Bonum Certa Men Certa

Could IMS Be Partly Affected by Microsoft? (and How This Relates to BECTA)

"Consultants: These guys are your best bets as moderators. Get a well-known consultant on your side early, but don’t let him publish anything blatantly pro-Microsoft. Then, get him to propose himself to the conference organizers as a moderator, whenever a panel opportunity comes up."

--Internal Microsoft document



OUR PREVIOUS POST took a preliminary look at what BECTA and Microsoft had done. It also summarised prior coverage such as [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] and Glyn finally gets around to saying that "UK Outsources Education IT to Microsoft - Again."

A little more research netted the press release at the bottom (from November). Jean-Philippe Courtois is there and it's important to remember that he's also part of the EDGI anti-GNU/Linux correspondence [1, 2], as well as cronyism in Europe. Microsoft's David Driftmier is one of the key people responsible for EDGI, as noted in [1, 2, 3, 4]. Some digging on Driftmier turns up the IMS connection because a quick Google on David Driftmier turned up some relevant factoids about Microsoft's involvement in an education consortium, IMS. The technical Microsoft man is Chris Moffatt and some documents worth looking into are included/embedded in this post.

Here's Driftmier (for e-learning) praising a new interop (yes, how ironic) standard [PDF] in July 2005.

“Even government-level decisions on education are impacted by Microsoft staff that has chairs inside government.”Microsoft hosted this 2007 meeting [PDF] in Redmond.

At this May 2008 meeting [PDF], the Microsoft statement is listed before all the others. Why?

We have already commented extensively on Microsoft controlling key positions in the education sector, sometimes through double-hatted or former staff [1, 2]. Even government-level decisions on education are impacted by Microsoft staff that has chairs inside government.

Is it not pleasant to find big vendors like Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle sharing IMS membership with niche software vendors and smaller education systems providers, and universities too; no Free software organisations in there nonetheless.

It's bad enough that Microsoft pressure groups like ACT are in there, as though you can't escape Jonathan Zuck and other people who are sponsored by Microsoft to shoot down threats from a seemingly-independent direction [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].

It would probably be too far-reaching and exaggerated to suggest that IMS is a Microsoft front (that's probably why IBM & Oracle are in there), but still. If their mission really is the creation of "standards for the development and adoption of technologies that enable high-quality, accessible, and affordable learning experiences," then why can't a prudent observer find anything about GNU/Linux? Bizarrely, the "open and free" specifications require registration (the HTML versions "may not be printed").

BECTA is a member of IMS, and BECTA's logo is on the members page, as is Microsoft's.




Microsoft and DCSF Sign MOU to Deliver a Better Connected Education for Students and Teachers in England



LONDON, October 30/PRNewswire/ --

- The First Public Private Partnership Signed by the Department of Children, Schools and Families

- With Photo

Microsoft today signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), to better connect parents with their children's education, use technology to re-engage disengaged students and improve teaching standards and career development through innovative teachers and coaching programmes. This is the first Public Private Partnership signed by the DCSF.

The MOU is part of the Microsoft Partners in Learning programme (PiL), which in the United Kingdom aims to help the government achieve the objectives of the Children's Plan and improve the education of primary and secondary students across England. In the United Kingdom, Microsoft has worked with governments and government's agencies in England Scotland and Wales on Partners in Learning programmes that have reached over 150,000 teachers and over two million students in the past three years.

Today's agreement means that Microsoft will work with the DCSF and an advisory council, which will include representatives from all schools-focused government agencies and other partners, to direct the work of the Partners in Learning programme (PiL).

Ed Balls, MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families commented:

"Digital technology is changing how we live our lives and is now a vital part of every child getting the most out of their studies and preparing for the world of work.

"By 2011, the Government will have invested GBP6billion in ICT meaning we have the highest levels of embedded technology in classrooms in the European Union, one computer for every three pupils, and over 97% of schools have got a broadband connection.

"But there is more to do. Today's agreement will help us towards our plans to close the digital divide forever, and ensure that every school is making the most out of the best technology available and every teacher and student can get the most out of it."

Jean-Philippe Courtois, President, Microsoft International, said:

"Microsoft's vision for Partners in Learning in the United Kingdom is to enable learners to become confident, successful contributors to a 21st century society, and we are delighted to be formalising this commitment today with the DCSF."

A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk.

Source: Microsoft Emma Turner +44(0)20-3047-2202, emma.turner@edelman.com

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Openwashing Shills Initiative (OSI) - Part II: Lying to the IRS is a Big Issue
The OSI of today pretends to be something that it is not
Bloodlust and Love of Blades (Fascination With Murder) Nothing New Among Microsofters
Violence is not a joke and no group is magically entitled to make such "jokes"
Links 01/06/2025: Bird Flu, Food Price Inflation, and Growing US-China Hostilities
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2025: "Vibe Coding" Turns Out to be a Fraud and Amazon Merits Boycott, Argue Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2025: "Stardust" and Ideal PC Setup
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2025: Windows TCO, Openwashing, "It's FOSS" Still Promoting Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2025: Simplification and Networks Everywhere
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 31, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, May 31, 2025
Google Bribes EFF. EFF Promotes LLM Slop as 'Fair Use'. To GAFAM It's a Low-Cost Lobby Hedge.
So the bribes pay off ("slush fund") and the word spreads
Slopwatch: Fake Text and Images, Financial Bubbles, and Scams in "Intelligent" Clothing
Sometimes what they mean by "AI" is just cheap labour somewhere else, as we discussed in IRC a few hours ago
Why Microsoft is Collapsing (Similar to What's Happening at IBM), As Insiders See It
IBM seems like one heck of a mess
Reliable Computing Means Free (Libre) Computing
Sites that want to promote security ought to deal with the biggest issues
Links 31/05/2025: US Court Orders Sides With RFE/RL, War Updates From Ukraine
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/05/2025: ARM Server and power_supply Subsystem
Links for the day
Links 31/05/2025: Slop Stigmatised as Disinformation, Catalyst/Driver of "Death of Communication"
Links for the day
Common Sense 101: Do Not Write Blog Posts Saying You Want to Murder Colleagues (or Yourself)
Only crazy people would think stabbings are a joke
Microsoft Bankruptcy
"Microsoft unit in Russia to file for bankruptcy, database shows"
Techrights Does Not Compete With LLM Slop, It Exposes the Bastards, Plagiarists and Scammers Who Do That
People like Scam Altman, still facing a lawsuit from his own sister for sexual abuse against her
Links 31/05/2025: Microsoft-Connected Builder.ai is a Fraud and US is Purging Students Based on Race/Nationality
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/05/2025: Limmat, Doomscrollers, and Arguments Parsing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 30, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, May 30, 2025
The "AI" (Slop) Bubble Already Popped, But It's Not an Overnight Collapse
where Microsoft put its money
No More Steven Astorino at IBM, Chatter About Weekly/Nonstop Layoffs at IBM
What happened? Good luck guessing.
Looking at Corruption in Europe, Going Beyond the EPO
Expect a new series to kick off very soon
Slopwatch: Security SPAM and LLM Slop for SEO and FUD Purposes, Perpetually Tarnishing the Perception of Linux and (Open)SSH Security
A lot of this Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD) comes from Microsoft and its LLMs
Links 30/05/2025: Google's LLM Slop Pushers Are Killing Journalism and Shira Perlmutter Fails to Stop Bribed Regime From Legalising Plagiarism (in "AI" Clothing)
Links for the day
Links 30/05/2025: Offline Arts and "Threshold of Patience"
Links for the day
Signing Off Serious Lies With a Statement of Truth is No Joking Matter
It's not hard to see what's happening here
Links 30/05/2025: LLM Slop Already Ingests and Vomits Its Own Garbage, Facebook Exec Admits Copyrights a Concern Too
Links for the day
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft Result in More Whistleblowers From Microsoft
Microsoft's predatory pricing is further
Slopwatch: Planet Ubuntu Became LLM Slop and Some People Fail to See the Immorality of Plagiarism
it lessens the incentive for people to publish real articles
EPO Poll: 68% Dissatisfied With Quality of Slop (Wrongly Framed as "AI") for Patent Classification
Slop does not work, it's just falsely advertised with extra hype (funded by slop pushers that sponsor the major media)
Big Crowds Gather to Learn About Software Freedom From the Man Who Started GNU/Linux in 1983
"It was a great success"
Microsoft Layoffs Again in Bay Area
Microsoft relies on people's false belief that being "in LinkedIn" will get you a job; well, seems like even working inside LinkedIn really sucks and you lose the job
Gemini Links 30/05/2025: Fighting Against the Bad News, and Slop is Dehumanisation Disguised as "Intelligence"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 29, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, May 29, 2025