Webanywhere’s recent string of Nurturing Online Learning events have been a huge success – and we’re now planning more for March and April.

During February, to coincide with Safer Internet Day, we’ve visited Manchester, Swindon, Halifax and London – with two more events, in Carlisle and Birmingham, scheduled for this coming Monday. Each event, joint-hosted by Webanywhere and a local primary school, covered e-safety and cyberbullying, and Ofsted requirements for school websites. Both sessions of each event were delivered by CEOP Ambassador Tracey Gentle.
During each session, cyberbullying was covered in detail: What it is, how teachers can spot it, and how your school can prevent it in the future. Then, Tracey helped teachers make sense of Ofsted’s ever-changing list of requirements for school websites, discussing each area in plain English and giving suggestions as to how, aside from pleasing the inspectors, a school website can benefit from meeting the requirements.
At each event, a local school presented their website and explained how they used it to its full potential – engaging parents, pupils and other teachers.
If you missed our recent events, we’re now scheduling follow-up sessions for late March and April. Most will cover e-safety and Pupil Premium, and will take place in Oxford, Liverpool, Norwich, Chelmsford, Blackpool and a follow-up event in Birmingham.
To keep up to date with our latest event news, and to find out when the dates of the new sessions are, keep an eye on our events page (www.webanywhere.co.uk/events) and our Twitter handle (@webanywhere_ltd).

Last month, we announced that two new e-learning products were on the horizon. School Merits and Jotter Learn were both unveiled at the BETT Show, in almost-finished form, and visitors to the Webanywhere stand had the opportunity to see how they could transform learning in schools.

This month, we announce our next development. School Jotter, the UK’s leading primary school website system, is to become part of a fully-integrated e-learning ‘suite’.
To begin with, all our existing customers who use School Jotter 2 – the second incarnation of the School Jotter system, launched in 2012 – will be upgraded to a new dashboard for free. Called the Jotter Suite, it’ll look something like the image above.
The Site button is where their School Jotter 2 website can be accessed. In other words, the website itself won’t change, or how it’s edited – more how it’s accessed. However, the messaging, admin and file storage features of School Jotter have been split off into separate apps, as you can see from the screenshot above.
Next – and this is where it all ties together – School Merits and Jotter Learn will both become available. They will both be accessible via the Jotter Suite dashboard, bringing with them apps for blogging and creating forums. School Merits and Jotter Learn will be available from 26th February,
Eventually, all Webanywhere products will be accessible via the Jotter Suite. It means one sign-in for all your e-learning needs, plus you’ll be able to transfer data between the different products, seamlessly. For example, soon, you’ll be able to download the progress reports of your class from School Merits direct to your School Jotter website system. Ultimately, it’ll save teachers time, give you more opportunities for integrating e-learning – and make learning online a more enjoyable experience.
If you’d like to find out more about the new Jotter Suite dashboard, or the new apps, sign up for the School Merits and Jotter Learn launch webinars on Wednesday, 26th February.
You can get all the details regarding the webinars here.

November is always a busy month for e-learning events – and for Webanywhere, it’s four weeks packed with calendar dates across the country!

Nurturing Online Learning is a series of events taking place (predominantly) in local primary schools. Many of these schools are winners of the Create Your Character Competition, and have kindly agreed to help out with the hosting of events.
Most of the events feature CEOP Ambassador and former teacher Tracey Gentle, who has a wealth of knowledge in e-learning, e-safety and Ofsted requirements for school websites. Tracey has already presented at two successful Webanywhere events, in Sheffield and Hull, and has helped schools meet Ofsted requirements for their website, as well as helping them to understand the benefits of e-learning better.
You can find out details about the events on our Events page over at Newsanywhere, but below you’ll find an overview of the Nurturing Online Learning sessions. All of these events are free for schools to attend. If you would more information, or wish to attend, email david.smith@webanywhere.co.uk.
 
 

Wednesday 13th November 9-11am

Nurturing Online Learning: Leeds

Rose Bowl, Leeds LS1 3HE

This event will cover e-safety and cyberbullying – both a big part of Ofsted inspections now. Tracey will take delegates through the facts and figures, and explain how schools can prevent and combat cyberbullying. The event will also cover broadband services and how schools can benefit from an internet service that allows them to control access for children and staff.
 

Thursday 21st November

Learn Learnanywhere 4-5.30pm

Holy Trinity Dobcross Primary School, Oldham OL3 5BP

A learning platform training session, giving a back-to-basics overview of using the Webanywhere learning platform, Learnanywhere.
 

Thursday 21st November 9.30am-12.30pm

Nurturing Online Learning: Devon

Wolborough Primary School, Newton Abbott TQ12 2JU

Devon’s Nurturing Online Learning event takes place at Wolborough Primary School near Newton Abbott, and will cover Ofsted requirements for school websites. This is a useful overview of essential information you will need to include on your website – and if you’re a School Jotter user, useful hints and tips on updating your website. There will also be a session covering e-learning in the classroom, which will cover ways to get the most from a learning platform.
 

Friday 22nd November 9.30am-12.30pm

Nurturing Online Learning: Wigan

Christ Church CE Primary School, Leigh WN7 4HB

Webanywhere’s e-Learning Consultant James Norris will present alongside Tracey Gentle at this event, covering e-safety in the classroom, and Ofsted requirements for school websites. There will also be a short presentation by Christ Church CE Primary School’s Clair Gornall about creating and managing a school website effectively.
 

Thursday 28th November, 3.15-5.515pm

Nurturing Online Learning: Essex

Westborough School, Westcliff-On-Sea SS0 5BS

Tracey Gentle will cover Ofsted requirements for school websites, giving an overview of how to update your website and the information you will need to include. Tracey will also cover integrating e-learning into everyday teaching, explaining how technology, and a VLE, can assist you in the classroom.
 

Friday 29th November, 9am-12pm

Nurturing Online Learning: Stoke

St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 7DG

Tracey Gentle will give an overview of cyberbullying and explain how schools can prevent and combat this growing problem. There will also be useful e-safety resources and information available, as well as an overview of using an e-portfolio system to promote e-safety, presented by Webanywhere’s e-learning consultant John Standhaven. Tracey will then cover Ofsted requirements for school websites, again giving an overview of how to update your website and the information you will need to include.
 

So, by now you may’ve seen our winning avatars from the Create Your Character Competition (if not, you can view them here). We’ve had some wonderful responses from the winning schools – and we have begun to present the prizes to our top ten. The competition is even getting into local papers!

Our in-house artist, Jonny, has been busy recreating the five winning avatars for Learnanywhere, one of which you can see below.

Jonny has tried to stay very faithful to the originals – and we think he’s done a fantastic job!

Some of our winning schools are also going to be hosting events with Webanywhere. There will be one event at each of these schools,  covering things like Ofsted requirements for school websites, and getting more from a learning platform.
The first event we can announce at a winning school is on Friday, 22nd November at Christ Church CE Primary School, Leigh, Wigan. After we visited their school this week (see winning pupil Maciek, in the picture above, holding up his avatar for the local Wigan paper) they have agreed to host Nurturing Online Learning: Wigan. The event will be split into two sessions, covering e-safety in the classroom, and Ofsted requirements for school websites. You can find all the details here.
If you would like more information about our events, or you would like to be a host for a Webanywhere event, please get in touch here.
 

We’re now into the final few days of the Create Your Character Competition – so if you’ve registered to take part, now’s the time to start submitting your entries!

Many schools have already submitted their avatar designs for Webanywhere’s latest primary pupil competition – and as the picture from Parkwood Primary School, Keighley shows (above), the creativity knows no bounds!
A lot of the children have been using the avatar templates supplied in the teacher’s pack and adorning them with cool clothes, fetching hats or useful implements – whilst others have created their character from scratch. Below is an example of the latter, from Pennine Way Junior Academy, Derbyshire. This cool-looking fellow has apparently been named Rock QX, and doubles as a superhero!

To get involved with the competition, and to find out the latest competition news, you can now use the Twitter hashtag #createyourcharacter. If you want to register and stand a chance of winning thousands of pounds’ worth of e-learning prizes for your school, plus get your avatars used in Learnanywhere, click here. The closing date is this Friday at 4pm.
 

Last week, Webanywhere launched the Create Your Character Competition – a chance for primary schools across the country to win thousands of pounds worth of e-learning prizes.

It’s also an opportunity for school children to get creative – and possibly even see their work incorporated into our learning platform, Learnanywhere.
We asked primary schools to get their pupils creating new des
igns for avatars – characters – like the ones currently available in Learnanywhere. Avatars are a great aspect of Learnanywhere: Every time a pupil creates a good piece of work, or achieves a good test score, their teacher can award them ‘points’ on Learnanywhere. These points can then be used to purchase accessories for their avatar. Therefore, the avatars provide a great incentive to work harder – and children love them!
Our assembled judging panel will review all the entries – and five winners will see their characters created for Learnanywhere by our designer.

 
There are also thousands of pounds worth of prizes to be won: the five winners will receive e-learning packages for their school. Five runners up will receive mini e-learning bundles, and their avatar made into an exclusive poster for their school.
If you fancy getting your class, or your school, involved, there’s still time to register for your teacher’s pack. This will help you plan lessons around creating the characters for the competition, plus give you vital information and guidance when submitting your work.
October 4th, 2013 at 4pm is the closing date – so register now and get creating! Just go to www.webanywhere.co.uk/createyourcharacter. For more information about this competition, including terms and conditions, email competitions@webanywhere.co.uk.
 

Our MD Sean Gilligan has recorded a video to thank our customers, both old and new, for all their support over the years as we reach our 10th birthday.

This is a big landmark for us, having come a long way in a decade. The company has grown quickly in the last few years, but we remain true to our founding vision and values – to innovate, to stretch beyond expectations, to create jobs, and to improve learning outcomes.
It is an exciting time in the educational technology sector, as online tools become the norm and are having an ever greater impact upon learning, and providing access to knowledge for all around the world. Here’s to the next ten years, to new markets, new innovation, new growth – but the same appreciation and regard for our customers, the core of our business.