School in the Fast Lane John Bidder, Blippit® founder

The reason for making this episode is an important one and that is to help at least one school, maybe yours, ensure that it takes the steps needed to avoid the total disruption and stress of being hit by ransomware. Don't be lulled into thinking it'll not be you because you've got backups, the latest antivirus and so on.  As Rachel says later on in the episode, in the row of houses where she lives, three out of four were burgled while her home wasn't. Why? Probably because their house has dogs and sometimes that's all you need to dissuade intruders. It's the same principle when protecting the school network, critical data and everyone using it. 
Imagine one day your laptop takes an age to sign in to the school server.  No problem - tech support will sort it.  Then imagine connecting to the server and seeing absolutely nothing. SIMS data? No. Finance? No. Backups? What the....? As more and more colleagues sign in and sync up to the server imagine all of their data suddenly being effectively lockup in such a way that nobody, even industry UK and international specialists or police, can unlock it.  You're over a barrel.  The end of the financial year is upon you.
Then a message is found which is a ransom demand to be met in 7 days with the prospect of it doubling as the clock ticks down or much worse - losing all of your data forever. 
Headteacher Rachel Tomlinson shares the experience she and her colleagues all faced the day that ransomware hit her school servers and over 70% of all laptops.  Causing more stress than any school should ever have to endure, grab a drink, sit back and listen to this nightmare of a ride that your school may well be able to learn from.

::SPOILER ALERT>> Scroll to the bottom of this description if you want to know whether this has a happy ending or not!
Rachel is also writing a book that takes in every major school event, more or less, packing it into the time frame of one school day.  When she started this the school hadn't been attacked with ransomware but maybe this too will find its way into the book!


::SPOILER ALERT>> It thankfully all ended well!

Let me introduce you to, or maybe as it is for me, 'welcome back', Alan November the veteran educator and a leader in transforming teaching and learning,  With a depth of knowledge about all things education, stemming from his work travelling the world to meet with educators, Alan's unmistakable tones are a treat to tune in to in this extended episode of School in the Fast Lane.
I've known Alan for such a long time although this is literally the first time we've spoken in over 15 years so what you hear is exactly what happened!  We cover some big themes including resilience, manipulation of information, Great White Sharks, snow and much more.
Do join us and if you'd like to leave a comment then feel free. Also, be sure to visit NovemberLearning.com to see his TedEx talks, listen to his podcasts, check out the books and generally roll around in pearls of wisdom that may re-shape the way you think about education. You can follow Alan as @Globalearner on Twitter too.
*This version* (#15) of the conversation with Alan is distributed on all podcast platforms but *does not* come with the bonus tune of Rolling Stone's (I can't get no) Satisfaction as chosen by Alan himself. If you're a Spotify Premium Subscriber, you exclusively get the full bonus version of this episode over in Spotify App instead. Otherwise enjoy!

Here's a special 'School in the Fast Lane' episode featuring the interview of primary Headteacher Sarah White speaking from the heart and to the heart of her school parent community. This interview was aired on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, 27/1/21 Virgin Radio. All rights reserved by Virgin Radio, Sky and applicable artists & recording labels.

Podcast Trailer: Aimed at teachers, Heads and anyone else working with children in schools, welcome to ‘School in the Fast Lane’

Here’s an invitation to you as a school educator to record your own contribution to the podcast. To do this visit https://anchor.fm/blippit/message , create your own account when you’re done and send it in. Listen for more details. Thanks!

What's the vibe in your school?  What story are the walls telling? A huge fan of display, John makes the case for a new bit of easy tech that might just be what you didn't know you needed!  This one is for subject and school leaders in particular.  To leave a message use the button below or use this link anchor.fm/blippit/message  

By the by, this episode was recorded entirely using the Anchor App via mobile phone with no fancy studio stuff.