We have all heard someone talk about or be referred to as a ‘tech savvy teacher’, but what does that mean? They use their interactive whiteboard everyday and can programme a floor robot without looking at the instructions? Webanywhere believes that all teachers are tech savvy, but to different levels. If you look on Twitter you will see teachers sharing their planning and add links to fabulous websites to use in the classroom. The other end of the spectrum is a teacher that comfortably uses software and a some well chosen websites in their lessons. Using ICT and technology has to enhance your lesson, if it makes it more difficult and you lose the flow of learning then it is not worth it.
You will find many articles describing and celebrating the ‘tech savvy teacher’ and they are good. Often there are lists of attributes that identify the ‘tech savvy teacher’ and you feel inadequate and bored before item 5. We do not want you to do that to you. At Webanywhere we want to celebrate all teacher’s use of ICT and technology and to give you the confidence to possibly move out of your comfort zone and try something new. We have read the above mentioned articles and would like to offer our interpretation.
Your students read your blog
The ‘tech savvy teacher’ will have a professional blog where they share their experiences as a teacher, more aimed at colleagues in the teaching profession but their students like to check it out and comment. Or more realistically you have a class blog where you share class information, homework and resources that you use in class. It will also record what is going to happen in your classroom by your pupils and yourself. To take it one step further it may appear on your school website and parents also comment on the blog, after all it is a fabulous way to keep parents informed and actively engage with them.
You instigate your own CPD online
The ‘tech savvy teacher’ attends in-house training and staff meetings but that may not be where they learn about ICT and technology in a creative and innovative way. So they look to their Twitter feed and Facebook friends. They also read educators’ blogs and learn how to use a variety of new digital learning resources. Then they attend online courses and meetings and contribute to wikis. At a more realistic level you may look at a website that a colleague has told you about with lots of ideas for your lessons, it may or may not include ICT and technology.
You have made an online PLN
The ‘tech savvy teacher’ has a professional, or personal, learning network with whom they engage on a regular basis, possibly work together to maintain a wiki or website and regularly give and receive support regarding teaching and non-teaching information. At the other end of the spectrum you are already in a PLN but did not realise it. You collaborate with colleagues in your school and maybe further a field with your school cluster or colleagues that have moved on. You email each other with help and new ideas and resources that you find.
You share your life with virtual colleagues you have never met
This might sound horrific and contravene all the e-safety messages you know and pass on to your students. But there are those out there that do this. The ‘tech savvy teacher’s’ PLN is so tight and such a regular part of their life that they think nothing of sharing family events and personal achievements with them just like you would your family and friends. They follow people on Twitter that they have never met and congratulated them when announcing the safe arrival of a new bundle of joy! At a more basic level you may share your professional life with others by sharing activities and resources that you have created and used in your class. Learnanywhere and Jotter Learn customers do this on a regular basis and are part of those learning network.
Your weekly schedule involves Twitter chats
Where have you been? These are very popular and a great place to interact with like minded people. The ‘tech savvy teacher’ will most definitely partake in such events. #UKEdChat is a very popular meeting on Twitter for the education community. They vote on the topic and all meetup on Twitter at a preset time and search tweets with #ukeduchat and join in. The conversation is recorded and can be viewed later on their dedicated website. These people will be in the The ‘tech savvy teacher’s’ PLN and they will share their life with them. When you break this down you will most likely find that you do talk with your virtual colleagues, who are now your newly discovered PLN, about many topics that directly relate to your teaching practices. Whether it is asking for advice or sharing experiences. It is all valuable.
Summer break means ISTE and other conferences
No teacher has six weeks off, lets get that out there. You all do research and plan lessons and create resources for September during the summer holidays. SMT members are more likely to attend conferences during the summer break but the ‘tech savvy teacher’ will know what is going on and join in. But will it be totally relevant and useful to the new school year for them? Then there are the local conferences and meetings that you may arrange for your colleagues. You meet up and discuss topics for the new school year or go and visit places that you would like to visit with your students later on.
You know the vocabulary
Well more like acronyms and abbreviations, VLE, LMS and even LOL! The ‘tech savvy teacher’ will speak using these and even create their own. But you know what some of them mean and you don’t mind saying learning platform instead of LP. With the knowing comes the understanding of it. As long as you understand it in your context then all is good.
You turn to colleagues in other countries in times of need
Thinking back to the The ‘tech savvy teacher’s’ online PLN and how they interact with them all of the time, like 24/7. They can do this because their PLN is global. So someone is always online and available to offer advice. It’s great! Just as great, but may take more time to react, is the newly discovered PLN made up of colleagues in your school, your area and maybe just a little further a field.
You are a digital citizen
One hundred percent accurate. The ‘tech savvy teacher’ has the technology, the online presence on all the popular social networking and media sites. They are a good citizen, respectful to others and will not tolerate cyberbullying in any form. They don’t even like pictures of friends on Facebook that are anything less than flattering. They also instill this into their students and e-safety is a familiar phrase in the classroom. Looking at this from a different angle you do not need to have a comprehensive online presence at all. But the rest fits exactly. K. Mossberger, et al, define digital citizens as “those who use the Internet regularly and effectively”* You already do that, well most of the time!.
* Mossberger, Karen. “Digital Citizenship. the Internet.society and Participation By Karen Mossberger, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Ramona S. McNeal.” Scribd. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. (https://bit.ly/1tzEnUP)
You are always hungry to learn, try and tinker with new tech
The ‘tech savvy teacher’ will have RSS feeds setup to notify them of new releases of gadgets, apps and software. They will most likely have an iPhone, an iPad and an iMac all with the same apps loaded on them. They are always contactable, online and their cloud space is permanently 95% full. But can they then learn to use one thing really well and use it successfully in their classroom? You, on the other hand, might  investigate new technologies and apps that take your interest and you think could be of use to you in the classroom or in your personal life. You take an interest in what technology, websites and gadgets that your students use and sometimes pick up a gem for yourself.
We hope that you recognise yourself throughout this article and can smile as you know you are doing a fabulous job. If you are still not convinced just watch your students next time you are using technology or digital learning content with them, you will see them buzzing with excitement and totally engaged.
 

Blogging is now regarded by teachers all over the UK as a must-have way to improve literacy skills. It is in the new curriculum and is a great way to motivate your pupils to write for a real audience and get feedback from their teachers, peers and parents if the blog appears on your school website.
With our new blogging app, Bloganywhere, you can improve written English in your class, as well as encourage collaborative working and promote reflection.
On Wednesday, 16th July at 12pm, we are running a free webinar that will explain the benefits of blogging, and then demonstrate how you can harness these benefits with our blogging app, Bloganywhere.
If you would like to join us for this webinar, please email with your name, school name and school postcode to info@webanywhere.co.uk or complete the Get in touch box and we will send you an invitation.
You can find out more about Bloganywhere at www.bloganywhere.co.uk.

When Webanywhere looks at learning trends – which will often inform the direction our products take – we look to what’s happening in America.
 
Often, whatever happens in the USA feeds through to the UK, and then the rest of the world, afterwards. One of the latest trends is mobile learning, something we’ve blogged about in the past here and here.
 
Many schools are still hesitant about adopting mobile learning, and even more so about introducing a Bring Your Own Device policy (BYOD). But a recent blog post we read on www.eschoolnews.com highlighted why the trend is actually booming – despite those reservations.
 
In fact, there are six main reasons why mobile learning, and BYOD is booming – and here they are, based on a recent annual survey completed by parents and educators in the US, called Speak Up, by Project Tomorrow.
 
1. School and district administrators said in the survey that tablets (41%), mobile apps (22%) and BYOD (22%) have had “a significant impact on transforming teaching and learning.”
 
2. Of those who completed the survey, 86% said mobile learning increases student engagement.
 
3. 67% said mobile learning helps each student to personalise learning.
 
4. Mobile learning helps students develop skills they will need when going to college and starting their career, such as problem solving (51%), teamwork and collaboration skills (47%) and strong communication skills (37%).
 
5. 32% of the technology administrators who completed the survey said that BYOD “helps schools address budget challenges while still giving students access to technology.”
 
6. In 2010, the same survey had revealed that only 22% of schools would allow learners to use their own mobile devices in school. THe latest survey, however, showed that this number had rocketed to 41% – with an additional 10% having implemented a BYOD policy. A sign of the times indeed!
 
If you’re thinking of trying mobile learning, or you would like help with setting up in mobile learning in your school, get in touch with us here.
 

Simon Hey has the best of both worlds at Greenacres Primary School, Shropshire. “I’m actually 40% head and 60% deputy as our school has a job share headship,” he says. “I enjoy the role of headteacher and maintain a teaching role also.”
It’s this split of responsibility that gives Simon two very useful viewpoints within the school. Here, as our Head Teacher Of The Week, he answers our questions…
What do you think makes a good leader?
Someone who leads by example, earns and gives trust and respect, and is constantly looking ahead.
How important is technology in improving learning outcomes?
As part of looking ahead, we need to be sure that we show children and adults that ICT can be successful as a learning tool  as it is as a source of entertainment.
What are you tips for preparing for Ofsted?
We all know what will be inspected and so we should have evidence ready to share with the inspectors. The best way to collect evidence is as part of your cycle of internal school monitoring, ensuring evidence is current, clear and useful. An inspection lasts for a very intense short period of time and spending it searching for evidence to back up your judgements might mean you are not able to share more of all the positive work your school is doing.
What tips would you give other senior leaders who aspire to becoming a headteacher?
Although schools are all different in terms of size and catchment areas, the resulting benefit for each individual child should be at the core of every decision and change we make. Remembering that the children are the sole reason for being there helps focus the mind in a world of increasing complexity.
What is your biggest challenge at the moment?
The biggest challenge is the same as it has always been, to give each child in our care the best education we can in an atmosphere of increasing expectations. We are working a great deal more with colleagues in schools in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, and Herefordshire. Using a combination of formal and informal CPD, sharing ideas and identifying the most successful teaching and learning strategies, we are already seeing the successful impact of this collaboration.
How do you feel education is changing?
When I started teaching I was told by colleagues I thought were ancient (they were in fact the age I am now) that if I stayed in the job I would see it all change over and over again. When has education ever stood still? We are all still searching for the best way of educating our children in an ever changing world.
What gets you out of bed in a morning?
The chance to do things better than yesterday.
Do you think your school’s Head deserves to be Head Teacher Of The Week? Nominate them and tell us why! Email your Head’s details to info@webanywhere.co.uk.

Pupil Premium grants for schools increased at the end of last year – although, as you may have noticed, Ofsted has stepped up its requirements around evidencing the impact of the spending.

It means every school is now accountable for every penny spent – so making sure the money is spent wisely and effectively is of paramount importance.
In November, Professor Steve Higgins from Durham University led a discussion on Pupil Premium with the National College online community (you can see the full transcript on the DfE website (here). He covered purchasing technology to have a positive impact on learning, and provide evidence of improved learning. “Invest in technologies which you see will work well with your children and families, but look carefully at impact,” urged Professor Higgins.
Last month, we launched School Merits, part of our suite of e-learning apps, and it’s a perfect example of how technology can be used to help improve engagement as well as evidence the improvements. School Merits is a reward system that allows learning to be tracked and recognised, as well as flagging bad behaviour. It’s such a perfect tool for helping to engage learners that, this month, we will be running a webinar to show how it can help make a difference.
The webinar will cover behaviour interventions, feedback interventions, mentoring interventions – and then explain how the reporting feature within School Merits will allow you to evidence the subsequent improvements in attainment.
Making A Difference With Pupil Premium will take place on 28th March at 12pm. To sign up for the webinar, simply email your name, school name and school postcode to events@webanywhere.co.uk.

Cyberbullying has become this year’s biggest cause for concern: In the last couple of years, it has grown to the point where we are now seeing it appear in Coronation Street storylines and become part of Ofsted’s e-safety inspections. There have been far more serious knock-on effects when you delve deeper. Since 2012, there have been four teenage suicides as a result of cyberbullying via the website Ask.fm. 21% of 8-11 year olds admit to having been targeted, threatened or humiliated by an individual or group through the use of a mobile phone or the Internet (Beatbulling, Virtual Violence II).

Last week was Anti-Bullying Week, so we’ve brought together three e-safety experts and asked them their views on cyberbullying. Our three experts are:
 

Will Gardner

Will is a CEO of Childnet, an organisation whose aim is to make the Internet a safer place for children. Childnet works with children, teachers, parents and carers to equip them with the help, information and resources they need to make sure children have a safe and happy online experience.

Tracey Gentle

Tracey is a former teacher and a CEOP (Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre) Ambassador. Having spent many years in primary schools using technology, Tracey has a rich and diverse e-learning background, and through her affiliation with CEOP, promotes awareness of e-safety through events run by Webanywhere.

John Carr OBE

John is one of the world’s leading authorities on children and young people’s use of the internet. He is a member of the Independent Quality and Safeguarding Board of Compass Children’s Service, and is a Senior Expert Advisor to the United Nations. In 2011 John was awarded the OBE for ‘outstanding achievement in the field of child online safety.’

 
1. How big a problem do you feel cyberbullying is now compared to, say, five years ago?
Will Gardner: Unlike other forms of bullying, the number of cases isn’t going down. It’s very hard to get a baseline of figures to show how it has increased – but it’s a problem that affects many young people’s lives.
Tracey Gentle: Five years ago mobile phones did not access the internet so easily, we did not have hand held devices or tablets that could take photographs and videos, and uploading to the internet was difficult and took a long time (upload speeds were much slower then and dial up was still widely used). Cyberbullying was therefore not a big issue then – children and young people did not have their own devices but used the family computer or phone. With the ease of use, devices with internet connectivity and social networking being so easy to use, cyberbullying has just increased so rapidly that it has caught us unaware. Now, we’re not sure how to get back on top of it and educate parents and young people to help stamp it out.
John Carr OBE: Bullying has been an issue since time immemorial. Cyberbullying is simply a modern expression of it. I think it is very hard to get widespread agreement on what constitutes ‘cyberbullying’ and therefore it is not easy to say whether the problem is growing, shrinking or in a steady state. But however much of it is going on, it’s too much. Bullying ruins lives. We all have to be on our guard to help detect it and stop it.
 

2. How often do you see cases of cyberbullying?

Will Gardner: We’re not a place where people go to if they have a problem – we’re more on the preventative side. We did a big survey last year and 24,000 children replied – one of the issues that came out top was cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is currently the number one issue with both children and teachers.
Tracey Gentle: The first time I was aware of it in school was horrid text messages and emails, but very occasionally. This increased with BEBO and Club Penguin, when primary school aged children would not befriend or play with each other rather than being horrid.  As I left teaching we were regularly contacting parents to say that their children had Facebook accounts and were trying to befriend teachers and using it to ridicule others. This was also happening on the school VLE in blog posts and on discussion boards. In October 2013 the Anti-Bullying Alliance and Slater & Gordon Lawyers reported that 55.2% of children/young people saw cyberbullying as part of everyday life; that shocks me.
John Carr OBE: In every school in the UK, every day of the week, I’m afraid cyberbullying will be taking place.
 
3. What do you think is the most common reason for children to become cyberbullies? What is the motivation?
Will Gardner: I think it’s difficult to distinguish the motivation between different types of bullying. I think the technology allows children to be more spontaneous. As for motivation, I think it’s very difficult to separate bullying and cyberbullying. It’s just technology being used as a means to bully.
Tracey Gentle: Most will see what they do as a bit of fun, posting a silly picture and others ‘lol’ at it. Only some are purposely malicious and intend to repeatedly hurt (such as cyber trolls). It will often be a group of children/young people that drive such an activity and are usually egged on by the other (peer pressure but no excuse) to send a nasty text or create a post on social networking. It is also an easy way to hit back using technology and possibly look brave and be admired by others for doing it.
John Carr OBE: There is always an explanation for why people choose to bully others. The hard part is working out what that is for each individual. Glib generalisations rarely help to advance our understanding.
 

4. Do you think you can turn e-safety into a positive message for using technology?

Will Gardner: If you are imagining the world with no bullying, that would be comprised of children who can use technology safely, and respect their community. We want to create a community of children who use technology like this. We want people to feel positive about technology, instead of using it to scare people. The scaring message doesn’t have the longer term impact we want. It’s important that we are positive about technology and the opportunities it provides – events like Safer Internet Day help with this.
Tracey Gentle: It should always be a positive message. I always taught children/young adults to use technology in a positive, creative and constructive way. Collaboration is important and we regularly worked on creating web pages and wikis. I related the school rules to online use. They all knew what happened if they upset/hurt someone in the playground and that would also happen to them if they were horrid to someone online or posted something silly. The children really enjoyed making avatars to represent them online and understood why they did so. I told them I was empowering them to take control of their online self.
John Carr OBE: I look forward to a time when we don’t talk about e-safety ­at all, either because there is no need to or because it’s so widely accepted as part of normal everyday prudence and good manners.
 
5. What do you think are the potential consequences of cyberbullying?
Will Gardner: The consequences are – 1. The same as bullying – loneliness, isolation, low self esteem – but there are some things about technology that people need to be aware of. The anonymity can make it that much more distressing for the victim, and there’s the ‘mass audience’ effect too. 2. Closure. Some content can re-appear in other places once it’s out there on the internet. 3. For parents, it’s a very distressing issue, but we want to give a clear message to them schools have an anti-bullying policy so they can help prevent it. Schools are now being inspected by Ofsted for their e-safety measures and anti-bullying policies. If you want to be an outstanding school, this is something that needs addressing.
Tracey Gentle: We have seen how extreme the consequences are in the press and it is not pleasant. At school level we have to give the bully as much time and attention as the victim as there are consequences for both parties. The victim will lose confidence and withdraw into themselves, which will result in poor attainment in school and affect their personal and social life. Hopefully that can be reversed overtime. There will be a reason why the bully has behaved how they did, they may also have been a victim, have a poor quality family life or not be doing well in school.  Often jealousy is the reason with female bullies. These issues need to be addressed, often others will want them to be punished or disciplined and something should happen, a consequence that they understand and will make them think about what they have done. Writing an apology or losing playtime at primary school usually does the trick. If the reason for this behaviour is home based suspending the child/young adult is not always a good thing, they are safe/better off in school. This has to be increased with age and severity of the offence.
John Carr OBE: They can be completely catastrophic for some youngsters. There have been too many suicides which are directly linked to cyberbullying.
 

6. What advice would you give to schools to help prevent cyberbullying?

Will Gardner: We’ve written guidance for schools already. It’s available if you go to www.digizone.org. That has steps around preventing and responding – we advise to take a whole school community approach, covering what cyberbullying is, and that it can have a negative impact on everyone.
Tracey Gentle: It is all about educating your pupils and you start as soon as the children start school.  Most will have been using technology for 2 to 3 years at that point. I have seen an 18 month child using an iPad to play games, YouTube videos and FaceTime their grandparents, terrible really but it is happening. Use Safer Internet Day and Anti-bullying Week to reinforce the messages.
John Carr OBE: The issue is bullying, wherever it happens to be taking place. The answer has to be to encourage children to be kind and considerate to each other but also for schools to be vigilant and be ready to step up and support a child who might be being bullied.
 

 7. How do you think awareness of cyberbullying can be built into everyday e-learning?

Will Gardner: We have the new computing curriculum, which has e-safety as part of it. Education is absolute key – and supporting children, encouraging them to use the e-safety advice and services available.
Tracey Gentle: Many cyberbullying lesson plans have cross curricular links, these messages should not be restricted to e-learning activities or ICT lessons. It is all about being a good friend, pupil, member of your community and a good citizen. What happens in the online world affects the real world.  Once the children/young adults know that what they do can be traced, is recorded for their safety. Knowing this should deter them from cyberbullying as it can also be used against them.  The hidden curriculum also comes into play here, the teaching staff have to be a good role model. You can tailor an assembly or lesson to include a topic that relates to an incident that may of happened in school so giving the whole school the message is less intimidating and can have more value.
John Carr OBE: All teachers know about bullying. Some may not know it can happen online as well as in the playground. We have to change that situation.
 

Teachers are becoming open to the possibilities for social media tools in the classroom. In the hands of the right educators, they can be used to engage in creative ways and inspire discussion among even the softest-spoken students. However popular social networking and content sharing sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are often blocked by schools because its content can’t be moderated – even though they can be a good source of high-quality teaching resources.
Student Jotter is a system for e-portfolios and secure social networking that enables teachers to incorporate safe, secure social media into their lesson plans. Teachers can share their lesson plans, quizzes, videos, podcasts and other resources in a shared library. A community section allows teachers and students to network and collaborate with other members who share the same educational interests.  Class discussions are no longer intimidating for some students to participate in.
Everything is hosted in the cloud for free. Some great tools are included:  An online gradebook, customised quizzes, secure messaging, classroom blogs, the ability to track assessment and a customised profile page.  Student Jotter also enables students to easily share their work projects with classmates.
The interface is easy to navigate and teachers can monitor and edit any of their students’ messages and blogs posts. They can also control how private they want the e-portfolio to be; student-and-teacher only,  allow parents to log in with a password, or make them publically available.
In summary, School Jotter is a better way for teachers and students to organise themselves, and a place to put their work.
Is your school using social media for teaching and learning? What resources do you use? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

A number of schools in the UK are warning parents to be on their guard against cyber-bullying and even gang violence as a result of their childrens’ use of popular social networking sites such as Facebook.  Gatherings of large numbers of young people are often organised using these websites, without the knowledge of their parents or carers.  This, say the schools, is putting pupils at risk of serious crime including muggings, thefts and even physical injury.
One possible solution is to provide students with internally administered and monitored social networks, such as our solution for e-Portfolios and Secure Social Networking in schools.

Interesting article debates whether childrens’ behaviour is being influenced as the line between fact and gossip becomes increasingly blurred thanks to unmoderated social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo.
Link to Telegraph article

The NASUWT Teachers Union has said that trying to understand the full impact of the Education funding cuts at this time is ‘like knitting fog’.
Certainly, after the backlash over the scrapping of 700 school building projects, the chancellor announcement that there will be £15.8bn to “rebuild and refurbish” 600 schools should mean that schools won’t need to find this funding from other budgets – what’s your take?
The headline messages we picked out are:

• The schools budget will see a real reduction in Department of Education resource spending of 3% by 2014-15.
• 60% reduction in real terms in capital spending over the Spending Review period. However over the Spending Review period there will be a total of £15.8 billion of capital spending. The average annual capital budget will be higher than the average annual capital budget in the 1997-98 to 2004-05 period.
• Funding grants streamlined i.e. Education Maintenance Allowances ended; procurement and back office savings; 33% admin reduction in real terms by closing NDPBs, reducing headcount, reducing the costs of the DfE estate and cutting nonessential expenditure.

Next steps will include further details contained in a Schools’ White Paper, a Special Educational Needs and Disability Green paper, and confirmation of local authority allocations for schools and early years provision.  We’ll keep an eye in developments and keep you updated on further announcements that are expected throughout the next three months.