TED is owned by The Sapling Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader and there are thousands of videos to inspire, motivate and engage. Some of the talks may act as springboards for teachers to develop and further their own ideas while others will engage and stimulate many of our learners in our schools.
Northern Grid has been working with Northumbria Police to develop teacher resources within a web resource that contains a wealth of crime prevention information and personal safety advice aimed at youngsters. Issues such as alcohol, awareness, drug misuse and bullying are all featured on the site, with information on where to get help and what is and isn't legal.
More about ebeat
Young people, parents and teachers can now get information about Northumbria Police at the touch of a button after the launch of a new youth website.
Called ebeat, it's been designed with help from school pupils and teachers and features interactive sections, advice and information and a range of educational resources.
Resources available include specially developed lesson plans which teachers can use in school. The first lesson plan, covering alcohol awareness was launched earlier this year, with an interactive tie-in game also available on the site.
The second set of lesson plans have just been added and cover anti-social behaviour.
The new site also contains a wealth of crime prevention information and personal safety advice aimed at youngsters. Issues such as alcohol, awareness, drug misuse and bullying are all featured on the site, with information on where to get help and what is and isn't legal.
There is also advice on a career with the force, including how to go about becoming a Northumbria Police officer.
Web Services Team Leader Ian Sparham, said: "We're always looking at ways of making our information as accessible to as many as possible but...
Yesterday I delivered an after school esafety session for the staff at Southridge First School in North Tyneside. Their thoughtful and perceptive contributions showed that they understand the importance of this area of safeguarding and are ready to work together to develop policies to support all elements of teaching and learning in a safe and supportive environment.
Much of what I talk about during these sessions centres on how sharing of personal information and opinions is ‘normal’, and we shouldn’t be surprised if our learners and colleagues, on occasions, behave in ways that we would consider inappropriate. I have long maintained that the only way we will see a decline in inappropriate and bullying behaviour in the (social) media is by modelling positive behaviour for our very young children to learn and adopt.
If we can instil in our young children an understanding and ownership of privacy, personal information and appropriate communication of opinions, then we stand a much better chance of them growing up to be more responsible and empathetic participants in online (and offline) interactions. It is perhaps only then that we will see some secondary schools demonstrate the confidence to adopt more open polices relating to filtering and the use of personal and handheld devices for learning and recreation during the school day.
There is much work still to be done, and we need patience and commitment if we are to help our young people become responsible and considerate members of our increasingly sophisticated social networking opportunities.
TED is owned by The Sapling Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader and there are thousands of videos to inspire, motivate and engage. Some of the talks may act as springboards for teachers to develop and further their own ideas while others will engage and stimulate many of our learners in our schools.
Benefit from high quality services included in your broadband price
Subscribers to our newsletter were told about all of the benefits you can get from Northern Grid and the exciting upcoming opportunities throughout the region and beyond.
Schools are well aware of the need to keep pupils, teachers, data and systems as safe and secure as possible. All schools need to ensure that they have an up to date Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). To support schools in meeting their eSafety requirements Northern Grid has a responsibility to ensure that the whole Regional Broadband Network continues to be safe and secure. This means that all organisations connected to the network need to abide by a common Northern Grid AUP. As technology changes rapidly this Grid AUP is updated regularly.
The Northern Grid Acceptable Use Policy has been endorsed and approved by the Northern Grid Directors who are all senior managers within partner Local Authorities. Your Local Authority has agreed to abide by this AUP.
This policy applies to all users of the Northern Grid broadband network whoever they are, whatever devices they are using, whenever and wherever they are connected to the network. This also includes users within a directly connected establishment or users connecting to the network remotely.
Any school, LA or other educational organisation using Northern Grid for Learning's Network or Service is required to comply with this Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).
Failure or non-compliance may result in the school's broadband service being disconnected and / or civil, disciplinary or legal action being taken upon individuals, groups of individuals or establishments.
Head teachers must ensure that all users are familiar with the relevant sections of this AUP.
This document refers to the use of the regional Northern Grid network. Schools also need their own Acceptable Use Policy covering...
This is a collection of useful information about the services Northern Grid offers and what to do if you want to buy a service from us, or if you want to leave us to go elsewhere.
The broadband Northern Grid provides to schools and Local Authorities is currently provided through Easynet. Our contract with Easynet will expire on July 31st 2012 and Northern Grid is going through a procurement process to identify who will provide our connectivity after this date
This means that information in the documents on this page is likely to change. To make sure you get the most up to date information heads can complete the Expression of interest document. See the Procurement briefing note for more information.
Will your ICT provision support your journey to become an outstanding school?
Where ICT is used effectively to support learning, attainment and achievement can increase. Outstanding schools are ones where ICT is embedded within all aspects of school life and where management, teaching and support staff and learners exploit technologies.
Do you know how ICT is used in your school? ICT and online technologies can support your staff, promote more engaging teaching, motivate pupils and help you engage more effectively with parents. The list below will help you get off to a good start in the new academic year.
Security Leavers and New Starters
Good schools have effective security policies and practice. Having these in place enables more creative and positive uses of technology. Does your school have Policies and Practices which support creative uses of online technologies?
Knowing who has access to your systems is important. How do you ensure integrity and confidentiality of staff and pupil data? Is your security...
Social media and online communication opportunities are important and can have a positive impact on all elements of the teaching and learning process, the school and learning community. We see teachers and other professionals creating networks to share ideas and resources, children and young people crowd source ideas and information. They seek and receive feedback on their work while parents engage more fully with teachers, their children and the school. Furthermore, even if we feel too old or too busy to engage with social media ourselves then we, as teachers, must still be able to model appropriate, safe and positive use of social technology for our learners and the wider learning community.
An important element in the policy development process is seeking the feedback and engagement of teachers, parents, carers and students. It is also important to understand that policies are more likely to be adhered to if everyone has the opportunity to share in the policy development process.
Policies should be organic and responsive. With technology and the associated opportunities for communication developing at an almost startling rate, it is important that policies, practices and procedures are reviewed at regular intervals.
The Bottom Line
Let’s start with some simple truths:
Nothing is private
Nothing can be deleted
OK, you’ve skipped over that bit so here it is again:
Nothing is private
Nothing can be deleted
Schools need responsive, effective and consistent pastoral and discipline systems in place to ensure tha...
The recent article link above highlights the importance of password protocol and security.
We would suggest that the misuse of the word ‘hacking’ is highlighted in this article as in this case and many others hacking has not taken place it is usually down to the lack of correct protocols and procedures as regards password security
Password security is an essential part of the risk assessment and audit process within your e safety / security provision and should always be linked to access rights within an educational establishment. Due to breaches of information confidentiality current government guidance is to align school information with government information classification levels.
Restricted: Information which can only be accessed by named individuals or groups.
Protected: General school information which is not expected to be released to the public
Public: Information freely available to anyone.
Password protocols and policies are an essential part of your day to day practice as regards data security. Password Security is everyone’s responsibility.
The following advice is taken from the NEN eSafeguarding Audit Tool, hosted by Northern Grid.
Redcar Community College was the Winner in the Overall Excellence Category of the Northern Grid Awards 2010. This Case study looks at what they achieved and how they accomplished this, giving valuable insight for schools wanting to improve their ICT integration.
The Summer Technology for Learning Newsletter was sent to all schools in Darlington. Articles give details of where schools can go for ICT advice and support, including a summary of what Northern Grid can offer.
While this newsletter is written for schools in Darlington, Northern Grid support is available to schools in all of our partner Local Authorities: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, North Tyneside, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside and Stockton.
View the 4 videos below or go to our YouTube Channel. If you need guidance and resources in dealing with these areas visit the eSafety area of our website.
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More about ebeat
3 October 2011
The Summer Technology for Learning Newsletter was sent to all schools in Darlington. Articles give details of where schools can go for ICT advice and support, including a summary of what Northern Grid can offer. 
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Oddizzi is a new, primary school focused, multimedia website. We wanted to find out more so we asked the creators to tell us a bit more about it.
