- September 19th, 2011
Glow Questions and Answers (FAQ)
- alexduff
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Following the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on Glow Futures on the 8th September, this FAQ sets out to answer some of the questions you may have.
This document will be updated as new questions arise, so please remember to visit regularly.
| 1 | What happens to content in September 2012? |
| We will work with you to move content from the existing services to the new services. It would be helpful if Local Authorities start the process of identifying key content that they would want to move across. | |
| 2 | What happens to eportfolio content that we are starting to use? |
| Glow blogs are based on WordPress which are exportable at any time by the end user. We will work with you to move content from the existing services to the new services. | |
| 3 | What happens to users in September 2012? |
| We will work with you to move users from the existing services to the new services. | |
| 4 | Is Glow being switched off in September 2012? |
| Absolutely not – the Cabinet Secretary has given firm backing to Glow and is committed to ensuring that it gets replaced by a better solution | |
| 5 | What support will Local Authorities get in moving stuff across from the current system to the new one? |
| Many schools, teachers and pupils have contributed to Glow. We will work with you to move content from the existing services to the new services. | |
| 6 | Following advice from the Glow National Team, we moved from our current email system to Glow Mail, and now it looks likely that we will lose this system. How should we deal with this? |
| Many schools make use of Glow Mail – it is therefore a key service that we would look to replace. We will work with you to move users from the existing Glow Mail service to its replacement. | |
| 7 | What are we able to tell our staff to expect to see post September 2012? |
| This will be clearer after the replacement tools and services are defined in October. | |
| 8 | We had plans to roll Glow out to parents. Should we continue with these plans? |
| Glow is very much business as usual and we would encourage you to continue with any plans you had for Glow prior to the Cabinet Secretaty’s announcement last week. We would be more than happy to provide support or assistance to you with this if this would be helpful. | |
| 9 | We have been offered Targeted Support for e-portfolios, but we are nervous about doing this in case content gets lost. Can you provide reassurance? |
| Absolutely. Any work your pupils do in this area can be exported if necessary to be imported into a new system, so this work would not be lost, regardless of how things proceed. We are currently working with 20 LAs on our blog solution to e-portfolios, so the advice and assistance available to you through Targeted Support is based on working across many schools and authorities. | |
| 10 | How can we ensure a safe and secure environment if we do not have a large company behind Glow? |
| We are committed to single sign on authentication, building on lessons learned during the current Glow contract. The safety and security of young people online is of most serious concern to us; however, there is also a great need for education in this area. We strive for pupils to be responsible citizens – we will do everything appropriate to ensure our children’s safety online, at the same time as educating them to consider consequences and make decisions accordingly. | |
| 11 | Will the next iteration of Glow use single sign on/core authentication? |
| Single sign on is a key feature of Glow. We expect users in the future to still be able to sign on to multiple tools and services. | |
| 12 | What are the planned arrangements for porting content and material produced by teachers and pupils from within current Glow (share point) to next “content container”? |
| Without knowing what the next content container is, it would be difficult to say what the planned arrangements are. What we can say is that we will work with you in making the transition, and as soon as possible publish a timeline with key milestones | |
| 13 | What specific assurances can we give schools regarding Glow in the future? They are anxious that current work on Glow groups, wikis, blogs, Glow meets, etc. will not be accessible in future. Many teachers are looking for clear, non-technical information on what they can expect from Glow after the current RM contract ends. |
| Glow continues – the tools and services will probably be different, but we will work with you to make the transition from the existing tools and services to the new ones. | |
| 14 | What is the likely impact on Authorities that have adopted Glow Mail as their default e-mail service for schools? |
| A new mail service will be made available to users, and we will work with you to handle migration to the new service. | |
| 15 | Our schools are also seeking assurances that the communication, collaboration and content they have created in their Glow Groups for staff and pupils will continue to be accessible. At present, our pupils at P6, P7, S1, S2 and S3 are all in the process of creating and uploading their achievements to their e-portfolios using Glow Blogs. What messages can we give schools? |
| The current contract runs until September 2012, so content will clearly be available there. We will work with you to move users and content to the new services over the coming 12 months. | |
| 16 | Glow Blogs are a huge improvement on what we had before, however, might we be able to have extended blog functionality, such as RSS feeds, ability to bring in external themes and plugins, and be able to use mobile technology? |
| We are not at the stage of solutioning Glow – the ICT Summit on the 17th October will help firm what tools will shape Glow, which will then start the process of defining functionality of each tool. This is not to say that the additional functionality you seek will not be present, but that every aspect will need careful consideration. | |
| 17 | When will the current Glow contract end? |
| The current Glow contract ends in September 2012. The next generation of Glow will be delivered on time to benefit the teachers, learners and parents for the 2012-2013 school year. | |
| 18 | What should we do to prepare for the next generation of Glow? |
| Firstly, have your users involved in the conversation – it’s important they have their opinion heard. Secondly, once the timeline with key milestones is published after 17th October 2011, consider which pilots/beta services you want to have your users involved in, and work with us to plan moving from existing to new services. | |
| 19 | Who will have access to the next generation of Glow? |
| The adopted approach to the delivery of the next generation of Glow is designed to free Glow for wider use and allow it to be taken forward by those who currently use it day in, day out. While the exact scope is to be finalised following the ICT Summit in October we envisage the scope to be extended beyond the current provision. | |
| 20 | Won’t the next generation of Glow be out of date soon? |
| The adopted approach to the delivery of the next generation of Glow is looking to keep pace with the rapidly evolving technology, using readily available tools and services, that many pupils, teachers and parents recognise from their current out of school use of technology. By investing in the glue to bind the readily available tools we will more readily keep up with technological developments and user requirements. | |
| 21 | What is the impact on National Assessment Resource (NAR) |
| None. Users of NAR will continue to be able to access NAR the same way they currently do. | |
| 22 | What are the benefits of the new approach to delivering Glow? |
| Keep pace with technological developments; provide user experience more aligned with the wider web; provide more flexibility in scope; provide users with more control; better value for money. | |
| 23 | Will there be any funding to support schools and teachers to adapt? |
| This question will be easier to answer after the ICT Summit at the Stirling management Centre on the 17th October. | |
| 24 | How can I contribute to the discussion on Glow and ICT in Education? |
| Join the discussion at http://eduscotict.pbworks.com, leave feedback on Engage for Education (www.engageforeducation.org.uk) or get in touch directly by emailing glowenquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk. Can you please encourage others to get involved and help shape the future of Glow and ICT in Education. | |
| 25 | Is this not just a cut in investment? |
| In the current economic climate the Scottish Public Sector as a whole must review its spending with a view to making savings and ensuring value for money. This includes the spend on ICT. By adopting the new objectives for ICT in Education and making closer alignment with the wider policy developments, we are confident that we can realise our joint vision and invest more effectively while achieving better outcomes. |
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