Myscience Alumni Conference 2013

Alumni Conference 2013

by Yvonne Baker

Everyone has a right to their view on education – and boy, do most people like to exercise it. But this weekend, I saw things which I wish others of all philosophies, persuasions and mindsets could see, with a group of the hugely committed teachers, technicians and enthusiasts about STEM subjects coming together – literally through snow, blizzards and everything else mother nature could chuck at us. They came to share ideas, experience and inspiration as well as just the occasional bit of frustration – and in doing so, put the Myscience Alumni conference firmly on the map.

A bit like when you are throwing a party, we planned the conference, for teachers, technicians and others who have used the National or regional Science Learning Centres and/or the National STEM Centre resource centre and eLibrary, more in a spirit of hope than expectation. Would anyone come? If they did, would they enjoy it, find it useful, think it worth the bother? As the date drew nearer, the weather tipped the balance against us – but still our pathfinder alumni came, threw themselves into everything and left asking for more. What else could you possibly want?

Discussion at the conference

We discussed curriculum change, communications, recognising CPD, what makes inspirational STEM teaching and how we can further support STEM teaching and learning across the UK.  Attendees spanned primary, secondary, FE, teaching staff, technicians and those interested in apprenticeships and beyond. The conversation over Friday’s dinner and into Saturday was so interesting, entertaining and enthusiastic that I would gladly work every weekend, if only I could be guaranteed such positive and inspiring company! And contrary to some views that talking education always has to be intense, ‘worthy’ and serious, we laughed a lot  – educating young people is an important subject, but if you can’t do it with humour as well as gravitas, surely something is wrong.

What I wish people from all sides of the education debate could have witnessed is the simple, but absolute commitment of all those who participated to the young people with which they work. Many talked about how they choose to work in challenging situations. Even in schools which are not so challenging overall, several described how they assign themselves to difficult groups to alleviate the pressure on others. Everyone agrees on the crucial importance of subject knowledge – but also that it has to be communicated in a way which has meaning to today’s students, in a world where technology and science moves at an alarming rate.

Alumni Conference feedback session

Education debate is rarely without rhetoric, ideology or sometimes plain ignorance. What this weekend proved to me is that the simple truth spoken by those ‘at the coal face’ is far more powerful – that, whatever flashes and bangs we use to get young people interested in STEM, the quality of teaching is key; and that STEM subjects are different because they move so quickly, making it vital that teachers, technicians and others have easily accessible support to help them reflect accurately new technologies and discoveries as well as established bodies of knowledge.

Perhaps the most humbling feedback from the whole experience was the number of those present who thanked us ‘for listening’, suggesting that all too often those actually working with young people feel ignored in debates about what works and what doesn’t. That’s not just a waste of talent, it’s just plain daft.

So an enormous thank you to everyone who came – we owe you a huge debt of gratitude for not only battling through the weather but also reminding us of what a privilege it is to support you in your crucial roles. Keep in touch and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Ye Christmas internet shopping advice

By Neil Standish

My local garden centre is now full of Christmas trees so I thought I’d issue the customary warnings (this will be the second time, and that makes it a custom!) about internet shopping and other online festive activities.

The risks:

• Goods aren’t delivered.
• Goods don’t match description.
• Delivery problems and delays.
• Poor after-sales service.
• Identity theft.

The solutions:

• Deal with reputable vendors.
• Check that the vendor has a physical address and contact details – NOT just an email address.
• Check that the vendor has a proper privacy and returns policy.
• Be especially careful if ordering from abroad.
• If it’s too good to be true – it’s not true!
• Use an appropriate payment method.
• When entering payment details check for a padlock in the frameof your browser.
• If you get certificate warnings it’s probably best to try elsewhere.
• Don’t be fooled by a padlock on the web page itself – it should be on the frame of the browser.
• And as always think before you click.

A quick look at some new variants of old threats

With the economy taking a bit of a kicking at the moment and the festive period imminent, the usual spam will start appearing asking for donations to a variety of good causes. Whilst some of these may be legitimate, the vast majority will be sent by low-lifes trying to make you feel guilty, and thus more likely to part with your bank details.  If you do wish to make donations go to the website of the charity you wish to support. Do this by googling the charity (other search engines are available!), or by typing the address in directly: don’t follow the links on an email.

A variation on this scam is already being spotted on various social media sites; you know the type of message: “Go to xyz.com and donate money to <enter good cause name here> - please forward this message on to all your friends”. If you see messages like this, please just ignore them – don’t forward them or follow any links from them.

Another old favourite making the rounds are e-cards: again some of them may be legit, but the majority are infested with various nasty bits of malware. If you do receive one just delete it without opening.

General news

In an almost unheard of occurrence, something information security-related was found to be amusing!  Click here for a joke I’ll be using in CPD slots for years to come .

Always nice to end on a happy note.

Cheerio!

Neil Standish

Windows and Information Security Specialist

Social Networking Sites – Think before you post

Social networking sites, when used correctly and with common sense, are a good way of keeping in contact, sharing photos and generally sharing your thoughts with the world at large. They are also, if used without due care, a fine way of disseminating personal, confidential and potentially career-damaging information.

It is worth keeping a few things in mind when using these sites; for instance you can’t always take back messages and images you’ve posted, as many sites are cached by search engines which allow access long after the offending post has been deleted. It is also worth remembering the words of cartoonist Peter Steiner “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog“, a phrase that neatly encapsulates the fact that people can pretend to be anyone (or thing!) on the Internet.

One of the most dangerous things about networking sites is they often provide information that can be used by hackers/social engineers to perpetrate various ID related scams. If your security settings on the site are incorrect and you’ve been over-zealous filling in your personal data, it is quite possible that your ID can be stolen or the details used for some social engineering.

“Is there anything else to be wary of?” I hear you cry; well, yes, there is. Be careful what you write and post. A joke about a fellow employee can be classed as harassment and the posting of work material can be a breach of contract – both of which will do little for your employment prospects. Examples of badly thought out posts are rife; for starters a supermarket employee lost his job after writing an obscene remark about his employer on a social networking forum. Further examples include airline staff who were dismissed following negative comments about passengers which were posted on a networking site and staff at a hospital who were suspended during an investigation into photographs taken at work which were then placed online.

Now that some of the issues have been identified, what can we do? Here are my top tips for safe social networking:

• Don’t post any more personal information than necessary; this also applies to your family and friends information. If your Uncle Fred gets his ID stolen because of your posts he won’t be happy.

• Treat links and attachments in messages as potentially hazardous, just like you do with emails.

• Don’t always believe that a message is really from who it says it’s from, especially if it asks for any kind of information.

• Don’t allow social networking services to scan your e-mail address book. The information may be used to send e-mail messages to everyone in your contact list. Social networking sites should explain that they’re going to do this, but some do not.

• When visiting a social networking site, go there directly by typing the address or by your personal bookmarks, following links in emails may take you to a fake site.

• Be selective about who you accept as a friend on a social network. Identity thieves might create fake profiles in order to get information from you.

• It’s very dull but it’s worth doing – read the site privacy policy.

• Assume any post on a social networking site is permanent. Anyone who can see the post can easily print the information or save it and it’s a pretty good bet the post will be cached somewhere as well.

• Talk to your children about social networking. Advice for those of you with children can be found here and here.

• And finally think before you post!

If you follow these guidelines then your online social networking should become a lot safer.

Cheerio!

Neil James Standish
Windows and Information Security Specialist