We know that your needs as a school are changing; the evolving national agenda, the range of new technologies now available to you, many of them freely or at a much lower cost than ever before, the plethora of apps, abundance of rich media content and wealth of services delivered simply from ‘the cloud’ to a cacophony of devices. We think it is a really exciting time for technology in education and it is the right time to transform the range of learning technology services that you can cherry-pick from the South West Grid for Learning Trust.
Following responses from schools across the region to the Merlin 2013 survey we understand that Merlin may not be the highest priority for many schools right now. Merlin, in its present context, will conclude at the end of August 2013 when centralised funding draws to a close. If you are currently using Merlin there’s no need to worry, we’ve been working really hard to put together a range of new tools to migrate to.
We understand that many schools and organisations have invested considerable time and effort in using Merlin, as we have. It is our priority to ensure that you have the support and guidance you need to choose from the best range of online tools to support your teaching and learning needs. Our plans for a learning technology service will enhance your current choices, and we think enabling you to choose tools such as Office 365 or Google Apps for Education as well as applications like Just2easy creative tools
, itslearning platform, RM Unify and Groupcall Emerge will provide schools with the best combination of technologies for the future and we’re working on this now. The regional ICT Conference on 4th July will give you the ideal opportunity to find out more about these options.
We’re continually assessing new service opportunities with our extensive range of partners and talking to schools about their changing needs. We’d like to invite you to tell us about your needs to help us shape the range of learning technology services that are right for you now and into the future.
Tell us what you think.
During the coming academic year our new range of learning technology service options will be available, and we are really pleased to tell you that the first in that range is available today. Just2easy creative tools are now available without charge to schools in Local Authorities that are currently using Merlin without charge, and at a substantially reduced rate to other Local Authorities.
Find out more here.
Microsoft and SWGfL are working in partnership to build an innovative teacher network for the South West focussing on supporting teachers to develop skills that will enable them to utilize technology to impact on their teaching and learning.
Join the SWTN.
Julia Adamson
Teaching & Learning Consultant