How Technology and Training Can Help Ensure School Safety

A Safe Learning Environment Ensured by IT Admins The importance of student and teacher safety in a school is immense — and no one feels that responsibility quite like IT admins. As guardians of school technology infrastructure, IT admins are responsible for implementing solutions to ensure a safe learning environment. Not only are they responsible […]

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Securing Education in the Digital Age

Protect Your Teachers and Staff From Cyber Threats Technology has become a critical tool for teachers and staff in the education sector today. According to a global study by SMART Technologies, almost three-quarters (64%) of UK schools now embed technology in everyday teaching and learning. Unfortunately, this same technology leaves teachers and staff at risk of […]

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Keeping Students Safe from Cyber Threats in the Digital Age

Protecting Your Students from Cybercrime An audit by the National Cyber Security Centre found that cyber incidents have affected over three-quarters (78%) of UK schools. Because of the increased use of technology, students are much more susceptible to cyberattacks today than ever before. In fact, 60% of children around the world between the ages of eight and 12 are […]

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Find the Right Chromebook for Your Students

Place the Right Cutting-Edge Technology in the Right Hands A study by the Department of Education discovered that only 1% of primary schools and 2% of secondary schools were able to provide 1:1 access to laptops or tablets for pupils. With students back in the classroom after the global pandemic, schools are reassessing their own technology and […]

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5 Factors to Help Select the Right Devices for Your School

In today’s classroom, technology is an extension of teaching. Like any good educator, the best devices can support a variety of learning styles, environments, and activities. But choosing from the sheer volume of available laptops, detachables, and tablets takes time and discernment. This article is designed to help you identify and evaluate the most critical […]

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Arm Your Educators With the Best Technology

A Reassessment of School Technology A 2022 study revealed that nearly two-thirds of schools in the UK are using technology in everyday teaching practices. A separate study by The 21st Century Teachers report revealed that 48% of teachers use a variety of digital technologies with their students. The use of technology in schools is only expected to increase in the […]

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Maximising Tech Investments to Maximise Student Potential

The economic headwinds are shifting, and that has many schools looking at their edtech investments with fresh eyes. At the beginning of the pandemic, many were forced to invest in new tools and solutions for learning at home – with limited time for discernment. As the situation has progressed, the focus has become more on […]

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Are You Equipping Your Students to Be Successful?

Over the past 10 years, the number of students with a disability has increased from 6.4 million to nearly 7.2 million. The rising demand for education technology has made accessibility tools and equitable learning environments more crucial than ever. Google enables every leader to bring innovation to their schools at scale, empowers every educator by giving them […]

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Which Tech Investments Are Accelerating Student Learning?

If there was ever a doubt of tech’s importance in the classroom, The Pandemic certainly underscored just how essential it’s become. Global funding to edtech companies soared to $20B in 2021, up about $6B from the previous year.  But which investments are worth the price tag? If you’re looking for edtech that’s most likely to accelerate student […]

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​Deploy High-Performance Devices for Your School Without Wiping Out Your Budget

Affordable Access to High-Performance Devices for Education The need to provide the best possible equipment for teachers and students is often at odds with the need to reduce costs and make sure your IT team isn’t overstretched supporting classrooms full of complicated devices. But laptops and tablets are becoming an intrinsic part of the classroom, […]

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How Can You Reduce Your School’s Environmental Impact – While Embracing EdTech?

How Can Schools Empower Environmental Action? The Department of Education is pushing for the UK’s education sector to lead the world in sustainability and climate change by 2030. It’s aiming to achieve excellence in education and skills, meet net zero, and build resilience to climate change and a better environment for future generations. There’s plenty of […]

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Speedy. Simple. Secure. Discover Easy-To-Use Education Tools With Chromebook.

Chromebook with Chrome Education Upgrade With schools across the UK steadily increasing their digital maturity and implementing more EdTech, decision-makers are starting to build a detailed understanding of what their teachers and students will benefit from most. Technology is meant to make teaching easier. But if you’re using the wrong devices, unoptimised apps, or a difficult-to-manage operating […]

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Empower Safer Learning With ChromeOS

Create Safer Learning Environments With Chromebooks and ChromeOS The education sector is experiencing a higher number of cyberattacks and at a higher rate than other sectors. In 2021, it saw a 29% increase in attacks globally. To keep staff and students safe, schools need to take measures to protect themselves from increasingly complex threats, such as data […]

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Learn How to Use Google for Education to Its Full Potential

Any technology is only as beneficial as the user’s ability to use it effectively. That’s why Google continually works to empower educators and support lifelong learning via free-of-charge online training for the classroom. Educators can find an individual trainer or certified professional development partner in their area for in-person or virtual training and support. Recordings […]

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Toolkits & Training to Help Your School Adopt Chromebooks

There is a myriad of reasons why you should transition your school to Chromebooks, including strengthened security, improved collaboration, and simplified classroom management. However, introducing new technology to your school community can create a number of challenges. It’s important to educate students, teachers, and admin on what is changing and help them acquire the skills […]

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Is Micro-Learning the Future of Professional Development?

Between getting their classrooms ready, finalising lesson plans, and getting a head start learning all the incoming students’ names, teachers have a steep back-to-school ramp-up period. Throw in a gruelling, days-long professional development event and it’s likely to put them over the top.  But what if the £260 million the UK spends annually on staff development could […]

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How Tech Can Improve Teachers’ Professional Development

Learning Never Stops Every teacher knows that learning never stops – not their students’ learning and not their own. However, how teachers can access resources for their professional development has shifted dramatically over the past few years, with greater opportunities for teachers to lead their individual personal development in ways – and in places – […]

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Is Adaptive Learning the Solution to One-Size-Fits-All Ed?

The best teachers are the most attuned ones. Without them saying a word, they can tell when a student is close to working out a new concept or just plain stuck. And they instinctively know how to tailor their instruction accordingly: throwing out clues to lead learners to the right answer or slowing down the […]

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How to Find the Right Tech for Your Teaching Style

Whether they’ve been an educator for decades or this is their first year, every teacher has their own teaching style. Everything from the way an educator communicates with students to the subject matter being taught can impact an educator’s style. Thanks to modern technology, there are a lot of resources now available to complement any […]

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Finding the True Value of Education Plus

Google commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic ImpactTM(TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) for education organisations. After investing in Education Plus, organisations will experience vastly improved security and ease of IT management, as well as improved collaboration and functionality for educators. Education Plus Benefits by the Numbers Improved Security […]

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How the Right Tools Can Help With Educational Development

When it comes to students’ educational development, it’s crucial that teachers are armed with the right resources. Over the past two years, the global pandemic has changed the way students learn, and the traditional classroom has evolved into a more digital-first space. This need has even received the attention of the Department of Education, which recently […]

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How to spot phishing emails

Everyday, fraud organisations are sending phishing emails to all kinds of recipients, even to school staff members. Phishing refers to the aim of an email that tries to trick you into providing sensitive information. This could be login usernames and passwords, account numbers, or even confidential files. When it comes to protecting this kind of […]

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This Is What the Future of Classroom Safety Looks Like

73%of parents in the UK are concerned about their kids accessing inappropriate material online.2a 37%of UK teachers have seen an online safety incident in their school. 1 84%of parents and guardians worldwide report feeling worried about their children’s online safety3 Empower the students where and how they learn With distance and hybrid learning here to stay… […]

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Is Your School Community Protected From Digital Threats?

884 million leaked records across the globe in the Education sector, making it the third most affected by data breaches.1 Over 33% of schools are more likely to say staff resources had to be diverted to deal with a cyber security breach.3 Ransomware: Target No.1 Educational institutions are the most targeted segment for ransomware in […]

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4 Online Safety Lessons Students Don’t Want to Learn the Hard Way

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3 Ways to Support Staff and Accelerate Learning Next Year

January technically arrives in the middle of the school year. However, the tradition of setting resolutions and planning ahead is still plenty applicable. Before students arrive back from Christmas break, take some time to ensure the entire school is supported academically and emotionally. 1. Start planning your budgets No matter when you make your budget, […]

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Trend Mapping: Charting How Education is Evolving in 2022

How do you prepare students for careers that don’t yet exist? The short answer: Technology. However, hard skills and tangible tools don’t tell the whole story. Soft skills also play a leading role in student success. In fact, the more digital the world becomes, the more important the interpersonal. This research-based look at classroom evolution […]

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What Hybrid Learning Taught Us – and Why It Still Matters

Change is hard. Forced, unexpected change is even harder. Take transitioning to hybrid schooling, for example. Over the bumpy course of the crisis, up to 95% of in-person learning was lost. Students in England missed an average of 115 days, more face-to-face teaching time than anyone else in Europe. Then, just as pupils were settling into their […]

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Teacher Knows Best: How to Get the Most from Post-Pandemic Tech

When COVID-19 hit, schools and teachers worked tirelessly to create a whole new way of providing an educational model that would engage and inspire students, and fill parents with confidence. At the cornerstone of it all was technology. Via devices, platforms, apps and programs, teachers were able to bring the schoolroom into the home, and […]

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Mindfulness Tech, Tools and Benefits for the Entire School

Mindfulness is having a major moment in schools. This positive state of being is achieved by simply paying non-judgemental attention to our feelings, thoughts and sensations in the body as they change from moment to moment. In the classroom and beyond, it’s been shown to increase focus on learning, improve overall well-being and reduce stress […]

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Selecting the Right Chromebook for Your School, Staff and Students

Finding the Right Chromebook In 2020 the pandemic changed the way schools use Chromebooks. To meet the existing, and new needs of schools, Google developed a wayfinding guide to help you find the right Chromebook for your use case. Finding the Right Chromebook In 2020 the pandemic changed the way schools use Chromebooks. To meet the existing, […]

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Why so Many Schools are Shifting to Zero Trust Security

The term “zero trust” doesn’t necessarily invoke a positive connotation. However, rephrased as “always verify,” the same principle takes on an entirely different sentiment. Semantics aside, it’s a serious security solution that schools can’t afford to ignore. Don’t want to join the millions of institutions who had their network breached from within last year? Perimeter […]

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Transform Your School with Chromebooks

Chromebooks allow teachers to educate students even when they aren’t in the same room together. Chromebooks include accessibility right out of the box, unlocking learning experiences for students with diverse needs, abilities, and learning styles. This means that Chromebooks can seamlessly access Google Workspace for Education’s productivity and collaboration tools, as well as apps available […]

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Why data privacy is so important for your school

Above all else, schools should be happy, inclusive places that have a truly open, collaborative and community feel. But, it would be irresponsible not to recognise the importance of keeping school data private. Data privacy is a growing issue for schools, as education and research organisations are handling a greater amount of information, while at […]

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How your IT system can help make your school secure and successful

Anyone who has ever walked into a school – let alone works in one – would attest to the fact that schools are busy, busy places. Put aside the day-to-day demands of running a building that potentially houses hundreds or more children and educators, but the added weight of responsibility of teaching, management and organisation […]

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Google Meet Taking Schools Beyond Distance Learning

Google Meet is a video conferencing tool included with Google Workspace for Education. It works seamlessly with popular products like Classroom, Gmail, and Docs. Boost your management, security, and engagement capabilities with an upgrade that’s right for you. Connect from anywhere with easy-to-use video conferencingBring your school community together with high-quality video conferencing that’s intuitive […]

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Making good decisions about classroom tech

Who doesn’t love new technology? Certainly not students – and most teachers, too. With new devices, apps and services coming at us all the time, it’s easy to get distracted, or, worse still, fall into the new-tech trap. But it’s easy to avoid if you keep asking one simple question: will this technology lead to better […]

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Always Connected Chromebooks

Chromebooks provide the teaching and learning benefits of computers without the typical distractions that come with technology in the classroom. This means that Chromebooks can seamlessly access Google Workspace for Education productivity and collaboration tools (which are free for schools), as well as apps available in the Chromebook App Hub, Google Play Store, and content […]

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Take a Peek at What’s Next for Google Classroom

Google didn’t set out to create an LMS, Classroom is committed to meeting the evolving needs of schools. Google continues to put the people who use their products first and listen to your feedback to address your top priorities. And they always make sure Classroom retains the simplicity and ease-of-use that’s made it so helpful […]

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Three Optimistic STEM Education Trends

 By Talia Milgrom-Elcott | Forbes This week the organisation 100Kin10 released its annual Trends Report, looking back at what has changed in the past year and looking ahead to better understand what changes might be coming. Read on to see what trajectory education might be taking. In 2021, they expect to see increased focus, funding, and […]

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Selecting the right Chromebook for your school, staff, and students

Chromebooks aren’t like other laptops. They run Chrome OS, an operating system made by Google. With Chromebooks, educators and students can deepen classroom connections and foster more meaningful learning experiences, from anywhere, anytime. Read more on how you can find the right device for you, your students, and staff. Basic Classroom Use Learning Anywhere Advanced […]

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How interactive learning will shape the classrooms of the future

The competition for students’ wandering attention is steeper than ever. Snapchatting has replaced note passing, and push notifications distract from even the most interesting lessons. For most students, mobile phones and electronic devices are the centre of their budding universe. But that can actually work to a teacher’s advantage. The classrooms of tomorrow embrace tech, […]

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Devices Designed for all Learners

Every student deserves a quality education, with the tools they need to explore, discover, create and achieve their full potential. Chromebooks help extend and expand the modern learning experience to more students, including those with disabilities and diverse approaches to learning. In classrooms around the world, Chromebooks are connecting students to the information they need, […]

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5-Step Data Recovery Plan for Schools

While big data continues to revolutionise the business world, schools are collecting and storing more personal data than ever before, especially when 1:1 learning enters the mix. This comes with the responsibility to protect that data in the event of a network malfunction or security breach and requires the capability to recover lost data in […]

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Data privacy training is critical

Somehow when we think about data security and privacy, we tend to look to technology solutions to minimise risks. And, while technology solutions are certainly part of the privacy equation, there’s another area of risk that must be addressed: people. Teach the teachers Staff members, instructors, students, and even parents can all be ‘weak links’ […]

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New Google Meet features

Google’s priority with Meet is to make sure meetings are safe and secure. Last year they launched a number of tools to help with this, including security controls so only intended participants are let into meetings and advanced safety locks to block anonymous users and let teachers control who can chat and present within a […]

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How schools can stop buying stuff that sits on the shelf

 By Frederick Hess | Forbes When assessing government funding for schools, the focus is usually “How much?” – with too little attention given to how effectively funds are being used. It’s time for a second look at how, when, and why schools buy what they do. The question of how, when, and why schools buy stuff usually […]

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Record a PowerPoint presentation with audio and video

Create your power point When complete, click Slide Show > Record from Beginning This will now put the presentation into “recording mode” When ready, click RECORD in top left corner This will start the recording and you can start presenting (including using the annotation pens) Click through the presentation until you get to the end […]

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How to create a simple assignment in Google Classroom

Open Google Classroom via the waffle, or go to www.classroom.google.com and select your classroom 2. Click the Classwork tab 3. Click Create > Assignment 4. Upload an existing task, or create one directly within classroom 5. Choose how pupil see the assignment 6. Assign the work by clicking on Assign button 7. When Pupil logs […]

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SIMS Upgrade

The latest SIMS upgrade (which you’d have received communication about recently from HfL) has now been released for some schools.  If it has, then users may experience “incompatible database” error when logging in. To fix this, the update needs to be applied. This should happen automatically a few minutes after turning on the computer, but […]

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Top 10 Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts help us to save significant amounts of time while we are working at our computers. Whether we use them to cut and paste, or to undo mistakes, most people have their favourite. The list of key combinations goes deeper than many people realise, so I’ve put together my 10 favourite shortcuts that you […]

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Google’s New Improvements to Accessibility

Recently, Google have made some improvements to their accessibility features. These updates are designed to help people with disabilities to use Google features more easily. More colours for cursors on Chromebooks Six new colours have been added to the list of available cursor colours for Chromebook users. With additional new option to change cursor size, […]

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Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is an online platform which can be used to facilitate communication (including video conferencing) within your school. If your school uses Google’s G-Suite, please see our guide on Google Meet. On this platform, you can work directly with other people, or organise your school into teams. A team might be a class, a […]

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Google Meet

Google Meet is a video conferencing tool which will enable you to host online meetings between your colleagues, parents and pupils. If your school uses Office365, please see our post on Microsoft Teams. When you sign into Google Meet with your Google For Education account, you will see this screen: From here, you can either […]

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Remote Desktop For Mac

Note: If you remain connected but not active, the session will disconnect after 1 hour. Your account will then be logged out after 3 hours. Please Save, close and logout when you are finished with the remote session. Leaving your session connected will take up unnecessary resources on the server. For connecting via a Windows […]

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Remote Desktop Guide

Note: If you remain connected but not active, the session will disconnect after 1 hour. Your account will then be logged out after 3 hours. Please save, close and logout when you are finished with the remote session. Leaving your session connected will take up unnecessary resources on the server. This is what your Remote […]

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Self Password Reset

There are 2 parts to this article, please refer to part 2 if you have forgotten your password. This will only work if part 1 has been completed. Part 1. Update Your Information This service allows users to reset their own password for their school E-mail account. This service is not enabled by default. If […]

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BitLocker Windows Security Feature

What is BitLocker? BitLocker is a Microsoft official encryption program for Windows operating systems, it is used to protect the data on your storage devices (e.g. Hard Drives and USB Sticks). BitLocker will be able to detect if the drive has been tampered with, e.g. physically connected to a different machine, or an unauthorised change […]

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RM Unify – SSL Connect Guide for Macs

This how-to guide explains the process of connecting to RM Unify’s VPN, SSL Connect, which allows users to access their school network from any external location.   Before you start Before proceeding, there is an important prerequisite that needs to be checked. Prior to using the SSL connect, if you are using a school Ma, […]

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RM Unify – SSL Connect Guide for Windows

This how-to guide explains the process of connecting to RM Unify’s VPN, SSL Connect, which allows users to access their school network from any external location. Before you start If you are using a school device from home, prior to using the SSL connect, the proxy settings on the laptop must be turned off. There […]

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Installing/Upgrading Target Tracker Sims Report Template

Download the template Browse to the website www.eesforschools.org/targettracker/downloads and click on “SIMS.net Data Extraction”. Click on the current “SIMS.net template for Target Tracker” link to download the template as highlighted in the picture below After downloading the file will need to be unzipped. Do this by double clicking the zipped folder and then clicking Extract […]

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Updating Target tracker pupils details

Check the current template version online Browse to the website www.eesforschools.org/targettracker/downloads and click on “SIMS.net Data Extraction”. Make a note of the version of the template as highlighted in the picture below. In the pictured example the version would be 15.   To generate the report From the Main Screen of Sims select Reports – Run […]

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Office365 on iOS using OWA

Microsoft have now introduced an all-in-one app to access your Office365 mail, calendar and contacts. To install and set up on an Android iOS device: 1. Open the App Store   2. Search for “OWA”. You may see a few different versions, but we are interested in the “OWA for iPhone” or “OWA for iPad” app […]

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Office365 on Android using OWA

Microsoft have now introduced an all-in-one app to access your Office365 mail, calendar and contacts. To install and set up on an Android device: 1. Open the Play Store   2. Search for “OWA”. You may see a few different versions, but we are interested in the “Outlook Web App” app.           […]

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How to configure VPN on a Mac OSX

VPN is a system that allows a user to connect to their organisation’s network from an external location. Essentially, it’s like running a really long network cable from the school back to your house – everything is encrypted making it safe and secure for use. To configure VPN on a Mac OSX, open Network Preferences, click […]

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How to install Cisco VPN Client

NOTE: This guide is only applicable to Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8.  Windows 10 instructions will be uploaded shortly. VPN is a system that allows a user to connect to their organisation’s network from an external location. Essentially, it’s like running a really long network cable from the school back to your house – […]

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Microsoft Forms for Education

So just a little over a month ago, Microsoft released it’s latest app, Forms, into it’s ever-expanding array for the ‘Office365 for Education’ platform. MS Forms was developed as a result of feedback (via a form?!) from various educators who were looking for an easy way to collect simple data, produce quizzes and be able […]

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How to setup an Office365 email on Android

NOTE: There is now an updated guide to setup Office365 using the OWA app. Click here for instructions.   1) To setup an Office365 email account on an Android device, open the “Settings” app   2) Scroll down the menu options and select “Accounts” 3) Select “Add Account”.   4) Next you will be presented with […]

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Guide to Common iPad Tasks and Problems

  Button Layout:   Multi-Tasking: Placing four fingers on the screen and pushing up will bring up the multi-tasking menu. (Can also be accessed by double tapping the home button). From here you can see all apps that are currently running in the background. To close one of these apps, simply swipe it up off […]

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Introduction to Google Sketch Up

What is Google Sketch Up? Google Sketch Up is a 3D modelling computer program for applications such as architectural, interior design, civil and mechanical engineering, film, and video game design. A freeware version, Sketch Up Make, and a paid version with additional functionality, Sketch Up Pro, is available. How Do I Use Sketch Up? There are a lot of […]

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Introduction to Scratch Jr!

What is Scratch Jr? Scratch Jr is an iPad app that a gives young children an introduction to programming. By snapping together graphical programming blocks, children can make characters move, jump, dance and sing. In the process, children learn to solve problems, design projects and express themselves creatively using the iPad. How do I get […]

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How to setup an Office365 email on iOS

NOTE: There is now an updated guide to setup Office365 using the OWA App. Click Here for instructions.   1) To setup an Office365 email account on an Apple device, open the “Settings” app   2) From the menu on the left hand side, select “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”   3) Select “Add Account” from the sub […]

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Why Can’t I Access SIMS?

There are a number of reasons why SIMS may not be working. For SIMS to function, a user must have access to the S drive. If the connection is lost then the following error message is usually shown when attempting to run SIMS:   How Do I know If I Have Connection to the S […]

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Windows 7 hits a 50% share

Since its launch in 2009, the 5 year old operating system, Windows 7, has finally reached a 50% market share. Figures from Net Applications show that in the few weeks since Microsoft ended its support for XP, the share for Windows XP users has fallen by 2.42%, while Windows 7 has risen 1.29% and Windows […]

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Microsoft finally release Office on to iPads

So after many years of resistance, Microsoft has finally released some of its Office applications for use on iPads. As of yesterday morning (27th March), the Apple App Store now has Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint available for iOS7. The apps themselves look fairly well polished with the commonly used functions in the ribbon menu […]

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Support for Microsoft Windows XP Ends April 2014

8th April 2014 marks the date when Microsoft will be ending all support for their well endured, 13 year old operating system, Windows XP. Many users, including Con Ed, believe it to have been one the most robust offered by Microsoft hence its longevity. So what does this mean for the end user? Users will […]

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