ICT Old News

24th March 2010 -   Isca MTS Website Online

The Isca-MTS website is now online and can be accessed via the link on the Mount Tamar School home page or by clicking here.

The Isca-MTS website will give you instructions on how to access the Isca-MTS Virtual World. We are currently awaiting the SWGfL to open a port so that Isca-MTS can be accessed externally.

19th March 2010 -   MTSocNet Back Online

With the server upgrade now approaching completion it is time to bring back the services which have been switched off over the last few months. MTSocNet, Mount Tamar School's social networking site has now been re-activated. You will need to see Mr Berry to set up your Username and Password before you can access it.

16th March 2010 -   Webpage Update

There has been a revamp of a few pages recently. Tabs have been introduced to some pages to make them more accessible. Pupils will notice the difference with the WhiteList Page which is now tabbed.

Please note that no information has been removed, only that the way the page is accessed has changed.

February 2010 -   Whitelist Update

Mount Tamar School has gone over to a purely Whitelisting system of accessing the Internet for ALL network PC's. Staff laptops will need to be registered with Mr Berry before they can access the Staffproxy.

Stafrf who wish particular web sites to be opened up for pupils to access them will need to email Mr Berry with the list in advance of them being used.

January 2010 -   Server Update

The new servers have now been commissioned. Staff and pupils should see a notable improvement in access times for files and the MTS web based services.

Please note that there may be teething problems whilst we sort any minor problems.

May 2009 -   Network Down

Apologies to everyone but the Mount Tamar web pages stopped working a few days ago due to a power supply problem. The pages returned at 9:15 on the 28th May 2009. If this happens again then the staff email system may still accessible from http://www.mtsoc.org.uk/egroupware until we switch over the MTS GoogleMail system.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

May 2009 -   Staff Emails

The current email system is 'groaning' under the strain and after discussions we are moving the whole system off site and basing it with GoogleMail (Education). Over the coming weeks you need to:

• Save your contacts - access to the old system will be maintained until the end of the summer term 2009
• Save any email attachments you need to keep
• The switch over date will be Friday 26th June 2009
• Try out the new system - you can already send emails from the new system: just not receive them!

Please note:

• There will be no changes to your email address - there is no need to inform any of your contacts
• Only the link to access your emails will change
  • if you use Thunderbird then the settings will need to be changed - see Mr Berry
• Access to your emails will be more secure under the new system
• Obtain your password from Mr Berry
• You will have access to all the Google applications and goodies:
  • calendar
  • documents
  • sites
  • and others as they become available!

April 2009 -   New Build

The Network computers were successfully updated over Easter. Users will notice the following:

• New Login screen
• Updated software
• No games!
  • NB - The games which were available in the ICT Room have also been removed for the time being
• Only the pupil proxy is now available:
  • The staffproxy is not enabled on any network computers at the moment. The Trafficlight software is being updated to allow staff access
• Some unused software has been removed
• New applications have been installed
• Please note that the initial boot time is longer due to update scripts being run to keep all the computers as up to date as possible. Please allow a computer time to boot up and do not interrupt the update processes.

March 2009 -   MTSocNet Update

• MTSocNet has been updated.
• Elgg, on which MTSocNet is based has moved on from version 1.0 to version 1.5 so a new installation was required. All users will need to be setup in the coming weeks.

March 2009 -   Advanced Warning

• We are planning a total "down time" over the Easter holiday for the network
• This will mean:
  • No access to the MTS Web Services over the Easter period
  • That includes:
    • Web pages
    • Emails
    • MTSOC
    • MTSocNet
• Off site services will be unaffected:
  • pupil email
  • school centre
  • Merlin
• There will no access to files over the Easter period
• During the down time the following is planned to take place:
  • Server rebuilds
  • New workstation build installed
  • software updates - where available and deemed needed

March 2009 -   JCC Workstation Update

• The JCC have been having an update to their system over the last few weeks
• There have been a few problems to sort out but things are working now
• The JCC build will be the basis for the new build in the secondary department

February 2009 -   Website Update

• Over half term a number of ICT Department pages have been updated and new ones added. Changes include:
  • Old News Repository added so that readers can follow the departmental developments
  • Key Stage 3 course updated to reflect the new programme of study
  • New 'ICT WhiteList' page added which lists the software used along with web links for the units being studied

December 2008 -   Diploma in Information Technology

• Mount Tamar School is the only school in Plymouth to be offering the Level 1 Diploma in Information Technology. A bid was put in for some funding to equip each pupil doing the Diploma course with a small laptop and pda. We heard recently that the bid was sucessful so, for the next three years, pupils doing the Level 1 Diploma in Information Technologycourse will have access to a small laptop and pda to do their work towards the Diploma in Information Technology.

December 2008 -   Open Source Schools

• Becta, the Government agency promoting the use of ICT, has been looking into the use of Open Source software in schools.
• Mount Tamar School has been part of that research and recently took part in a survey.
• The results can be seen at OpenSourceSchools in the Case Studies section.

November 2008 -   MTS OpenMeeting

• The Google OpenMeetings software was installed recently and named 'MTS OpenMeeting'. It allows audio, video, file viewing and sharing to be carried out across the Intranet (but once the correct port is opened up it will be available from anywhere on the Internet).

September 2008 -   New Key Stage 3 Scheme of Work

• The new Key Stage 3 scheme of work has been added to the website. In Years 7 and 8 pupils will learn, experience and demonstrate a range of ICT skills through units of work. In Year 9, after a revision unit, pupils will move onto completing their Entry Level Certificate (ELC) in ICT before moving on to the ICT Functional Skills course in readiness for the Key Stage 4 work.

July 2008 -   MTS ICT Webpages

• The Mount Tamar School ICT Department web pages have been updated and made more readable. A 'house style' has been introduced to aid the editing of pages so that repetitive elements of pages can be edited once and the change reflected in all the pages using that element.
• The new style will be rolled out over the Schools website over the coming months.