<s>
The	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
was	O
an	O
online	O
learning	O
management	O
system	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Victorian	O
Department	O
of	O
Education	O
and	O
Early	O
Childhood	O
Development	O
in	O
Australia	O
to	O
provide	O
extensive	O
services	O
to	O
students	O
,	O
parents	O
and	O
teachers	O
in	O
government	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
was	O
built	O
by	O
Australian	O
IT	O
firm	O
CSG	O
and	O
phased	O
into	O
school	O
use	O
between	O
2006	O
and	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
an	O
audit	O
that	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
seriously	O
lacked	O
the	O
features	O
and	O
functionality	O
it	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
deliver	O
,	O
the	O
Victorian	O
government	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
abandoning	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
,	O
when	O
visited	O
,	O
displays	O
a	O
"	O
Goodbye	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
"	O
message	O
and	O
the	O
date	O
the	O
site	O
was	O
officially	O
shut	O
down	O
,	O
19	O
December	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
The	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
"	O
was	O
originally	O
piloted	O
in	O
22	O
schools	O
in	O
2006	O
under	O
the	O
label	O
'	O
Student@Centre	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultranet	B-Protocol
Coaches	O
(	O
Teachers	O
employed	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
ultranet	B-Protocol
in	O
DEECD	O
schools	O
)	O
were	O
notified	O
on	O
Friday	O
6	O
May	O
2011	O
that	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
that	O
year	O
their	O
positions	O
would	O
no	O
longer	O
exist	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
with	O
the	O
decision	O
not	O
to	O
renew	O
contracts	O
for	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
Coaches	O
in	O
Victorian	O
government	O
schools	O
,	O
there	O
remained	O
considerable	O
speculation	O
that	O
DEECD	O
was	O
planning	O
to	O
'	O
sell	O
off	O
 '	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
to	O
other	O
education	O
systems	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Catholic	O
sector	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
online	O
comments	O
and	O
leaks	O
,	O
this	O
speculation	O
was	O
also	O
supported	O
by	O
the	O
position	O
of	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
'	O
Business	O
Owner	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
was	O
divided	O
into	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
sections	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Teachers	O
could	O
create	O
'	O
mini	O
sites	O
 '	O
on	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
to	O
share	O
information	O
with	O
parents	O
,	O
other	O
teachers	O
and	O
students	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
author	O
of	O
a	O
site	O
on	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
could	O
add	O
the	O
following	O
parts	O
to	O
a	O
page	O
on	O
their	O
site	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
interface	O
and	O
available	O
applications	O
on	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
stemmed	O
from	O
the	O
Student	O
@Center	O
project	O
in	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
pupil-free	O
professional	O
development	O
day	O
was	O
planned	O
for	O
9	O
August	O
2010	O
for	O
teaching	O
staff	O
to	O
learn	O
how	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
has	O
been	O
further	O
criticism	O
about	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
being	O
an	O
exclusively	O
closed	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
designed	O
with	O
online	O
safety	O
as	O
a	O
priority	O
,	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
modern	O
Web	O
2.0	O
tools	O
forces	O
users	O
to	O
embed	O
content	O
from	O
other	O
sources	O
,	O
somewhat	O
undermining	O
the	O
safety	O
and	O
privacy	O
priority	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
schools	O
already	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
other	O
free	O
online	O
learning	O
management	O
systems	O
,	O
including	O
Moodle	B-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Apps	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Apps	I-Application
is	O
available	O
for	O
all	O
schools	O
in	O
Australia	O
,	O
offering	O
cutting	O
edge	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
Web	O
2.0	O
technologies	O
and	O
increased	O
online	O
storage	O
space	O
that	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
can	O
not	O
compete	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Learning	O
tasks	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2012	O
,	O
the	O
secretary	O
of	O
the	O
Education	O
Department	O
,	O
Richard	O
Bolt	O
,	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
government	O
was	O
"	O
looking	O
at	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
in	O
its	O
entirety	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
's	O
a	O
fact	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
well-known	O
fact	O
I	O
think	O
,	O
that	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
take-up	O
of	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
nothing	O
like	O
what	O
was	O
intended.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
was	O
poorly	O
planned	O
and	O
implemented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
audit	O
identified	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
serious	O
probity	O
,	O
procurement	O
and	O
financial	O
management	O
issues	O
surrounding	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
little	O
confidence	O
in	O
the	O
financial	O
management	O
practices	O
around	O
the	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
project	O
,	O
and	O
limited	O
assurance	O
that	O
the	O
selected	O
outcome	O
represented	O
value	O
for	O
money	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2015	O
,	O
the	O
Independent	O
Broad-Based	O
Anti-Corruption	O
Commission	O
announced	O
that	O
an	O
investigation	O
and	O
public	O
hearings	O
would	O
take	O
place	O
with	O
regards	O
to	O
the	O
tendering	O
process	O
of	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2013	O
the	O
Victorian	O
government	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
signed	O
a	O
$2.8	O
million	O
contract	O
with	O
NEC	O
to	O
continue	O
to	O
support	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
until	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
December	O
2013	O
,	O
after	O
which	O
it	O
would	O
no	O
longer	O
be	O
backed	O
by	O
the	O
government	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schools	O
would	O
then	O
have	O
to	O
pay	O
NEC	O
to	O
use	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
,	O
or	O
find	O
other	O
ways	O
to	O
access	O
equivalent	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
19	O
December	O
2013	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
was	O
officially	O
taken	O
offline	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
15	O
schools	O
which	O
had	O
signed	O
up	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
were	O
migrated	O
to	O
GenEd	O
,	O
NEC	O
's	O
cloud	O
based	O
Ultranet	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
