"Due to the very high tempo of innovation and subsequent refresh rate of technology assets, when compared to other types of assets, frontline ICT assets can quickly become obsolete if they are not carefully managed on a life cycle basis."
Ombudsman report regarding the Ultranet (p. 93). Some interesting points such as a recommendation to update it every 5 years(!) and it costing $100 million to keep it going for 10 more years.
"ICTEV encourages you to be part of our 2013 state conference to be held on Saturday 25th May 2013, with the theme IT Takes A Village. The educational landscape is no longer one of isolation and remoteness. Teachers, students and communities are now part of the greater picture of global learning. The development of ICT has had a huge impact on this ability to share, communicate and collaborate. As educators we can help promote and tell the stories of our craft, our innovations, the successes and challenges. "
"The most time-consuming part of evaluating web tools for educational use has got to be looking at the Terms of Service (also know as Terms of Use or Terms and Conditions). They can go on for pages, and are so often wrapped up in so much legalese that even if you manage to read to the end, there is no guarantee you will be any wiser. And yet we can't just ignore them; it is our duty as educators and as digital citizens to protect rights and understand responsibilities online."
"When we first purchased our class set of iPads we needed a secure storage and charging solution. Unfortunately the purpose built trolleys were too expensive. At $4.50 each these drying racks were a great alternative while we saved up the money."
Many of our staff have access to iPads and are keen to use these as part of their teaching. Some are exploring the use of Google Docs, some are exploring the Ultranet and some are exploring other options.
The question of privacy and security of information was raised with regards to access to information that is stored within 'the cloud'.
This lead to me completing a bit of an investigation of DEECD and Victorian Government policies on where we stand with regards to storing information online using Google Docs, Evernote and other web based applications.
The popularity of blogging and the incredible flood of content that came with it led to a new need, with services such as Twitter allowing people to filter information and share links that might not be so easily discoverable with search engines. In the past couple of years we have seen the rise of the 'curator' and an increase in the popularity of tools that allow people to collate links.
"Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria (DLTV) replaces ICT in Education Victoria and the Victorian IT Teachers' Association. This new association will deliver professional support and networking opportunities to all educators from pre-service teachers to principals, from the early years to careers."