SCHOOL ICT NEWS BULLETIN No 106 - 02/03/2007 Published by Children’s Services Telephone Systems. Help and advice If you wish to purchase a new telephone system Leah Fletcher will advice you on your requirements. If you do have a company called BT contact you they are not BRITISH TELECOM they are a company called BUSINESS TELECOM. This company is not ESPO or Norfolk County Council approved and we advise you not to use them. Please also be aware of a company called GLOBALNET TELECOM. This company may contact you by fax or phone and inform you that they are taking over you phone billing as you old provider is closing and they can provide cheaper billing for you. This is incorrect, please inform them that you do not wish to change and inform you existing billing providers that you do not wish to change either. Please contact Leah Fletcher on 01603 475605 if you would like any information, help or advice regarding telephone systems. Including questions on contractors etc. If you are interested in changing your billing provider, Cable and Wireless are ESPO approved. You can find this information in the Dealing Direct book o page 181. For further advice you can contact Peter Legind on 07787 128778. Please see ESPO Dealing Direct page 180-181 Contract 393A Author: Mark Carway Photocopiers Please contact Leah Fletcher on 01603 475605 if you need any information or advice on Photocopiers. The Norfolk representative for Konica Minolta is Mark Hardy he is contactable on 01603 703040. Mark is responsible for all the Norfolk Schools. No other reseller of Konica Minolta is ESPO approved. Danka are the only ESPO approves supplier of Infotech products within Norfolk. RENT NOT LEASE. Only one document should be signed at the point of order to ensure that it is an ESPO rental, anything which refers to a finance company is in fact a lease. NO MINIMUM, FREE OR INCLUSIVE COPIES SHOULD BE AGREED. This will increase the settlement costs of any unsatisfactory contracts and is only for the benefit of the supplier. FREE IT SUPPORT OF NETWORKED/CONNECTED MACHINES. This can cost as much as Â£200.00 per annum and is free with Konica Minolta. Please see ESPO Dealing Direct page 145. Contract 272d Author: Mark Carway Arts and Crafts Supplies There was an article in the North Norfolk news recently which may interest schools concerning obtaining cheap art and crafts supplies. A company based at Reepham industrial estate called mini-scrapbox will supply bags of materials as low as £1 each to schools. The materials tend to be donated by local and some national companies, as it’s often cheaper (and greener) than utilising landfill to dispose of unwanted and end of line goods. Examples given include tins of paint from B&Q and bottle tops from a local pub. Mini-scrapbox is based at units 5 and 6 Collers Way, Wood Daling Road, Reepham, 01603 873128, and is open on Wednesdays from 3pm til 7pm and Saturday 10am til 2pm. Membership is open to community groups, schools, playgroups etc and costs £7.50 per annum. NB: According to the article a few Norfolk schools are already using this service including Reepham, Aylsham, CNS and Hewett Secondaries. Author: Jason Zelos Phoenix Gold - DfES School and Pupil Census - May 2007 The next DfES Termly School Census will take on place on 17th May 2007. This will take the same format as the recently completed January return but with fewer processes to undertake. A document detailing the changes can be foundvia the link below. http://www.eficts.norfolk.gov.uk/SchoolManagement/Phoenix/Pupil_Exclusions_Briefing.asp A help sheet on the recording of Exclusions can be found via the link below. http://www.eficts.norfolk.gov.uk/SchoolManagement/Phoenix/Pupil_Exclusions_Recording.asp. Helpsheets on all other processes required for the SAPC can be found via the link below. http://www.eficts.norfolk.gov.uk/SchoolManagement/Phoenix/SchoolCensus/Default.asp Author: Mark Carway Email System Updates This is just a reminder that unless you send in regular exports of email data to ICT Solutions, our automated system will mark accounts as inactive after 120 days. Once inactive the system will send 3 warning emails over a period of 60 days, after which the account is marked as deleted in our system and will be scheduled to be removed from Easymail. The warning emails contain instructions for the account owner to mark their account as active and prevent it being removed. It is very important when exporting data from your management information system that all current staff and students are included, otherwise it is possible that accounts for staff and students may be marked as inactive, and the warning emails missed due to periods of illness, holidays or other reasons. This could lead to accounts being deleted when they are actually in use. It is recommended to export email data at least 3 times a year alongside PLASC to avoid accounts being removed. More details about the email system and some report definition files for Sims.net schools are on our website under E for email. Author: Jason Zelos Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (MS IE7) has been launched. There are many security and browsing enhancements that have been added to this version, to make viewing websites easier and to enhance security. A number of changes in this new version of MS Internet Explorer will mean that some applications may not work correctly. ICT Solutions has tested beta versions and the final release of MS IE7 with all Standard Product Set (SPS) applications. Older versions of the SPS will not function correctly and if you want to use MS IE7, then you will need to upgrade to the latest application version and update all patches. If you wish to use MS IE7 in your live school environment, we recommend that you setup a test system or initially roll the program out to a limited number of non-business critical workstations. ICT Solutions will use best endeavours to support application use with MS IE7. We plan to be in a position to fully support MS IE7 by the end of April 2007. If you would like to upgrade machines to use MS IE7 then our Service Desk will be happy to provide further guidance. Author: Michael Pickett

SCHOOL ICT NEWS BULLETIN No 106 - 02/03/2007

Published by Children’s Services

Telephone Systems. Help and advice

If you wish to purchase a new telephone system Leah Fletcher will advice you on your requirements.

If you do have a company called BT contact you they are not BRITISH TELECOM they are a company called BUSINESS TELECOM. This company is not ESPO or Norfolk County Council approved and we advise you not to use them.

Please also be aware of a company called GLOBALNET TELECOM. This company may contact you by fax or phone and inform you that they are taking over you phone billing as you old provider is closing and they can provide cheaper billing for you. This is incorrect, please inform them that you do not wish to change and inform you existing billing providers that you do not wish to change either.

Please contact Leah Fletcher on 01603 475605 if you would like any information, help or advice regarding telephone systems. Including questions on contractors etc.

If you are interested in changing your billing provider, Cable and Wireless are ESPO approved. You can find this information in the Dealing Direct book o page 181. For further advice you can contact Peter Legind on 07787 128778.

Please see ESPO Dealing Direct page 180-181 Contract 393A

Author: Mark Carway

Photocopiers

Please contact Leah Fletcher on 01603 475605 if you need any information or advice on Photocopiers.

The Norfolk representative for Konica Minolta is Mark Hardy he is contactable on 01603 703040. Mark is responsible for all the Norfolk Schools. No other reseller of Konica Minolta is ESPO approved.

Danka are the only ESPO approves supplier of Infotech products within Norfolk.

RENT NOT LEASE. Only one document should be signed at the point of order to ensure that it is an ESPO rental, anything which refers to a finance company is in fact a lease.

NO MINIMUM, FREE OR INCLUSIVE COPIES SHOULD BE AGREED. This will increase the settlement costs of any unsatisfactory contracts and is only for the benefit of the supplier.

FREE IT SUPPORT OF NETWORKED/CONNECTED MACHINES. This can cost as much as Â£200.00 per annum and is free with Konica Minolta.

Please see ESPO Dealing Direct page 145. Contract 272d

Author: Mark Carway

Arts and Crafts Supplies

There was an article in the North Norfolk news recently which may interest schools concerning obtaining cheap art and crafts supplies. A company based at Reepham industrial estate called mini-scrapbox will supply bags of materials as low as £1 each to schools. The materials tend to be donated by local and some national companies, as it’s often cheaper (and greener) than utilising landfill to dispose of unwanted and end of line goods. Examples given include tins of paint from B&Q and bottle tops from a local pub. Mini-scrapbox is based at units 5 and 6 Collers Way, Wood Daling Road, Reepham, 01603 873128, and is open on Wednesdays from 3pm til 7pm and Saturday 10am til 2pm. Membership is open to community groups, schools, playgroups etc and costs £7.50 per annum.

NB: According to the article a few Norfolk schools are already using this service including Reepham, Aylsham, CNS and Hewett Secondaries.

Author: Jason Zelos

Phoenix Gold - DfES School and Pupil Census - May 2007

The next DfES Termly School Census will take on place on 17th May 2007. This will take the same format as the recently completed January return but with fewer processes to undertake.

A document detailing the changes can be foundvia the link below.

http://www.eficts.norfolk.gov.uk/SchoolManagement/Phoenix/Pupil_Exclusions_Briefing.asp

A help sheet on the recording of Exclusions can be found via the link below.

http://www.eficts.norfolk.gov.uk/SchoolManagement/Phoenix/Pupil_Exclusions_Recording.asp.

Helpsheets on all other processes required for the SAPC can be found via the link below.

http://www.eficts.norfolk.gov.uk/SchoolManagement/Phoenix/SchoolCensus/Default.asp

Author: Mark Carway

Email System Updates

This is just a reminder that unless you send in regular exports of email data to ICT Solutions, our automated system will mark accounts as inactive after 120 days. Once inactive the system will send 3 warning emails over a period of 60 days, after which the account is marked as deleted in our system and will be scheduled to be removed from Easymail. The warning emails contain instructions for the account owner to mark their account as active and prevent it being removed.

It is very important when exporting data from your management information system that all current staff and students are included, otherwise it is possible that accounts for staff and students may be marked as inactive, and the warning emails missed due to periods of illness, holidays or other reasons. This could lead to accounts being deleted when they are actually in use. It is recommended to export email data at least 3 times a year alongside PLASC to avoid accounts being removed.

More details about the email system and some report definition files for Sims.net schools are on our website under E for email.

Author: Jason Zelos

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 (MS IE7) has been launched. There are many security and browsing enhancements that have been added to this version, to make viewing websites easier and to enhance security. A number of changes in this new version of MS Internet Explorer will mean that some applications may not work correctly. ICT Solutions has tested beta versions and the final release of MS IE7 with all Standard Product Set (SPS) applications. Older versions of the SPS will not function correctly and if you want to use MS IE7, then you will need to upgrade to the latest application version and update all patches. If you wish to use MS IE7 in your live school environment, we recommend that you setup a test system or initially roll the program out to a limited number of non-business critical workstations. ICT Solutions will use best endeavours to support application use with MS IE7. We plan to be in a position to fully support MS IE7 by the end of April 2007. If you would like to upgrade machines to use MS IE7 then our Service Desk will be happy to provide further guidance.

Author: Michael Pickett

SCHOOL ICT NEWS BULLETIN No 106 - 02/03/2007

Telephone Systems. Help and advice

Photocopiers

Arts and Crafts Supplies

Phoenix Gold - DfES School and Pupil Census - May 2007

Email System Updates

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

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