Below is a list of these programs and some advantages and disadvantages for your comparison:

1. Squarespace – Squarespace is an online tool where you can create your own website for whatever purpose. The designing method includes simple drag and drop elements so there is no need to have any coding knowledge. Squarespace also includes premade tempates to cut the designing time down tremendously and give you a clear guide to adhere by to ensure a clean and accessible website design. Despite squarespace being extremely simple to use, customers have reported the software is more on the expensive side, customisation is limited and poor seo performance which will affect the traffic of your website.
2. Canva – Canva is a website allowing you to make any sort of graphic design. It is a simple program that allows you to construct images for absolutely anything whether you need a flyer, a social media post, a worksheet or even just to edit a photo. Canva is free but they do have a lot of elements that you need to upgrade to their paid subscription to use. Canva is extremely easy to use and has many elemements, shapes and graphics to choose from. Although it’s effectiveness, it is better for a beginner designer as it lacks advanced custimisation options. With the free canva version you can only upload 5GB of data which can cause limitations if you do not pay fpr the subscription.
3. Mailchimp – Mailchimp is a service created to aid you with your business’s email marketing. They help you curate personalised email marketing campiagns that can be sent out on a mass scale to help you reach your business goals. It can also provide you with analytics of your email engagment to determine what audience your campiagn is reaching. The downsides of mailchimp would be the limited access of their free program meaning you do need to pay to get decent features, and due to their wide range of customisations it can be quite difficult to use.
4. Capcut – Capcut is a free video editiong software that businesses can use to create and edit promotional videos for their social media. Capcut is easy to use allowing you to select the clips you want and dragging them to the order you desire as well as adding sound effects, music, text, filters etc: The cons of capcut is its lack of advanced options for creation meaning it will definetely compare to something made professionally.

Whether you choose to use software yourself, or you hire a professional, it is whatever works best for you and your business needs. Keep in mind, when you pay for a professional, you are guaramteed to have quality work completed in a timely fashion and work that delivers results for your business as professionals will take into account what works online, what creates engagement and what will lead to sales.

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Thirlmere Public School has served its semi–rural locality in the Illawarra region since 1888. A coeducational primary school, serving years K-6, with a purpose of providing students with the skills and attitudes to enable them to function effectively as life long learners in a dynamic and changing world.

It was with this purpose in mind, upon classroom technology reviews, we noticed a black spot within the WiFi network affecting all K-1 classrooms. Teachers had been experiencing continual connection issues in using their fleet of 20+ Samsung tablets, so much so that these devices were unreliable in performing daily school lessons and were quickly abandoned.

Thirlmere Public School experienced over 2 years of WiFi Connection Issues and no use of Samsung tablets

During inspection of classroom Wireless Access Points, we discovered 4 were disconnected and reportedly hadn’t been operable for 2+ years. Obviously this caused teachers much heartache and frustration at not being able to use online services on mobile devices.

After identifying a power supply issue with the HP POE (Power over Ethernet) switch, we were able to arrange overnight replacement with installation carried out by our technician.  This new network switch successfully enabled all disconnected AP’s and extended the schools WiFi range adding 100 additional connections, allowing long overdue app installations and updates to be performed to newly connected devices.

So as I was saying, dealing with and understanding these types of issues can be a very overwhelming task for Teachers, especially with the added expectations to successfully diagnose and resolve them.

Today’s modern teacher wears many different hats and whilst I take mine off to them, I firmly believe that their role primarily is to teach our children, not spending valuable time diagnosing WiFi connection issues.

Ultimately, this task to diagnose and fix took several hours to remedy, enabling teachers to revive their M-Learning lessons with students.

The post Network fault causes 2 years of heartache at Thirlmere Public School appeared first on Webtek Media.

For this to happen it required a major reshuffling of technology and retrieval of hardware and devices that was already dispersed throughout the school.

Due to bad planning of the schools network infrastructure installation in classrooms, data points were located the opposite side to projection services, resulting in the inability to use Desktop computers and school lessons conducted using Laptops, as the only way for screen projection and data connections for teachers.

Stage 1 of the project involved upgrading of over 20 Desktops previously used in Library and Computer Labs with latest Windows 10 Build 1809. These being for distribution to classrooms to replace teacher Laptops. Installation of Wireless N Adapters preserved network and Internet connectivity using WiFi, allowing placement of connected devices at front of room.

The completion of Stage 2 required the allocation of class sets of mobile devices and re-imaging of over 60 Laptops including HP ProBook 650, HP ProBook 360 and HP ProBook 11 G2 models.

A new M-Learning lab was created within the Library with 16 Laptops, allowing teachers to focus on the mobility of the learner, interacting with portable technologies and using mobile tools for creating learning aids, an important part of informal learning.

Further tasks completed in readiness for start of Term 4 in October included;

• Unlocking previously unusable iPads and configuring for use with ZuluDesk MDM
• Updated mobile WiFi profile and improved screen layout for iPad apps
• Creation of secure Staff Interactive Kiosk using Lenovo T440 Laptops
• Identify Out of Warranty Desktop devices for secured destruction

Planned Stages 3 and 4 of this project involves upgrading of WiFi Wireless Access Points, deployment of new HP Laptops from schools recent T4L allocation and re-cabling of network infrastructure.

We look forward to working on the continual deployment of technology advancements at Curran Public School, especially in delivering on the Principals impressive vision for the future of her students and their learning capabilities.

Visit Curran Public School for more information about the school.

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Recently we were tasked with upscaling the technology at Georges River Environmental Education Centre, a Department of Education (DoE) School located at Chipping Norton NSW that aims to inspire young people in experiencing and connecting with the natural world.

Sadly the school’s current technology was being underutilised and in some cases not functioning at all, resulting in many thousands of dollars in computing hardware sitting idle. The Principal Mr Nicholas Hall, who is extremely passionate about his role in teaching the younger generation in sustainability education programs, has a vision of promoting and empowering learners in responsible environmental management. This vision involves the use of technology playing a crucial part in his and the centre’s teaching and learning tools.

Principal Mr Nicholas Hall teaching students from Tempe High School on rainfall patterns using Augmented Reality

Having a fantastic Augmented Reality setup that mimics the local Georges River Catchment Area (see above), Android enabled Samsung Televisions and over 30 iPad devices our objective was to bring these devices up to speed to be usable and ‘talk’ to each other during presentations made to students.

The first stage in delivering the principals vision was enabling the current set of iPads along with deploying a new set of devices so that they were unformed in layout and had all the required apps installed.

Nearly all of the iPads hadn’t been used for some 2 years or more and management using Apple Configurator had long ceased functioning, along with communications with schools Wi-Fi system. We enrolled these iPads into ZuluDesk, granting staff access to manage each device, download and install new and existing apps, creating a uniformed layout and wallpaper to reflect, along with allowing Wi-Fi connectivity for use by DoE students. Migration of GREEC’s iBooks was also critical in maintaining established teaching lessons.

Stage two of this project involves management of newly installed NBN services to allow fast speed connectivity to televisions, iPads (for non-D0E students) and development of learning tools for flora and fauna identification using QR Codes.

We are excited at the prospects this centre currently offers students and with implementation of new technologies can’t wait for what the future will hold.

For more information on visiting this fantastic educational centre, please visit their website at georgesriv-e.schools.nsw.gov.au or contact their friendly staff on (02) 9755 3189. You can also follow them on Facebook or Twitter @GeorgesRiverEEC.

The post Using Technology to promote sustainable Environmental Education appeared first on Webtek Media.

Out of the box the setup is very easy and after batteries are installed and Artie is powered on, it’s a very quick process of having him ready for students to start coding and drawing. Artie comes with four different pen colours which are inserted into the robot.

Artie is easily controlled via any device offering Wi-Fi capabilities and we tested using both iPad and Android enabled Samsung Galaxy phone, with direct connections being made within seconds.

Once connected you are ready to bring Artie to life, which is done via a web enabled browser app. In this case we first attempted connection using Apple Safari for iPad and whilst connection were granted, the coding interface did not work so we were unable to control any actions sent to the bot. Secondary tests using Google Chrome worked perfectly (note: instructions made no mention of preferred browser) which we believe is due to better JavaScript management within the app (Artie has in-built JS allowing coding using one of most popular computer languages).

Using the pre-built coding interface (Artie UI) is as easy as browsing to local.CodeWithArtie.com. The Artie UI is your starting point for learning to code with Artie. Students can learn to program Artie using easy to understand drag and drop command blocks such as Pen Up, Pen Down, Move and Turn commands.

The Artie UI is your starting point for learning to code with Artie.

Artie has other coding applications available to expand your knowledge including a Remote Control feature, Point and Click for freehand style drawing using your mouse, Blocky and Snap! for more advanced coding functionality along with Python and JavaScript.

Watch – How to Code with Artie

This cute little robot captivated the children’s attention during our setup and very quickly they gathered around watching Artie do his thing. We love this entry level coding robot and if they excitement levels of the students was anything to go by, yours will too.

For more information visit www.codewithartie.com

Say hello to Artie

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Back in August 2018, Glenwood Public School, located in Sydney’s South West Region, approached us with a dilemma. Their fleet of over 100 iPad devices had been experiencing ongoing Wi-Fi connectivity issues for over 12 months that had rendered them virtually useless in using online apps, browsing the internet and device management.

With changes made within the Department of Education’s mobile device policy for secure connections to Wi-Fi and at times a operational reluctance to offer assistance to devices outside of the standard managed scope of Windows and Chromebook devices, the school was at a loss of how to best utilise these devices.

With the schools upcoming STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Grand Buddy program (run in partnership with Widdon*), it became apparent that the use of the schools iPads were mandatory if they were to have any success in delivering this key learning metric to students.

Webtek Media was consulted to ‘get these iPads working ASAP’, one in part due to the associated costs of these wasted resources, and two for the requirement of iPad devices to deliver a successful program for students and residents of Whiddon Easton Park Residential Care alike.

Whist this inability to use iPad devices was an ongoing headache for the school, our involvement in completing successful MDM migrations to ZuluDesk was a no brainer when it came to providing a resolution to their technology issues.

Once we obtained all the relevant Apple account information and gained access to the schools Volume Purchase Programme for Education we were able to migrate all iPads to ZuluDesk and provide remote installations of new and existing apps, Wi-Fi connectivity, student restrictions and group policies.

With the reviving of the schools iPads students were able to put their visions into practice and delivered a STEM project that has since been lauded by the Department of Education, UNSW and Whiddon among others.

We remain extremely proud of our efforts in delivering a successful project which also included installation of a new FlashForge Guider II 3D Printer.

If your school requires assistance with iPad Management, T4L Device and Hardware Support or advice on best practices in education, view our Information Technology Support Services for Schools page.

Thanks to @TheWhiddonGroup @stemacademysyd @WebtekMediaOz for making this amazing project possible! #grandbuddystem https://t.co/3qTLWd9TuT

— Glenwood PS (@PSGlenwood) October 30, 2018

Now that we have our new 3D printer, it won’t be long until the whole chess set is printed and Allan can play. #grandbuddystem @TheWhiddonGroup @stemacademysyd @WebtekMediaOz pic.twitter.com/Lw1ncUJn2n

— Glenwood PS (@PSGlenwood) November 28, 2018

* Whiddon Easton Park is a residential aged care service in Sydney’s south west. Located in Glenfield, Easton Park offers a range of award winning aged care services.

Essential Links
Glenwood Public School
Glenwood Public School on Twitter
Whiddon Easton Park Residential Care

The post How ZuluDesk helped Glenwood Public School deliver on STEM appeared first on Webtek Media.

Growing up in an age prior to smart phones and apps the only means of earning an extra quid was by doing household chores set by your parents. From mowing the lawn, washing the dishes or walking the dog your parents were more than happy to give you spare change as a way of introduction to the world of saving and working for your money.

Most parents I talk to appreciate that kids nowadays can be very costly, especially with the high costs of education, sports activities and general living, raising children can see your costs skyrocket.

So with a throwback to days of old, when cash handouts had to be earned, Pigzbe introduces a revolutionary new a pocket money app that helps kids age 6+ become the money maestros of tomorrow.

Kids learn as they earn by turning chores into pocket money – and save for the things they really want

Pigzbe Runs on Wollo™, a safe and secure way to introduce digital currency to kids & grown-ups alike, allowing parents, grandparents and other family members ways to introduce a cute little saving platform that allows kids to learn as they earn by turning chores into pocket money.

Parents can set any task and an appropriate reward that can be completed as one-offs or as weekly or monthly tasks.

Today, families don’t always live in the same place, so with Wollo you can send money anywhere in the world, in seconds, at almost no cost.

Developed in the UK this fantastic savings platform allows kids to attain rewards and watch their money tree grow via the Pigzbe app.

You can buy Wollo directly in a range of regular and digital currencies from digital currency account services such as Wirex, Bitfinex, Liquid and the Stellar Decentralized Exchange.

Once set up the parent dashboard lets you track progress and manage your kids chores, allowing them to be paid once each has been completed.

A Pigzbe branded family card will launch later in 2019 and will integrate directly with the Pigzbe app for kids to spend their pocket money.

We absolutely love this idea and will keep you posted on all future updates and availability in Australia.

Find out more about Pigzbe here.

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Apple Deployment Programs will no longer be available starting December 1, 2019.

If your school currently uses Apple Deployment Programs like the Device Enrollment Program or Volume Purchase Program, you need to upgrade to Apple School Manager by December 1, 2019 to continue using ZuluDesk to manage and install apps.

Apple School Manager is a service that lets you buy content, configure automatic device enrollment in your mobile device management (MDM) solution, and create accounts for your students and staff. Apple School Manager is accessible on the web and is designed for technology managers, IT administrators, staff, and instructors.

Your Apple Deployment Program agent can sign in to deploy.apple.com and upgrade to Apple School Manager. To avoid delays, two-step verification must be enabled on the agent account.

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With over 40,000 devices in the DoE environment still to be updated and the end of term 2 only weeks away your school could be left behind. Currently there are over 325,000 devices already migrated to Windows 10 making this the largest instance of the Windows Operating System  in the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Time is running out to get moving on this critical update affecting all DoE users. Those devices not upgraded to Windows 10 face removal from the DETNSW domain rendering them unable to use if not upgraded.

So what’s all the fuss?

Term 3 (2019) is shaping up for some major updates for all schools with the much anticipated Single Sign-On (SSO) for all DoE staff rolling out this August.

The User Logon Experience project affects all DoE staff in preparation for the change to signing-on with your DoE email address from 26 August 2019, with Single Sign-On (SSO) becoming effective Friday, 16 August.

But what does that mean?

SSO simplifies the user logon process significantly. Once you successfully sign onto your Windows 10 eT4L-built (managed) device, your secured device credentials will automatically be used authenticate to virtually all corporate services and applications, including:

• Student and Staff DoE Portals
• G Suite / Office 365 cloud services
• Employee Self-Service and other corporate applications
• SAP / ebs: central / Oliver

Even if any of these sessions expire or even if you logout of these applications, your managed device credentials will automatically be re-applied if/when you want to go back into them – until you logout or shut down your device.

We have been busy running this project at the many schools we support and feedback received from both teachers and administration staff has been extremely positive on using Windows 10.

If you need any assistance in upgrading your device hardware please feel free to contact us today.

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RVR is Sphero’s revolutionary take on the programmable robot — drivable right out of the box, packed with a diverse suite of sensors, and built for customization.

RVR is seriously hackable. You could use it to build a foam dart launcher or picker-upper, a home security sentry, a litter collector, a high-five bot, or whatever else you can think up.

RVR combines the Sphero Edu app, an onboard sensor suite, and our highly sophisticated control system with a truly hackable platform. From beginners to elite hackers and everyone in between, you’ll have the ability to do things you never thought possible.

Watch the official video

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