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Dear Headteacher,

We would like to bring to your attention a large number of FREE online interactive courses and skills training resources now available via the internet on www.alison.com. These courses and resources will be of interest to you, your teachers, your students and your school management.

Firstly, I would like to bring your attention to a free course available online titled ‘Managing Safety and Health in Schools’.

Managing Safety and Health in Schools
School principals, managers and teachers should know about health and safety when engaged in work or as future members of the workforce. This short course introduces the management of school safety and health. Health and safety in the workplace or school is the responsibility of everyone - managers, teachers, employees, and the students. This free online course covers, in a general way, various health and safety regulations.

Secondly, we would like to introduce you to other free courses available from ALISON. Over 200 courses are available on alison.com and many secondary school students have found our school curriculum courses to be of assistance in complementing their school learning. Of particular interest may be the ALISON ABC IT course, a high quality interactive IT Skills training course - containing Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Outlook and Internet modules. ABC-IT is already very popular in Irish Schools and is regarded as an equivalent to ECDL. The Microsoft Digital Literacy Curriculum which is also available via ALISON is also proving very popular in schools. With 200 courses to choose from, there truly is a course for everybody. Please see the full list of courses in the appendix below.

Thirdly, the ALISON Manager feature which enables teachers to ‘manage’ their class online is now available. This enables teachers to easily and effectively oversee, manage and report on the online learning of their class. The ALISON Manager feature is free for HSA courses, for other courses there is a nominal fee and an additional facility which allows the issuance of certificates for students who successfully complete courses.

The following testimonial from Portmarnock Community School describes their experience of using ALISON:

Portmarnock Community School is in its third year of using ALISON to provide online interactive IT skills training to our students and have found it an excellent resource for delivering up to date training in ICT and other subject areas such as Business and enterprise. The advantages of the site are multiple

· The use of the resources minimizes the impact of the resource on the school budget

· Students are able to complete the courses at their own pace and redo tests or modules if they have failed or missed them without extra cost

· Students can catch up on classes missed due to extra curricular activities at home if required as the resource is available online at all times once students are registered

· Teachers can monitor and assess student progress through the management and group facility - invaluable for record keeping and awarding of credits.

· The resource has a range of courses available which can be part of school programs such as web development or use of multi media

· Customer service by the ALISON team is excellent and the site/resource has altered and changed in response to teacher requests and suggestions

The school has found ALISON to be an all round excellent resource which has solved completely many of the previous problems experienced by the school in attempting to deliver high quality ICT training which is appropriate both for the students and the school. I would strongly recommend use of the ALISON resource to any school interested in delivering high quality ICT programmes for their students.”

Gerry Breen, IT Coordinator, Portmarnock CS.

The services provided by ALISON were recognised by prestigious global organisations through 2010. In September, we were recognized as an Ashoka Fellow for social entrepreneurial contributions to education. In December 2010, ALISON was awarded a Diploma as runner-up in the highly prestigious global UNESCO ICT innovation in Education prize.

We invite you and your colleagues to avail of these resources.

Finally, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this information and we hope that you find these courses and resources of interest and of benefit.

Yours faithfully

Mike


Mike Feerick
CEO, ALISON
www.alison.com

Appendix

Digital Literacy & IT Skills

General

ALISON ABC IT - Basic Computer and IT Skills Training

Touch Typing Skills - Learn to Type

How to Use Gmail - Introduction to Webmail

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Microsoft

Microsoft Digital Literacy - IT Basics, Internet & Productivity Programs

Microsoft Digital Literacy - Computer Basics

Microsoft Digital Literacy - The Internet and the World Wide Web

Microsoft Digital Literacy - Productivity Programs

Microsoft Digital Literacy - Computer Security and Privacy

Microsoft Digital Literacy - Digital Lifestyles

Microsoft Internet Explorer - Introduction to Using Web Browsers

Microsoft Access - Introduction to Using Databases

Microsoft Excel - Introduction to Using Spreadsheets

Microsoft Outlook - Introduction to Using Email

Microsoft PowerPoint - Introduction to Presentations

Microsoft Word - Introduction to Using Text Documents

Web Development

Web Page Development with HTML, CSS and Dreamweaver

Introduction to Information Technology

Introduction to AJAX

How to Create Your First Website

Multimedia Development

Adobe Flash CS3 - Creating Interactive Animations and Quiz Questions

How to use YouTube for Video Sharing

How to Communicate using Skype

Adobe Photoshop: Graphic Editing and Design

Multimedia Applications with Director MX 2004

Podcasting - How to Create Podcasts for the Web

Screen Capture Tools - How to Record Your Computer Screen

Microsoft - Other Languages

Microsoft Digital Literacy (French) - Notions de Base en Informatique

Microsoft Digital Literacy (Arabic) شهادة المهارات اللازمة لتشغيل الكمبيوتر - مايكروسوفت

Microsoft Digital Literacy (Arabic) - الجزء الاول من منهج مايكروسوفت - أساسيات الكمبيوتر

Microsoft Digital Literacy (Arabic) - الجزء الثاني من منهج مايكروسوفت - الانترنت و شبكة ويب العالمية

Microsoft Digital Literacy (Arabic) - الجزء الثالث من منهج مايكروسوفت - برامج الانتاج

Microsoft Digital Literacy (Arabic) - منهج مايكروسوفت - أمان وخصوصية جهاز الكمبيوتر

Microsoft Digital Literacy (Arabic) - الجزء الخامس من منهج مايكروسوفت - أنماط الحياة الرقمية

Microsoft Office Word 2007 (Arabic) - تدريب باللغة العربية

Business and Enterprise Skills

21 Steps to Building a Web Business

How to Start Your Business or Social Enterprise - The Stone Soup Way

Introduction to Corporate Management

Introduction to Human Resources

Introduction to Operations Management

Introduction to Project Management

Financial & Economic Literacy

Introduction to Economics

Introduction to Government Economic Policy

Financial Literacy - Managing Your Money

Introduction to Accounting

Introduction to Financial Accounting

Health & Safety & Compliance

Managing Safety and Health in Schools (International)

Workstation Ergonomics and Safe Use of Display Screen Equipment (DSE)

Back Safety

Behavior-Based-Safety

Drug-Free Workplace

Health & Safety (Irish Legislation Only)

Safety and Health in Construction

Safety and Health in the Science Laboratory for Teachers

Safety and Health in the Technology Classroom for Teachers

An Introduction to Managing Safety and Health in Schools

Get Safe - Work Safe - Safety and Health for Senior Cycle Students

Health and Safety in Your School - Continuing Professional Development

Health Literacy

HIV/AIDS - Awareness & Prevention

Human Health 1 - Diet and Nutrition

Human Health 2 - Health and Human Development

Human Health 3 - Global Health Issues

English Language Skills

British Council

British Council Online English Suite - Pre-Intermediate 1

British Council Online English Suite - Pre-Intermediate 2

British Council Online English Suite - Intermediate 1

British Council Online English Suite - Intermediate 2

British Council Online English Suite - Upper-Intermediate 1

British Council Online English Suite - Upper-Intermediate 2

British Council Online English Suite - FCE Exam Skills

Other English Grammar & Writing

Learning the Basics of English Grammar

Speaking and Writing English Effectively

Improve Your English Writing Skills

Business English Test (LT-E)

English Literature

Introduction to English Literature

Shakespeare - His Life and Work

Personal Development & Soft Skills

Psychology

Introduction to Psychology 1 - Biology & Behaviour

Introduction to Psychology 2 - Memory & Cognition

Introduction to Psychology 3 - Research Methods

Psychometric Tests - Assess Your Personality, Motivation and Interests

Legal Studies

Legal Studies 1 - Laws and the Judical System

Legal Studies 2 - The Adversary Trial System

Physical Education

Physical Education 1 - Fitness Training Principles and Methods

Physical Education 2 - Coaching Styles and Techniques

Design

Design 1 - Visual and Graphic Design

Design 2 - Applying Design Principles

U.S. Citizenship Test Preparation
Basic Study Skills - A Short Guide

Schools Curriculum

Science

Introduction to General Science

Biology

Biology - Lower-Secondary - Introduction to Biology

Biology - Upper-Secondary 1 - Cells, Plants and Disease

Biology - Upper-Secondary 2 - Evolution, Genetics and Gene Technology

Chemistry

Chemistry - Lower-Secondary - Introduction to Chemistry

Chemistry - Upper-Secondary 1 - Introduction to General, Organic and Analytical Chemistry

Chemistry - Upper-Secondary 2 - The Elements, Electrochemistry and Food Chemistry

Physics

Physics - Upper-Secondary 1 - Electronics, Magnetism and Sound

Physics - Upper-Secondary 2 - Motion, Light and Materials

Maths – Lower Secondary

Mathematics - Introduction to Fractions

Mathematics - Lower-Secondary - Introduction to Geometry

Mathematics - Lower-Secondary – Introduction to Algebra

Mathematics - Lower-Secondary – Probability and Chance

Mathematics - Upper-Secondary 1 - Statistics, Correlation and Regression

Mathematics - Upper-Secondary 2 - Sequences, Series and Equations

Mathematics - Upper-Secondary 3 - Differentiation and Functions

Mathematics Upper-Secondary 4 - Distributions and Integration

Mathematics - Upper-Secondary 5 - Algebra, Calculus and Trigonometry

Mathematics - Upper-Secondary 6 - Algebra and Calculus

Geography

Geography 1 - Introduction to Environmental Awareness

Geography 2 - Understanding our Environment

Outdoor Education 1 - Introduction to Adventure

Outdoor Education 2 - Outdoor Recreation and Land Management

Diploma Courses

Diploma in Multimedia Development

Diploma in Web Development