Comments for RuachOnline

Comment on Glow account management in the “free world” #EDUScotICT by Jim Buchan

Jim Buchan — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:12:10 +0000

Hi David,
Yes agreed they were internally hosted but they were federated from an authentication perspective. In other words users authenticated to them using Shibboleth as opposed to CoreID. I too hope that Glow has a future and more importantly users have a smooth passage as the new service comes online. it does seem there was a significant blip in the re-procurement process which wasted valuable time. Is there sufficient time to make a well planned and smooth transition – well I think we know soon enough.

Comment on Glow account management in the “free world” #EDUScotICT by David Ramsay

David Ramsay — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:26:01 +0000

Hi Jim,

Watched the whole video, very well put IMHO. A lot of work went into the creation of the Data Exchange and the provisioning.

One thing tho I think the Wikis, Blogs etc (the new services) were internally hosted, I may be wrong as I was on the outside of the implementation.

Being Edinburgh born I am extremely interested on how Glow moves forward, it would be a real shame if it all collapsed due to shortsightedness.

Comment on The Knowledge Explosion continues by Gareth Surgey

Gareth Surgey — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:38:13 +0000

You present an interesting point, particularly for Educators – “…one of the most important things that learners need to master is the art of discernment and validation”. So, here’s my question – who educates children to be more discerning? If we as educator are barred by our LEA’s form using (most of) the internet and are not permitted to encourage our pupils to use it and use it wisely, where will they get ‘the knowledge’?
By the way Internet Safety Day is on Tuesday 7th Feb – how many LEAs have recognised this? Surely it’s our responsibility, no – duty, to guide and teach those in our charge.
Just thought I’d get it off my chest!

Comment on Glow – Closed or Open? #EDUScotICT by David R

David R — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:32:43 +0000

I still have a copy of Schedule part 2 if you cannot find it.

Comment on Glow – Closed or Open? #EDUScotICT by jimbuchanruach

jimbuchanruach — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:21:42 +0000

I am sure I can – but I will need to look back to find a copy and will post later today

Comment on Glow – Closed or Open? #EDUScotICT by Jen K

Jen K — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:49:42 +0000

Jim, Can you direct me to the “original spec” for GLOW?

Comment on Glow – Closed or Open? #EDUScotICT by jimbuchanruach

jimbuchanruach — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:36:09 +0000

Interesting idea – an App store for Education – that was a requirement in the original Glow Spec If I recall correctly it was then called a Transactional Portal which would be a place where people could go find content and applications which could be “pay for” and purchase ( could be free too of course ). There would be some overhead in running a solution like this but at the same time it could make the process of finding, purchasing and adding content a more integrated process. With a validation process of course there would be some guarentee that the content once purchased should work and install with ease.
In these times of austerity – will schools and LAs be in a position to purchase new resources in this context? I wonder what the Scottish Government thoughts are in this context?
Also could the scope of this App store like this go beyond Scotland – I think it would need to do so in order to be commercially viable?

Comment on Glow – Closed or Open? #EDUScotICT by David R

David R — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:22:38 +0000

What is being suggested here is of course possible, but for it to become a probability then an API (Application Programming Interface) will need to be developed and published.

On top of this there will need to be some kind of App validation a la Apple’s App store to ensure that the levels of security are maintained.

Perhaps we need to look at it from another angle and consider an Education based applications store which can be incorporated into the Glow environment. This could generate revenue for EduScot and thus support the cost of developing the API.

Comment on Glow – Closed or Open? #EDUScotICT by jimbuchanruach

jimbuchanruach — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:13:03 +0000

Yes this is a complex area for discussion. The points you have raised are I think ‘right on’. I agree that in the future Glow will need to take account of the need to support commuinty generated apps. This may be a sensible development track to embark upon – assuming that one exists that is being driven.

Comment on Glow – Closed or Open? #EDUScotICT by Andy

Andy — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:32:04 +0000

One area where Glow is ‘closed’ is the ‘Apps’ marketplace (which I see as slightly different to the content access you mention). Glow integrates many different discrete services (e.g. Meet, Chat) from different technology suppliers so that a ‘community’ (Glow Group) can manage access to these services. These discrete services might today be considered ‘apps’ a la Facebook.
The list of these Apps in Glow is fixed. However, I believe an approach is required that allows community generated Apps to be included. Don’t think this is easy… what level of validation of an app is required to ensure it isn’t going to make sensitive data available? But, when the next great service (PrimaryPad) pops up on the web wouldn’t it be nice for a Glow App to be available that integrates deeply into the Glow user/group management aspects?
(Assuming, of course, access to the service is not blocked by the network filtering policies!)

Is that the future of Glow? A true platform supporting apps, rather than the actual tools themselves?