Glow Scotland

October 8th, 2012

Migration of Glow to Office 365 – October Update

ggallacher

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags:  : Categories Glow, Glow Blogs, Glow Component, Glow Groups, Glow Learn, Glow Light Images, Local authorities, Pupils, Technologies, Uncategorized

As you are aware, the Migration of Glow to Office 365 has been developing over the summer and we are now at a key stage where we feel it is important to outline where matters are as well as the key milestones you can expect. Over the last few months staff in Education Scotland, Microsoft and RM have been engaging with various stakeholders, in particular ADES and Local Authority representatives, to plan the most appropriate way forward for the project. We will continue to do this and, as you know, ADES has arranged for an ICT in education conference on 1 November where further, more detailed information will be shared. In the meantime we hope that this briefing keeps you and your staff up to date with progress to date.

Migration

RM Unify
RM Unify consists of three core components, a Launchpad, the App Library and the Bus.
1. The Launchpad: Access applications and services centrally and launch via a single logon
2. The App Library: Discover what’s out there and bring together the best services and applications to support teaching and learning
3. The Bus: Manage users through simple, seamless and secure provisioning of accounts

Piloting RM Unify
RM Unify piloting started w/c 1st of October. The pilot will be carried out with specific schools from Edinburgh, North Ayrshire, Scottish Borders, East Renfrewshire, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire. The pilot runs from 1st of October until 24th of October.

Feedback will be encouraged from all and will come in to the national Glow Group – using a survey, forum and paper on the day. We will collate and use this feedback before proceeding to the next stage.

In this pilot we will be piloting RM Unify only, not Office 365.

Office 365 for Education
RM Unify needs to be in place to pass the single sign-on authentication into the Office 365 for education platform and applications. Once Unify has been piloted and implemented, Office 365 will be connected and further pilots will be organised. Timelines showing the detail of the implementation plan will be communicated as soon as they have been completed and will contain accurate dates and information.

The elements of MS Office 365 that will be available to Glow Users across Scotland are listed below.

• Exchange online with full mobile experience – email, calendar, web-app, 25Gb email storage per user.
• Lync online service – peer to peer video communications, Presence and IM, integration with Exchange and Sharepoint online, usable on mobile devices.
• Sharepoint online – 512Mb personal plus 512Mb pooled data storage.
• Office Web Apps – online browser based versions of the familiar MS Office suite including Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote. This will remove the requirement to have an underlying MS Office installation on a device, however when the apps are on the client, they will work together.
• Blogging and Wiki tools with social networking integration.
• Powerful document collaboration including multi-user editing facilities.

Some of these applications were demonstrated at the recent Scottish Learning Festival.

Client Requirements Document
This gives details of the minimum client requirements needed for the migration of Glow. It is posted in the Migration of Glow to Office 365 national group listed in the Glow Users section below.

Engagement

1.  Glow Stakeholder Focus Group
As part of the migration of Glow we’ve set up a small but key Stakeholder group. The remit of this group is to help inform decisions about the user experience for the current migration project. These include:

•  Setup options for MS Office 365 for education
There are several different setup options for this application
• Email domain strategy
Structure for the new email service. (rollout to authorities is imminent, with all authorities having access to the new email solution before March 2013)
• Migration strategy
Looking at moving legacy services to the new solution. We aim to have all migration to be complete by summer 2013
• Launch pad (Home Page) applications
Look of the RM Unify landing page & applications displayed
• Exemplification
Best way of exemplifying use of Glow in learning and teaching
• Engagement
Preferred methods for engaging with the Glow community

2.  Working with Microsoft – E-portfolio Migration
Education Scotland is in contact with Microsoft to agree the next steps around the migration of the Glow e-portfolio solution, the aim is to work with a Microsoft SharePoint developer and pull together a short-term working group. The group will deliver their findings in due course. WE WILL NOT MIGRATE ANY E- PORTFOLIOS UNTIL SUMMER 2013.

3.  Glow Key Contacts

KC/ADES Update @ SLF
The Glow Key Contacts and representatives from ADES attended a closed meeting at this year’s festival. The meeting went extremely well and delegates were given a demo of RM Unify and O365 for education. Component migration paths were also shared.

Next Meeting
The next Glow Summit, in conjunction with the ADES – ICT in Education Conference – will be held at the Glasgow Science Centre early November.

Communications

General Update
We continue to use our existing communication channels to promote our Glow messages and updates:

Public Facing
• Education Scotland Online Service
• Glowscotland blog
• facebook/glowscotland
• Twitter.com/EducationScot
• Glow login i-frame

Subscription Based
• Glow & CfE e-bulletin
• e-cards

Glow Users
• Glow Light image
• National Site
• Glow Replacement Project – new national group

Scottish Learning Festival
We received extremely positive feedback from our seminars, presentations and stand demos of Glow.  Delegates were excited to see the changing solution, including the new RM Unify interface and tiles directly linking users to great Learning and Teaching products such as Office-365, RM Books, Twig World, J2E to name but a few.

Useful Links
GlowScotland Blog – GlowScotland Blog
Glow on Facebook – www.facebook.com/glowscotland
National e-portfolio group – *e-portfolio
The Glow national site – Glow National Site

We hope that this briefing has outlined where we have got to and where we are going with Glow and we look forward to an exciting future.

Glow is evolving

October 19th, 2011

Glow Light images needed – please send us your pictures

ggallacher

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories Glow, Glow Light Images, Uncategorized

Have you been admiring the images on the Glow Light interface? If you have (or if you think they could be even better) this is your chance. You can provide the picture for Glow Light for the whole country to see. The picture might be of a well known local landmark, a local event or even a piece of pupil’s work. How you choose the image is for you to decide.

Please ensure that you put in the name of your authority, school (where appropriate) and contact details in case we need to ask you for more information.

Please upload your pictures to the Picture Library at least a week before the date it is due to go onto Glow Light. We cannot guarantee that your image will be used but we will use as many as possible.

July 3rd, 2011

Glow Light Image 4.6.2011

Lesley Dickson

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories Glow Light Images

Monteray

The Glow Light image has gone on holiday!

This picture was taken on the Monterey Peninsula, California.

Image: Lesley Dickson

June 28th, 2011

Glow Light Image 27.6.2011

Lesley Dickson

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories Glow Light Images, West Lothian

West Lothian Council

Julia is in P5 at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary in West Lothian, her teacher says that she loves Glow and regularly post to the class and school blog and uploads pictures to her class page.  She completes her spelling and maths homework in Glow and emails Glow challenges to her teacher.

On a Sunday Julia can’t wait to see what the Glow Light picture will be and she decided to design her own Glow Light image after Health week in school.

June 19th, 2011

Glow Light Image 20.6.2011

Lesley Dickson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags:  : Categories Glow Light Images, North Lanarkshire

Each week, as a reward for good behaviour, pupils at Greengairs Primary, North Lanarkshire, are offered opportunities to participate in a wide variety of activities.  Amongst these is a photography club.   Older pupils support younger children and they enjoy capturing images from around the school environment.  On a typical spring day when sunshine followed a shower of rain the children went outdoors to practice their skills in the school grounds.  Nicholas S, P3, noticed that raindrops were lying on the leaves of plant and used the zoom facility on his camera to get this close-up shot.  He was delighted with the photograph when he downloaded it.  With the encouragement of his teacher he decided to enter it into the competition organised for North Lanarkshire pupils to submit images for the Glow Light screen. 

Image:  Nicholas S., P3 Greengairs Primary School/Text: Donna Scott, Greengairs Primary School

June 12th, 2011

Glow Light Image 13.6.2011

Lesley Dickson

Comments: 1 Comment Tags:  : Categories Glow Light Images, North Lanarkshire

 Dressing Table

This week’s image is one of the winners in a competition held by North Lanarkshire Council to select their images for Glow Light. It was created by Louise Mc C. from Braidhurst High School.

This type of picture is known as a ‘still life’. A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural, food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells, or man-made, drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on. With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Greek/Roman art, still life paintings give the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture. Still life paintings, particularly before 1700, often contained religious and allegorical symbolism relating to the objects depicted. Some modern still life breaks the two-dimensional barrier and employs three-dimensional mixed media, and uses found objects, photography, computer graphics, as well as video and sound.

In the last three decades of the 20th century, and in the early years of the 21st century still life has expanded beyond the boundary of a frame. Especially in the wake of the computer age, and the rise of Computer art and Digital art the nature and definition of still life has changed. Some mixed media still life work employing found objects, photography, video, and sound, and even spilling out from ceiling to floor, and filling an entire room in a gallery. Computer-generated graphics have expanded the techniques available to still life artists. With the use of the video camera, still life artists can even incorporate the viewer into their work.

Do you think this picture was drawn by hand or was computer generated? It is so beautifully drawn it is hard to tell!

 Image: Louise McC., S5 Braidhurst High School/Text: Wikipedia

June 5th, 2011

Glow Light Image 6.6.2011

Lesley Dickson

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories Glow Light Images, North Lanarkshire

The Clyde Arc, Glasgow

This week’s image has ben supplied by North Lanarkshire Council.

It ws taken by Danielle A., S6 Braidhurst High School

The Clyde Arc (known locally as the Squinty Bridge), is a road bridge spanning the River Clyde in Glasgow, in west central Scotland, connecting Finnieston, near the Clyde Auditorium and SECC with Pacific Quay and Glasgow Science Centre in Govan. A prominent feature of the bridge is its innovative curved design and the way that it crosses the river at an angle. The Arc is the first city centre traffic crossing over the river built since the Kingston Bridge was opened to traffic in 1969.

The bridge was named the “Clyde Arc” upon its official opening on 18 September 2006. It has been previously known as the “Finnieston Bridge” or the “Squinty Bridge”.

 Image: Danielle A., S6 Braidhurst High School/Text: Wikipedia

May 29th, 2011

Glow Light Image 30.5.2011

Lesley Dickson

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories Angus, Glow Light Images

Stormy Sunset

Andy Garnett was runner up with his Stormy Sunset in Angus Council’s local competition for an image for Glow light.

Sunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth’s rotation.

The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment the trailing edge of the Sun’s disk disappears below the horizon in the west. The ray path of light from the setting Sun is highly distorted near the horizon because of atmospheric refraction, making astronomical sunset occur when the Sun’s disk is already about one diameter below the horizon. Sunset is distinct from dusk, which is the moment at which darkness falls, which occurs when the Sun is approximately eighteen degrees below the horizon. The period between the astronomical sunset and dusk is called twilight.

Locations north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle experience no sunset or sunrise at least one day of the year, when the polar day or the polar night persist continuously for 24 hours.

Sunset creates unique atmospheric conditions such as the often intense orange and red colors of the Sun and the surrounding sky.

Image: Andy Garnett Angus Coucil/Text: Wikipedia.

May 22nd, 2011

Glow Light Image 23.5.2011

Lesley Dickson

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories Edinburgh City, Glow Light Images

Still Waters

 This week’s image was taken by Kyle, an S3 pupil at Wellington Special School, in Edinburgh. The school photography club went up Flotterstone path in the Pentland Hills. Reaching Glencorse Reservoir, Kyle commented on how still the water was and how it seemed to be ‘made of glass’. His photograph was the winning entry in the special school category of the Glow Light competition organised by the Edinburgh Glow team.

 The Pentland Hills Regional Park is a living, working landscape, which offers great opportunities to experience and enjoy the outdoors. With approximately 10,000 hectares of countryside and over 100km of paths, the Pentland Hills are a great place to come walking, biking, horse riding as well as fishing.

Outdoor Learning is an important approach in the new Curriculum for Excellence. The Pentland Hills Ranger Service can provide opportunities for schools to participate in enjoyable, active and challenging activities in an outdoor setting which contributes to delivering the Curriculum for Excellence. Curriculum areas include Social Studies, Sciences and Health & Wellbeing. If you would like to know more about what they can offer then please contact the Ranger Service for more information.

Pentland Hills Ranger Service
Regional Park Headquarters
Boghall Farm
Biggar Road
Edinburgh
EH10 7DX
Tel: 0131 445 3383
E-mail: pentlandhills@edinburgh.gov.uk
Web Site:www.pentlandhills.org.uk

 Text Pentland Hills Ranger Service website.

May 15th, 2011

Glow Light Image 16.5.2011

Lesley Dickson

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories Edinburgh City, Glow Light Images

Trees & Daffodils

This week’s image was taken by Kelly, an S5 pupil at Tynecastle High School in Edinburgh. Kelly said “I was returning home from a course at college and saw the light coming through the trees and thought it would make a good photo”.  Her photograph was the winning entry in the secondary school category of the Glow Light competition organised by the Edinburgh Glow team. Originally taken in portrait, it has been cropped for Glow Light.

Harrison Park is a small urban park in Edinburgh, which is well cared for and valued by local people. The park sits alongside the Union Canal, which provides a valuable wildlife corridor in the area.

In 2008 Harrison Park was awarded Green Flag status – one of the first flags issued in Scotland. The scheme aims to encourage safe, clean and accessible public parks which are managed in an environmentally sustainable way.

History of the Park

The eastern part of Harrison Park first came under control of the Corporation in 1886 with a 15 year feu of 13.92 acres from George Watson’s Hospital plus an additional 1.375 acres were feued in 1902 for a bowling green and playground. The park is split in two by Harrison Road, with a playground and football pitches on the east side.

The western portion was purchased for £10,000 from the Merchant Company Education Board on 15 May 1930.

In 2000, North Merchiston Boys Club requested outline planning permission from Edinburgh Council to demolish their current facilities, erect private flats on the premises and build a new sports centre on open parts of the park.  Following a campaign from residents surrounding the park, the application was refused.  The council then carried out a consultation with surrounding residents and stake holders and came up with a development plan. This resulted in the old bowling green and the tennis courts being removed and turned over to grass.

 Text on Harrison Park came from the Friends of Harrison Park website, http://www.harrisonpark.org.uk/, who gave use permission to use any of the text on their website.