A teacher's guide to IT terminology What do you know about Phishing, Cookies, Worms and Trojans in a technological world? Do they still mean sitting out by the river waiting for a bite, biscuits, small garden slimy things or a person from ancient Troy? The rise of online communication, financial management, social networking and education is expected to continue. As users of a whole host of technological appliances and devices, are you fully aware of potential threats and how vulnerable you may be? You hear the terms being spoken, but do you actually know what they mean? To understand the potential risks, a good place to start is to become familiar with some technological terminology: Phishing An attempt to obtain ‘others’ information such as usernames and passwords, including credit card details. Cookie Also known as HTTP Cookie, Web Cookie or Browser Cookie. Virus A computer programme that can duplicate itself. Trojan A malicious file or programme that often disguises itself as a legitimate one. Malware Worms Spyware Rootkit
Association for Learning Technology What is the appropriate form of address in email? Here is the text of a note from the Post Office, quoted in “Berry and Co”, which was written by Dornford Yates and published in 1920: SirI beg leave to inform you that your telegram handed in at the Grosvenor Street Post Office at 10.2 am on the 26th June addressed to Reply paid Hamilton Smythe Fair Lawns Torquay has not been delivered for the reason indicated below.ADDRESS NOT KNOWNI am, Sir, Your obedient servant,WBPostmaster Should letter-writing conventions be used in emails? Photo (c) Henri Burgius those forms of politeness at the start and end of the note seem quaint and odd to us. In my own small way, I am trying to maintain some of the old formality by using the form “Dear x” rather than the more chatty “Hi”, even if I already know the person. My advice would be as follows: Start off in a formal way. Do you have any views on these matters?
Online participation » Annual Conference 2014 Social media Share your photos, videos, links, blog posts using the #altc tag Remote viewing of streamed sessions A number of the sessions at this years conference will be streamed live. To view a live streamed session open the session details page e.g. here’s the welcome from co-chairs. Missed a live session? Recordings of live sessions are immediately available so don’t worry if you miss a session. Contributing to the ‘session chat’ Each live stream session has the facility for a shared chat window. The following is a video demonstrating how to use session chat: Help, none of this is working Try our Help section and if you are still having problems email helpdesk@alt.ac.uk Google Calendar of Live Events
ICT Equipment Replacement Strategy: Lasa knowledgebase ICT Management. > Budgeting and FundingHardware > Buying & Owning Hardware By Morgan Killick This article examines the reasons for regular replacement of ICT equipment and looks at the timescales, costs and planning considerations involved in a major upgrade. Introduction How many times do we see the latest computers advertised on television as ‘future proof’? Why Replace? Technology is bought in the context of a specific need. The main drivers for replacing stock are internal – taking advantage of those better, quicker and more effective ways of working. Outdated hardware, wear and tear Firstly, a computer is made up of a bunch of electronic components that are designed to push the limits of speed and performance at a given price point. Operating System Obsolescence Secondly, a computer is more than a box full of parts. Demands of modern software Thirdly, it’s not just operating systems and hardware that have this inbuilt obsolescence. When and How Much? Planning Considerations Conclusion
Encouraging words at Policy Exchange on Technology Michael Gove delivered a keynote presentation on Monday 28 November, at Policy Exchange, and responded to a question on the use of technology in schools as follows: 'ICT has a huge role to play. I think technology will be playing a larger and larger role in how we make our schools work more effectively in the future. The full video can be viewed at Link direct to question: This transcript, including the question, is from c. 39 minutes to the end of the video. Readers may be interested in the following: Details of a recent event held at the Policy Exchange with Naace involvement - The Future of Technology in our Schools: What Next? Emergent Issues & Expert Recommendations from The Future of Technology in our Schools: What Next? Discussions of this nature will continue at Naace Strategic Conference 2012 - see www.naace.co.uk/events/conference2012 for full details.
ICT Self Assessment booklet A few weeks ago, I stumbled across ICT Teaching & Learning Framework 2011, which was written by Matt Lovegrove and included contributions from Steve Greenfield, David Sheppard & Claire Waite. Here is the Framework which can be found on his blog. The beauty of this work was that it was licensed for sharing, remixing and adapting. What I did do, however, was to create a self-assessment booklet that can be used in conjunction with the framework. I hate assessment, but this book allows the children to assess their learning at the end of the week. Here's an example copy of what I've done. If you can't see the box below, please use this link to access the files
JISC Legal Cloud Computing and the Law Toolkit (31/08/2011) > JISC Legal > ManageContent We're pleased to present our free Cloud Computing and the Law toolkit for FE and HE professionals. Whether you work in a teaching, research, management or support capacity, our aim is to help you to make confident, informed decisions about implementing cloud computing solutions in your institution. Below is a brief introduction to the toolkit presented by our Service Manager, Jason Miles-Campbell. Introduction to the JISC Legal Cloud Computing and the Law toolkit from JISC Legal on Vimeo. What’s in the toolkit? Compiled by our team of ICT law experts, the toolkit contains accessible, up-to-date information about cloud computing in an FE and HE context. · Report on Cloud Computing and the Law for UK Further and Higher Education - An Overview (Access in Word, PDF and HTML) · User Guide: Cloud Computing and the Law for IT (Access in Word, PDF and HTML) · User Guide: Cloud Computing and the Law for Senior Management and Policy Makers (Access in Word, PDF and HTML) Funding information
Save Our Inboxes! Adopt the Email Charter! Global Internet Expansion: Who Will Lead the Way? [INFOGRAPHIC] According to recent Cisco research, global Internet traffic will grow nearly four-fold from 2010 -- 2015. However, that increase in traffic won’t be dominated by one region. How much will each region contribute to the worldwide traffic expansion? Just by sheer population size alone, one could assume that the Asia-Pacific region would lead in Internet traffic growth. However, that assumption would only be partially accurate. Asia-Pacific is forecast to lead in file-sharing traffic and Internet Gaming traffic. The infographic below provides an interesting visual projection of what Internet usage will look like in 2015. Tags: 2015, infographic, internet traffic