CLEVERATOM NEWS: inclusive, engaging and enabling learning... and an appeal too!

Dear BLOG , hello...

As ever, we know you are busy, so this is brief. This month we have an appeal, read on to find out more....

We have been....

LEARNING SPACES

- working to plan out a new Learning Difficulties and Disabilities space in a college

- designing a new learning/social space for a new academy, using existing buildings to buzz up learners ready for their school of the future

- accepted as part of a Becta approved consortium to provide ICT vision, infrastructure, and learning space design

- getting great feedback about the BBC Blast trucks, refitted to our design and specification

We love doing learning space design work, if you know of someone needing space design for learning, we'd love to know them too!

We have also been....

SOFTWARE

- creating a professional networking solution for the NHS in the East of England, with upwards of 250,000 potential users

- starting work on the next phase of 'Thought Park' our social networking learning platform.... tasks and assessments join our fleet of tools... Schools are switching to Thought Park!

- working with Primary Schools, New Diploma Consortia, Colleges and Pupil Referal Units to embed Spoke and Thought Park

- deploying solutions for social networking, community portals and parental engagement

When it comes to software, we're helping to make big projects come alive. Consider us if you want an engaging, inclusive, enabling (and fun!) solution!

And then there's....

POSITIVE CHANGE

This is the heart of our business, we're working on projects all over the country to embed and empower people to make solutions work. From schools to colleges, Universities to broadcasters, charities to Government departments, corporations to contractors.... we're working with our clients to make their ideas happen...

And now the appeal....

APPEAL

Over the past year our existing Channel Partners have sold Cleveratom software solutions into schools and colleges, increasing their own business at the same time. We pay a commission on every sale made. Our Partners then sell their own services to embed the software running fun projects, providing valuable consultancy and delivering excellent training to help clients meet their objectives. We're looking for excellent ICT in Learning Consultants to join this programme. Please forward this email onto anyone you think might be interested in working with us, details are on our website (in the 'What we do' section, list on the left).

There is loads more too.... follow us on Twitter (Cleveratom) where you'll find a daily feed of our activities!

As ever, hope all is good... What is your big challenge/idea at the moment?

Matt
and all the team at Cleveratom

Matthew Eaves
Director of Creativity
Cleveratom
+44 (0)845 868 9020

Cleveratom Limited,
Fenchurch House,
93 Springfield Road,
Chelmsford,
Essex, CM2 6JL.

_____________________________________
Cleveratom Limited is a company registered
in England and Wales with company
number 6008130. Registered address is
Shalford Court, 95 Springfield Road
Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6JL.

The email address I've mailed you on is in my work contact address book, if this needs updating, or removing, please reply with an instruction.

Spam Text from +44 7752 386912 - ignore it

I have not recently had an accident, the above message is spam. Ignore
it. I really dislike these messages, why does the sender think we will
fall for it. Don't reply at all, by replying you are telling them your
number is active, they will probably send the number tp other spammers
too.

National Express East Coast prove National Express can't run train lines

I was pleased to read yesterday that the National Express East Coast
rail route has been nationalised by the Government.

I'd travelled by GNER, the company that lost the route to National
Express, and they were 100 times better, the trains were clean, smart
and the staff were friendly. NXEC was bad. The company has a
strapline to 'Make Travel Simpler' but as soon as you board a NXEC
train you are bombarded with PA messages which talk about the types of
tickets that are not valid on the service, the restrictions are far
from making travel simpler.

When the East Coast franchise on the line was up for renewal along
came National Express who bid an unrealistic figure to run the line,
their bid stood to make a huge income for the Government in comparison
to that of GNER, the existing and experienced operator.

What stinks is that right now I'm sitting on a National Express East
Anglia train. Why are National Express still allowed to run other
rail lines when:

1) They have run away from a route they made unprofitable, after
sending a viable business called GNER (who proved they could run the
route) at a profit out of business?

2) They are taking profit in other parts of their business which could
cover loss made on the East Coast.

3) They are obsessed with repainting and rebranding trains, checking
and re-checking tickets, and wasting money?

What a poor decision by Government to award the francise in the first
place, and a bad signal to other train operators who have no real
insentive to invest in routes and services through fear Government
will undo their hard work and award their route at renewal to an
inexperienced operator who promises the earth. Why should they
invest, if I owned a train company right now I'd think 'hang on, lets
not spend, lets make a bigger profit'.

A great example of another route that has gone down the toilet is the
East Anglia line. This route was operated by 'First Group'. They
refitted stations, bought brand new trains, trained staff well and
cleaned well.

After a considerable investment National Express bidded and were
awarded the route rather than First. All assets were handed over as
part of the francise, and ever since National Express has been
repainting the outside of trains and stations.

They have reduced staff, cut food services, are obsessed with ticket
inspections, installed barriers that don't work and slow passengers
down... and háve let the brand new trains bought by First get filthy
and worn.

When things go wrong on the line NX are amazingly good at hiding, and
giving out poor information. I can't think of a week where everything
has gone right for me on their service

First made a bid to take over National Express, and I hope they get
the whole company, they know how to run travel services.

Richard Branson invested heavy into His Virgin Cross Country route,
and it was amazing he did not get the route on renewal, I wonder if
NXEC is the start of a ball rolling for new and inexperienced
companies buckling under the recession and not delivering on what they
said they would.

I hope NX lose the NXEA route. They should not be allowed to run a
profitable route if they have already turned a profit making route
into a loss making route.

Big warning sign

So true email circular

An email circular