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Speaking to teachers and students at an event in Ebbw Vale's National Digital Exploitation Centre (NDEC), education minister Kirsty Williams said: “We’re always looking for ways to work with employers to get flexible, relevant learning. "Cyber is about much more than staying safe online, and touches every part of our daily lives. “If we can give Welsh teenagers a new route to study cyber at higher education or go straight into the industry, we’ll be giving them a real advantage in a major and growing industry.” Steve Cottrell, group chief information security officer of Admiral and chair of the Cyber College working group, commented: “The Cyber College Cymru initiative is about industry partners coming together to work with our local colleges and develop something new and relevant for the skills needs we have, now and in the future. “We all have a shared interest in growing our own talent: both getting Welsh teenagers to consider a career in cyber, and giving them the education and experience they need to meet that ambition. Cyber College Cymru is a great innovation driven by what we need in the world of industry and technology.” [post_title] => Cyber College Cymru to forge new routes into technology professions [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => cyber-college-cymru-to-forge-new-routes-into-technology-professions [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-03-25 16:36:43 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-03-25 16:36:43 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://edtechnology.co.uk/dashboard2/?p=22974 [menu_order] => 1277 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13726 [post_author] => 77 [post_date] => 2019-03-08 00:00:59 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-03-08 00:00:59 [post_content] => At Fujitsu we believe that schools can achieve operational effectiveness by embracing technology and the digital environment, and have commissioned an eGuide with Naace (the national association for all those interested in technology in education) in order to explain how document scanners can help to improve childrens’ learning and the work-life balance for school staff and teachers. The impact of digitisation Through the digitisation of the classroom, the eGuide found that two main impacts can be achieved: 1. As information users can access what they need when they need it, there are savings on paper, copying and time compared to communications in a paper environment 2. It engages pupils by making the activities of the school much more visible, which can enhance learning achievements. In order for digitisation to be successful, pupils, teachers and parents need to have access to the internet, and digital images, scans or copies of information and resources need to be captured, posted and shared in the online learning environment. In addition, digitisation provides benefits across a number of key areas: ● Online learning support: By posting details of homework tasks online, a collaborative effort between pupils, parents and teachers can occur. In turn, pupils that share their work digitally with classmates are stimulated to make more effort with the task. ● Capturing evidence of pupils’ work and progress: work that is done digitally, or scanned and imaged, allows pupils’ to see their progress much more clearly. ● Professional development: paper copies of teachers’ professional development resources can be scanned and shared with others online. ● Parental support: as the costs of providing information on learning are removed, parents can better support their children to learn. ● Office systems: paper versions of pupil test papers, meeting notes and letters can be scanned and turned into word-processed or spreadsheet files. [caption id="attachment_13729" align="alignnone" width="790"]
Digitisation provides benefits across a number of key areas[/caption] Making the technology work A fear of technology, unwillingness to learn how to use new technology, or a reluctance to take responsibility for finding and accessing information can result in a disinclination to move from paper systems to online systems. Therefore, school leaders need to effectively lead this change by ensuring there are no excuses for an inability to get online, for example by removing paper processes and making sure that teachers can get online from wherever they work. Following this, once teachers know that all pupils can access online learning support in and out of the classroom, better learning outcomes can be achieved a result. Financial benefits By estimating the number of staff and pupil information sheets and letters to parents that are provided over a year, the eGuide found that: ● Savings of £8,000 could be achieved in a secondary school with 1,000 pupils and four lessons/day, where just one photocopied sheet is used in each lesson at a cost of 1p/sheet. ● 2,240 hours could be saved by 120 secondary school staff switching from photocopying to uploading. ● If each pupil saved 10 minutes a day by looking something up online which would otherwise cause hesitations in their work, this would amount to an extra week of learning over the year. Advantages of scanners Feed and flatbed scanners and visualiser-type devices have a number of advantages: ● They create high-quality images, ● Content is searchable and retrievable, ● Some can rapidly batch-scan, which allows the work of a whole class or a set of office papers to be digitised more quickly. To understand how Fujitsu scanners can help to increase learning while reducing teacher workload, please visit our website, call us on +44 (0) 208 5734444 or email . [post_title] => How is technology helping to bring the digital and paper worlds together in today’s schools? [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => how-is-technology-helping-to-bring-the-digital-and-paper-worlds-together-in-todays-schools [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-03-07 11:23:25 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-03-07 11:23:25 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://edtechnology.co.uk/dashboard2/?post_type=blog&p=13726 [menu_order] => 2082 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13107 [post_author] => 77 [post_date] => 2019-02-13 00:00:38 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-02-13 00:00:38 [post_content] => As part of a focus on capturing evidence of pupils’ progress, today’s schools are encouraging pupils to engage more strongly with their learning. But what impact is this having on children and how can advancements in digital technology play a role? As part of the Third Millennium Learning Award for schools (run by Naace, the national association for all those interested in technology in education), nearly 100 schools submitted two videos which detailed their rationale for the practices they had adopted, and an insight into how these were developed. With that in mind, at Fujitsu we decided to commission a project with Naace in order to report on these schools’ views and practices and explain why capturing evidence of progress is important for staff and pupils alike. The importance of measuring progress and achievement As achievement does not come without progress, and progress should also be related to levels of achievement, it is equally important for schools to measure both. The schools that took part in our project were able to resolve this issue of balance by focusing on the process of learning and how young people learn best, as well as creating a school-wide culture of high expectations and high standards of behaviour for learning. As a result of our White Paper findings, we can determine that capturing evidence of progress is part of what is known as ‘the virtuous spiral’. By enabling students to play an active role in their learning, they boost their understanding of the progress they need to meet their targets. Furthermore, as they build confidence and self esteem they take a greater role in leading both their own learning and that of their peers, which in turn reinforces the positive feedback they initially receive from teachers. How progress has been measured The achievements of both young people and their schools are central to school accountability systems around the world. Historically, accountability measures for schools and pupils have focused mainly on achievement rather than progress; for example, with test scores being recorded in the teacher’s ‘markbook’. In many of today’s schools this practice continues, and formal assessments of pupils’ achievement are often still reported. Furthermore, the schools that we studied have developed a process that pupils can follow to make progress in their learning, where they are encouraged to see and reflect on their current capabilities and also understand their shortfalls. As a result, the schools have found that pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and the higher engagement in learning activities are increased through the learning itself, rather than by any external incentive, reward or future promise of success. Capturing evidence of progress in today’s digital world By using the digital environment to display pupil’s work, schools have enabled the key underpinning of the ‘virtuous spiral’ of improvement. In addition, the experiences of the schools that we worked with clearly demonstrates that technology enables them to radically increase the volume of progress evidence that is captured, as well as allow the ways that it is utilised to be expanded – something that Fujitsu scanners can help with. For example, a student’s work can be captured throughout the term as part of an ‘academic audit trail’, and Fujitsu’s overhead scanner, SV600, allows previously ‘unscannable’ work such as portfolios, 3D pieces of work and other art and design projects to also be captured electronically. To understand how Fujitsu scanners can aid evidence-capture in your school, please visit http://emea.fujitsu.com/scanners-in-education, call us on +44 (0) 208 5734444 or email [email protected] [post_title] => Capturing evidence of pupils’ progress: How have things changed in today’s schools? [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => capturing-evidence-of-pupils-progress-how-have-things-changed-in-todays-schools [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-02-15 16:29:28 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-02-15 16:29:28 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://edtechnology.co.uk/dashboard2/?post_type=blog&p=13107 [menu_order] => 2152 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 7442 [post_author] => 74 [post_date] => 2018-12-17 10:04:13 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-12-17 10:04:13 [post_content] => Ryburn Valley High School’s Student Services department identified that the large amounts of paperwork necessary to their day-to-day work was a time-consuming activity. These administrative tasks could be alleviated in order to create more time to devote to other forms of student support. By installing a Fujitsu ScanSnap, the attendance and bursary offices have seen remarkable improvements in all administrative processes involving paperwork. This has had a positive impact on the everyday lives of teaching staff, non-teaching staff, students and parents of the school. The latest addition to the ScanSnap brand sees a number of new features and functionalities that take scanning to the next level in terms of hassle free capture, impressive extraction and intuitive release to a host of destinations. Improve business processes and experience the benefits the new ScanSnap iX1500 can bring to your organisation whether you are looking to update your existing scanner model or are taking that first step on your digital transformation journey. Ryburn Valley High School introduced the iX1500 to complement the ScanSnap iX500 that they use in their Student Services department. The scanner has been used for various purposes. Overall, it has meant that all information regarding a student can be quickly digitalised and circulated to teachers via the Scan-to-email function. Teachers are constantly connected to email so this is the quickest way of getting information, such as absence notes, to them; and the risk of losing bits of paper has been eliminated. The scanner has also been used to communicate better with students and thus improve their learning experience. For instance, when a student is off sick, classwork they have missed can be digitised using the scanner and sent to them at the push of a button, allowing them to catch up remotely; therefore, they do not miss out on their important lessons. “The Student Services department has been using the ScanSnap iX500 for a number of years, and are applying its use to various different areas of their day-to-day activities. The equipment is fast and easy to use, and produces very high quality scans, which makes everything much easier for them” – Mark Thorley, Network Manager, Ryburn Valley High School 
The positive impacts
Green issues are particularly important for Ryburn Valley High School; and the environmental impact of the scanner has been felt considerably. Staff members recognise the dramatic reduction in the use and waste of paper that the scanner has facilitated, as there is not as much need to print out hard copies for wide circulation. The Student Services department is therefore proud to be able to make a valuable contribution to the school’s green and eco-friendly ambitions. When it comes to student absences, students and their families have benefited from the simpler and faster processes that the scanner has enabled. If a student is to be taken sick, for instance, they and their parents can be sure that the necessary absence notes have been circulated, so that all the necessary people are aware of the whereabouts of the student. On the bursary side, implementing this system of managing paper has made the lives of students receiving financial support, and that of their families, much easier. The school can now process their cases quickly, knowing that all the necessary evidence and information around each student’s case is stored safely and can be accessed easily. The procedure for ensuring that students receive the necessary financial support therefore has been simplified. “We are seeing the benefits in various ways, such as communicating with teachers and parents, and improving the student’s learning experience. The amount of time that the scanner has saved us is astronomical – it’s amazing that one little machine can do such good” – Sue Thompson, Attendance and Bursaries Officer, Student Services, Ryburn Valley High School. See https://www.fujitsu.com/uk/products/computing/peripheral/scanners/education/ for further details on Fujitsu’s range of scanners for education. [post_title] => Improve business processes with Fujitsu [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => improve-business-processes-with-fujitsu [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2018-12-18 09:44:42 [post_modified_gmt] => 2018-12-18 09:44:42 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://edtechnology.co.uk/dashboard2/?post_type=articles&p=7442 [menu_order] => 2249 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 863 [post_author] => 63 [post_date] => 2018-02-07 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-02-06 23:00:00 [post_content] =>Fujitsu has announced the launch of an OCR-backed course to support teachers in developing their understanding of technology and its application in the world of work. It will focus on the technologies impacting the jobs of tomorrow, in a bid to ensure UK classrooms are coaching young people to be ready for an even more technologically-advanced world. Candidates will be awarded a professional accreditation – the Fujitsu Digital Badge – upon completion of the course.
Working with OCR, Fujitsu has identified the technologies most in-demand in our increasingly digital industries: the Internet of Things (IoT); virtual reality (VR)/ augmented reality (AR); cyber security; data analytics and big data; programming; and AI (cognitive computing).
Recent research by Fujitsu found that 3 in 4 (73%) of UK businesses admit to a clear lack of digital skills within their business. In addition, 87% say attracting digitally native staff will be vital to their success in the next three years.
The course will initially involve online exercises around each of the six topics, helping assess the participant's level of understanding and the support needed. Once passed, candidates progress to face-to-face training. Here they will be able to meet others on the programme and hear from Fujitsu – and its partners – on how the technology areas can be brought to life in the classroom.
The programme will be open for applications via the Ambassador Hub in due course.
'Teachers sit at the heart of education, connecting bright young minds with the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in the digital future.'
The announcement of this new initiative coincides with news that Fujitsu will be further expanding its Ambassador Programme into Scotland, along with industry partners Intel, NetApp and Ruckus Networks.
The extension will see 10 new innovation hubs open in Scotland by 2019.
With two innovation hubs currently residing at Border College and Fife College, applications to be one of the ten initial new recruits to the extended programme will be open on the Ambassador Hub from 1st March. Members of the Ambassador Programme work with Fujitsu and their partners to set up an innovation hub within their institution for students, the local community and local organisations.
Ash Merchant, Director Education at Fujitsu UK & Ireland, said: “The Ambassador Programme is going from strength to strength, and we were incredibly proud to showcase the stories of students who have benefited from it at BETT. Technology is moving forward at lightning speed, transforming the way many organisations – like us – operate and interact with the wider world. As such, we’re seeing increased demand for a new set of skills that will carry that transformation forward, and yet we mustn’t forget the key transformational ingredient – our teachers. Teachers sit at the heart of education, connecting bright young minds with the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in the digital future we’ve created for them. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to provide opportunities for them to develop their own knowledge in key areas of technological development.”
[post_title] => Fujitsu launches training course for teachers [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => fujitsu-launches-training-course-for-teachers [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2018-02-06 10:12:44 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 3098 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [5] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1315 [post_author] => 53 [post_date] => 2017-09-02 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2017-09-01 22:00:00 [post_content] =>Fujitsu UK and Ireland launched its Operation Innovation competition for the second year running, as it seeks to close the gap between education and employment when it comes to digital skills. Giving 60 students the opportunity to develop skills that will help them compete in the digital era, Fujitsu has expanded the programme to 15 education establishments, including 12 of Fujitsu’s Education Ambassadors, alongside partners – Intel, Brocade and Kyocera.
Students aged 16+ from 15 education institutions across the UK compete to develop a proof of value proposal that will solve a real-world problem using ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) technology. The issue can sit within one of three sectors: education, utilities or manufacturing – all industries in which IoT is already beginning to have a significant impact. The winning team will have the opportunity to pitch their proposal to Dr Joseph Reger, CTO of Global Business at Fujitsu, at Fujitsu Forum in Munich later this year.
Building on the success of last year’s nation-wide competition which saw students from Watford University Technical College win with its ‘BioBand’ idea, the competition aims to give students a head start as they enter the working world. As well as providing experience with a UK business operating in the technology space, the competition helps build confidence for students as they interact with industry professionals, learn to work as a team and develop presentation skills.
Ash Merchant, Education Director, Fujitsu said: “After the success of last year’s competition, we’re thrilled to be able to give young people the opportunity to explore how technologies such as IoT can be used to solve some of the world’s toughest social problems.
“Seeing what they’re able to come up with is a real breath of fresh air, and a testament to value young people can offer in helping shape the way our industries embrace digital. It’s important that young people feel they have a voice in the business world, and we believe working with industry partners will help educators achieve that.”
James Maynard, Offering Management Director Global IoT & Innovation, Fujitsu said: “The Internet of Things or IoT is changing the way we live and work. In our recent Fit for Digital survey, 73% of c-suite decision makers said technology lies at the heart of an organisations ability to thrive, yet in the UK we’re seeing a worrying gap in STEM-related skills. Working with industry to offer vocational experiences through projects like this will ensure as a country we’re prepared for whatever our digital future will bring.”
Lewis Shaughnessy, Student at Watford University Technical College said: “I took part in Operation Innovation due to the opportunities it offered me professionally and personally. In depth research, thinking outside the box, developing presentation skills and interacting with industry professionals was just part of it. The trip to Munich as winners was the highlight of my experience; it allowed me to network and get a taste for what working for a large tech company might be like.
'Our pitch with Dr Reger was tough but inspiring, especially since we knew getting some time with him was a big deal. I've taken many things from my involvement in the project, including learning how to manage myself in a professional setting. I really enjoyed the Fujitsu factory trip too as seeing so many industrial processes close up was really beneficial to my Computing subject studies.”
[post_title] => Fujitsu expands Operation Innovation competition [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => fujitsu-expands-operation-innovation-competition [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-08-30 11:41:57 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 3548 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1421 [post_author] => 57 [post_date] => 2017-08-01 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2017-07-31 22:00:00 [post_content] =>It’s no secret that wherever you look, technology is a force to be reckoned with, driving rapid change across industries from manufacturing to retail to healthcare. So much so, our Fit for Digital study found that almost half of UK businesses believe they will not exist in their current form by 2021.
And while policymakers and the private sector have a big role to play in encouraging the uptake of relevant subjects to the workplace among the next generation, a lot of the responsibility also lies with educational institutions. That’s why the launch of the new Tech-levels earlier this year highlighted just how high technology now is on the national agenda. It is no longer a nice-to-have; technology is absolutely core to the future of the UK economy – particularly as we move into the age of the Internet of Things and smart cities.
Tackling the looming skills gap starts with schools
In an increasingly digitally-led business environment, STEM and digital skills are essential to the UK, both within technology firms and across virtually all other industries. Our Fit for Digital study also found over a fifth of UK business say the factors preventing them from responding to digital disrupters such as Amazon and Uber is a lack of the right skills and talent.
With the skills gap costing the UK economy an estimated £63 billion a year, it’s clear that more needs to be done to attract talent into STEM roles. And as a fundamental influencer of the citizens of the future, this needs to begin within schools. What’s positive is that we’re already seeing a proactive push by schools to encourage an uptake of relevant skills for the future workplace. Take the news that schoolchildren in England will be offered lessons in cyber security in a bid to overcome the skills shortage that is undermining the confidence in the UK’s cyber defences, through finding future experts to defend the UK from attacks. This highlights that it’s not just about providing the next generation with technology, but instead teaching them how it does and will apply to their everyday lives.
With the skills gap costing the UK economy an estimated £63 billion a year, it’s clear that more needs to be done to attract talent into STEM roles. And as a fundamental influencer of the citizens of the future, this needs to begin within schools.
Despite this, we’re still a long way off. We still need to remove current barriers, promoting greater awareness of STEM opportunities early on by providing formative experiences at school. Educational institutions from across the spectrum – primary schools to universities – are pivotal in closing the digital skills gap, rectifying the STEM shortage and ensuring our children are fully equipped for facing the future digital workplace.
As we quickly progress towards a ‘digital first’ nation, we need to ensure we are investing at the very beginning of the digital journey and developing the right skills to support the future digital economy. As the leaders of tomorrow, we owe it to our children, the digital generation.
Adopting a ‘tech for all’ mind-set
A shortage of candidates is partly due to a lack of awareness of the opportunities that exist, and the flawed perception that some groups don’t belong in STEM professions. Engaging a diverse array of young people in STEM is the only way that we can protect the future competitiveness of the UK economy. Although simple enough, inequality in access to technology in schools is in fact one of the biggest challenges we face when it comes to the skills gap.
Commonly, it used to be independent schools which typically led the charge with introducing new technologies into the learning experience. And often with an ability to operate in a more agile fashion, private schools were the driving force of fostering innovation in the sector. In recent years, this is fortunately no longer the case. The gap between students at public and private schools, particularly in their access to learning through technology, is now being bridged and this is being supported by collaboration with industry.
The gap between students at public and private schools, particularly in their access to learning through technology, is now being bridged and this is being supported by collaboration with industry.
The opening of our latest innovation hub at South Devon College is a prime example of this. This followed the expansion of our Education Ambassador Programme to 20 new institutions which alongside our industry partners - Intel, Brocade, and Kyocera - allows us to create innovation hubs that support digital learning initiatives and encourage the development of STEM skills for students and teachers.
With the aim of supporting greater collaboration between industry and education, the latest innovation hub looks to aid career skills development by providing expertise on personalised technology in teaching and learning at South Devon College as well as its wider community. In particular, educators at the college are driving this skills development by using the hub to support the training of local apprentices as they move into STEM-related careers, giving them the tools to prosper in our digital future.
But it doesn’t stop there. It’s not just about providing accessibility to technology, but instead about opening up more doorways into STEM careers. And industry needs to work in tandem with education institutions to make this a success. Indeed, at Fujitsu we are strong advocates of following through with our commitment by employing young people from our ambassador organisations. For example, we’re proud to have two ex-students from UTC Reading and one from Fife College employed at Fujistu.
With business leaders across all sectors telling us the skills shortage is a major threat to the growth of their businesses, both private and public organisations have a responsibility to ensure our digitally native students are equipped with the right skills for employment. As we progress towards a ‘digital first’ nation, the collaboration between industry and education will prove essential to bridging the digital skills gap in the UK.
[post_title] => Industry meets education: an unbeatable collaboration [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => industry-meets-education-an-unbeatable-collaboration [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-07-28 15:46:53 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 3655 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1647 [post_author] => 57 [post_date] => 2017-05-13 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2017-05-12 22:00:00 [post_content] =>The emergence of the hyper-connected classroom
Back in 1991 we saw the first interactive whiteboard. Fast forward to 2017, and digital highlighters that can wirelessly transfer printed text into an application or web browser have now become a classroom staple. The education sector is rife with innovative new devices, leading to the emergence of a hyper-connected classroom.
Part of the reason for this is that students of this generation are digital natives, with the devices they own and applications they use being key to how they live and experience the world. As such, they’re keen to see the same level of connectivity they experience at home in their place of learning.
From an educator’s perspective, bringing technology into the learning experience can help provide teaching that is practical, and in sync with the type of roles students will be competing for when they leave education. But what are the day-to-day benefits of a connected classroom environment?
Why bring technology into the classroom?
On the one hand technology can be used to bring new efficiencies into the learning environment. We often talk about how the next five years will see the death of the red pen. What this means is that instead of marking hundreds of pages of printed coursework, teachers will be marking online using cloud services. As a result they will be able to grade work more easily. Furthermore, it enables us to provide students with more timely feedback - key to developing their skills and knowledge as soon as possible.
Bridging the skills gap means giving access to technology to the whole of the next generation, and educators can succeed in this by working with industry.
Taking this a step further, technology has incredible potential for enhancing education by enabling immersive learning. Immersive learning allows students to place their knowledge within the real-world context in which the subject matter can be applied. Take our work with the London Design and Engineering UTC for example; students at this new school were able to take part in a project where they designed a virtual reality environment that takes viewers on a journey around an Ethiopian village, as part of a project to highlight the work of the charity Water Aid.
While not every school will afford an Oculus Rift (yet!), the likes of Google cardboards and the provisioning of real world scenarios by industry leaders is helping break down the fourth wall of the classroom. With technologies such as this, education can become something that isn’t passively passed on but rather something to be interacted with.
Breaking down barriers
Where schools struggle is in being able to access the technology that will give students the experience of the technology that will define their future.
Education is going digital, and the announcement of the Government’s investment in T-Level qualifications in this year’s budget is a reflection of that new focus. However, a report by the National Audit Office in December predicted a possible £3bn cut in school budgets, meaning schools must reduce spending by 8% per pupil by 2020. This coupled with a widening skills gap begs concern for public school leavers who are at risk of not having enough opportunities to interact with the technology that will help them build the digital skills that are becoming so crucial to the UK economy.
Bridging the skills gap means giving access to technology to the whole of the next generation, and educators can succeed in this by working with industry. In February we saw Theresa May announce her new proactive industrial strategy in which she signalled her willingness to work in partnership with the private sector. However, those who will soon crave these skills have a responsibility too. Last month, for example, we announced our endorsement of OCR’s Cambridge Technicals in IT, for which we were able to contribute a project designed by students on a placement year with Fujitsu based on their real world experience.
Taking responsibility as an industry to bring technology into the classroom will support students to fulfil the digital future we’ve created for them. With this we can make the hyper-connected classroom a reality.
[post_title] => Making the hyper-connected classroom a reality [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => making-the-hyper-connected-classroom-a-reality-1494514995 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-05-11 16:03:14 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 3887 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [8] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1695 [post_author] => 59 [post_date] => 2017-05-10 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2017-05-09 22:00:00 [post_content] =>The classroom has changed dramatically in recent years. Today, you have virtual reality (VR) enabling students to explore ancient Greece; to video conferencing allowing them to develop their language skills with others all over the world. Technology provides endless opportunities for students to learn and thrive. However, challenges with the skills gap for both teachers and students has put the progression of our education system into question.
The power of public/private partnership
Emotional interface designer, commercial civilian drone operators, home automation contractor; these are just a handful of the many jobs that have not been invented yet that pupils currently in school will end up in. The direction of our digital economy is moving at a rapid pace and it is essential for organisations leading this advance to do what they can to help ensure the next generation is well equipped with relevant digital skills to compete in the future job market.
Education establishments must work to change their offerings to meet the needs of the young people they teach. Collaboration with leading industry partners will allow them to do this by bringing technology into the learning experience. More importantly, working with industry provides a chance for practical learning which can be essential for difficult subjects that require a sense of realism to bring them to life.
Take Fujitsu’s work with the London Design and Engineering UTC for example, which saw students use Fujitsu technology to complete a project where they designed a VR environment from scratch that takes viewers on a journey around an Ethiopian village.
Through collaboration with industry, whether it is through apprenticeship programmes or support on real world-based projects, businesses can help to arm students with the digital skills and knowledge that they need to successfully enter the working world.
Training for all
When compared to the advancements and opportunities in tech, we’re seeing a significant gap in the number of pupils pursuing STEM as well as in the teachers who will encourage them to enter these sectors. This was highlighted in a report by the Commons Education Select Committee, which shows the government has missed recruitment targets five years in a row, with the key subjects to be affected by this being physics and maths. This is a big concern for the next generation of school leavers who are at risk of being ill-equipped for the industries they’ll soon find themselves competing to enter.
Inequality in access to technology in schools is one of the biggest challenges we currently have with the skills gap. Free from government reforms, and with an ability to operate in an agile fashion, independent schools have typically led the way in terms of introducing new technologies into the learning experience. Once the driving force of innovation in the sector, this is no longer the case. The gap between pupils at public and private schools, particularly in their access to learning through technology is now being bridged and this is being driven by collaboration with industry.
Last year, Fujitsu, alongside partners Intel, Brocade and Kyocera, announced the expansion of our Education Ambassador Programme to 20 new institutions, allowing us to create Innovation Hubs that support project-based learning and encourage the development of STEM skills for students and teachers. As technology moves ahead in leaps and bounds every day, teachers need to be provided with skills that will allow them to use technology effectively to help feed digitally native students’ appetite for knowledge. This collaboration is vital for our society, as teachers continue to unlock pupils’ imaginations and creativity to ensure they reach their full potential.
With business leaders across all sectors telling us that their organisation will not exist in its current form in five years and that the skills shortage is a major threat to the growth of their businesses, it has never been more crucial for the education industry to do more for our future generations.
[post_title] => Tackling the skills gap in the classroom [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => tackling-the-skills-gap-in-the-classroom [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-04-27 14:00:18 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 3900 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [9] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 8348 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2016-03-12 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2016-03-11 23:00:00 [post_content] =>From iPads and mobiles, to whiteboards and projectors, how do we make sure classroom devices are working correctly together?
For Fujitsu this is really about a hybrid IT approach. With edtech having been one of the fastest growing tech sectors across Britain through 2015, and forecast to continue growing into 2016, it’s vital that establishments have the right back end infrastructure solutions to support a multitude of front-end devices. Flexibility to support more personalised teaching and learning styles can be achieved through a range of technologies, but it’s about having a clear view and strategy from the start. Organisations like ours can of course provide the technical expertise to support this, but it’s also about education establishment having the right, multi-disciplinary team in place internally to ensure teaching and learning teams are comfortable with the devices in the classroom, trained in how to use them confidently, and that the IT team are aware of what needs to be achieved in the classroom, and can ensure access and reliability of technology to support this.
As technology underpins the entire concept of the ‘modern classroom’ how can schools use the student’s engagement with edtech to shape new pedagogies?
We envisage more digital disruption taking place and our young people leading the way with this. One is example we’ve seen over the past 18 months is the rise in gamification. In our work with education establishments we’re hearing about the successful outputs that this kind of student driven approach can drive and it’s really stemmed from the establishments being willing to listen and respond to their students – understanding what really captures and inspires them and looking at means of driving greater freedom to learn. That’s the first step and the next step is the establishments giving this feedback directly to technology companies that they’re engaged with, so that education and enterprise can combine to drive new and innovative approaches that we know will engage and inspire students.
An example of this that we envisage rising over coming years is the Internet of Things (IoT). This is an area where we and our partners, such as Intel, are investing a lot of resource, as we see IoT technology as something highly relatable for the digital generation, and transformative from an accessibility, collaboration and creativity perspective.”
Is it difficult to get classroom technologies to work together?
This is absolutely what needs to happen to ensure the focus in the education environment is on the teaching and learning and not concerns around the technology all working together, and we are starting to see this happen successfully. My point of view however, is that it does require a strong partnership approach between technology companies and education. It goes back to my previous point in that there needs to be a clear strategy, linked directly to teaching and learning outcomes, and then it’s about implementing a hybrid IT approach.
Considering this on the level of both teachers and students is also vital. For example, for a teacher, utilising programmes like Office 365 or just a handful of Microsoft’s education app portfolio, in conjunction with the right devices for them, are guaranteed to support a teacher in reducing time spent on menial tasks and allows for more time focussed on student engagement and creating an engaging learning environment. In some cases teachers work 60 or 70 hours per week. Technology can support a system by which students go home and complete work in their own time, freeing up the time during the day for teachers to focus on face-to-face interactive teaching. To achieve that it’s also about considering utilising cloud based learning solutions so students can log-in from anywhere, anytime to access their work, or provide access to multiple teachers to ensure a ‘best fit’ teaching style for each student.
Are suppliers on hand to help?
Absolutely, suppliers should always be on hand to support the establishments on that journey. Our view, as I mentioned before, is that it’s about a partnership approach. It’s not a change that can be achieved over night, but through the close working of education establishments and IT solutions providers the vital steps, such as clarity on the strategy and objectives, pre-implementation training and support for teachers, can be taken, and the establishment ensures that their technology investments are utilised to their full potential and empower teachers and students.
How can schools and universities ensure they are getting the most out of their different edtech components?
A core part of this is ICT training for teachers and CPD. 83% of ICT teachers say that they don’t receive regular ICT training or CPD. That’s the evidence for organisations like us that there is still a long way to go to make educators comfortable in teaching with technology, and for us that really is a key element to get the most from different edtech components. Overcoming that is about a collaboration between education, industry and government. Our continued approach to this is to collaborate with institutions, enabling us and our business practice leads to understand and address the needs around training, so we understand where we can support.
Ash Merchant is Director of Education, at Fujitsu UK & Ireland www.fujitsu.com/uk
[post_title] => A hybrid IT approach [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => a-hybrid-it-approach [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2016-03-10 06:22:46 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 4345 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [10] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 8353 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2016-03-11 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2016-03-10 23:00:00 [post_content] =>The University is one of the newest members of the Fujitsu-Intel Ambassador Programme (FIAP). Also known as Innovation Hubs, they are a philanthropic venture to enhance digital skills through regional teaching centres.
Once the Innovation Hub has been established, its facilities – including the latest Fujitsu and Intel laptops, tablets and PCs – will be available for University students, local schools, and the wider community of Northampton who want to increase their knowledge in using technology. In addition, the learning facilities will be available for local companies to increase their knowledge and benefit their business and the Northampton economy.
The proposal to run the Innovation Hub was led by University of Northampton Senior Lecturer in Information Technology Service Management, Sandra Whittleston, who said: “The Innovation Hub will provide a centre where students and staff can access the latest technologies to extend the work we already do to give students wider access to real-life computing projects.
“Also by helping local teachers and schoolchildren to develop their own computing skills – an increasing requirement in the curriculum – and developing digital skills for anyone who needs help, we will continue the University’s mission to transform lives and inspire change.”
The Innovation Hub will provide a centre where students and staff can access the latest technologies to extend the work we already do to give students wider access to real-life computing projects
Chosen for their commitment and desire to support in shaping future generations of students by inspiring them to take-up technology subjects, Fujitsu, alongside partners Intel, Brocade and Kyocera, set up Innovation Hubs at each Ambassador institution and then use the hubs and technology to support project-based learning and skills development.
Ash Merchant, Fujitsu Director of Education, UK & Ireland, said: “One thing I have learnt over two decades in and around the education sector is that passion goes a long way and supports in driving success and achievement. However passion is sometimes not enough – education needs collaboration and support from the industry to really support the right skills development for young people, to lead to future employment opportunity, and that’s what the Ambassador Programme is all about.”
The University of Northampton Innovation Hub is scheduled to be completed in late 2016.
Pictured from left: University of Northampton Vice Chancellor, Nick Petford; Senior Lecturer in Information Technology Service Management, Sandra Whittleston; Ash Merchant, Fujitsu Director of Education; Northamptonshire Growth Hub Manager, Janette Pallas; and Mairi Watson, Deputy Dean, Northampton Business School.
[post_title] => Northampton to create a hub for edtech [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => northampton-to-create-a-hub-for-edtech [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2016-03-08 11:08:53 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 4348 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [11] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 8468 [post_author] => 14 [post_date] => 2016-01-29 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2016-01-28 23:00:00 [post_content] =>Lord Baker, who founded the Baker Dearing Educational with Lord Dearing (to develop and promote the concept of university technical colleges) was on hand to talk about the new development at the show.
Lord Baker at the Ambassador Programme launch
Working with Intel, Fujitsu first launched the programme at Bett 2015 and the initiative has already supported ten schools, colleges and universities across the UK, by setting up Innovation Hubs to equip them with high performance solutions and support digital skills development.
Fujitsu, alongside partners Intel, Brocade and Kyocera, will continue the successful model of setting up Innovation Hubs at each Ambassador institution and then using the hubs and technology to support project based learning and skills development. The Hubs will feature Fujitsu and Intel® technology which will not only provide students with the opportunity to develop their digital skills, but educators themselves too.
Ash Merchant, Director of Education, Fujitsu UK & Ireland told Education Technology: “One thing I have learnt over two decades in and around the education sector is that passion goes a long way and supports in driving success and achievement. However passion is sometimes not enough – education needs collaboration and support from the industry to really support the right skills development for young people, to lead to future employment opportunity, and that’s what the Ambassador Programme is all about.”
The first of the 20 signed up as 2016 Ambassadors include: Swansea University, University of Northampton, National Museum of Computing, RNIB New College Worcester, New College Nottingham, National Autistic Society, The Anderson School, Canterbury College, Fife College, The Leigh UTC, London Design Engineering UTC, Watford UTC, UTC Warrington and London South Bank UTC.
Fujitsu also announced the launch of its ‘Operation Innovation,’ - a national competition for University Technical Colleges giving students the opportunity to apply their skill and knowledge in a more real-world context.
Launching this year, teams will use Fujitsu IoT technology to invent a commercial solution that could overcome a challenge facing civilisation, or provide a solution to a problem. The winning team will be awarded a trip to Fujitsu Laboratories HQ in Germany and the opportunity to present their idea to Fujitsu’s Chief Technical Officer, Dr Joseph Reger.
Further tech from Fujitsu included the prototype of a free-swiping ring for controlling movement on a whiteboard/tablet (above) and the latest in virtual reality headsets (below)
Selected as an education Ambassador due to its objective to raise the aspirations of its students through the use of technology, the Borders College’s Innovation Hub launch marks the first of its kind in Scotland.
The initiative aims to enhance teaching and unleash students' potential by putting technology at the heart of education. It is aligned with the objectives of the Education Technology Action Group (ETAG), whose mission is to promote the use of digital technology across schools, further education, higher education and Special Education Needs (SEN) sectors.
Borders College is situated within the Scottish Borders and enrols 5500 students every year. Of the utmost importance to the college is offering their students an alternative future career path to the traditional industries and roles based within Galashiels and its surrounding area.
“This is at the root of why we wanted this college and its team to become part of the Ambassador Programme – their desire to support in shaping future generations of students and inspiring them to take-up technology subjects,” said Ash Merchant, Head of Business Development for Education at Fujitsu.
“Technology no longer plays just a supporting role in our lives. It is prevalent at home and at work and it demands a new skillset if the next generation are to use it to develop their capabilities, ideas and successes. We are very proud to partner with Borders College to ensure their students and the surrounding community can realise potential technology can provide.”
'Technology no longer plays just a supporting role in our lives. It is prevalent at home and at work and it demands a new skillset if the next generation are to use it to develop their capabilities, ideas and successes'
Fujitsu have supplied 10 devices to the school from the STYLISTIC Tablets, LIFEBOOK Notebooks and ESPRIMO Desktop PC ranges. 150 students will have access to the technology initially, but the hub will soon be opened to the local community for public use.
As part of the Ambassador Programme, Fujitsu has partnered with educational institutions across the UK, including UTC Reading, NAS Thames Valley School and City College Coventry. All ambassadors have been selected based on their recognition of technology as an enabler to enhance the learning experience and to develop digital skills for students and teachers.
Borders College also becomes an official Tablet Academy Training Centre - a Fujitsu partner who supports in training the teaching teams in the newly acquired technologies. This is at the heart of this entire Ambassador Programme – not just providing the latest, high quality technology, but supporting how that technology is put to work within the education environment, ensuring it is used effectively.
Pam Currie, CEO, Tablet Academy, Scotland commented: “As an official Tablet Academy Scotland Training Centre, the college and its Innovation Hub will become a focal point for the delivery of exciting digital workshops and courses. Our courses and workshops will showcase the technology available and support the college and the wider community to develop digital skills and collaborative working practices that make the most of the technology on offer.”
[post_title] => Fujitsu launches Innovation Hub in Scotland [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => fujitsu-launches-1st-innovation-hub-in-scotland [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-10-02 10:29:25 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 4771 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [13] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9183 [post_author] => 14 [post_date] => 2015-04-21 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2015-04-20 22:00:00 [post_content] =>The first Higher Education Innovation Hub under the Fujitsu Ambassador Programme was recently opened at the University Campus Suffolk (UCS).
This follows the announcement of UCS as a founding Higher Education member of the Fujitsu and Intel Ambassador Programme at the Bett show at London’s ExCel. The Innovation Hub launch is part of the Fujitsu Intel Ambassador programme and is a national engagement initiative led by the two global IT leaders that aims to highlight the use of computing power to underpin knowledge in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects and drive forward innovation in Suffolk and beyond.
The centre piece of the partnership between UCS, Fujitsu and Intel is the newly opened Fujitsu Intel Innovation Hub, located in the modern James Hehir Building. It is equipped with a range of the latest computer equipment, and will be used to promote the use of technology in Higher, Further and Secondary education. The new centre will house an array of Fujitsu technology including tablets, hybrid devices, laptops and desktop PCs, all running off the latest Intel® Atom™ and Intel® Core™ processors.
As part of the initiative, UCS and Fujitsu will work with local schools in line with the new national computing curriculum and promoting STEM skills, provide Social Media training programmes and work with UCS students and the local community to enhance the teaching and learning of STEM subjects.
Danny Arati, Education Manager, for Intel Europe said: “Intel shares Fujitsu's passion for education and inclusion for all and is delighted to support the Education Ambassador Programme.”
Richard Lister, UCS provost and Chief Executive added: “The Ambassador Programme contributes to UCS’ growing reputation as a leading institution in STEM outreach and is a priority of our institutional-wide strategic agenda. This is a partnership that has been developed over several years; where we have collaboratively worked with Fujitsu on projects such as data centre storage and providing high performance workstations for our BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design students. We are committed to building the skills of our graduates, their future employability and to take UCS forward in high-tech research and development, benefiting employers and the wider economy.”
The Innovation Hub is one component in a larger UCS initiative to bring STEM subjects to a wider audience in Suffolk, particularly women who are currently underrepresented in this area. UCS has been particularly successful with its unique approach to widening participation in Higher Education and hopes to extend that success to STEM subjects through the use of the Innovation Hub for school educational visits and talks. UCS’ efforts in widening participation have been particularly rewarded by encouraging more women to participate in Higher Education, with 67% of the student body being female. Embedding STEM across all of areas of engagement means that UCS is well placed to encourage participation in STEM related initiatives.
Ash Merchant, Head of Education at Fujitsu, said: “Fujitsu has just launched its diversity and inclusion week internally, with gender diversity playing a key part in this. We are doing particularly well with our apprenticeship scheme, with 34% of Fujitsu’s apprentices being female compared with the national average of 10%. We share UCS’s ambition to bring STEM subjects to a more diverse audience and know that our collaboration in the Innovation Hub and the projects we run will support this ambition.”
Mohamed Abdel-Maguid, Head of the Department of Science and Technology at UCS, said; “The Innovation Hub offers a modern, technology-enabled teaching space, with a wide variety of uses. UCS will use the Innovation Hub as the main facility for the STEM Teacher Training Academy modules. Open day tours, activities and engagement events with schools, colleges, SME’s, and our partners, including CPD events for our regional stakeholders will also be hosted in the venue.”
The Fujitsu Intel Ambassador programme is aligned to and supported by the Education Technology Action Group and was discussed by UCS Director of IT, Peter O’Rourke, and the Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan, at the Bett Show. The main objectives of the programme are to develop career skills and provide expertise on personalised technology in teaching and learning.
The Ambassador programme has close links to the e-Learning Foundation, which supports schools, colleges and parents in making technology in the learning environment available for all. The programme is also supported by education technology specialists Naace and the Tablet Academy.
UCS is a partnership between the University of East Anglia and the University of Essex, working with Lowestoft College, Great Yarmouth College, Suffolk New College and West Suffolk College. The development is also supported by Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council.
UCS currently has 423 students on STEM courses and there are plans for this to increase as UCS moves towards its aim of a STEM centre on the Ipswich Waterfront, aided by the announcement last week that UCS will receive £1.75m from the LEP to fund a new Waterfront Innovation Centre alongside expanding STEM facilities.
[post_title] => New higher ed hub launch from Fujitsu and Intel [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => new-higher-ed-hub-launch-from-fujitsu-and-intel [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-04-20 13:10:43 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 5187 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [14] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9248 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2015-04-01 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2015-03-31 22:00:00 [post_content] =>
The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics [WTCHG], a research institute of the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, is an international leader in genomics, statistical genetics and structural biology. Its researchers collaborate with other research teams from across the world on a number of large-scale studies. Its research budget from competitively-won grants is close to £20m annually, and it publishes around 300 primary papers each year.
Genetics projects at WTCHG include national and international studies on various cancers, type-2 diabetes, malaria and analyses of bacterial genomes to trace the spread of infection. It also led the statistical analysis of the genetic make-up of the British population that recently received widespread media coverage.
However, research never stands still and the Centre’s new supercomputer, built using Fujitsu, Mellanox and DDN technology, provides a 2.6x performance increase over its predecessor built in 2011. The new system is working alongside its predecessor, sharing a high-speed network to a big-data storage system. This integrated infrastructure was designed by WTCHG in partnership with OCF, a leading high-performance computing, data management, big-data storage and analytics provider.
Dr Robert Esnouf, Head of the Research Computing Core at WTCHG says: “We have learned from past experience that we need to tailor our compute hardware to give us an edge in ‘all-against-all’ analyses of hundreds of genomes: lining up multiple genomes against each other and using sophisticated statistics to compare them and spot differences that might explain the genetic origin of diseases or susceptibility to diseases.
Compared to this time last year, our researchers can put through around 5x more work and are doing so on a machine with the same energy footprint.
[post_title] => Oxford research boosted by supercomputer [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => oxford-research-boosted-by-supercomputer [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-03-26 12:03:16 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 5233 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [15] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9324 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2015-03-03 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2015-03-02 23:00:00 [post_content] =>The upgrade has dramatically improved processing time for students working on 3D gaming, software development, networking and systems support, creative technology and engineering courses at the college.
Derby College offers apprenticeships, A-level, vocational, part-time, adult and higher education courses across Derby and Derbyshire. “The CELSIUS workstations combine a stable platform with fast processing capabilities, which means that students can render 3D games in a third of the time it took with the previous hardware,” said Neil Hutchinson, IT Project Coordinator at Derby College.
The investment is a positive move for the college, as it will give students greater flexibility and time in which to complete their key modules.”
Derby College runs three full-time groups on the games design courses. Until now, students from all three groups have been sharing the 24 CELSIUS workstations that have already been installed, as well as a classroom of off-the-shelf desktop PCs, which do not offer comparable performance to the workstations, thus limiting productivity.
The College is one of the leading centres for games design courses in the UK, along with the University Campus Suffolk, which selected the Fujitsu CELSIUS M730 for use by its students last year. Both establishments have been drawn by the unique design and combination that CELSIUS offers of Intel Core and Xeon processors with a huge variety of both professional and consumer graphics cards, including NVIDIA GeForce graphics – something that is not available on workstations from other vendors. This enables gaming designers to work with the graphics that their target end users will use.
“This success is just the latest in what we hope and expect will be a whole series of deployments of CELSIUS workstations in further education,” said Ash Merchant, Head of Business Development for Education in the Fujitsu Technology Products Group. He added: “We have a very experienced team of education specialists within Fujitsu and we are working closely with our partners to ensure that both we and they fully understand and can meet the needs of education customers.”
This news follows the announcement of Fujitsu’s Education Ambassadors Programme at BETT last month. The initiative will see schools and colleges across the UK setting up Innovation Hubs equipped with high performance solutions.
[post_title] => Derby College puts tech at the heart of vocational courses [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => derby-college-puts-tech-at-the-heart-of-vocational-courses [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-02-25 09:02:53 [post_modified_gmt] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 5310 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [16] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9400 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2015-01-30 00:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2015-01-29 23:00:00 [post_content] =>Fujitsu, in collaboration with Intel, has launched its Education Ambassador Programme. The initiative aims to enhance teaching and unleash students’ potential by putting technology at the heart of education. It is aligned with the objectives of the Education Technology Action Group (ETAG), whose mission is to promote the use of digital technology across schools, further education, higher education and Special Education Needs (SEN) sectors.
As part of the programme, Fujitsu has partnered with educational institutions across the UK, including University Campus Suffolk and the National Autistic Society. All Ambassadors have been selected based on their recognition of technology as an enabler to enhance the learning experience and to develop digital skills for students and educators.
“Digital is becoming pervasive in all aspects of our lives, apps, services and more intersecting with our day at every turn, creating a cultural shift, not just in the UK, but globally,” said Ash Merchant, head of education UK & Ireland, Fujitsu.
“A recent survey by Fujitsu revealed that around a fifth (22%) of consumers believe that digital education should be part of the modern school curriculum, highlighting a real need to see investment at the beginning of the digital journey. Schools, colleges and universities will play a crucial part – and Fujitsu is committed to enabling this move.”
The initiative will see Fujitsu set up Innovation Hubs at the Ambassador educational institutions, featuring Fujitsu technology and providing support on infrastructure to enable empowered and connected establishments. This will not only provide students with the opportunity to develop their digital skills, but educators themselves too.
Fujitsu will support the Ambassadors in breaking down barriers to technology by building and facilitating relationships with bodies such as the Department for Education (DfE), the Education Technology Action Group (ETAG) and the Education Funding Agency (EFA).
The first Innovation Hub was recently launched at UTC Reading, where Lee Nicholls, Chair of Governors, cut a ribbon to mark the opening of the new centre, housing an array of Fujitsu technology including tablets, hybrid devices, laptops and desktop PCs.
“I’m delighted that UTC Reading has become a Fujitsu Ambassador and particularly excited that UTC Reading is the first Innovation Hub in the country to open,” said Joanne Harper, Principal, UTC Reading.
“The hub will not only benefit our students and staff in their studies and training, but will also have a positive impact on the local community, including primary schools. Today’s launch and ongoing partnership shows real commitment from Fujitsu to improve the digital skills of young people.”
The following establishments have signed up to Fujitsu’s Education Ambassador Programme:
- UTC Reading
- University Campus Suffolk
- Brunel University
- Derby College
- City College Coventry
- Borders College
- The National Autistic Society
- Thames Valley School
- Barnsley College
- Lakeside Academy
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Speaking to teachers and students at an event in Ebbw Vale's National Digital Exploitation Centre (NDEC), education minister Kirsty Williams said: “We’re always looking for ways to work with employers to get flexible, relevant learning. "Cyber is about much more than staying safe online, and touches every part of our daily lives. “If we can give Welsh teenagers a new route to study cyber at higher education or go straight into the industry, we’ll be giving them a real advantage in a major and growing industry.” Steve Cottrell, group chief information security officer of Admiral and chair of the Cyber College working group, commented: “The Cyber College Cymru initiative is about industry partners coming together to work with our local colleges and develop something new and relevant for the skills needs we have, now and in the future. “We all have a shared interest in growing our own talent: both getting Welsh teenagers to consider a career in cyber, and giving them the education and experience they need to meet that ambition. Cyber College Cymru is a great innovation driven by what we need in the world of industry and technology.” [post_title] => Cyber College Cymru to forge new routes into technology professions [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => cyber-college-cymru-to-forge-new-routes-into-technology-professions [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-03-25 16:36:43 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-03-25 16:36:43 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://edtechnology.co.uk/dashboard2/?p=22974 [menu_order] => 1277 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [comment_count] => 0 [current_comment] => -1 [found_posts] => 17 [max_num_pages] => 0 [max_num_comment_pages] => 0 [is_single] => [is_preview] => [is_page] => [is_archive] => 1 [is_date] => [is_year] => [is_month] => [is_day] => [is_time] => [is_author] => [is_category] => [is_tag] => 1 [is_tax] => [is_search] => [is_feed] => [is_comment_feed] => [is_trackback] => [is_home] => [is_privacy_policy] => [is_404] => [is_embed] => [is_paged] => [is_admin] => [is_attachment] => [is_singular] => [is_robots] => [is_favicon] => [is_posts_page] => [is_post_type_archive] => [query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 722f0ae2ecee890c4fff567744b1388e [query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => [thumbnails_cached] => [stopwords:WP_Query:private] => [compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => query_vars_hash [1] => query_vars_changed ) [compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => init_query_flags [1] => parse_tax_query ) )
