally recognised as having a lower total cost of ownership.
If you want to know more about thin client solutions then contact us and we can arrange a visit from a Precedence representative.
Papercut
Toner prices have gone up by about 50% in the last 6 months. As a result, controlling printing costs has become a high priority. One solution is Papercut. Details can be found here. Papercut can be used to charge individuals and or groups but can also be used to monitor printing with a weekly report showing usage.
Rather than showing the costs as £s, it will report the number of trees that have been used and the amount of electricity. Prices can be found here and Lifeline schools can get a 10% discount by buying through us.
Papercut is very easy to setup and straightforward to administer.
ESP
In our last newsletter we mentioned ESP's new online music service but we didn't have information on prices. Like most online services, there is an annual subscription. ESP Music Online costs 50p per pupil but if purchased through us you can get a 15% discount.
Online Backup
Backing up of important data is becoming increasingly vital as reliance on ICT increases. We have negotiated special prices with Precedence Technology (see above) for their 'Online Safeguard Product'. Prices start from £277.50 per annum for the basic service which provides 15gb of online backup. Once installed the process is completely automated and Precedence monitor backups and will contact customers if a scheduled backup does not occur.
We have recently become an agent for Precedence Technologies, a leading supplier of 'thin client' solutions for education.
Normal PCs (fat clients) have a processor, memory and a hard drive. Thin clients don't have the hard drive - they use the server's hard drive and the server does most of the processing. As a result thin client computers last much longer (7 years is the expected lifespan).
Although thin client systems are generally no cheaper to buy and setup than ordinary PCs, the lower support costs and increased lifespan mean that thin client systems are generally recognised as having a lower total cost of ownership.
If you want to know more about thin client solutions then contact us and we can arrange a visit from a Precedence representative.
Papercut
Toner prices have gone up by about 50% in the last 6 months. As a result, controlling printing costs has become a high priority. One solution is Papercut. Details can be found here. Papercut can be used to charge individuals and or groups but can also be used to monitor printing with a weekly report showing usage.
Rather than showing the costs as £s, it will report the number of trees that have been used and the amount of electricity. Prices can be found here and Lifeline schools can get a 10% discount by buying through us.
Papercut is very easy to setup and straightforward to administer.
ESP
In our last newsletter we mentioned ESP's new online music service but we didn't have information on prices. Like most online services, there is an annual subscription. ESP Music Online costs 50p per pupil but if purchased through us you can get a 15% discount.
Online Backup
Backing up of important data is becoming increasingly vital as reliance on ICT increases. We have negotiated special prices with Precedence Technology (see above) for their 'Online Safeguard Product'. Prices start from £277.50 per annum for the basic service which provides 15gb of online backup. Once installed the process is completely automated and Precedence monitor backups and will contact customers if a scheduled backup does not occur.