Posts tagged ‘ICT’
ICT: A class act – St Pius X College
Friday, April 15th, 2011St Pius X College in Magherafelt has been praised for its award-winning ICT initiatives. Emma Blee finds out how these have helped improve learning from principal Mary White. Video conferencing and up-to-date technology “has to be the future” for teaching, says St Pius X principal Mary White. The college, which has 908 pupils and 65 teaching staff, was commended for its “infectious enthusiasm” by judges who presented it with the Becta ICT Excellence Award 2010. Following a refurbishment in 2000, the school has honed in on the opportunity to develop modern IT facilities, including...[full story]
ICT: Public data corporation delay
Friday, April 15th, 2011The one-stop shop for the UK’s government data is delayed, as the pros, cons and costs are weighed up. Government data from across the UK public sector are to be available in one place later this year, if a public data corporation gets the go ahead. The organisation was to be launched in April but ministers and officials are still discussing its purpose. Intellectual property and data protection are reserved matters, with Westminster setting policy for the whole UK. The March Budget states that the UK Government is “considering the merits of machinery of government changes to facilitate...[full story]
ICT: Making learning glow – Andrew Brown
Friday, April 15th, 2011Glow has helped expand the horizons of teachers, parents and pupils in Scotland but there are still some improvements to be made, Programme Director Andrew Brown tells Emma Blee. “The technology is often there but there’s no access to the services,” explains Learning and Teaching Scotland’s (LTS) Andrew Brown. He argues that while schools throughout the country have had webcams and other IT equipment for years, many couldn’t actually use it until 2007. “Although the computer in the classroom might have the equipment, they didn’t have the service that they could use with...[full story]
ICT: Brendan Crossey – breaking the status quo
Friday, January 28th, 2011EMC’s Brendan Crossey shares his thoughts on the key trends facing the industry with Owen McQuade and explains how the cloud can make a difference to business. “Our challenge is breaking the status quo within organisations,” states Brendan Crossey. EMC’s sales manager for Northern Ireland explains that many customers have run their IT systems in the same way for the last 40 years and believe that is the only way to work. “Our job is to educate the marketplace to say: ‘There are new ways of managing that information much more effectively, with more cost efficiency and the...[full story]
ICT: The great data release
Friday, January 28th, 2011Peter Cheney considers the pros and cons of the UK Government’s transparency plans. Statistics don’t tell the full story by themselves but can help the public ‘follow the money’. “This is a landmark event in the life of this government and, I hope, all future governments,” David Cameron commented as he launched plans to put UK Government spending over £25,000 online. All contracts worth over £25,000 will follow early this year. A DFP spokesman confirmed that it is considering whether to publish Northern Ireland departments’ spending items over £25,000. The department’s...[full story]
ICT: Bill McCluggage – a brave new world
Friday, January 28th, 2011Bill McCluggage told an agendaNi seminar that cloud computing “should be celebrated” and outlined progress on the creation of a government cloud. “I believe that we are in a new paradigm and are moving into a completely new way of working,” Bill McCluggage told the cloud computing seminar in December. McCluggage is the Deputy Government CIO in the Cabinet Office and was previously Director of the Department of Finance and Personnel’s Delivery and Innovation Division. He is at the forefront of the UK Government’s drive to create a government cloud (G-cloud). Essentially, what...[full story]
ICT: A digital Northern Ireland?
Friday, January 28th, 2011Northern Ireland has a huge opportunity to turn digital thanks to the cloud, according to Jeff Peel. agendaNi considers an economist’s view of the trends. Cloud computing can transform Northern Ireland’s economy and public services, Jeff Peel contends. The managing director of Quadriga Consulting, he helped to set up the Northern Ireland Software Innovation Network and also consults for Oxford Economics. Telecoms and the talent of developers are two of the province’s inherent advantages, he told agendaNi’s cloud computing seminar. With the Project Kelvin link and over 700 fibre...[full story]
ICT: Stormont’s social media
Friday, January 28th, 2011Peter Cheney reviews Stormont’s social media sites and assesses how well it communicates online. Press officers have embraced social media in a revamp of the Executive’s public relations. Facebook, flickr and twitter accounts have been opened, alongside a blog and a series of RSS feeds. As expected, the Executive Information Service focuses on the good news and common ground between the parties. That said, differences are inevitable as the 12 press offices put forward their own minister’s views. Each site has a modest following perhaps due to its formal tone e.g. press releases...[full story]
