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BETT 2012

Posted by Joel Kerr on 03 Jan

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Much as I hate to use clichés I have to say – it’s that time of the year again! Everyone in the office is busy putting together the final arrangements and making sure everything is in place for THE WORLD’S BIGGEST EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY SHOW OF THE YEAR!

There are a few points of interest at this year’s event:

We are not in our usual spot. That’s right you’ll have to walk an extra 100 yards up the aisle to stand N26 in the Grand Hall Gallery to visit us – click here for a PDF highlighting our new position.
We will have two new faces on the stand this year. Alison Selby-Bettle and Peter Potter have recently joined the team and both have Moodle brains worth picking.
We will be sporting a brand new uniform and I need to know if it compliments my shape
We’re giving away a Kindle – woohoo!

BETT is always an amazing event packed full of new and cutting edge products, brilliant speakers and presentations – it’s a great way to kick start the year and get excited about the possibilities that come with it.

As always we are anticipating a frenzied interest in Moodle and Mahara and we’re prepared for five hectic, fun-filled days. We relish the opportunity to talk to the ever-passionate Moodle Community as well as the chance to convert newbies to the software.

If you haven’t added BETT to your calendar I strongly suggest you do so. If you are planning on attending please call by and say hello!

Don’t forget – Stand N26.

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Twenty Eleven

Posted by Joel Kerr on 29 Dec

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It came and it went in a blaze of glory. That’s a bit of an exaggeration but it has been a good 2011 so it’s time to have a look back over the past 365 days (I should probably say the garish banner above is no reflection on the ability of our designers, I threw it together myself and may well get in trouble!).

Holywood

This was a big year for the team – the year we moved to Holywood! After many months of office hunting and many more months of carpet swatches, paint samples and furniture shopping we upped sticks and moved lock and stock to County Down. And we haven’t looked back once, we are very happy in our new home (call by and say hello sometime!)

Events

The BETT show was the first of many events we attended in 2011, Scotland also being high up in the agenda for the first part of the year and the ICT for Education conference circuit becoming a regular feature in the latter. We always love getting out and about to talk to new and existing clients and want to say a big thanks to all those who stopped by for a chat over the course of the year!

New People

The team has grown. Again. We have some familiar faces that have joined us on a permanent basis (hello Andrew Davidson) and some brand new brainpower in the incarnation of Alison Selby-Bettle, Davo Smith, Peter Potter, Dorel Manolescu and Adam Moran. You will hear more from each of them in the future when I finally browbeat them in posting on the blog!

Totara

Twenty Eleven is the year we welcomed Totara into the world. Like a beacon of light to the business world it is already strutting with a confidence that befits a software of such stature. The carefully considered additions tick all the boxes of our corporate clients and I have no doubt as word spreads its popularity will increase in 2012 (click here for more info)

Travel

This one is for you Jonny McAlister. With more air miles than an Arctic Tern you have jetted from city to city and back to that first city more times than I care to remember. And hasn’t it paid off nicely with the Synergy Learning flag being flown with more vigour than ever before in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (North and South!)

The World!

With Alex having taken Synergy Learning back to his native Germany we are also pleased to be spreading the good word of Moodle, Mahara and Totara throughout Europe with lots of new contacts in France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and Norway. News of our wares has also spread further afield with new business coming from South Africa and the US.

Moodle 2 Point x

Aw Moodle. Our first love. Moodle 2 may have taken its time but the upgrades have been prompt and noteworthy. MyMobile is now part of the core code, you can restore your 1.9 back-ups, multi-tenancy is on its way and the list goes on. If you’re not there it’s time to give it some serious thought. Our Route to Moodle 2 options should help you on your way

Mahara

This year saw the release of Mahara 1.4, called by some “a coming of age”. The ePortfolio is slowly but steadily increasing in popularity and offers the perfect compliment to Moodle. Built primarily for reflective learning it also boasts social networking capability and numerous integration possibilities (click here for more info on our Mahara services)

Awards

Everyone was delighted when the Scottish Social Services Council was shortlisted in the Skills Development section of the Guardian Public Services Awards in 2011. We were ecstatic when they actually won! We are proud to host the award winning SSSC Workforce Solutions Portal, which puts Moodle to good use throughout Scotland, more information on which you can read by visiting http://workforcesolutions.sssc.uk.com/

New Projects

In China 2012 is the year of the Dragon. In Synergy Learning it is the year of the Case Study. We have so many new projects under our belt that we want to share with you I hardly know where to start but keep posted to the blog as we will be rolling out case study after case study detailing what we have been up to over the past year. Here’s one to sink you teeth into in the meantime.

The Team

It wouldn’t be right to round up the year without mentioning our brilliant team who are always a pleasure to work with and make coming to work not feel like coming to work at all. The supporters who Support, the theme machines who Theme, the developers who cynically pick the world to pieces every day (and do a bit of Developing), the trainers who Train and the directors who… pay us. Thanks one and all.

And finally…

I’d like to thank all our clients and partners for their continued support and want to wish everyone an enjoyable and prosperous 2012. Hurrah!

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Foyle Cloud: Foyle Learning Community’s collaborative VLE

Posted by Kenny McCormack on 23 Nov

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Just to introduce myself, I am Kenny McCormack, Operations Manager at Synergy Learning and I look after the development and design teams. As I have just passed my first year in the company, I thought I would write a blog on one project that I have some personal interest in, it involves my old grammar school in Derry city, St. Columb’s College.

The project is called the Foyle Cloud and the project team is aspiring to be a model for adoption of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) for schools and colleges in Northern Ireland, which is by no means an easy task. In addition the aims and objectives for the 3 year programme and beyond are to:

Improve IT skills from the ground up as part of the Digital Derry vision
Adopt and promote e-Portfolio usage for portfolio based qualifications
To provide a platform for sharing courses between schools and reduce travel between schools i.e. improve efficiency and hopefully save money along the way
Provide a platform for staff collaboration in and between schools

As you can imagine with such ambitions there are many challenges that must be overcome by the team to successfully deliver the project, this blog will try and cover some of these and where Synergy Learning services has helped.

The technology solution bit

To help achieve the aims and objectives of the programme the customer needed to select a solution that would be easy to use, robust, scalable, would allow schools to have their own VLE, but still provide a means for students and teachers from different schools to collaborate.

The Foyle Cloud selected Moodle as their VLE platform of choice. Moodle is the world’s leading open source Learning Management System with a global user community and is recognized for its many benefits.

Features	Moodle Benefits
Anytime Anywhere	Support distance education and supplement classroom-based teaching – Blended Learning
Rapid content creation	Upload existing content, other web resources can be linked to, or create and edit new content in Moodle
Knowledge sharing	Stimulate discussions outside the classroom
Assignments + Quizzes	Test and report on students’ learning, encourage students to learn and self-test, deliver exams
Feedback + Choice course activities	Quickly gather feedback from students
Tracking	Learners tracked of all actions (Views + Posts) and can be reported on
Communication + Collaboration tools	In system messaging between teachers + students, forums, wikis, interactive chat, workshop modules

One other important reason why the Foyle Cloud selected Moodle, was its ability to link any number of Moodle environments together using its proprietary MNET protocol. Once the system is configured correctly, each school has their own VLE and a central hub VLE is established to provide the inter-school collaboration platform.

Learners from different schools are able to roam from their own school VLE to the central hub to participate in shared curriculum courses reducing the need to travel to the school in person.

Teachers can manage their own courses on their school VLE, share information and collaborate with other tutors from other schools in the network on the central hub.

The diagram below illustrates the Foyle Cloud Moodle network setup and the main user type responsibilities:

Foyle Cloud Moodle Network Model

In addition to providing the ability to network different Moodles together the MNET protocol also allows another open source system, Mahara, to be linked to any of these VLE environments. Mahara provides the missing technology bit that Moodle does not have; e-portfolio services.

Once linked to the Moodle network, the Mahara site provides a system for all learners of the VLE to store and share documents within a collaborative and reflective platform.

Users of the system can demonstrate their life-long learning, skills and development over time to selected audiences.

So where does Synergy Learning come in you may ask? The Foyle Cloud contracted us to provide the solid hosting platform required to cope with the large number of concurrent learners and teachers that would be using the system on a daily basis. We also provide the expertise and support to maintain the systems and ensure their optimum use.

Communication + programme structure

With the number of schools in the Foyle area who have already come on board and also those planned for year three, it is clear that a good organisation structure is essential.

Synergy Learning’s experience again has helped the Foyle Cloud management group develop a comprehensive communication structure with clear roles and responsibilities for those involved.

The agreed organisation structure is illustrated below:

Organisational structure

This model could be adopted by other similar organisations attempting to gain the benefits of working together as a network of schools or colleges.

Part of the implementation of this organisation structure was to agree a standardized protocol for managing the different VLE’s. This operations protocol includes agreeing one single process for:

Adding and enrolling users
Password policy
Course labeling and layout
User profile fields
Category organization
Global VLE configuration settings

In addition to standardizing how the system is used, the Foyle Cloud also availed of Synergy Learning’s theme design services to create a consistent look and feel for all of the Moodle sites whilst still allowing each school to be branded separately.

The story so far!

Since implementation of the technology components of the system earlier in the year the Foyle Cloud ran a pilot course on the central hub site called ‘Building Bridges’, which was launched in tandem with the opening of the new Peace bridge in the city. This course content was created through the collaboration of pupils from a range of different schools and backgrounds in the city.

Since the kick off the project 7 schools have come on board to the Moodle network:

St. Columb’s College
St. Mary’s College
Lisneal College
St. Joseph’s College
Immaculate Conception
St. Brigid’s College
Lumen Christi

The plan is to have 18 or more at the end of the 3 year programme.

So what’s next for Foyle Cloud!

Along with continuing to bring in more schools and colleges in the area to the network, the Foyle Cloud intends to:

Launch the first certified shared course on the central hub in the next school year – either BTEC or A-Level Applied Engineering course
Pilot their first e-portfolio certification course – Occupational Studies
Pilot the use of Mahara in general with one of the schools on the Foyle Cloud already so that this can be adopted by all schools next year
Fully establish the staff collaboration area on the central hub for all teachers and tutors

Synergy Learning will continue to support the Foyle Cloud to ensure the success of the programme.

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ICT for Education – Birmingham

Posted by Adam Moran on 04 Nov

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After a very rewarding and enjoyable conference in Manchester we’re looking forward to visiting Birmingham next week for the November leg of the ICT for Education conferences.

Taking place on Friday 11th November at the Copthorne Hotel in Dudley, the event is free to all delegates and runs from 7.45am to 2.15pm.

Tim Rylands was undoubtedly the highlight of the previous event and will be returning to headline the Birmingham conference with his innovative and entertaining presentations.

ICT for Educations ICT Reviews Live! will also make a return with reviews of educational products in a live environment, giving visitors the opportunity to interact with peers and experts and have a say in development plans.

So if you are from in and around the Birmingham area and these proceedings appeal to you, make your way down at any time during the day - we hope to see you there!

For more information on all upcoming events visit the ICT for Education Website

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ICT for Education Events 2011/ 2012

Posted by Joel Kerr on 09 Sep

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We were so enamoured by the Belfast leg of the ICT for Education event that we have decided to jump on the tour bus for the rest of the UK events.

Starting in Manchester on Friday 14^th October we will be travelling the length and breadth of the country exhibiting in Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Belfast, Cardiff, Brighton and Reading.

If you are based in any of these cities, or nearby we would love you to call down and say hello. These are free events and perfect for discovering new resources, meeting experts, peer networking and from our experience a pretty good day out.

For more information visit the ICT for Education website and stay posted to the blog for details on where we are visiting next!

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Introducing Adam Moran

Posted by Joel Kerr on 30 Aug

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We have had quite a few work experience students through our doors recently, but none have threatened to stay for the entire year… until now.

Adam Moran is taking a year out from studying Business Information Systems at Liverpool John Moores University, and he decided to spend it at Synergy Learning.

Why Synergy Learning?

Since starting my degree at University I have come to realise the importance of Open Source Software and I wanted to use my placement year to learn a bit more about it.

What have you been working on since you arrived at Synergy Learning?

My time is divided between Design, Development and Marketing. I’ve been doing quite a lot of testing for themes of various sites. I’m also learning how to write test scripts and am looking forward to bringing another angle of testing to the company.

On the Marketing side I am profiling the company so I can understand our customers, our products and services and how they compare to our competitors. I’m also writing case studies on a few new clients that we are working with which is giving me a good idea of the extent of what Synergy Learning can do.

So you’re learning a few new tricks?

Yeah, the team has been really helpful in introducing me to the idea of VLEs and the role Synergy Learning plays in bringing online learning to schools, universities and businesses.

I’m getting the chance to work with each of the different departments and a lot of really talented people so my experience is going to be very well rounded.

What’s your experience of elearning at University?

We have a VLE that handles all our emails and course information but it is not something that I use a great deal. Since joining Synergy Learning I’ve realised the potential that comes with elearning software and will go back with a better understanding of how it should be used. My Uni could do with a bit of Support from Synergy Learning…our system seems to be down quite a bit!

And that’s Adam. Some of us were hoping that he would spend his year making coffee and running errands but so far he is proving too useful and we’re having to make proper use of his talents.

Expect to hear from him on the blog very soon….

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Our new home in Holywood

Posted by Joel Kerr on 01 Jul

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I’ve been promising to post some photos of our new offices for a while now, and although I haven’t been granted access all areas I have managed to interrupt operations for a few minutes to get one or two snaps of the team…

Introducing Donna, who is the longest serving member of our team (and the real boss in the office!)

This is where all our meetings and some training sessions are now taking place. Please feel free to comment on the curtains.

Planning and strategy room where all the finer details are agreed upon. Potential to be called the Green Room.

Our lovely new studio. My photography skills don’t do it justice I’m afraid.

Yair and Thomas. PHP Development in action (I didn’t even ask them to pose!)

Caroline. Designer in action (my camera may have outstayed it’s welcome by this stage)

______________________________________________________________________

As of yet my camera and I haven’t covered the home of the Technical team (who are very camera shy) the Directors offices (too exclusive), the kitchen (probably won’t happen) or the office of yours truly (that would have to be a self take!)… maybe in time ☺

It’s safe to say we are very happy in our new home in Holywood. If you ever want to come and pay us a visit you will be more than welcome!

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We’re off to Holywood!

Posted by Joel Kerr on 26 May

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Green Credentials

Posted by Joel Kerr on 20 May

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Would it be irritating if I wrote this whole post in green?

I won’t bother, but it would be in keeping with our green credentials.

I read in last week’s Sunday Times how David Cameron’s plans for the “greenest government ever” were causing many business leaders to threaten closure of their British plants; they would be rendered uneconomic.

Well Mr. Cameron you can rest assured that Synergy Learning will be going nowhere. Our data centres which house our servers and through which we supply our hosting have been confirmed to supply 100% green energy.

And here is a breakdown of how it is done:

Free air cooling: We make use of the ambient air temperature to cool data centre equipment, which reduces the amount of power and water that is needed in artificial cooling. With temperatures averaging 18 degrees in Summer & 8 degrees in winter, it is no surprise that we have one of the best climates in the world to cool a data centre.
Virtualisation: We have a strong commitment to maximise the use of virtualisation technology. Virtualisation software enables one piece of hardware to run multiple operating systems, decreasing the need for more physical servers, and ultimately power usage.
High efficiency Air Conditioning Units: Air-conditioning units are monitored on the basis of maximising the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER). This measurement of full-load efficiency; the higher the EER, the more efficient the unit.
Low Loss Transformers: These are transformers designed to decrease the amount of energy that is lost through heat.
Efficient Cabinet Layout: The data centre floor utilises front-to-front and back-to-back cabinet positioning; This minimises the energy required for cooling. The front of the cabinets face each other to become the cold aisle (heat disperses from front to back) and the hot air dissipates to the hot aisle to be routed back to efficient air-conditioning units. Each aisle in the data centre is measured and planned to ensure optimum cooling and heat dissipation.
Waste heat re-used: Waste heat emanating from the data centre can be re-used to heat the adjoining office space.
Solar Panel use: Water is heated through electricity that is generated directly from sunlight.
LCD Screens: Network Operations Centre uses LCD screens, replacing projectors which traditionally consume high amount of power.
Infrared presence/motion detectors: Presence & motion detectors ensure lighting is only activated when needed. Fluorescent lamps also provide a higher level of illumination at a lower level of energy.
Energy Monitoring: Full end-to-end monitoring and management up to cabinet level, which allows the data centre team to monitor overall power usage, whilst also providing the ability to monitor power usage to optimise Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).
High Efficiency UPS for non-linear loads: During testing a UPS for efficiency, static linear loads are often tested, which are not representative of customers’ actual loads. UPS efficiency appears to be much higher when powering linear loads. The UPS used is highly efficient even with fluctuating non-linear loads, which represent real world environments.
Generators: All generators are sound-insulated to reduce noise level and minimise air pollution.

These approaches demonstrate how we can challenge the way things are done by simply using common sense. By investing in the right energy-saving technologies, we are on route to meeting our objectives to reduce not only our own carbon footprint, but that of our clients.

If you require any further information on our Moodle or Mahara hosting services please call the office on 028 9028 8830 or email me at joel.kerr@synergy-learning.com.

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