Public Sector Roundup: New tech recognised

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New award for teachers using tech

Becta is sponsoring a new teaching award for educators who regularly use multiple forms of technology in the classroom.

Anyone from a bellowing pupil to an educational colleague can nominate a teacher for the award which is a part of Becta’s Next Generation Learning Campaign, where parents and teachers are encouraged to use more technology.

“Technology has the potential to improve standards and to engage all learners, even those facing the biggest challenges,” Stephen Crowe, Becta’s chief executive said. “But it is not an end in itself because computers don't teach pupils; teachers do, and when they use technology to support learning they can enrich the learning experience like never before.”

The first winners of the award will be announced in 2009.

London Borough of Hillingdon’s website is best in London

The London Borough of Hillingdon’s website was rated best council website in London and third in the whole of the UK by SiteMorse.

Websites were judged on various aspects including accessibility, reliability and performance. Hillingdon’s entered into the top 10 of UK’s local government websites in October, where it continued to rise in the ranks.

“Our web team have achieved a fantastic result which highlights our commitment to ensuring we are delivering the best services to the people of Hillingdon,” Fran Beasley, deputy chief executive said. “The quality of the information we send out, and the communications channels we have available are of the utmost importance and it is good to be able to show our residents that we are achieving our aims.”

Dell provides computers and services for European Patent Office

Dell and the European Patent Office (EPO) have signed a minimum six-year contract to help improve EPO employee productivity.

To date, Dell has replaced 7,000 existing EPO PCs with Dell OptiPlex 755 desktops as well as delivered managed desktop services. Dell is expected to deliver over 1,000 Dell Latitude E-Series notebooks by mid-2009.

The machines have energy smart configurations and power management settings that will reduce noise and energy consumption. The new services will make the IT team more efficient in responding to service calls.

York Traffic to provide live coverage of everyday congestion

The City of York Council has teamed up with mxData to launch York Traffic, a mobile and online traffic application.

York Traffic is a free service, available to residents and visitors to York. Both online and mobile services show up-to-date CCTV footage of traffic, buses, and car park occupancy.

Darren Capes, systems team manager for York Council, said: “Our goal is to give residents and visitors relevant information in a straight forward way, and we believe that this project with mxData will help to realise this vision.”

The mobile service is compatible with all mobile phones, and is to go live next spring.

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