MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Asking for a friend.
8 years ago you join the council as Early Years peripatetic teacher.
It takes 7 years to be given a digital device (iPad) to actually do your job. For 7 years you have to use your own laptop.
Within the space of the last year however you now have:
1) iPad on a council monthly data contract that doesn't play nicely with Google Classroom and backs up pupil images to iCloud.
2) A laptop, just about to arrive, on Windows, which will back up to OneDrive, with a council data Dongle for data backup because you are not allowed on the school or nursery wifi as a peripatetic.
3) An Office365 Account (Glow) with all your HR and employment managing stuff on.
4) A Google Classroom Account (xxxxxxxschools.net) which will backup to GoogleDrive and you *have* to use for work documents.
5) A council 'email account' (Office365) as the email address you *have* to use with your bosses and HR, even though HR use your logins from the *other* O365/GLOW account to communicate.
5) Three work email addresses.
6) 3 days notice that your oldest email address and OneDrive contents is being deleted.
7) A highly paid 'digital transformation in education' team who's answer to teachers technical challenges is to "use your own phone if it is easier".
8) Technical support from said well-paid team that included an inability to provide url shortcuts for some of the pages you need. For example, the digital team keep referring to 'check' page. After some puzzling it transpired that chec.xxxxxschools.net is actually the main landing page for all staff to use (note the lack of the 'k', that is correct).
9) A small team of colleagues so fed up with 1)-8) that they start a WhatsApp group and email your personal email....!
(This seemingly duplicated across hundreds of teachers)
So the friend wants to know. Is it me?
A tad more complicated than ours but seems about right. We're using satchelone to "signpost" work but not to set, take in, mark or tick as done, as that would send parents too many notifications.
Work is to be set etc on teams. But the proxy server is set to allow staff and pupils different things, so link to a YouTube video on dehydration of carbohydrates and kids have to open teams on their phones to watch it as the iPad won't allow them.
I'm also working out that two data contacts, two O365 accounts and one Google Classroom account cost a fair chunk every month....
Seems a bit of a mess but there's likely some logic behind some of what appears to be an illogical mess. I've never worked in the education sector but currently working on a government agency's IT and some parts of it seem a complete mess and totally stupid on first look but when you bury down into it there's reasons behind it and also reasons why it's not a quick fix to do something a better way :p
Historical lack of investment and bodges on top of bodges is one of the main reasons, the other is departments not having a common reporting line until a very senior level (that you'd never get a response from) so they operate largely independently from each other
Sounds like she has all the gear.
12 years teaching
Wife got her first work laptop today.
Has used her own for lesson prep and latterly online teaching to date.
Fascinating isn't it T_R.
Can you imagine the Council boss or a private company asking employees to use thier own devices for 12 years...
Has been interesting to watch MsGinge's struggle with (secondary) school IT while working from home the last few weeks.
Same tools that we use where I work but seemingly set up so badly as to make them a ****ing nightmare to do anything with. Not sure if this is incompetence on the part of the school IT team or now but they don't sound like a particularly supportive bunch when it comes to user support either.
The iPad fetish thing in education is daft and costly. Windows devices would be better. Focussing on Glow and Google Classroom. Single portal. Single account.
TW that's too sensible. We all got iPads then suddenly they realise that some kids need keyboards, erm yeah we've none of those buy them.
A highly paid ‘digital transformation in education’ team who’s answer to teachers technical challenges is to “use your own phone if it is easier”.
My guess is that they are not as highly paid as you think. Yes they may well be earning more than the teachers they support - but if they are actually good at what they do they'd probably not be working in the beaurocratic, resource poor, nightmare that is schools IT - they'd be earning double solving problems for organisations that want solutions rather than just someone to blame!
Can you imagine the Council boss or a private company asking employees to use thier own devices for 12 years…
it's not as rare as you think. There was a big push towards Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) a few years ago. I think the security headaches it brings have probably made it less popular, at least unless you have really smart IT people who know how to make it work. Certainly plenty of that going on in the working at home world of lockdown.
There was a big push towards Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) a few years ago. I think the security headaches it brings have probably made it less popular,
It was unheard of 10 years ago, then the like of O365 and their "any device, anywhere" matra made it popular, and now the real world of Cyber Security threats, legislation and just nightmarish risks involved are going to make it a thing of the past, as is "any device, anywhere" sadly.
When businesses consider the risks, the cost of insurance and all that, it's just not worth the hassle of letting Bob access data via teams on a Laptop his Son uses to download dodgy Minecraft skins at the weekend or his teenager downloads dodgy VPNs etc to circumvent parental controls etc. Hell it's bad enough when Bob uses his laptop to stream pawn when he's stuck in a Travel Lodge 4 nights a week.
Anyway, as for the OP, it sounds shit.
The 'Problem' with 3rd industry and Public Sector is typically poor management. They tend to be ran by people who rose through the ranks doing non-management, non-'Business' things, who are then responsible for running this massive organisation.
It ends up with solutions that are, politely, layered. Rather than a coherent plan. They'll have multiple security solutions, multiple ways of storing and using data and no one really has over sight on it all, mostly departmental heads will use their own budgets and authority to roll out stuff that makes little or no sense, because they've got a budget to use by the end of the year or whatever and it all just hangs around stinking up the place for years.
No one seems to care to remove old systems, even hardware. Every time I visit my Daughters class I wince because the interactive board they show vids on etc its run from a XP PC that's NEVER rebooted and they just close the various warnings that the AV expired 650 days ago etc using muscle memory. I know it won't get replaced until it's dead because they just don't have the money, but the Council will spend millions on consultancy fees which will highlight actions that they can't afford to implement because they spent all their money on consultancy. Their in-house IT Dept either doesn't care, or is so handicapped by process they can't even fix the fundamentals.
MrsG is about to return to work (secondary teaching) after maternity. She has been on her own laptop for a number years as the supplied one was oooooooold and struggled to boot let alone function. IT "support" managed to get it to perform updates so said it's fine.... It's not.
So we are now looking at a full desk setup with monitors and dock, etc for her google classroom sessions. Probably £200-500 worth depending on what we decide. I'll get to use it too so not all lost.
It’s not.
So we are now looking at a full desk setup with monitors and dock, etc for her google classroom sessions. Probably £200-500 worth depending on what we decide. I’ll get to use it too so not all lost.
She should check her contract. The potential to end up with data that she shouldn't have ending up on her own kit is a GDPR disaster waiting to happen. Accidentally download from google drive to open in excel or word for example.
I work for an organisation that liaises with multiple county council level authorities. Our IT is actually amazingly good, we have an excellent IT team who understand requirements, process etc and give is the kit we need to work effectively. In fact our move from office based to remote working due to Covid was pretty seamless.
Full O365, Teams, cloud storage, the works.
But oh God, some of the councils we deal with... Officials struggling to access Teams, this email won't work with that device, those files can only be accessed from something else, this official uses their home PC which is logged into 3 different accounts because the kids also do their homework on it... Or conversely, while the IT might be reasonable, none of the staff have ever had any training on it so you end up with situations such as printing out a document, scanning it and emailing the scan because they don't know how to simply share the document. The mind boggles.
I can sympathise with just about every complaint on here so far.
I don't want to repeat any of the details as I can feel my bladder heating up at the thought.
She should check her contract. The potential to end up with data that she shouldn’t have ending up on her own kit is a GDPR disaster waiting to happen. Accidentally download from google drive to open in excel or word for example.
my wife is a teacher and they have no other option. the LA has no money for laptops (apparently teachers do, my wife works part time and as a teacher with 10 years tenure doesn't even earn enough to pay tax..). WFH is permanent and on a 8 year old lenovo I had lying around.
@MarkyG82 - do a tax return and you can claim the income tax back on the gear - I've bought dual monitors, keyboard, etc this year and will be getting a substancial sum (~£500) back from the tax man.
That really is a good idea. Thanks.
As for the gdpr? Yes it's a major issue but as said they have no other choice if they want to actually do their job. I like to have a windows machine in the house as I am a Chromebook and Linux user. It's a situation we are in and are fortunate to be able to afford supporting gear.
That really is a good idea. Thanks.
As for the gdpr? Yes it’s a major issue but as said they have no other choice if they want to actually do their job
This. I'm.of.the same opinion as many regarding using my own equipment ...(private sector) but it's just not an opinion that flies in schools it seems. The equipment you are given If your lucky isn't fit for purpose so a blind eye is turned to getting your job done.
Yesterday we were told that reports will be done.
On the reporting system (seemis). Problem there is it's not online. So download to pc and install. Then suddenly every detail about kids are available. Massive gdpr issue.
Fortunately enough staff went with "you supply an iPad" if it doesn't work on that how can we do it?
Mutterings of use your pc from SLT who are supplied with laptops.
Unions are sure an alternative way will be found.
Not being provided with a laptop or desktop to WFH seems a little crazy, what happens if the teacher just says they can't work then, surely they'd have union support etc.?
You would think so Fuzzy. Up here is even written into the highest level of government education policy that all staff should be equipped and trained well, and supported by leadership at all levels...
A laptop was provided for wfh as of Monday.
Prior to this a desk top was provided in your class and your choice was plan your lessons on this at school or use your own system.
Should never have been any kids details downloaded to own system. Only ever lesson planning
Anyone who has lived with a teacher will know that lesson planning goes on long after a schools closed its gates especially with all the new curriculum stuff that came out.
So basically the normal years leading to this have been a choice in councils eyes. Now it's essential the kits being drip fed out.
In the mean time it's make do and mend to get the curriculum to the kids which has involved using her own laptop. -which in terms of gpdr if needs be being familiar with private sector IT policy I am quite happy to hand over the hard drive if the wife ever changes jobs and the laptop was a cheapo pc world model only used for her work. - it's not a perfect plan but it gets the job done and at minimal risk to data.
Not defending the council at Al but can understand why the teachers make the choices they do as digging heels in -it will be the kids that suffer not the council.