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News, views and opinion from RM Education (a bit about this blog)

Whether you're looking for the latest news and views on ICT, seeking money saving advice or looking for ideas on how technology can help your school achieve its strategic objectives, this blog's for you. We'll bring you real world stories from schools making great progress with technology in these areas, and we're looking forward to your comments and opinions too.

The links above take you to to just the relevant posts on the blog (i.e. relevant for that particular audience, by being "tagged" as such). Enjoy

A world of learning @ BETT 2011

BETT is round the corner and, as ever, we're working like crazy to ensure we bring some joy to January. Our new year's resolution is to inspire engaging learning, and across the globe we're planning some fantastic events for you at BETT:

Our solutions showcase

A showcase of the very latest RM products and solutions to help you deliver engaging learning and futureproof your classrooms for the challenges yet to come.

RM Learning Emporium
Immerse yourself in our repurposed conference space away from the hustle and bustle of the main BETT Show. The space will be transformed by practical and affordable building blocks to create an inspiring and thought provoking learning environment; brought to life by teachers and learners.

Find out more

Technology use in your school - complete the survey to enter our prize draw

We're working with Intellect, Teach First and NAACE to understand your views on the use of technology in your school. Complete this 3-minute survey, by 31 Dec 2010, to be entered into the prize draw to win one of ten £50 vouchers for either M&S or Amazon. Complete the survey »

Using your learning platform to minimise costs

Continuing our series of money saving tips for schools, today we'll share efficiencies schools are realising through their learning platforms.

• Governor engagement: Foley Infant school in Staffordshire estimate saving £500 per annum "since setting up the Governors space on the Learning Platform the resource saving in terms of time and paper has been immense"
• Parental engagement: through the creation of an online parent newsletter, Sandford Primary school reduced administration, photocopying and printing costs, saving two weeks of admin time that was then put to great use by adding content and resources on the learning platform
• What's the cost of all those hours of lost learning when the school gates close due to bad weather?
• Try using web conferencing tools for lessons or meetings to save on travel costs. Eureka Primary School stay in touch with each other and their global partners: “Some of my children were really lucky to be able to speak to me whilst out of school at a presentation I was doing for Becta – they were impressed. Just about to use it with Australia and America!"
• Many schools are now using forms and lists in their learning platform to manage bookings for resources such as the minibus and ICT equipment. Simple to set up, they're saving administrators time and effort by having all the requests online in a single place, meaning no more double bookings

Chris Drage, former teacher and now consultant and journalist covering learning with ICT says, "as funding gets ever tighter, a prudent school would be wise to look more closely at how to effectively implement its learning platform before spending more of the budget on extra resources. The government pressure might be off but economic pressures don't look like going away any time soon..." find out more.

Education is the key to life in Tanzania - how we helped build a school for the future

If you've had enough of sub-zero temperatures and school closures in the UK, read on to find out about an experience of a lifetime in Tanzania last month...

In November 2010, 13 RM staff (past and present) arrived at Uwa Primary School, Tanzania, to change the school for ever. The school’s motto, “Education is the key to life”, is true not just in Tanzania, but everywhere (in Tanzania, a child born on the plantations will have very little opportunity to go on to anything else). The work completed at Uwa School was the first step in breaking that cycle of poverty and giving the kids the best possible chance in life.

It was a world away from life in the office, but the group achieved something amazing for many generations to come. Watch the short video (4 mins).

It's Snow Problem as pupils log on from home amidst school closures

More than a thousand schools were closed across the UK yesterday, with snow causing the most travel chaos in Scotland and the north of England. This morning's new snow fall compounds the problem. But far from freezing, learning lives on (virtually) for the well prepared...

a) Watch ITN News article showing on how Glow keeps Scotland's pupils learning despite the atrocious weather conditions. 

b) During February's big freeze, Maxine Evans, head teacher at Rush Common Primary school, used the school's learning platform remotely to:

• set work for pupils
• inform parents of school opening and closing news
• recruit a JCB to clear the car park (it's snow joke!)
• hold a staff discussion to find out if enough staff could make it in to reopen the school

Listen to the BBC interview with Maxine and read the advice and guidance on how to harness technology to keep your school open.

Successful Autumn Technical Seminars

Guest blog by Cheryl Prior -

Well here we are at the penultimate seminar at Stansted with only one left at O2 London Olympia.

I have mixed emotions...relief that they have been a success with fantastic customer feedback but sadness that it is nearly over.

It is always lovely being out on the road meeting our customers, some who have been attending for over 15 years! Seeing familar faces year after year makes my day but it is also great welcoming new faces to our seminars. I really do have the best job in the world!

There has been a real buzz in the breakout area around the partners and the new RM Slate and we would love to hear some feedback.

Thanks everyone for a great Autumn round of Technical Seminars!

Squeezing more out of your ICT spend: Primary Seminars Autumn 2010

With so much news surrounding budget squeezes and a new era of austerity in education, we've decided to take a refreshing approach to this year's Primary Seminars: by deciding to run a series of sessions looking at how you can squeeze more out of your ICT spend.

We'll focus on helping you 'achieve more with less', looking at ways we can get more out of your existing technologies, as well as looking at which new technologies can have a big impact, but not necessarily cost the earth. Register now for Exeter, Maidstone, Oxford, Stansted or London.

Trade in scheme for old PCs: saving you money + RM donation to charity

Trade in your old PCs and we'll donate £5 to charity as well as giving you a fantastic discount on the fabulous RM One. Here's how it works:

Use our handy ScrapIT Calculator tool to work out the savings you could make. Find out more.

Find out exactly how much your school can save with our Total Cost of Ownership Calculator

To help you estimate purchase and running costs of key ICT elements in your school, we've created an online cost of ownership calculator. As technology advances, there are some significant savings to be had by looking at how you organise your ICT, and the calculator will demonstrate just what can be achieved. www.rm.com/tco

Bargains Galore at the RM Clearance Store

Did you know that our online Clearance Store hosts bargains galore, from the likes of Apple, Tosh, HP, Asus, Philips and our own brand hardware and software. Quality products at rock bottom prices. Good luck with your bargain hunting!

Don't miss the latest deals, events, news and views

To offer you a more personalised experience and tailored recommendations, you can now set your own email preferences for the type, style and regularity of email updates you receive from RM. No more irrelevant emails, because you tell us what we should tell you. Set up your preferences now.

Enterprise Print saves school £21,000 per annum

Rodillian School, Leeds, is projecting annual savings of £21,000 on printing costs using an Enterprise Print solution. Additionally, environmental benefits include:

1. The school reduced from 33 to 9 the number of printer devices used, massively decreasing energy usage.
2. Each of these multifunction devices uses 50% less energy than a traditional printer.
3. The annual volume of print jobs reduced by 17% from 538,284 to 448,570 by deleting unwanted print jobs before they were printed.

Find out more and book a free, no obligation print audit now.

How to achieve more with less: RM Response to Comprehensive Spending Review

With capital funds declining by 60% over the next 4 years, it's clear that school budgets will come under intense pressure. In response to customer need, we're rapidly developing products and services to help you achieve your ambitions in the age of austerity.

We're developing flexible finance plans, a new range of affordable products, and some surprising services that will guarantee a reduction in your overall cost base. We're absolutely convinced that these solutions will enable you to achieve more with less. Find our more.

Autumn Savings from the RM Group

During November, there are great savings to be had on a range of RM Group products from 10% off LEGO WeDo, Promethean ACTIVboards, and 15% off the Ultimare Primary ICT Bundle: a fantastic bundle of products from the known and loved supplier to Education - TTS. View our special offers before it's too late.

National Teaching Awards this weekend... come on Jacqui!

Good luck to all nominees for the National Teaching Awards this weekend. We're all keeping our fingers crossed for Jacqui Johnson of Eureka Primary School in Derbyshire. One reason for Jacqui being a contender is the school's use of the Kaleidos Learning Platform, which is at "the cutting edge of educational technology*" . Find out why Jacqui's special.

*Source: Burton Mail, 29th October 2010

Learning Platform Success Awards 2010 - and the winning schools are...

• Primary School: Little Aston Primary School, Staffs
• Secondary School: Limehurst High School, Leics
• Student Voice: Shipston on Stour Primary School, Warwicks
• Community Inclusion: Pedmore CE Primary School, Dudley
• Global Links: Chase Terrace Technology College, Staffs
• Fuse Award for Creativity: St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Royston, Herts

Congratulations to the schools above in winning one of our "Learning Platform Success Awards" 2010. The awards were announced at our inaugural "RM Learning Platform User Forums", and for a new event in the calendar, we're absolutely delighted with the feedback from the 100+ delegates who attended.

"Excellent day, I have left with a host of ideas to share back at school"; "Lots of very interesting speakers who gave lots of inspiration to take away - especially Google."

The Bright Spark: RM Slate

Smaller than a sheet of paper, lighter than a pineapple (or was that the other way round?). Today sees the introduction of a rather smart addition to our Mobile ICT range...



What's the buzz? Drop in on the Microsoft Schools Blog, Merlin John Online or, indeed, on our very own RM.com to find out more.

Today is Internet Watch Foundation Day

E-safety's extremely important to us and, of course, to our customers. As a member of the IWF, we're pleased to support and contribute to national awareness day. The virtual world opens up new opportunities for learning and creativity, but it also means thinking ahead of new risks. We've worked hard to develop resources, tools, and services that help schools to ensure that children and young people can use the internet safely and appropriately. Find out more.