LGfL WebScreen 2.0, MailProtect, OpenCheck, StaffMail, Remote Access, LondonMail, myDrive, USO, GridStore, VideoCentral HD, RAv3, RDP, CentraStage, Sophos Endpoint Security and Control, USO-FX, Cisco Jabber Service guide

LONDON GRID FOR LEARNING
Services’ Guide
2015
The London Grid for Learning is a founder member of the National
Education Network (NEN), the UK collaborative network for education,
providing schools with a safe, secure and reliable learning environment
and direct access to a growing range of online services and content.
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 2
Welcome to LGfL ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Technical framework and support ......................................................................................................................... 3
Scalable broadband connectivity with bandwidths from 10Mbps to 1Gbps ...................................................... 3
UK-based dedicated school service desk and 24/7 online support ..................................................................... 4
Email and MS Office apps ...................................................................................................................................... 5
StaffMail .............................................................................................................................................................. 5
LondonMail ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
SafeMail ............................................................................................................................................................... 5
MailProtect .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Microsoft Office 365®.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Further communication aids ................................................................................................................................. 7
OpenCheck .......................................................................................................................................................... 7
USO-FX - secure document transfer .................................................................................................................... 8
USO-Chat - instant messaging for schools ........................................................................................................... 9
Video conferencing ............................................................................................................................................. 10
Cisco Jabber ....................................................................................................................................................... 10
Dedicated HD endpoint equipment .................................................................................................................. 10
Safeguarding and security ................................................................................................................................... 11
WebScreen 2.0 Internet filtering ....................................................................................................................... 11
Fully managed and supported firewall .............................................................................................................. 12
Sophos Antivirus ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Safeguarding advice and resources ................................................................................................................... 13
Unified Sign-On for enhanced user authentication ........................................................................................... 13
OTP keys for added security .............................................................................................................................. 14
GridStore - off-site, resilient backup ................................................................................................................. 14
Web hosting ........................................................................................................................................................ 15
Web hosting ...................................................................................................................................................... 15
Remote access..................................................................................................................................................... 16
RAv3 .................................................................................................................................................................. 16
RDP .................................................................................................................................................................... 17
CentraStage ....................................................................................................................................................... 17
Content ............................................................................................................................................................... 18
Unrivalled range and quality of T&L resources and digital collections ............................................................. 18
VideoCentral HD ................................................................................................................................................ 19
LGfL podcasting service ..................................................................................................................................... 19
School Closure – online curriculum ................................................................................................................... 20
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................................. 21
How to raise a support case .............................................................................................................................. 21
Know your LGfL ................................................................................................................................................... 22
This booklet provides a guide to LGfL Services. The latest updates are always available at www.SERVICES.lgfl.net
For information on all LGfL Curriculum Content and Resources please visit www.CONTENT.lgfl.net
1
Introduction
Welcome to LGfL
The London Grid for Learning Trust was incorporated and registered as a charity with educational
objects in 2001, since when it has been serving schools and local authorities as a specialist agent to
procure and supply best-value leased-line broadband and associated services and content.
In 2011, following the end of a ten-year period during which central government had strategically
directed grant through LAs for the purpose of ensuring all schools have a suitable broadband
connection, the Trust launched LGfL 2.0 as a new service arrangement, contracted directly with
schools, to reflect changed circumstances.
LGfL 2.0 is a complete package, which is designed to meet the needs of schools in the modern digital
age. Instead of schools having to individually make piecemeal arrangements for connectivity,
filtering, security, authentication, hosting, virus protection, learning resources and so on, LGfL has
carefully designed, and continues to develop, a comprehensive service-offer tailored to the needs of
schools.
By procuring services and resources for an entire community of 2,500 schools, substantial economies
of scale and savings for schools are achieved.
The purpose of this booklet is firstly to set out in detail the components of the LGfL 2.0 serviceoffer, so that LGfL connected schools can be fully aware of all that is available to them at no
additional cost, and secondly to provide a guide for how to take up each of the services, referencing
where additional information can be found.
A third purpose is to outline services which are additionally available from LGfL (supported by
selected key commercial partners) beyond the included services.
This booklet is intended to be accessible to a non-technical reader and is not a technical guide,
although some technical concepts are explained. Technical guides are available online at the LGfL
support site via www.support.lgfl.net
More LGfL booklets are published online at www.schools.lgfl.net
We very much hope that LGfL’s services and online learning resources will make
a material contribution to the safety and effectiveness of your school.
Brian Durrant, CEO LGfL
February 2015
2
Technical framework and support
Scalable broadband connectivity with bandwidths from 10Mbps to 1Gbps
At the heart of LGfL’s service to schools is a secure and reliable, high-speed leased-line connection
to the ‘LGfL Core’: a secure, dedicated regional network, with high-speed connections to the Internet.
In fact, LGfL has multiple, distributed high-speed links to the Internet – a massive amount of capacity
– more than Dubai! What is more, connected schools do not receive the same kind of Internet that
you get at home, where in spite of promises to the contrary, bandwidth is shared with the neighbours
– the more they surf, the slower your connection becomes. LGfL provides a dedicated leased line;
whatever happens elsewhere, a school’s allocation is for its traffic alone.
Over 2,500 London schools already have an LGfL connection, with new schools joining each year.
Economies of scale enable the trust to offer many additional premium services at no extra cost, for
the same total annual charge as Internet alone from many other providers. But the corollary of this
is not a compromise in quality; the latest fibre-optic technology comes with an unrivalled 99.9%
availability.
3
This is not achieved by forcing schools into a one-size-fits-all straitjacket – there are scalable options
on offer according to a school’s roll and individual needs. By way of example, the LGfL portfolio of
Internet connectivity and ALL included services would be offered within a London Borough to:
a small primary school (180 pupils)
with a 10Mbps service (scalable to
40Mbps) for an annual charge of
£5,366
a small secondary school (400 pupils)
with a 100Mbps service for an annual
charge of £9,682
a medium-sized primary school (240
pupils) with a faster 40Mbps service
(scalable to 100Mbps) for £7,158
a medium to large secondary school
(800+ pupils) with a faster 200Mbps
service for £15,730
a large primary school (600 pupils or
more) with an even faster 100Mbps
service for £10,336
a large secondary school (800+
pupils) with the fastest 1Gbps service
for £25,512
There are no installation or setup costs; the annual charge that is quoted is exactly what you will pay.
LGfL service contracts are for a five-year initial term. For a range of options and an exact quote, visit
the LGfL TrustNet portal via www.ORDER.lgfl.net
To find out about all the ways LGfL protects your connection and therefore you and your students,
see ‘Safeguarding and security’ on page 10.
Our latest broadband information is always available at www.BROADBAND.lgfl.net
UK-based dedicated school service desk and 24/7 online support
You will not expect problems if you opt for the latest and best
technology, installed and maintained by experts; and rightly so.
However, you may have queries or need to make changes to your
service, and that is why LGfL offers a unified service desk (only one
number to ring – 0208 255 5555), open beyond the school day from
8am to 6pm, in addition to a 24/7 online support site:
www.SUPPORT.lgfl.net
4
Email and MS Office apps
These services are included at no additional cost.
As the prevalence of email increases and it continues to bed down as the dominant method of
communication, it is all the more important for schools to have a resilient, effective and above all
secure email system that complies with their safeguarding obligations. Whilst of course some schools
may choose to run their own email systems, all LGfL customers can take advantage of our cuttingedge, industry-strength email systems at no extra cost.
StaffMail
LGfL StaffMail is based on Microsoft Exchange and is designed to cope with
the demands of a modern-day, mission-critical system. It is hosted at dual LGfL
core sites for backup and redundancy purposes, helping to create a highly
resilient system for all school staff. All users have an ample 5GB of mailbox
storage and fully functional access to email through standard browsers,
Microsoft Outlook, and mobile devices. StaffMail also supports personal and
shared calendars and address books.
Access your mail from the www.lgfl.net front page or via www.STAFFMAIL.lgfl.net; find out more at
www.STAFFMAILINFO.lgfl.net
LondonMail
This is LGfL’s hosted email solution for students: a school-optimised
implementation of Outlook Web Access, LondonMail gives students a
fully-functional mail interface, accessible anywhere, anytime using
students’ USO login details on browsers and web devices.
Students can access mail from the www.lgfl.net front page or via www.LONDONMAIL.lgfl.net; find
out more at www.LONDONMAILINFO.lgfl.net
SafeMail
In certain circumstances, you may be wary of allowing students free
access to email. That is why LGfL developed SafeMail. Already used
by many schools, this optional add-on is available for all LondonMail
accounts. Simply put, it allows you to control who students can
communicate with via email. A sliding scale of permissions for
sending and receiving email ranges from none at all, through limited
to class, year group, school, LA, etc., all the way to anyone online.
SafeMail is not activated as standard but can be configured via www.SAFEMAIL.lgfl.net; find out
more at www.SAFEMAILINFO.lgfl.net
5
MailProtect
Whether you are using StaffMail, LondonMail or SafeMail, LGfL keeps
email safe and secure. The industry-leading email filtering system,
MailProtect, is designed to remove viruses and inappropriate content
and attachments, at the same time as preventing spam mail reaching
your inbox (you can opt to receive by email a daily digest of the spam
items which have been filtered out so you can check for any you might
want to see and help the intelligent system learn and improve).
Edit settings or view filtered spam messages at www.MAILPROTECT.lgfl.net
To initiate StaffMail, LondonMail or SafeMail, one of your school’s Nominated Contacts should
raise a support case (see page 21) once USO accounts have been set up for users.
Microsoft Office 365®
This latest exciting addition to the LGfL portfolio is set to generate considerable savings for connected
schools, at the same time as allowing pupils and staff online access to valuable software packages.
All school staff and students can now access an optimised version of Microsoft Office 365, for use at
home and at school. Available via USO login to all users whenever and wherever
they have an Internet connection, LGfL offers access to web versions of the main
MS Office® packages (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) that schools
spend thousands to license, plus 1TB online storage per user. The ‘Education A2’
plan was previously only available to schools with a separate login, which would
have removed their control over user access, and critically, account monitoring and deletion. LGfL
has now integrated Office 365 into users’ USO login, giving the same easy, anywhere access, but with
LGfL-standard controls and safeguards. In this way, schools can save the expense of licensing
Microsoft Office (not to mention of installing, maintaining, troubleshooting and updating it), while
retaining functionality.
Access Office365 by choosing Application Launcher (the green cog icon) from www.lgfl.net and then
clicking on the Office365 icon, then upload Word®, Excel®, PowerPoint® or OneNote® files for
anywhere access, or open and edit existing ones, or create a new document.
6
Further communication aids
myDrive
This is an included service.
myDrive has arrived! Commercial cloud file-sharing services such as DropBox®
have long been widely used by teachers and pupils alike, despite the many
(justified) data protection and e-safety concerns. What is needed is a secure,
resilient alternative, offering the same ease-of-use but with full safeguarding
compliance. The new LGfL myDrive offers exactly this, as part of an end-to-end
secure file storage and sharing solution, with all data held securely in LGfL’s own London-based data
centres. Users can securely and easily upload, access and share (or not) documents, images or any
other files, and crucially, this is possible from any device–download the app today!
But the functionality of the solution does not stop there: full USO-integration allows teachers to
share a file with individual students or any class at the click of a mouse. myDrive is fully customizable:
access privileges can be set when sharing a file; students’ folders can be fully monitored to ensure
appropriate use; storage limits can be defined per user or user group as appropriate; and of course
you can share files within and beyond your organisation.
All connected schools are allocated a generous 500GB of space at no additional cost (this can be
expanded by £299 p.a. for each additional 500GB), so what’s stopping you? Log on to your myDrive
today!
myDrive is enabled in demonstration mode for all schools–each member of staff has an initial
10MB allocation to try out the service. To enable the full 500GB space entitlement for each school,
a Nominated Contact should simply log in to www.myuso.lgfl.net, navigate to the myDrive tab and
click the “Accept” button found in the orange bar.
Users access myDrive by choosing Application Launcher (the green cog icon) from www.lgfl.net and
then clicking on the myDrive icon.
7
USO-FX - secure document transfer
This is an included service.
As with so many of LGfL’s services, USO-FX is a response to today’s evolving ICT needs and
expectations. USO-FX gives the same ease of use as commercially available file-sharing websites,
albeit with much expanded functionality, at the same time as ensuring compliance with all relevant
child and data protection
legislation. As a charitable trust
established by Local Education
Authorities, LGfL was pioneering
in gaining Public Services’
Network accreditation for secure
government information transfer.
So yet again, USO-FX gives schools
the level of security they have
come to expect from LGfL. Take
advantage of this user-friendly
service to transfer sensitive data
securely to other schools within
the LA or to the LA itself. You can
choose which individuals or groups may view, retrieve or edit a file; you can set different levels of
security including, if you wish, the need to use an OTP key to access a file; and most importantly,
USO-FX generates an audit trail of all file access for full traceability and accountability.
Files can be made available for secure access by a third party who does not have a USO account (e.g.
an NHS contact) and, where required, third parties can also be invited to send a file securely.
Read more at www.USO-FXINFO.lgfl.net or use the service via www.USO-FX.lgfl.net
This service is initiated on a Local-Authority-wide basis, simply raise a support case (see page 21).
OpenCheck
This is an included service.
When severe weather descends or a sudden emergency hits, a
water main bursts in the playground or indeed any other
unexpected problem forces a school to close, you do not want
admin staff spending hours dealing with a barrage of parent
queries. A reliable and very straightforward solution is called for in
such situations where rumours and counter-rumours abound –
what better than a message on the school’s website? Unless, of
course, the site has been brought down by the sheer volume of
parents checking for a new message every few minutes.
OpenCheck allows parents to check the status of their children’s school on any given day. The easyto-use service gives at-a-glance updates on school closures, as well as detailed information on
scheduled school closures and term dates.
The service can be accessed by schools and parents via automated telephone hotline, web browser,
or the ParentComms mobile app. Parents do not need to log in for information on their child’s school,
but simply visit the site and select their school from a drop-down menu. For a school to update this
vital information, the Headteacher or other Nominated Contact simply needs to log in and update
the status message, which is then instantly available to parents.
8
Is it reliable? In a word, yes – widespread snow closures of recent years demonstrated the resilience
of this stable site as OpenCheck handled hundreds of thousands of concurrent data requests with no
outages.
To initiate this service, simply log in with your USO account at www.OPENCHECK.lgfl.net
USO-Chat - instant messaging for schools
This is an included service.
Students and staff will of course be familiar with the plethora of instant
messaging products available these days. Yet few schools will be
comfortable allowing unfettered access to such services. Well-founded
safeguarding concerns, coupled with the likelihood of students making
innocent, yet irrelevant contacts beyond the school network, will most
likely preclude their use on most school networks.
At the same time, however, controlled access to a potentially useful communication tool can be a
boon to Teaching & Learning. This is where USO-Chat comes into its own: in essence, it works just
like a standard IM, yet only within the boundaries of your establishment, and only through the
specific channels you choose to activate. For instance, pupils might only be able to contact their form
tutor, or fellow students in a specific class.
There are two ways for users to access USO-Chat – either via a simple web interface at
https://chat.uso.im, or with dedicated desktop software called Pidgin (www.pidgin.im).
To initiate this service, simply raise a support case (see page 21).
9
Video conferencing
Against a background of educational budget cuts and squeezed
curriculum time, not to mention health & safety and other practical
concerns, school trips are simply not as common as they once were.
This is just one of the reasons for the rise in video conferencing, and
as you would expect, LGfL is there to support schools in this area as
well. Many of your students will be comfortable with video as a standard means of communication
and will have used the various free options on today’s mobile devices. But in the same way that the
corporate world would not necessarily set up a
meeting on Skype®, schools too want a secure
and customized, professional solution. LGfL
provides two different approaches to video
conferencing for schools.
Cisco Jabber
This is an included service, although a webcam will be required.
For users with a USO login, we recommend our high-definition desktop conferencing tool Cisco
Jabber. It is completely interoperable with the existing LGfL VC network, JVCS and other standardsbased endpoints, and can be run from any computer in school or at home. In addition to HD webcam
images, you can also broadcast your active screen in real-time if you wish.
For conferencing with multiple participants, or to include users with no USO account, you should
consider Janet Desktop (see next section).
To enable Jabber and receive your ID number with one click, and to download the desktop
software, visit www.JABBER.lgfl.net
Dedicated HD endpoint equipment
LGfL customers can choose to source hardware from LGfL or elsewhere; LGfL provides the network
infrastructure and support to establish your VC service.
If you opt for dedicated hardware-based video conferencing, where you are not bound to a
computer, you may want a video-conferencing unit, known as an endpoint. LGfL can source a state
of the art endpoint for dedicated VC use. As simple as connecting any device to your network, these
devices comply with the latest H323 protocol and can be used in conjunction with Janet Desktop, the
booking software solution offered by education network Janet. Janet Desktop is available for free to
educational establishments around the world, and many content providers use this system as a
platform for their educational training and resources, enabling access to the whole spectrum of
benefits available from video conferencing.
To initiate this service, simply raise a support case (see page 21).
10
Safeguarding and security
WebScreen 2.0 Internet filtering*
This is an included service.
As with so many aspects of school ICT, safeguarding is at the
heart of LGfL’s web filtering service WebScreen. But it is about
more than simply keeping students or staff away from
inappropriate or illegal content. WebScreen 2.0 has some of
the most advanced and intuitive web filtering available, and
was tailor-made for UK schools and the kind of websites
students and staff are likely to access. It is a scalable solution that has pre-set configurations for staff
and students, but at the same time allows you to specify who can access what, where and when.
For example, your school’s filtering policy could be set so that staff can access social media sites, but
only on staff room computers and only after 3pm. You could choose a restrictive policy that blocks
all YouTube® and Google® Images sites; you might only allow them in a certain computer room; or
to all users at all times. LGfL is not here to dictate how to run your ICT, but to serve your school and
enable your systems to run as you plan them.
There is of course another side to web filtering; namely protecting valuable systems and data. In the
past, a website was a website – the whole site was either good or bad. Today, however, it is not that
simple, and one URL domain might include content from various locations. This is where WebScreen
2.0 really comes into its own, with an unprecedented ability to block damaging content, from
phishing sites, through malware embedded in web pages, to data-mining bugs. LGfL errs on the side
of caution with good reason, and with this service, you can too.
To request taking over your school’s filtering policies, please raise a support case. Training for this is
available and dates are posted via www.EVENTS.lgfl.net. To find out more about WebScreen 2.0, visit
www.WEBSCREEN.lgfl.net or configure your school’s filtering settings using the drop-down menu via
www.SUPPORT.lgfl.net
This service is automatically included and is activated with an initial default policy when your
connection is installed.
_____________________________________________
* See also page 4 of our Safeguarding booklet
11
Fully managed and supported firewall
This hardware and its management and support are included in the charge for an LGfL connection.
In the same way that you do not leave your front door open when you leave the house, and a cat
flap is no bigger than a cat, you do not want to leave your network accessible to all and sundry. That
is where your LGfL hardware firewall comes into play, ensuring that only the required access ports
are opened between your network and the outside world. The firewall acts as a gatekeeper, ensuring
only the relevant traffic flows through these unlocked, but in no way open, doors.
When your broadband service is connected, LGfL will install one of several models of firewall, all
selected for their excellent performance in educational network environments:
Cisco ASA 5505/5510/5512/5555/5585 (choice dependent upon bandwidth selected). Each of these
devices integrate multiple enterprise-class, next-generation security services, without sacrificing
performance. Standard initial installation will only leave those ports open that are needed to allow
Internet traffic, but requests can be made for other ports to be opened as and when necessary, for
example to allow cross-site collaboration between sister schools, for hardware-based video
conferencing, IP telephony and so on. LGfL monitors school firewalls around the clock, and provides
any maintenance and remote updates that are necessary.
Sophos Antivirus
This is an included service.
So emails are screened, websites are filtered and ports are monitored;
surely any further security measures would be overkill? Absolutely not! In
the same way as antivirus software is essential in the home, any
professional network – and that is what today’s school networks are - also
needs cutting-edge, enterprise-grade, regularly updated antivirus security
suites. Especially given the abundance of memory sticks, and the advent of
BYOD (bring your own device). That is why LGfL continues to fund a licence
for all connected schools to install Sophos Endpoint Security and Control on every school-based and
staff-owned computer. Live updates ensure readiness for stopping viruses, malware, adware and all
other nasties, long before they can take hold and cause damage. After all, it would be a disaster if
your home computer was rendered useless, but what about your whole school network?
For more information, visit www.SOPHOSINFO.lgfl.net
To initiate this service, download the software and documentation from www.SOPHOS.lgfl.net
12
Safeguarding advice and resources
This is an included service.
Increasingly, parents and education professionals are all too aware
of the darker side of the Internet and of technology in general.
Whereas safeguarding, itself a relatively new term, used to consist
of little more than warnings against accepting sweets or lifts from
strangers, e-safety is today far more complex and challenging.
From ‘sexting’ to violent video games, from cyber-bullying to
virtual stalking, the dangers are manifold, and often invisible.
Schools have a duty of care to safeguard pupils, and LGfL is
concerned to fully support schools in this area.
The e-safety and safeguarding section of the LGfL website combines advice, signposting and
resources in one easy-to-reach web collection. It brings together exemplar school policies and
agreements, parental advice, the latest research, events, links to key national bodies, regular news
updates, and guides and resources - for both children and adults. It is highly recommended that all
student-facing staff spend time looking through the materials at www.ESAFETY.lgfl.net
Why not start off with our series of one-minute guides: www.1MG.lgfl.net. LGfL has also created a
comprehensive Security Guidance booklet, which is available on request or at www.services.lgfl.net
Unified Sign-On for enhanced user authentication
This is an included service.
You can have all imaginable security devices and safeguards, but if the wrong
people can log on to your network, there is still the potential for them to wreak
havoc. That is why LGfL provides the Unified Sign-On (USO) system; complex
but in no way complicated, each staff and pupil user is assigned a unique USO
with which they log on as necessary to each LGfL service and resource,
including the network itself and any access from home. This controls and limits
access to appropriate resources for the individual and simplifies users’ online
presence, reducing the password proliferation that can lead to poor password protection. LGfL USO
is based on the latest Shibboleth® protocol, used worldwide to ensure highly-secure identification,
authentication and authorisation of users’ credentials across various sites.
Once you have setup your Headteacher and Nominated Contacts’ USO accounts when you initially
join LGfL, new users, leavers and changes are easily managed using USO-AutoUpdate in conjunction
with your Management Information System (e.g. SIMS). Such changes are automatically made during
overnight updates.
Find out more at www.USO.lgfl.net and www.AUTOUPDATE.lgfl.net
The Service Desk can advise you on setting up USO accounts when you join LGfL.
13
OTP keys for added security
This is an included service for Nominated Contacts.
Nominated Contacts and Headteachers will have access to much more sensitive data and services
than other users, so to further protect your systems, LGfL provides OTP (one-time password) keys.
Normally £45, but now
available on request for no
added cost during the initial
setup
of
each
school’s
connection, these keys,
which are used widely in the
business world for those
with high levels of security
access, generate a unique
number at the touch of a
button, adding a valuable second-layer of highly secure authentication to user accounts. One of these
pocket-sized keys will always be needed to raise a support case, for example, if you need to change
configuration settings or activate a new service.
For more information, visit www.OTP.lgfl.net
GridStore (off-site, resilient backup)
This service is available at competitive rates to all LGfL customers.
Even on a hermetically sealed hard drive, under armed guard in an underground vault at Fort Knox,
data without backup would still not be 100% secure. Whether fire, flooding or theft, wear and tear,
vandalism or online sabotage, any ICT equipment can be vulnerable to data
loss. At home, data protection is seriously limited if you keep personal files
backed up on a drive sitting next to your PC, or even in the same house. By
the same token, a school cannot afford to take any chances with its valuable
and confidential data stores. LGfL’s GridStore offers a resilient remotebackup solution, hosted on LGfL servers in secure data centres, and mirrored
at different locations. If you subscribe to GridStore, encrypted backups can be scheduled to take
place at regular intervals: for MIS data, individual workstations, or even entire servers. The service is
scalable to your changing storage needs, and on-demand backups are easily managed through the
user-friendly interface, where lost data is recoverable in a few clicks.
To find out more and for the latest pricing information, check out www.GRIDSTORE.lgfl.net
14
Web hosting
Web hosting
This is an included service.
All schools now have a web presence, and it is not unusual
for sites to snowball into monoliths that span hundreds of
pages, each with interlinked images, documents and
videos. If you would like one less thing to worry about, LGfL
schools have the option of using a secure web-hosting
platform for their websites and all embedded content.
Hosting takes place at the same dual-site, cutting-edge
data centres used for all LGfL data, on highly resilient
servers located behind multiple levels of government-level
security measures. We support a variety of Internet protocols, including ASP.Net and PHP5, and all
content is backed up on a nightly basis. As ever, you remain fully in control, with access to your
hosting environment via a secure online-management interface (FTP management is also available).
LGfL also offers comprehensive DNS services as required for all your hosting and browsing needs.
All the technical details you need can be found at www.HOSTING.lgfl.net
To host a new website, or to transfer an existing site, simply raise a support case (see page 21).
15
Remote access
In the era of web proliferation, the ‘Internet of things’ and
smart-everything, in terms of data and files, your teachers and
students will expect to bring their home to school, and take
school home with them. This is of course fairly easy to achieve,
if you are a small business with no sensitive data or child
protection safeguards to uphold. It is a big ‘if’, however, and
LGfL has again worked hard to ensure that you have the access you need, when you need it – but
without compromising your data, and therefore your school and its students.
Remote-access software can be downloaded free from the Internet, but such tools are not
appropriate for use in a school environment. As part of our duty to help protect your data, LGfL has
purchased enterprise licences for three different enterprise-level, highly secure solutions. These
allow for the same from-home access to users that any network can allow, but also give extended
functionality to any third party support companies you may employ to work remotely on your inschool systems.
NB – we are frequently asked to allow LogMeIn®, which for security reasons we cannot; as stated,
however, our three solutions can give access to third parties in exactly the same way as you are
accustomed, and with the same functionality – but with the level of security Ofsted will expect you
to employ. It is prudent to bear in mind that this is a component of safeguarding – a ‘limiting
judgement’: failure on this point leads to a school failing the entire Ofsted inspection.
RAv3
This is an included service.
RAv3 is our most secure solution, operating as it does on a virtual private network, using the latest
secure Cisco technologies. It is appropriate for staff, students and third-party support agents alike,
but as described above, uses the highest possible authentication protocols.
Log into RAv3 at www.RAV3.lgfl.net or find out more at www.RAV3INFO.lgfl.net
To initiate the service, your Headteacher needs to grant remote permissions via the “Service Desk”
drop-down menu at www.SUPPORT.lgfl.net
16
RDP
This is an included service.
Remote Desktop Protocol provides a gateway into your
network that is based inside your infrastructure, using
MS Threat Server to ensure the highest possible security
standards. Many users will find RDP a slightly simpler
option than RAv3, but with slightly less complex
functionality.
Find out more at www.RDP.lgfl.net
To initiate this service, raise a support case (see page 21) stating the IP address of the terminal
server in question and which users or groups should be granted access.
CentraStage
A basic version of CentraStage is free to all LGfL customers for audit and remote control; charges
are applied for the full version.
CentraStage, our third option for remote access, is designed explicitly for ICT managers to use as part
of their asset management – and not intended for standard user login as with RAv3 and RDP.
CentraStage enables you to carry out real-time audits and inventories of your estate, configure
devices and roll out patches and updates. After trying the basic version, decide if you would like to
scale up to the full version for more advanced functionality.
More detailed technical and pricing information is available at www.CENTRASTAGE.lgfl.net
To initiate this service, simply raise a support case (see page 21).
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Content
Unrivalled range and quality of T&L resources and digital collections
The entire suite of LGfL curriculum content is free to use for all LGfL-connected schools.
For a price that compares favourably to just Internet from other sources, all LGfL schools receive
reliable, high-speed fibre broadband, bundled with a list of premium services that would cost many
thousands to purchase individually, plus the support needed to make the most of them all. But in
fact there is more – much more!
The London Grid for Learning provides an array of high quality online learning resources which are
available to all LGfL connected schools at no extra charge. Content comes from three main sources:
1) LGfL has created, licensed or commissioned a range of premium software resources focussed on
supporting learning and teaching in both the Primary and Secondary phases.
2) Supported by LGfL, London LAs have produced online content resources that include the best and
latest practice in using a range of software and hardware across the curriculum. These resources are
then made available across the region through the LGfL community.
3) The London Grid for Learning is also a member of the pan-UK Educational Network (NEN), which
brings together all the regions of the UK, each with its own unique content – available for all to share,
and accessible via the LGfL Content Management System.
A carefully selected panel of practitioners drawn from across the region evaluates a wide range of
materials and only selects those resources which are assessed as being of the highest standard for
use by LGfL connected schools throughout the London region.
Selection by LGfL is widely regarded as an accolade of considerable significance by education content
publishers. Schools can therefore be assured that time given to familiarising with these resources is
well invested.
Full details of LGfL content can be found online at www.CONTENT.lgfl.net
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VideoCentral HD
This is an included service.
Prepare, shoot, edit, view, share! That is all it takes to join the video
sharing community. Readers will be familiar with YouTube® as a
means of publishing video content, and aware that as a public system
it is widely considered inappropriate for open-access in school. With
this is mind, LGfL has created a secure video-sharing platform which
is designed for ease of use, delivers the scalable options LGfL schools have come to expect, and
addresses the concerns which would prevent most schools from embracing a public site.
VideoCentral HD allows users to share video and audio files in a controlled, secure environment. It
encodes files automatically as they are uploaded, enhancing them for online streaming. Teachers can
adjust privacy settings to determine who can view a video, whether that be staff, a particular class,
the whole school, a partner school or, where appropriate, open to all via the Internet. You can embed
a video in any website, MLE or email, and streaming automatically detects the best settings for your
device and connection speed. You can even add post-production closed captioning for the hearing
impaired.
Have a look at what is already available at www.VIDEOCENTRALHD.lgfl.net (change “Most Recent”
to “No Limit” in order to browse all public videos) or click on the help button for more information.
LGfL podcasting service
This is an included service.
Podcasting is so yesterday! Or is it? People tend to forget that a podcast is not just a download by
another name or a convenient way of storing mp3s or video files. Yes, most schools will use the
London MLE to give students access to files, but podcasting allows you to reach students regularly
without them logging into their USO account. Once you have created a podcast channel – a matter
of a few clicks – you simply issue a link to students for them to subscribe to your channel, whether
with Apple® iTunes™ or similar podcasting software (your channel will not be publically searchable,
but will nonetheless be open to all who have the link). Thereafter, any audio or video file uploaded
to your channel will automatically appear on students’ devices – ideal for weekly lesson overviews
or revision notes.
And remember that podcasting is not just another way for
teachers to send resources to students. In the same way as
blogging has recently been discovered as a great literacy tool
(www.BLOGGING.lgfl.net), podcasts can be used as an
alternative presentation method. Where used in schools, it has
already proven its worth, as it combines literacy with oracy
skills, forcing users to consider register and audience as well as content – not to mention the added
appeal of young people being able to easily share work they are rightly proud of with friends and
family.
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If you are not yet convinced of the benefits of podcasting, or think your colleagues may be reticent,
why not read our case study from the Camden School for Girls, which has recently embraced this
technology. It is available alongside guides to all aspects of podcasting, ranging from choice of
content, software and hardware all the way through to uploading of the finished product and
subscribing to podcast feeds at www.PODCASTING.lgfl.net
Ready to get stuck in and open a channel or upload your first podcast? Then go to
www.PODCAST.lgfl.net
School Closure – online curriculum
This is an included service.
Your school probably has all manner of disaster-readiness planning and policies in place; as a result,
most unexpected school closures will not prevent staff from assigning appropriate work to their own
students (for example by using the London MLE from home). However, where this is not the case, or
where the majority of teachers are incapacitated, LGfL has created an entire week’s worth of highquality curriculum resources, freely available to all on our website, which cover all key subjects for
all years throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. These resources are
all created by subject specialists, and include differentiated work spanning the ability range, plus
extension activities to further develop higher-level thinking skills. Lesson plans are designed to be
walked through together with the responsible adult or elder sibling who may be looking after a pupil
at home. There are no resources for Key Stage 4 and 5 classes, as these students will mostly engage
in either exam revision or Controlled Assessment work when not in school.
You will not have time to browse in an emergency, so have a look now at www.CLOSURE.lgfl.net
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Appendix
How to raise a support case
Once you have read guidance on individual services, your next port of call should be the LGfL Support
site, which is a mine of useful information, plus further support and service guides, FAQs,
configuration settings, and much more.
This is also the place to raise a support case to activate services mentioned in this guide as stated at
the end of each section.
To raise a support case, log in via www.SUPPORT.lgfl.net and select “Raise an Issue” from the “Service
Desk” (see below). You will be asked to select a category for your issue and on the following page
you will have a text box in which to make your request or query.
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Know your LGfL
The main entrance to LGfL
Learn more of what’s available
See the latest content
www.lgfl.net
www.services.lgfl.net
www.showcase.lgfl.net
E-safety resources and guidance
www.esafety.lgfl.net
Keep informed
www.news.lgfl.net
See it in action and show your team
www.primary.lgfl.net
See it in action and show your team
www.secondary.lgfl.net
Tremendous resources and highly secure along with
excellent customer service – Primary Teacher, Surbiton
Excellent bundled services, customer service and support
– Academy Coordinator, Croydon
LGfL saves schools a lot of time and money while
providing them with state of the art tools with which to
deliver a modern curriculum – Systems Manager, Bromley
There are such a huge range of resources, and so many
really useful services that enhance teaching & learning Primary Teacher, Hammersmith
All quotes Nov 2014
...making the unaffordable, affordable...
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