With the opening of the new Apple store in Trinity – Leeds, schools form the region are now able to take  students on a Field Trip to the Store for an unforgettable learning experience. On their Field Trip, students can create something amazing right on the spot. Or they can bring in a project they’ve already created and turn the store into a theatre, sharing their achievements with parents, teachers and friends. No matter which option you choose, everyone will have a great time.

Not just for students.

They have also opened up the Field Trip programme to teachers.. They willl show you how Apple products make great tools for teaching and learning, and you’ll have a great time in the process.

Who can take part in a Field Trip?

Field Trips are open to all primary and secondary school students and teachers in the UK. Each event can accommodate up to 25 students.

How long is a Field Trip?

“Creating” Field Trips last up to 90 minutes, and “Showcasing” Field Trips last up to one hour. Apple ask that you arrive 15 minutes prior to your event to allow for setup. To schedule more time, contact a Specialist at the Store.

When can I schedule a Field Trip?

Apple offer Field Trips every autumn and spring. Registration is now open for weekday events at the store up to the  31 May. Details on the year-round youth programmes can be found on the Apple  Youth website.

Click HERE to visit the Apple Field Trip registration page.

23rd April 2013 8.30 -3.30

This popular one-day annual event is being held again this year at the Mercure Hull West Hotel in Willerby and is expected to attract more than 30 exhibitors and a large number of delegates from schools in Hull, the East Riding of Yorkshire and North and North East Lincolnshire.

They are delighted to be welcoming David Mitchell, developer of Quadblogging, to the event as keynote speaker together with a variety of workshop providers.  The full Programme is currently being prepared and once finalised, will be available to download from the booking site.

All Head teachers, Assistant Heads, Deputies, Business Managers, Bursars, ICT and subject leaders are invited to attend all or any part of the day and should pre-register by using the link below.  Entry is free and includes refreshments and buffet lunch.  There will also be a raffle with prizes donated by the participating exhibitors.

For further information and booking details click HERE

6 December 2012

St Peters School, Stanley, Wakefield

4.30 to 6.30

TeachMeets are events for teachers for sharing good practice, practical innovations and personal insights in teaching using technology. This event is organised to coincide with the YHGfL/Microsoft Partners in learning Training camp http://www.yhgfl.net/CPD/CPD-programme/Microsoft-Partners-in-Learning-Teacher-Camp2.

Participants can volunteer/book (via the YHGfL website) to demonstrate good practice they’ve delivered over the past year, or discuss a product that enhances classroom practice.  You will be able to deliver a micro-presentation lasting no more than seven minutes or a two-minute nano presentation – or come along just to listen and be inspired.

Don’t let the length of the presentations put you off as they will be packed with interesting and exciting ideas that you can take back and try in the classroom.

This FREE TeachMeet event is open to all.  Please sign up for this event on the YHGfL website HERE.

With the release of Microsoft Windows 8 tomorrow schools will be wanting to make purchasing decisions for 1:1 or replacment  devices. To help schools understand the differences between Windows  RT (Windows for tablets)  and Windows 8 and  make an informed choice,  Sean O’Shea from Microsoft has put this informative post  together with details on both systems to guide schools in their decision.

Click below to link to the post.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ukschools/archive/2012/10/25/windows-rt-or-windows-8-devices-for-your-school.aspx

As part of our on-going partnership with Rising Stars we are delighted to offer all YHGfL Schools a range of completely FREE eBooks. The eBooks can be read on any device, from PCs, netbooks and whiteboards to iPads, Kindles and iPod Touches.

The permanent eBooks license allows their use by any number of students throughout the school and from home, with no subscription fee. Every eBook also comes with teacher’s notes and printable reading and writing activities. Rising Stars publishes a range of fiction, non-fiction and plays; all developed to engage reluctant readers aged 7 to 14+

Start downloading your free eBooks by clicking on the link below:

http://www.risingstarsebooks.co.uk/

Rising Stars are also offering a £25 voucher to any YHGfL school purchasing from the complete collection of eBooks.

http://www.risingstars-uk.com/yhgfl

London from the 9th to the 11th of November

The Mozilla Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes openness, innovation and participation on the Internet. They’re holding the Mozilla Festival (http://mozillafestival.org) in London from the 9th to the 11th of November and want as many teachers there as possible!

The Mozilla Festival is a magnet for people interested in learning about – and playing with – the future of the web. Mozilla has grown over the past 15 years into an organisation that plugs directly into what the web can and will become. The Festival is an an opportunity to draw as many interested people as possible into the conversation about what tech can do.

And it’s not just about tech. It’s about anyone and everyone interested in the possibilities the web has to offer, coming together and sharing their skills and expertise. Mozilla wants to move people from using the web to *making* the web.

If you’re an educator and interested in a FREE ticket, then please do get in touch with Doug Belshaw :  doug(at)mozillafoundation.org

We in Support Services have finally got around to sorting out a blog for ourselves so that we can communicate with you, dear reader, about all and sundry from a technical or a support point of view.  No doubt we will blog about technologies and how they may or may not be suited to an education environment, we will cast our collective and considered opinions on a wide range of subjects and we may even use this as another forum to inform you when there are issues with the network or services.  After all, the more communication the better right?

Now that we’re contributing to the blogosphere and our words will be forever captured in the ether, we feel an awesome sense of responsibility.  We’re sure it will only last for a week or so though and then normal service will be resumed.

The spirit of Ask Gloria survives and is now online!!

Yours,

Gloria

Disclaimer: Gloria from YHGfL Support Services is fictitious.  Any similarity to actual support services personnel, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Phoenix and Microsoft are organising a number of online meetings for anyone who would like to find out more or ask specific questions.

You will need to register and choose which online meeting you’d like to attend in advance.This offer is available only to Consortium members and only through Phoenix Software. Contact Phoenix on 0845 265 1265 or yhgfl@phoenixs.co.uk. Calderdale and North Yorkshire schools should contact their Service Desks in the first instance.

Phoenix and Microsoft online meetings are taking place on:

May
Thursday 17th at 3.30pm
Wednesday 23rd at 4pm
Wednesday 30th at 12.30pm

June
Tuesday 12th at 12.30pm and 4pm
Thursday 14th at 12.30pm and 3.30pm
Tuesday 19th at 12.30pm and 4pm
Thursday 21st at 12.30pm and 3.30pm

To register on a session please click on the link below:

https://www142.livemeeting.com/lrs/microsoft1/Registration.aspx?PageName=r72gjn9rqgjk5gnh

New government guidance announced yesterday requires written parental permission to be obtained before students’ biometric data can be taken. Surely the most important point is the requirement for schools to effectively protect sensitive data? Gaining parental permission for a whole raft of school activities is every day practise for schools; it’s unlikely that many schools are routinely gathering potentially sensitive data without parental permission. However, many schools are not taking eSecurity seriously enough. Hardly a day goes by without an eSafeguarding incident hitting the headlines, this week we are reading about a pupil obtaining a staff member username and easily guessing their password, giving the pupil access to confidential behaviour reports which were then copied and used in a completely inappropriate way.

Across the public sector, information and data security has never before been so high profile. Over the last three years there has been embarrassing and potentially disastrous information and data-security breaches which have resulted in information of a personal and sensitive nature being lost or stolen. From April 2010, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was granted the authority to fine private and public sector organisations, found guilty of breaching the Data Protection Act, up to £500,000, this includes schools. However in our experience many schools are not even aware that they are required to register with the ICO as part of their data protection obligations. With the immense pressure schools are under, will eSecurity be a priority? As schools become increasingly autonomous and with the demise of advisory bodies such as Becta, where will the checks and balances come from?

Gaining parental permissions is of no use without all the other safeguards being in place.

For more information on eSecurity visit our website:

http://www.yhgfl.net/eSafeguarding/eSecurity/Information-security/YHGfL-data-security

2nd – 6th July at Magna Rotherham

Yes that’s right – free, which is why there’s not much time get book your places. This is a national event with schools from all over the country taking part but as it’s in Rotherham, we’d like to make sure that YHGfL schools make the most of this fantastic opportunity. Sign up for as much or as little as you want. Take your pupils or just go yourself, it’s all free and runs over 5 days so loads to choose from:

• 5 days of hands-on interactive and inspiring workshops and lectures from leading figures in education and industry.
• Fully inclusive workshop schedule – from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5.
• A fully engaged curriculum – Coding/Programmer/Computer Science, Art, Maths, Physics, English, Drama.
• 750+ workshop places and 2000+ activity places – applications encouraged from schools across the country.
• 250 CPD opportunities for teachers and educators to develop existing and new digital skills taking game creation back into the classroom.
• Industry-lead careers surgeries, vital advice and guidance for schools and young people.

For every you need to get the most out of this event, visit the website or download the Planning Your Visit document. They’ve even done your visit risk assessment for you!

http://www.gamesbritannia.com/2012/assets/planningyourvisit.pdf

http://www.gamesbritannia.com/2012/index.php