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ICT to face crisis in UK Schools
,----[ Quote ]
| We are going to have to face a very
| uncomfortable fact in the coming weeks and
| months. This new Coalition Government is out of
| love with ICT in schools.
|
| I am certainly not the only pundit who has
| noticed the resounding silence surrounding
| matters ICT amongst the noisy plethora of other
| announcements concerning educational reform.
|
| All we know so far is that virtually the very
| first act of this government was to abolish
| Becta, an act they had uniquely signalled
| months in advance of coming to power and
| carried out with a ferocity resembling a
| pogrom.
|
| Something about it, taken in combination with
| stories from ex-Becta employees who
| (subsequently) complained about apparatchik
| style cronyism within the organisation makes me
| think that ICT has been linked deeply with the
| previous administration..and not in a good way.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=3060&blogid=40
Open source software in Malaysia
,----[ Quote ]
| The Malaysian government has set an example for
| the Asia-Pacific region in its support for free
| and open source softwarei (FOSSi). In 2004 it
| launched a master plan for rolling out FOSS
| throughout the public sector. That plan is now
| in its second phase of "accelerated adoption",
| which is intended to make the use of FOSS
| within government more pervasive. The overall
| aims of the programme are:
|
| * increasing freedom of choice in software
| usage;
| * increasing interoperability;
| * increasing growth of the local ICTi
| industry;
| * increasing growth of the OSS user and
| development community;
| * increasing growth of the knowledge-based
| society;
| * reducing the digital divide;
| * reducing total cost of ownership; and
| * reducing vendor lock-in.
`----
http://a2knetwork.org/open-source-software-malaysia
Recent:
School IT quango to be expelled
,----[ Quote ]
| Becta, the education IT procurement
| quango, is to be scrapped as part of the
| new government's Â6.2bn cuts this year,
| announced by George Osborne this morning.
|
| Schools are expected to get more control
| over their technology purchases as a
| result. Becta did not buy computers and
| software for schools, but instead drew up
| framework agreements that bound local
| authorities to particular vendors and
| packages.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/24/becta_cut/
Becta: Does it deserve to die?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/2010/05/becta_does_it_deserve_to_die.html
Becta and school ICT: end of the line for the gravy train? (II)
,----[ Quote ]
| But now, with a new Government BECTA and
| QCDA are no more. They both moved to
| Coventry recently, I knew that was the end
| of them, apparently they did not. NO ONE
| voluntarily moves from London to
| Coventry.do they? But no acronym changeâ
| just abolishment?
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=2975
Farewell to Becta
,----[ Quote ]
| I have mixed feelings about this, though
| in a period when severe cutbacks are
| required a body like Becta is hard to
| justify. I first came across Becta in the
| context of the debate about Office Open
| XML, Microsoft Office and Open Office.
| Becta, which claims to provide ârigorous
| research and evaluationâ, came up with a
| full report on Microsoft Vista and Office
| 2007. These are products which I know a
| lot about, and I thought the report was
| poor. I liked the fact that Becta was
| positive towards open source; but disliked
| the uncritical advocacy which it seemed to
| indulge in at times.
`----
http://www.itwriting.com/blog/2639-farewell-to-becta.html
Becta to be Eliminated
,----[ Quote ]
| BECTA is to be closed this year in a cost-
| cutting expedition of the government of
| the UK. Having mixed results from similar
| organizations in Canada, I have mixed
| feelings about BECTA.
|
| [...]
|
| I do not know what the result of BECTAâs
| demise will be. It would be good if
| schools formed their own umbrella
| organization and used FLOSS and the FLOSS
| community for similar benefits to what
| BECTA does.
`----
http://pogson.6k.ca/2010/05/24/becta-to-be-eliminated/
Becta's Home Access Scheme...not really a scam
,----[ Quote ]
| We have long complained that Becta's very
| public conversion to the virtues of Open
| Source software is a little longer on words
| than it is on action.
|
| The suspicion is that they are playing 'lip-
| service' to FOSS while the edu-world continues
| to spend millions of pounds of money they no
| longer have (sacking staff as a result..oh the
| crocodile tears) on expensive proprietary
| products... exactly as before.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=2849&blogid=17
Saving Becta: a great new open source venture
,----[ Quote ]
| This post follows swiftly on from last
| week's blog in which I touted BECTA's
| demise. Things in edu-world after this
| weekend are looking much worse if you
| believe Ed Balls the Labour Secretary of
| State for Education and Michael Gove the
| Shadow Secretary.
|
| Mr Balls is looking for Â300 million in
| school cuts, he has identified Â100 million
| so far and Â40 million will come directly
| out of BECTA (but not abolished, note). Mr
| Gove has announced a root and branch review
| of both the National Curriculum and the
| Examination Boards. Simply put he favours a
| return to a simpler more 'traditional'
| curriculum...circa 1980's by the look of it
| (pre-Microsoft?).
|
| [...]
|
| I love my Sony E-reader, I covet the latest
| Kindle but I hate buying books on-line.
|
| Three things really annoy me.
|
| 1) The on-line buying experience is
| miserable. So much 'security' with OS
| specific (Microsoft wouldn't you know?)
| client software to keep control of the DRM
| stuff that so obsesses publishers.
|
| 2) The cost. You can often get much the
| same book for much the same price from your
| local store. Duh, where are the printing
| and distribution costs? You can't kid me
| that producing digital books is 'hard',
| it's not.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=2839
Is BECTA for the Chop?
,----[ Quote ]
| And the future for BECTA? Here is what the reportâs
| authors conclude:
|
| âAbolish the British Educational Communications and
| Technology Agency (BECTA). BECTA oversees IT
| procurement and technology strategy for schools in
| England and Wales. This has had negative
| consequences for many schools, precluding them from
| organising IT facilities and programmes as they see
| necessary. It hinders an open and competitive
| market, and if schools were to be allocated money
| directly, the sensible option would be to let them
| purchase the equipment that they required according
| to their needs. Abolishing BECTA would realise a
| saving of Â11 million.â
|
| It would be a controversial move, but I suspect not
| one regretted by the vast majority of teachers.
|
| Another plus would be that the gaping hole BECTAâs
| demise would create in the centre of the main hall
| at the BETT Show could be used to actually showcase
| real students (rather than bureaucrats) using
| technology as part of their leaning.
`----
http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/is-becta-for-the-chop/#When:19:25:00Z
UK schools chief begs for Home Access scheme cash
,----[ Quote ]
| Schools minister Jim Knight, who was speaking at the opening of this year's
| Bett event at Olympia in London, said today that Microsoft has created
| something he described as a âre-investment fundâ. The software maker
| will âcommit to fund a foundation in support of the Home Access programme,â
| he said.
|
| However, Knight didnât reveal how much cash Microsoft was pumping into the
| initiative, which has been periodically wheeled out by the Department for
| Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) for the past 12 months, perhaps in part
| to help resuscitate Gordon Brown's premiership.
|
| [...]
|
| However, this latest agreement with Microsoft to inject some money into the
| Home Access programme could ruffle some feathers, particularly among the open
| source community.
|
| The Microsoft-funded foundation will develop and implement a programme of
| training and support for teachers, parents, as well as to help
| create "awareness" for the Home Office programme, said Knight.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/14/home_access_computers_internet_pork_barrel/
Ian Lynch's take on the BECTA fiasco
,----[ Quote ]
| Fundamentally, Iâm not complaining that we were not successful in the
| tender - I have no idea how strong the winning bid was. Iâm complaining that
| the tender process adopted was broken. This is despite the fact that 130 MPs
| signed an Early Day Motion in Parliament last year censuring BECTA for
| procurement frameworks that block out Open Source.
`----
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/columns/ian_lynchs_take_becta_fiasco
Becta's Open Source Contract To Alpha Plus Outrages Other Bidders
,----[ Quote ]
| Mark Tylor, the Chief Executive of Sirius, an enterprise support company, has
| written an open letter on the name of Becta, charging it of âcronyismâ
| and âpolitical sleazeâ.
|
| Mark Tylor claims that the project cannot work out properly, as the
| consultancy that has been awarded with the contract is incapable of handling
| open source project.
`----
http://oss.itproportal.com/articles/2008/06/17/bectas-open-source-contract-alpha-plus-outrages-other-bidders/
http://tinyurl.com/6z5f3t
Open Source UK attacks schools quango
,----[ Quote ]
| The Schools Open Source Project had been intended to encourage the use of
| Open Source software in schools, for education and infrastructure, and it so
| far seems to have achieved the feat of uniting the Open Source community, but
| against it.
|
| Ross Gardler, who bid as part of the not-for-profit OSS-Watch, also raised
| questions about Becta's evaluation process: "Some of the marks on our
| [evaluation] sheet were indicated as having been modified during the
| moderation phase," he said.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/06/16/open-source-uk-attacks-schools
Row erupts over schools open-source project
,----[ Quote ]
| Taylor went on to urge schools to ignore Becta and the project, adding: "Any
| of the organisations Becta rejected will be your best choice". It also called
| for an open source industry boycott of the project, claiming the project
| was "about jobs for the boys, spin, and discrediting non-proprietary
| software".
`----
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39434136,00.htm
The Groklaw effect hits Becta. And yes, I am coining a new term
,----[ Quote ]
| Right now Becta ( [the UK agency that snubbed the free software
| community]http://www.freesoftwaremagazin[...]) ) is in the process of being
| Groklawed by the free software community. A source close to the events right
| now told me quite clearly that Freedom Of Information Act requests are
| hitting Becta in flurries. In this case, it wasnât Groklaw that Groklawed
| Becta. Instead, it was The Register with their article on Becta.
|
| [...]
|
| Unlike the Slashdot effect, the Groklaw effect is much more dooming for the
| company receiving it. While the Slashdot effect eventually lessens, and your
| servers can finally stop working overtime, the Groklaw effect are
| longer-lasting, and in order to get it to stop you can either straightened
| your actions, or pay the dearest price for any illegal or unethical action
| you carried out.
|
| If youâre a blogger, I invite you to use this new term. SCOâs being
| Groklawed, OOXMLâs been Groklawed, and so is Becta.
`----
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/columns/groklaw_effect_hits_becta_and_yes_i_am_coining_new_term
http://tinyurl.com/6r4smt
The OSC's open letter to Becta
,----[ Quote ]
| If you are a school, ignore Becta's project, ignore Becta, and seek advice
| from the people who are able to give it. Any of the organisations Becta
| rejected will be your best choice.
|
| If you are a member of the Open Source community or industry not yet touched
| by this scandal, boycott the project and refuse to have anything to do with
| it. It's not about 'Open Source', it's about jobs for the boys, spin, and
| discrediting non-proprietary software.
|
| If you are anyone else, throw your hands up in despair at yet more political
| sleaze, cronyism and incompetence, and vote for someone other than the
| current government at the next election, preferably someone with policies on
| Open Source and Open Government.
`----
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10008436o-2000331761b,00.htm
The Case for Linux in the Classroom
,----[ Quote ]
| Linux is the only OS designed and equipped with Education in mind. Edubuntu,
| a flavor of Linux, is designed with the classroom in mind. It comes
| preinstalled with education software and applications that suit students of
| all grade levels, and even has some handy applications for the teacher too.
`----
http://teachertechblog.com/the-case-for-linux-in-the-classroom/190/
BECTA Rubbishes Almost the Entire UK Open Source Industry
,----[ Quote ]
| I've written a number of times about BECTA, charting its constant flip-flops
| on open source in schools â sometimes damning it, sometimes driving it. Like
| me, you've probably been increasingly confused about BECTA's real attitude to
| free software. Well, I think we know now, following the snubbing of all the
| most experienced UK open source players in the awarding of a major contract
| to promote open source in schools.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/toolbox/open-source/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=912&blogid=14
A learning experience
,----[ Quote ]
| The situation looked to have improved in early May when it was revealed that
| Becta had issued an invitation to tender for a project to set up and run an
| open source schools project.
|
| As Glyn Moody reports, however, despite bids from the great and the good of
| open source in the UK (supported by the likes of Red Hat and Canonical) the
| contract was awarded to The AlphaPlus Consultancy, a company described as
| having âno known experience or track record in FOSSâ.
`----
http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2008/06/13/a-learning-experience/
Becta schools deal stuns British open-istas
,----[ Quote ]
| He claimed that the decision to snub bidders that included Red Hat-backed
| Sirius and Canonical-backed The Learning Machine exposed Bectaâs open
| source âposturingsâ as a âshamâ.
|
| Becta, which in recent months has been a vocal critic of Microsoftâs
| monopolistic stranglehold on software, invited bidders to tender for
| its âOpen Source Schoolsâ project in May.
|
| At the time it said: âBecta wishes to ensure that schools are aware of and
| can access the wide variety of open source software in the marketplace. To
| achieve this it recognises that they must be supported in its awareness,
| adoption, deployment, use and ongoing development.â
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/13/becta_open_source_schools/
Becta, open source and education: Too little, too late?
,----[ Quote ]
| Slow adoption of open source and free software in UK schools can be
| attributed to the same kind of inertia that afflicts SMEs in the UK. It
| arises from a fear of the unknown, misapprehensions of the capabilities of
| the software, over-reliance on trusted suppliers, and general lack of
| awareness of the alternatives - but the major obstacle has been a lack of
| coordination, direction or understanding from the relevant authorities,
| exacerbated by a series of agreements with Microsoft at government level that
| have effectively tied the education system into Microsoft-only solutions.
`----
http://www.itpro.co.uk/603639/becta-open-source-and-education-too-little-too-late
Related:
Lawmaker blasts U.K. government on Microsoft policy
,----[ Quote ]
| "A member of Parliament of the United Kingdom has launched a stinging
| attack on the U.K. government's IT strategy, saying that it has given
| Microsoft too much control.
|
| John Pugh, who is a member of Parliament, or MP, for Southport and a
| member of the Public Accounts Committee, was speaking in an
| adjournment debate on Tuesday that he had called. The aim of the
| debate, he said, was to explore the alternatives to using Microsoft
| software, including open source."
|
| [...]
`----
http://www.news.com/Lawmaker-blasts-U.K.-government-on-Microsoft-policy/2100-1012_3-6212721.html
http://tinyurl.com/2ashm2
Becta's schools software scheme reported to EC
,----[ Quote ]
| An advisor to Becta, the education technology quango, has complained
| to the European Commission about its procurement process for firms
| to provide online learning platforms and content to British schools.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/08/becta_ec_complaint/
Becta under fire for procurement framework
,----[ Quote ]
| Nineteen MPs have accused a government agency of restricting the
| procurement of software in schools.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/29/becta_procurement_criticised/
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