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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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Moodle 2.1

Posted by Joel Kerr on 07 Jul

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Moodle 2.1 is here and would you believe it’s bang on time! Moodle HQ’s new release policy is to put the emphasis on meeting the deadline other than the features wish list. As a result there are a few features missing, but still plenty to get excited about.

There are a number of new features, all of which can be viewed by visiting the Moodle 2.1 release notes . The main ones according to Martin Dougiamas are:

Question Engine
A new question engine that, “makes questions more robust and enables developers to create all kinds of interesting question types in the future”.
Restoring of Moodle 1.9 backups is now possible
A number of Moodlers will breath a huge sigh of relief at this development, “a very complex thing to build due to the many changes between 1.9 and 2.x.”
Mobile Apps
Brilliant news! “Moodle 2.1 now directly supports mobile apps for some functions.” Moodle HQ’s new Moodle app for iPhone will be released soon, closely followed by an Android version. “In addition, there is direct support for mobile-specific Moodle Themes and automatic detection of mobile browsers.”

It doesn’t need to be said that the release of Moodle 2 attracted a lot of attention and excitement, but 2.1 has been the milestone schools, universities and businesses have been waiting for before taking the big step.

Now it’s here we have a number of ‘Route to Moodle 2’ options that will help you on your way. For more information visit our Moodle 2 page, contact me via email or by calling +44 (0) 28 9042 2000.

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Foyle Learning Community launch ‘Foyle Cloud’

Posted by Joel Kerr on 15 Jun

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Friday 17th June | 9.45am
City Hotel Derry

This Friday Foyle Learning Community (FLC) will launch their new ‘Foyle Cloud’, with the ultimate aim of being the first Learning Community in Northern Ireland to connect every educational establishment within their area – with a little help from Moodle and Synergy Learning.

Introduction

Foyle Learning Community is one of 30 Learning Communities across Northern Ireland. It’s made up of 15 post-primary schools and an FE College with over 10,000 students.

The Learning Communities were set up to allow schools to collaborate in direct response to the Entitlement Framework, the governments 14-19 Strategy, stating that all young people, post 16, should have access to at least 27 subjects and 24 subjects at GCSE level.

As there is a considerable distance between each of the schools, Foyle Learning Community recognised the important role Virtual Learning Environments would play in meeting the objectives.

After careful consideration of all the relevant software available, one outright winner was chosen. Rosa McLaughlin who is project managing the rollout for FLC explains the decision:

For us Moodle was the best choice for what we required. It’s right up there in terms of features and functionality offered by online classrooms and the fact there is no annual license fee means a considerable saving for our Learning Community.

We were aware of Synergy Learning’s expertise and track record in this area and having them on hand to help rollout a project of this magnitude was certainly a deciding factor.

Objectives

The Foyle Learning Community aims to develop a VLE that will provide the member schools with the following:

One central Moodle hub which all students can access, as well as a network of individual Moodle sites connecting each school and learning provider
Access for pupils to online collaborative courses
Collaborative teaching of courses
Collaborative development by staff of resources and policy documents

Strategy

Synergy Learning is working closely with the Foyle Learning Community to execute the implementation in a manner that will optimise uptake for the new online classrooms.

In order to introduce the VLE effectively, a 3-phase approach is being taken:

Phase 1 will be an initial pilot for 4 schools (3,500 users)
Phase 2 will incorporate 7 schools (6,000 users)
Phase 3 will include all 15 schools (11,000 users) and the FE college

Rosa is feeling optimistic:

It is vital that the rollout of the new VLE is well planned in order for it to be manageable for our team and well received by the schools. Synergy Learning has experience in setting up large scale Moodle Networks so their advice has been invaluable.

We are just about to launch the initial pilot, with our teachers fully trained and ready to go! With a project as big as this there is always nerves, but there is a real peace of mind having Synergy Learning’s team available for ongoing support.

Jonathan McAlister, Synergy Learning’s Business Development Director and project lead at Synergy Learning for this project comments:

We are delighted to be working with Foyle Learning Community on a project that is breaking new ground in Northern Ireland’s education process.

Within our global client base we are used to dealing with clients who have big ambitions, so it is great to see a community closer to home that are setting their sights high and realising the potential Moodle offers.

Synergy Learning will host FLC’s Moodle sites on our new platform that has been built in-house and optimised specifically for Moodle software.

The Future

This is an exciting project, not just for Foyle Learning Community but also for Synergy Learning as it has the potential to connect every educational establishment within Derry City Council, and inspire other similar projects in Learning Communities across Northern Ireland. Rosa comments:

Eventually we hope to connect learners of all ages, across all learning providers in the city, including our local university, primary schools and community learning providers.

We want to become a city of learners that are upskilling, not just through our access to a wider range of qualifications but also upskilling our digital skills through the use of our VLE. This Moodle network will play a vital part of the cityís bid to become ‘Digital Derry’.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated!

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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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Work Experience Christopher

Posted by Joel Kerr on 21 Apr

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We have had the pleasure of Christopher McKibbon’s company this week, a work experience student from our good friends at St. Louis Grammar. He has been kind enough / harassed into writing a post for the blog to re-cap on his week…and here it is:

I am a Year 13 student currently studying Applied ICT, Business Studies, Technology and Accounts.

I’m researching career options and considering a career in ICT. I’ve decided to complete a work placement as it will give me an insight into the world of business and ICT and the working environment. The work placement will also make an excellent addition to my UCAS personal statement.

I’ve come to Synergy Learning because I am currently considering a future in ICT and as a company with a good reputation, it was highly recommended to me to complete my work placement at this company.

I’ve been introduced to the business and taught what goes on at Synergy Learning, the software and hardware they work with, as well as the well-known clients they work with. Everyone at Synergy Learning was very friendly and helpful and the whole environment was very comfortable.

Thanks to the team at Synergy Learning I have learnt many new skills during my time, I have used Photoshop for the first time and I enjoyed designing things with the software. I have learnt how to help market a business via Facebook and Twitter and I have tested out some of their Moodle websites. I also learnt about the software needed to help the running of the business such as Salesforce and Basecamp.

My work placement has given me a good insight into the business environment and the use of ICT. It has helped prepare me for the future and has given me an idea of what it is like to work in an ICT business environment. It has also given me a better understanding of Moodle, Mahara and Totara and how they work, which helps me as my school uses Moodle and Mahara.

My time at Synergy Learning has been very enjoyable and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team for their co-operation and for allowing me to participate in their work, allowing me to develop my knowledge and understanding of their business and what they do.

Christopher

We’d all like to thank Christopher for his help throughout the week and good luck with his A-levels! Also – enjoy yourself in Majorca!

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Totara

Posted by Joel Kerr on 01 Apr

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There has been a lot of buzz around Totara recently and we at Synergy Learning are pleased to announce that we have been fully approved to supply Totara services as a Platinum Partner.

What is Totara?

Totara is a customised version of the Open Source Software Moodle, designed specifically to meet the elearning needs of the business world. It includes a range of extensions to the Moodle software to support:

Competency management
Team management
Individual development plans
Classroom management
Reporting

Totara v. Moodle

We don’t need to tell you how great we think Moodle is.

As a corporate distribution version of Moodle, Totara comes with extra functionality that will be benefit the business user:

Sophisticated reporting, including managers and dashboard reports
Reporting of e-learning and course completion by organisational unit, job role, completion status etc
Classroom scheduling and management
Individual development plans with objectives
Learning paths for job roles
Team management
Competency management
Integration with external HR systems

For a full comparison of the two pieces of software click here

Totara Demo

A demo of Totara can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Totara with Synergy Learning

As the UK and Ireland’s leading Moodle Partner we have many year’s experience delivering elearning solutions to business costumers. We have an in-depth understanding of what is required for businesses to successfully facilitate CPD and now Totara provides the tools to take it to the next level.

We offer everything you need to get your Totara site up and running and to make sure it is working for you from it from the outset:

Consultation
Installation
Customisation
Hosting
Support
Training
Themes
Development

If you have any further questions about Totara or would like to discuss anything in more detail feel free to call us at the office 028 9042 2000 or email info@synergy-learning.com.

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ICT for Education | Belfast

Posted by Joel Kerr on 01 Mar

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Synergy Learning will be at the Belfast Hilton on Friday 11th March for the Northern Ireland leg of the ICT for Education conferences. While we’re there we will be exhibiting our wares, and as always will be keen to speak to people who are interested in the benefits of Open Source Software and the implications it has on elearning.

Moodle is making a pretty big splash over here at the minute, with a number of schools and businesses choosing it over the competition. If you are attending the conference and want to find out more about Moodle and Mahara, and the services we offer please call by and say hello. If there is something specific you want to find out on the day then feel free to leave a comment or email me at joel.kerr@synergy-learning.com so we can be fully prepared!

For more information on the conference and exhibition visit the ICT for Education website.

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Moodle 2.0 Integrations – Alfresco

Posted by Joel Kerr on 17 Feb

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As Moodle 2.0 becomes more established we are finding more and more clients eager to upgrade from their current version.

Not only is the software being recognised for it’s new and improved features, it also makes integrating with third party tools a whole lot easier, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for those moving to Moodle 2.0.

Over the next few blog posts I am going to look at some of these external tools to see what benefits they can bring to your operations….starting with Alfresco.

Alfresco

If you haven’t heard of Alfresco before you might find it a rather useful tool. It is a Content Management System (CMS), which basically means it can be used for managing the production of electronic content (text files, videos, graphics etc.) via a set of rules, processes and workflows.

Like Moodle and Mahara, Alfresco is Open Source and as a CMS it specializes in:

It caused a lot of interest when it was announced that Moodle 2.0 was to come complete with an Alfresco repository. File management within Moodle has long been a debate generator and integration with an external CMS solves the issue of content ownership, tracking changes, linking to external content finding content etc.

We have been working with Alfresco for some time now and our clients are finding it’s capabilities a perfect compliment to Moodle, allowing users to store and retrieve resources from within both piece of software.

The integration is quick and straightforward and the outcome can prove very beneficial. If you are interested in finding out more about our Moodle or Alfresco services email me at joel.kerr@synergy-learning.com.

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Moodle

Mahara

Content Development

Case Studies

Posts Tagged ‘Synergy Learning’

Twenty Eleven

Moodle 2.1

Foyle Learning Community launch ‘Foyle Cloud’

We’re off to Holywood!

Green Credentials

Work Experience Christopher

Totara

ICT for Education | Belfast

Moodle 2.0 Integrations – Alfresco

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