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What's Happening at GlenCo...

30.04.08 Fife School Finalists in Scottish Education Awards
27.02.08 GlenCo Opens Gateways
16.01.08 GlenCo Zenworks Training to Fife Council
29.09.07 GlenCo Welcomes First Female Libyan Student
20.06.07 Award Winning Training
18.06.07 equalskills Graduation Success
18.06.07 MOLI HOLI - MOLI Takes Brussels by Storm
25.05.07 Mini MOLI meets the Dambusters
07.05.07 Firefighters “Reddy” for IT
23.05.07 Gordon Brown and Jack McConnell Have Mini MOLI Experience
22.02.07 Open Source Opportunities 2007
05.12.06 Practical Project Management
04.10.06 Eliza Aids Silver Tay Project
05.12.06 Practical Project Management
04.10.06 Eliza Aids Silver Tay Project

30.04.08 -Fife School Finalists in Scottish Education Awards

Hill of Beath Primary School has been short listed for a Scottish Education Award for their innovative and varied use of ICT in curricular activities.

The Awards committee, co-sponsored by BT, Smarter Scotland and the Daily Record, will visit the school later this week to make their final assessments and judgement and to see the wide range of activities that the school promotes to their pupils – from Nursery to Primary 7.

The school participates in a number of courses offered by Glenco Development Solutions through Adam Smith College, including the British Computer Society courses Equalskills and E-Type, as well as other courses offered by the college using multimedia, radio broadcasting and construction teams.

Glenco Development Solutions and Adam Smith College wishes Hill of Beath Primary the best of luck for the Award!

27.02.08 - GlenCo Opens Gateways

Delegates from the 'Improve your site for Search Engines' seminar GlenCo Development Solutions in partnership with Business Gateway, Fife have been delivering workshops to new and up coming businesses, which have enabled them to get an understanding of the steps and processes needed to enhance their business.

There are a range of workshops covering topics such as marketing, selling skills, e-commerce and promoting your Website so that it can be found by potential customers. The attendees ranged from people who are at the very first step in setting up a business to those who have a business up and running and are now considering the e-Business side of it. All in all the workshops have been well attended and feedback has been very positive, with many attendees booking onto Web Design courses and other workshops. For any information on the above or any other courses please telephone (01592) 223300 and ask for Fiona Lydiate or email admin@glenco.org. Business advice and workshop details can be found on the Business Gateway website at www.bgateway.com.

16.01.08 - GlenCo Deliver Zenworks Training to Fife Council

GlenCo have once again been chosen by Fife Council education Service to train their ICT Support Technicians. GlenCo have worked with the Council before and due to GlenCo becoming a Gold Novell Partner, they now have the ability to deliver the very course to meet the needs of the Council. The training will be in Novell’s latest version of Zenworks and will allow the technicians to Manage and support desktops, servers, laptops and mobile devices. It enables the technicians to do this remotely hence freeing up their time to do other tasks. The first of these 5 day courses was run before Christmas and was hailed a great success by all who attended. So 2008 is looking to be an exciting year for the Novell GlenCo partnership. For any further information on this course or any other GlenCo courses Tel 01592 223300 or email admin@glenco.org.

29.06.07 - GlenCo Welcomes First Female Libyan Student

Fatma Elagili and Shaun Marley Glenco has welcomed its first ever female Libyan student to Fife. Fatma Elagili has broken the mould by becoming the first female from her company to study in Scotland. Fatma works for the '11th June Medical Services Centre' in Tripoli, which provides medical assistance to the State-owned oil and gas companies, and has spent the last 26 weeks improving her IT skills at Glenco Development Solutions. Fatma was chosen from a number of applicants to represent her company and study in Scotland. Fatma commented: "It is a real privilege for me to come and study in Scotland. I am very fortunate to have this opportunity which also makes me the first person in my family to travel to Europe. The trainers have been a great at helping me improve my English and although I have found the Scottish people to be very warm and welcoming unfortunately I can not say the same of the weather." Fatma's solo trip to Scotland is a huge achievement for a Libyan woman who still lives in her parental home, a tradition expected of unmarried women in Libya. Although Libya is one of the most progressive Arab countries in the field of women's rights it was still a big step for Fatma to leave the comfort zone of home and spend 26 weeks in Scotland Tanya McAllister, lecturer at Adam Smith College, commented: "Fatma has been an absolute delight to have at the college. Her grasp of English has improved dramatically since she arrived and she has been a very hard working student. I am sure she can take the skills and experience she has learned at the college and develop them further in Libya." The '11th June Medical Services Centre' has previously sent its employees to study English in neighbouring countries such as Egypt but have since identified English speaking countries as a more beneficial path for training. Glenco have been working with the Libyan Oil and Gas sector for the past 15 years, successfully delivering CAD, IT applications and network training contracts for many different Oil companies in the region.

20.06.07 - Award Winning Training

The award winning team We are pleased to announce that the Adam Smith College and CVS Fife won the Partnership Award at the TFN (Third Force News) Charity Award ceremony at the Glasgow Science Centre on Thursday 24th May. The event was sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland and Ruth Wishart, columnist with the Daily Record, was there to hand out the Awards. We were in the shortlist of four along with :

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (Glasgow health voluntary organisations)
Harper MacLeod ( Autism in Scotland)
Scottish Executive Third Sector Team

The categories were :

Charity Champion Partnership Award
Campaign of the Year
Community Action
Charity of the Year

Carol Humbert and Brian Moonlight were there to represent the College and Ian Cowie, Brian Poole and Carol Partick were there on behalf of CVS Fife. We have enjoyed a very successful relationship with CVS and this is the culmination of a five year partnership. This is an accolade for all the work done by everyone who has been involved. The project is called “Developing a Skilled Workforce for the Voluntary Sector in Fife” We were in very auspicious company and saw it as quite an achievement to be nominated. We were naturally delighted when we were announced as winners. For more information contact admin@glenco.org

18.06.07 - equalskills Graduation Success From BCS

Pupil from Kirkcaldy West Primary School
Two separate ‘graduation’ ceremonies were recently held in The Atrium of the St Brycedale Campus of Adam Smith College to mark the success of Fife pupils’ achievement in attaining the Equal Skills Certificate awarded by the British Computer Society. A total of 2,700 Primary 7 pupils from 150 schools undertook the Equal Skills course to develop their IT skills in Computer Basics, The Desktop, The World Wide Web and Email. Throughout the course, the children had the opportunity to meet and work with either MOLI (Mobile Online Learning Initiative), or one of our mini MOLIs - Fiona, Gemma or Eliza. As well as expanding their IT skills, this allowed the pupils to gain knowledge in mobile technology and discover how this works. The children worked with Superclubsplus, a very secure website, to gain skills in communication, creativity and innovation. A fantastic environment, this saw the commencement of many imaginative web pages as pupils allowed their artistic ability to flow. Many children gained stars in the process and a few managed to obtain the position of Technical Team member! The ‘graduation’ itself proved to be a huge success and saw pupils and teachers alike obtain their certificates. Video diaries were shown and a roaming microphone allowed the children to offer their thoughts on the course. PC Mouse from British Computer Society was in attendance and demonstrated an excellent moonwalk in his dance routine whilst pupils, teachers and staff sang the graduation song. Christine Sinclair, Director of Computing Institute commended the children in their efforts and gave congratulations on their success. The equalskills course is continuing in August 2007 where we hope to see another Primary 7 year group obtain the British Computer Society certificate.

For more information on this or any other course call 01592 223300 or email admin@glenco.org

18.06.07 - MOLI HOLI - MOLI Takes Brussels by Storm

MOLi and Mini MOli with their suit cases packed! The innovative and forward thinking MOLI vehicles have travelled to the Employment Week 2007 in Brussels to demonstrate their unique abilities. The Employment Week takes place each year and MOLI the large Mobile classroom coach has attended before but this year has taken “Fiona”, one of the mini MOLI wireless satellite vehicles with her. The aim is to demonstrate their unique capabilities of taking technology and the internet anywhere it is needed. The facilities allow training or awareness workshops to take place anywhere without having to get the beneficiaries to travel to another location. The vehicles have already successfully been used with SME’s and in remote areas to deliver tailored training to the needs of business’s and the community. The 14th edition of Employment Week, the leading employment and social-affairs event of the year, is taking place on 5-6 June 2007 in Brussels. The two-day conference and exhibition offers a great opportunity for practitioners and European decision-makers to connect and discuss the latest policies and trends in European employment. The MOLI’s have already turned eyes at the venue and great interest has been shown over the way they can be used throughout Europe. For anymore info in the MOLI project contact admin@glenco.org or telephone Ian Thomson on 01592 223300

25.05.07 - Mini MOLI meets the Dambusters

Mini Moli meets the dambusters Leonard Cheshire House in Inverness Residents and users got to grips with IT technology at the day centre on the 18th May with the help of a mini MOLI vehicle and the Adam Smith College. The centre, which only has one computer and no internet link, was able to access the worldwide web. Pilots from 617 Squadron, based at Lossiemouth, and former Squadron Leader Colin McGregor, brother of the famous actor Ewan, were present when the mobile vehicle known as the Mini MOLI arrived. The reason Leonard Cheshire was chosen to hold the event was because 18th May marked the anniversary of one of the famous Dambusters raids during World War II. The centre is named after the squadron's wartime leader, Leonard Cheshire, founder of the network of homes which provide care services for disabled people and exists to change attitudes to disability. Mr McGregor said: "It's important that people in rural areas get to experience the internet. We want to break down barriers and have a level playing field. It's been great to see how the residents here have got such enjoyment out of the initiative." Kenny Shand, a disabled volunteer at the centre, said: "This is life-changing for residents here. It allows disabled people the ability to communicate with other people from their own homes through email, for example. It gives access to so many services." Volunteer co-ordinator of the centre Karen Fraser said she was delighted with how the day had gone, and hoped the van would return in the future. Mini MOLI is part of the EQUAL Scotland, Building Smarter Communities Programme, which aims to pioneer broadband take-up and take it to places more conventional delivery methods cannot reach. For more information contact admin@glenco.org

07.05.07 - Firefighters “Reddy” for IT

Raploch Fire Service Red Watch pictured with Mini MOLI van Gemma Firefighters from the Raploch Fire Station in Stirling, part of the Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service, have recently started studying towards their ECDL, in an effort by the Fire Service to improve the IT skills of their employees. Tutors, Tanya McAllister and Carolyn Barnes, from Glenco Development Solutions have been training 55 firefighters, from each of the four watches, using one of the Mini MOLI vehicles, to allow training and testing to be carried out on site at the Fire Station. The Mini MOLI vehicle allows the flexibility that the Fire Service needs to ensure that training can be “worked round” their needs. The Red Watch firefighters pictured, have just passed the test to get their second module under their belts, despite having had a couple of call-outs that day!

For any further info about Mini Moli or to view a vehicle contact us on: telephone 01592 223300, email: admin@glenco.org.

23.02.07 - Gordon Brown and Jack McConnell Have Mini MOLI Experience

Jack McConnell and Gordon Brown with members of Adam Smith College On Friday the 23rd February Eliza (Mini MOLI vehicle) was playing host to Gordon Brown and Jack McConnell at the St Brycedale campus of the Adam Smith College.
They were shown the vehicle and told how this European initiative works and what target audiences that the vehicles will benefit.
The mini MOLI vehicles are designed in such a way that they can lock onto a satellite and create and internet connection and then beam this connection into any building wirelessly. They come with laptops that can then be switched on in a room in the building and you have an environment where people can benefit form an internet connection and the use of broadband.
Both visitors were very interested in how they worked and how this was pushing the frontiers of delivery of training and awareness sessions that would benefit all types of target groups.
The vehicles have already been used to deliver Internet and broadband to remote areas and also to the elderly and people with disabilities.
For any further info about this project or to view a vehicle contact us on: telephone 01592 223300, email: admin@glenco.org.

22.02.07 - Open Source Opportunities 2007

Delegates at the Open Source Opportunities 2007 event Thursday the 22nd February 2007 saw the first major Open Source Event delivered at the main offices of GlenCo Development Solutions, the day was to inform a range of delegates from Small Business's to local Councils the alternatives and opportunities that are available from the use of Open Source products. The day was well attended and had guest speakers from Novell Suse Linux and IITAC.
The delegates also had the chance to have hands on experience with the products being shown at computers in the Scottish Open Source Centre and other rooms. The feed back from attendees was very positive with some ideas on how another day could be held to deliver more info on other products in the Open Source field.
The event was funded under the Equal European project that has been set up to raise awareness of Open Source alternatives to Small Businesses and other users.
For information on any Open Source products or their usage please contact admin@glenco.org or telephone 01592 223300.

05.12.06 - Practical Project Management

Left: Ian Thomson, Right: Charlie Ferguson GlenCo and their Associate organisation, The Institute of Business and Management (IB&M), have been repeatedly asked for a course that would encompass the use of Microsoft Project as a powerful Project design and management tool as well as the theory and principles behind project management.

With this in mind Dr Charles Ferguson (IB&M) and Ian Thomson (GlenCo) have created a course that does just that. The first day of the course is where Charlie takes the attendees through the theory and principles of Project Management and on the second day Ian takes over and puts the students through a hands on day in using Microsoft Project as an effective project planning and management tool.

The object of the course is to give a rounded approach that encompasses both the theory and methodology and the practical hands on computer programming allowing the student to leave with a fuller and more practical understanding of project management.

For more information on this or any other course contact Ian Thomson on 01592 223300 or admin@glenco.org

04.10.06 - Eliza Aids Silver Tay Project

Tanya McAllister (GlenCo) and Sarah Jarrett (Silver tay Project) Eliza one of Adam Smith College's mini MOLI vehicles has taken to Newport on Tay to aid in bringing IT awareness and training to a unique group of people. They are taking part in the Silver Tay Project which is a project to bring IT awareness and the Internet to people who range in age, with the main primary age being well over 60 years of age, also people with special needs will be getting computer training and shown the use of the internet.

Shown right are Tanya McAllister (GlenCo Development Solutions) and Sarah Jarrett (Silver Tay Project). The project will be carried out and take place at the Granary Lane very sheltered housing complex at Granary Lane, Newport on Tay.

Betty Martin (Warden of complex) said that " This was a great opportunity to bring this type of technology to the elderly and people with special needs. The vehicle is brilliant and we will use it over the next 8 weeks to bring classes in the use of the internet to photo manipulation. I already have had a great interest in the classes."

For further info on the Mini MOLI vehicles and how the can benefit you contact Ian Thomson on 01592 223300 or email admin@glenco.org.

13.07.06 - MOLI Goes To School

Fife Students recently had the opportunity to benefit from the MOLI project which helped them in their efforts to gain a British Computer Society qualification.
The pupils from Torbain Primary School in Kirkcaldy (shown left), successfully completed an equalskills Computer Course , which was delivered in partnership with teachers from the school, and IT tutors from GlenCo Development Solutions, Carolyn Barnes and Sharon Burns. Throughout the course, the children had the opportunity to meet MOLI (Mobile Online Learning Initiative), a self-contained mobile classroom with wireless satellite internet access.
The pupils recently 'graduated' at the Adam Smith College and a special ceremony was held in the Atrium at the St Brycedale Campus.

Pupils Emma Eldridge and Jack Brownlee addressed the audience and shared their own very positive thoughts about the course before everyone had lunch to mark the end of a special day. Headteacher Caroline Bruce said "The Pilot Project has proved to be a very good assessment of our own school's ICT programme as well as strengthening links with the Adam Smith College. Children have had a taste of further study with their own modular workbooks. The Children particularly enjoyed being presented with their certificates at their very own Graduation Ceremony".

We now hope to roll the course out to all Primary Schools in Fife, commencing in August 2006. A large number of schools have already expressed a keen interest in the scheme and have set a commencement date for their equalskills learning to begin. If your school is interested please contact Carolyn Barnes on 01592 223300 or email carolynb@glenco.org.

08.05.06 - Mini MOLI Heads for Angus Glens

Ian Thomson handing over a Mini MOLI to Angus Council Angus Council's Community learning and Development Service have noticed the benefits and the fantastic usage that a mini MOLI can have. They have taken the first mini MOLI Vehicle named "Fiona" for a period of 12 weeks. They intend to take Fiona all over the Angus glens to remote areas were people struggle to get the internet and IT technology of any kind. They hope to train people in basic IT skills and the use of the internet, with the unique internet access that the mini MOLI vehicle offers, the mini MOLI vehicle is designed to be driven to any remote location where a satellite dish will lock onto a satellite and then the signal will be broadcast via WiFi into any building with a room that can be setup up as a training suite.

Pictured here are is the handover of the keys to Angus for them to use the vehicle. Left to right are Denise Addy (Angus Council), Jo Brown (Angus Council), Ian Thomson (GlenCo Development Solutions), Fiona McGregor (Liaison Worker with Angus Glens Website), Jim Gilmour (Adam Smith College).

This is the first of three vehicles that will be able to take IT and the internet to anywhere in the UK.

For further information please contact Ian Thomson at 01592 223300 or email admin@glenco.org.

08.05.06 - GlenCo Opens Windows for Council Technicians

GlenCo has recently completed a series of two day Microsoft courses (2285) starting late last year and training 31 Fife Council IT Technicians.

The course was organised by Colin Harris at Fife Council and was geared to help the technicians update some of their knowledge when rolling out Windows XP machines to the Fife Council's schools network. The technicians look after the primary and high school computers throughout the whole of Fife. Colin Harris said

"We find GlenCo convenient, both in terms of location and flexibility of course content. It has allowed us to deliver regular and effective training to our support personnel"

GlenCo pride themselves in the ability to plan and adjust courses to fit into the customers training needs and timescales, but still maintaining the professional standard that is expected both from Microsoft and the customer.

For more information on making GlenCo your training partner Tel: 01592 223300 or email: admin@glenco.org.

*Microsoft and Windows are registered to the Microsoft Corporation.

05.05.06 - GlenCo 'Caters' For Top Hotels

GlenCo have recently completed a European Computer Driving Licence course for St Andrews Bay Golf Resort & Spa. Brian Moonlight and Fiona Lydiate were the tutors who delivered one day per week at the hotel using the training room and facilities onsite. Certificates were sent to the group last week from The British Computer Society. Lisa Adams (HR) said "Everyone benefited greatly from the course and the GlenCo tutors were very good at adjusting the pace to suit the different levels of skills of the clients". Dagoberto Dinis (Clubhouse Manager) said "I thoroughly enjoyed the course and the way it was delivered. I feel much more confident about working in different applications. The biggest advantage for me was learning properly how to handle my stock using formulae in Excel and also the sort and filter facilities".

GlenCo have recently agreed with Elaine Morrison (Training and Development Manager) to deliver ECDL to staff at The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa in Edinburgh. They are enrolling 20 members of staff initially, with a view to many more enrolling later this year. GlenCo were favoured over other Colleges and training companies in the area to capture this contract. Our professional presentation and Edinburgh premises were contributing factors to being selected as the training provider. Brian Moonlight and Sharon Burns will be co-ordinating the training. There will be a mixture of distance learning and classroom led sessions.

It is a testament to the enhanced reputation of GlenCo Development Solutions that we are able to attract companies of this stature who are known throughout the world.

23.03.06 - GlenCo's New Arrivals

Ned Spencer handing the keys of a mini MOLI vechicle to Ian Thomson A small ceremony happened yesterday at GlenCo's offices when the final two mini MOLI vehicles arrived.

Pictured here is Ian Thomson, left, (GlenCo Development Solutions) accepting the vehicle key from Ned Spencer (Point Systems).

There are now three completed vehicles that will be going through rigorous field tests to make sure they are up to scratch and can meet the demands to be placed on them. The vehicles will be used to promote and bring technology into areas that have not had the chance to experience the benefits of broadband or IT due to their remoteness or their run down status.

The vehicles are part funded through Equal European funding and will run throughout Scotland impacting areas and delivering workshops and classes to a variety of people and companies to help them appreciate and get involved with the uptake of technology to both improve their communities and enhance their businesses. This is achieved through the Building Smarter Communities project. The Point Systems team and Ian Thomson with a mini MOLI vehicle

Point Systems, (www.point-systems.co.uk) won the tender to build these vehicles and have delivered them to the specification that was required and will be supporting the vehicles for the term of the European contract and beyond.

If you are interested in the vehicles and the way that they will be used, watch this spaceor sign up for the GlenCo newsletter so that you can be kept up to date with new developments and availability. You can also contact Ian Thomson on 01592 223300 or admin@glenco.org.