The National Grid for Learning

Dear Colleague,

We hope you are well and keeping safe. What an exhausting term schools have had to deal with - thank you for all you do for your communities!

We hope the run up to the Christmas holidays is filled with festive fun and not too many hurdles to overcome.

Please read on for more information on:

• Case Study Request - Bereavement Toolkit
• Google Meet Record Feature
• Just2Easy - Speech to Text
• Christmas Project
• Copyright Laws - Know the Law
• Polar Exploration - Antarctic Quest 21 
• Adobe - Creative Educators and Photoshop
• Have Your Say
• Limitless Data
• FREE LGfL Training
• Curriculum Blogs

Case Study Request - Bereavement Toolkit

The LGfL Bereavement Toolkit, produced in partnership with Child Bereavement UK, features support for the non-specialist on: 

• Managing a Sudden Death in the School Community

• Supporting a Bereaved Pupil

• Having Honest Conversations About Death and Grief

We are looking to feature an LGfL school in a case study about the positive impact the resources have had on their school community. Please get in touch directly via contentsupport@lgfl.net if you have used the resources and had a positive impact for pupils in your school that others would benefit from hearing about.

Google Meet Record Feature

The Meet record feature will no longer be available in Google's free fundamentals Workspace plan from 10th January 2022.

Should you wish to discuss keeping this feature please contact Google by filling out the enquiry form below. 

Just2Easy - Speech to Text

We are delighted to announce that the ever-popular Just2easy Toolsuite now has an added feature. Within the j2e5 tool, users have the ability to change speech to text. See the video below for a demonstration on how to access and use the tool. We think it will be great to ensure classrooms are inclusive and well worth ensuring your English as an Additional Language (EAL) Leader knows about this!

Please get in touch with J2e directly by email at  support@j2e.com if you would like further support and remember they also have a "help" tool as part of their toolsuite.

Christmas Project Ideas with iPads

Copyright Laws

We have recently been told by several schools that they have fallen foul of copyright laws. In some cases, this has been to do with images used on their school website, in other examples it has been using music (playing in the background) in a tweet posted from a school account.

In most cases, the schools are now being fined for infringement of the copyright law and they were caught through the use of autonomous software that crawls the internet for unlicensed use of material.

Do you know what you are able to use?

Changes have been made to copyright law in order to help teachers to deliver
modern multi-media teaching without risk of copyright infringement. The exceptions relating specifically to educational establishments have widened, allowing more extensive use of materials in conjunction with educational licensing schemes. Read more in "Exceptions to Copyright: Education and Teaching".

Please remember when you and the pupils are completing work within the Just2Easy ToolSuite and going out to search for images on the Internet this is all done within a "SafeSearch".

Polar Exploration - Antarctic Quest 21

The LGfL have teamed up with the Antarctic Quest 21 expedition team and there were a number of ways your school could get involved! Read about them in the special edition newsletter by clicking the button below and also visiting polarexploration.lgfl.net

We are pleased to announce that we have joint winners for the design the Expedition Logo competition: Freya in Year 5 at Leys Primary and Dave, Winnie, Lili and Zara collaborating on a design in Year 5 at Anson Primary.

We will feature the winning designs in the next newsletter for all to see.

Furthermore, 15 schools submitted their school logo and these will be printed on the LGfL flag (alongside the winning expedition logo designs). The flag is being taken by the team to Antarctica.

This afternoon we will be hosting the Teacher Training Event with Antony Jinman, Polar explorer.

For schools still wanting to attend the pupil event, it is not too late to sign up! Please complete this form to register your interest in the pupil event (n.b Deadlines for expedition logo design competition and school logo on the LGfL flag opportunity have passed). 

Adobe Creative Ambassadors

Are you a keen user of tools like Spark, Rush and Photoshop in the classroom? Would you like to get news, updates, exclusive invitations and maybe even some swag? 

Adobe is looking for Creative Ambassadors within LGfL schools to share their experiences. Let them know if this is you, by emailing Alister Black <alblack@adobe.com> with the subject line LGfL Creative Ambassadors.

Adobe Photoshop Training

Have you claimed your LGfL Adobe licences? Click the button below to complete Adobe Licence Request.

Then why not take part in some training to start making the most of the creative tools available? Click on the link:

An introduction to Photoshop for Education

Work through a practical project using Adobe Photoshop that you can take back into your everyday teaching activities. (Training event on the 9th December at 15:30-16:30)

Have Your Say

What would you like to know more about with regards to Adobe Creative Cloud?

We are conscious that many schools have not claimed their Adobe licences.

LGfL offers free Adobe Creative Cloud Named User licences for schools (120 for secondary schools and 30 for primary and SEN schools) as part of their LGfL subscription. 

Therefore we want to make some tailor-made LGfL and Adobe support videos, but want to hear from you about which you would be most interested in.

Limitless Data

Thanks to the fantastic interest we've received in the Limitless Data SIM deal, LGfL has now been able to procure an even better deal for your school! 

We can now offer Limitless Data only SIMs for only £12 per month and Limitless Voice and Data SIMs for £14.50 per month. So you can keep connected anywhere*

*99% population coverage

LGfL Training

An Autumn 2 Training Newsletter bulletin was sent out prior to the half-term holidays and a spring 1 will be circulated mid-December just prior to schools finishing for the Christmas holidays).

Online training events are free for all school staff to attend (*with the exception of the Designated Safeguarding Lead Training which we offer to LGfL customers only). Please click the button below to see the extensive training programme available.

Also, note that every Monday during term time we offer The Big Staff Meeting between 15:45 and 16:45. 

Recent Curriculum Blogs

• Child Grief Awareness Week

Some of you get may get this e-mail when a colleague forwards it to you; if that's you, do consider signing yourself up to keep up to date. 

Don't forget there's lots happening at LGfL for other areas of the school beyond the curriculum:

• Leasing options on our Bridge the Divide devices
• Find out all we do beyond broadband here
• Sign up to our other newsletters

Regards,
Your Learning Resource Consultants
Laura Smith and Bradley Dardis

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