Merlin 2013
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We know that your needs as a school are changing; the evolving national agenda, the range of new technologies now available to you, many of them freely or at a much lower cost than ever before, the plethora of apps, abundance of rich media content and wealth of services delivered simply from ‘the cloud’ to a cacophony of devices. We think it is a really exciting time for technology in education and it is the right time to transform the range of learning technology services that you can cherry-pick from the South West Grid for Learning Trust.
So, Merlin is changing. From the
end of the Summer Term 2013, your users will no longer be able to access Merlin. So it’s time to have a think (if you haven’t already) about the steps to take next. There are many alternatives to Merlin, but no service is an
exact replacement, so to help, we’ve put together a simple summary of the options available
take a look here (PDF).
Making a choice can sometimes seem overwhelming, but remember you know your school better than anyone else. Have a think about the aspects of Merlin that worked well and which didn’t. Identify the sorts of things that you want to achieve as well as the types of users you need to cater for. If you’d like to chat about your needs, come along to a
Beyond Merlin workshop, just drop us a line at
swtn@swgfl.org.uk and we’ll do our very best to support you.
We understand that many schools and organisations have invested considerable time and effort in using Merlin, as we have. It is our priority to ensure that you have the support and guidance you need to choose from the best range of online tools to support your teaching and learning needs, We’ve written to each school individually to explain the changes and the steps you need to take, if you haven’t received a letter you can download a
generic copy here
SWGfL’s new portfolio of online learning technologies builds on the success of Merlin enhancing the range of tools and resources available to you, and we think enabling you to choose tools such as Office 365 or Google Apps for Education as well as applications like Just2easy creative tools, Frog O/S, RM Unify, Groupcall Emerge and Groupcall Messenger, provides schools with the best combination of technologies for the future.
The two
Regional ICT Conferences that are happening on the
27th June and 9th July will give you the ideal
opportunity to find out more about these options.
We’re continually assessing new service opportunities with our extensive range of partners and talking to schools about their changing needs. We’d like to invite you to tell us about your needs to help us continue to shape the range of learning technology services that are right for you now and into the future.
Tell us what you think.
We’ve worked really hard over the past 12 months to establish the
South West Teacher Network, with a growing range of partners we have built an innovative teacher network for the South West focussing on supporting teachers to develop skills that will enable them to utilize technology to impact on their teaching and learning.
The South West Teacher Network will focus on creating opportunities for teachers to further develop their skills and knowledge in areas including: Digital literacy; Digital citizenship; Basic skills; Computer programming; Technology in other subjects; and whole school technology.
Membership to the South West Teacher Network (SWTN) is
free to all teachers from SWGfL Schools throughout the South West, most CPD opportunities and resources are
FREE of charge to members. Events are hosted right across the region bringing a wide range of opportunities to you, locally.
Join the SWTN.
Julia Adamson
Education Manager