The Department of Education and Training has provided the Global2 blogging platform by Edublogs at no cost to Victorian government and Catholic schools since 2007. The current contract for Global2 will expire on 31 December 2020 at which point, the Department will not be renewing its funding for the software.
This page will provide discontinuation information and transition options for schools.
Background
Evaluation of Global2
The Department commissioned an evaluation of Global2, which was completed by Grosvenor Public Sector Advisory Group. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the extent and nature of the current use of Global2, its perceived value to schools and to provide options to the Department for the future of the software. Overall, the evaluation findings were that the use of the software is low and has been declining over time.
Blogging, although contemporary when Global2 was first procured in 2007, is now less relevant as other technologies emerge that meet the needs of students and schools.
Department-Provisioned Software Alternatives to Global2
Analysis of the specific use-cases of Global2 found that the needs of schools can be met by alternative Department-provisioned software; Google Sites as part of G Suite for Education and Microsoft Sway as part of Microsoft 365. This existing software have both been assessed and been found to adhere to Departmental privacy and security policy.
Please find the functionality mapping of Global2
Professional Learning for New Users to G-Suite for Education and Office 365
The Digital Learning Services (DLS) Unit are available to support any new users to Google Sites and Microsoft Sway.
Microsoft Sway: Tuesday 17 November and Wednesday 2 December - register here
Transition Options for Schools
Global2 school users have two transition options open to them, outlined below.
Transition option 1: Leave the Global2 platform, remove your school data and, if your school requires, transition to the Department-provided alternatives.
Your school can choose to leave the platform at the end of the current contract. You will need to export any school data that you have on Global2. To export, navigate to the menu item ‘tools’ and then click ‘export’. If your school has been an engaged user of Global2 then please start this process early. If any assistance is needed to export, then please contact the Edublogs Support Team.
From here your school can choose to transition to the Department-provided software alternatives of Google Sites or Microsoft Sway.
Transition option 2: Continue your service with the provider, Edublogs, independent of the Department.
Although the formal funding arrangement between the Department and Edublogs is finishing, as always, your school is able to make its own local decisions on preferred software. Your school may choose to continue with an independent contractual agreement with Edublogs.
To continue on with Edublogs directly, your school will need to contact the Edublogs Support Team. Edublogs will discuss the options available to your school based on your specific needs.
When making local software decisions, schools are reminded to adhere to Department privacy and information security guidelines and policies, specifically:
All blogs will be removed from the Global2 platform by the 31st of January2021, unless your school has contacted the Edublogs Support Team to organise an independent agreement. If you have not taken action to either remove your data or initiate an independent agreement, your blog will not be accessible from the 1st of February 2021.
For further information, please contact the Digital Learning Services Unit.
