As the world develops and technology becomes more and more part of our daily lives, it’s essential that both primary and secondary schools acknowledge and embrace the constantly developing digital world. Technology within the classroom provides teachers with new and exciting ways of teaching as well as new ways of allowing students to learn. Many schools now manage their day to day running using Virtual Learning Environments, however it’s essential that they’re continuously looking to the future to ensure they keep up with constantly developing technology.
One thing that schools are doing is providing its students with their own portable device. By providing students with a portable device, it can both excite and engage them as they’re using something that they are not only comfortable with but something they enjoy using. “A recent Childwise report indicated that of the 8.6 million children aged 5-16 in the UK, 73% have a laptop, PC or tablet”. A somewhat shocking but unsurprising statistic highlights how children are now growing up in the digital world and why it’s essential that schools embrace technology to create the best opportunity for students to learn.
Despite the common availability of Laptops for many years, it took the release of Apple’s iPad to really kick start the portable device phenomenon. The iPad was described as a revolutionary technology when it was first released back in 2010. It rapidly grew in popularity to become an essential part of so many people’s everyday lives. However, in recent years, Google’s Chromebook has grown in popularity within the education sector despite poor commercial sales. It seems that many schools are now opting to choose it over an iPad.
Initially iPads were designed for browsing the web and accessing apple’s plethora of apps and it was seemingly an after thought that people may want to use the device to write on. Because of this it’s nigh on impossible to easily write anything of length using its touch screen keyboard. This inability to type up longer pieces of work hinders the iPad’s overall usability within schools, whereas Chromebooks are essentially normal laptops with normal functional keyboards. This, combined with access to various pre-installed and free programs such as Google Docs and Google Books, it shows just how useful the Chromebook can be within the classroom.
Another reason why the education sector are now considering a Chromebook instead of an iPad, is down to cost. In a world full of constant cut backs and money saving projects, costings have to be looked at and assessed. A standard Chromebook is significantly cheaper than an iPad and for the saving, you are getting something that is more practical and functional for a classroom.
Each device has a seemingly never ending list of positives and using either can only be a good thing for schools and their students, as they allow instant access to a never ending source of information and knowledge. However, when it comes to which device is the more practical solution, for most Schools it would probably be the Chromebook. The iPad’s flexibility and ability to be transformed into a video camera, a musical instrument among other things is widely useful, however a Chromebook is cost effective, simple and functional and this is likely to be what most schools will be looking for from their choice of portable devices.
Mobilegeddon is here. In February earlier this year, Google announced that any sites that aren’t mobile-friendly will find their search rank plummet from April 21st, making it extremely difficult to find your site if it isn’t readable on mobile. It comes as very little surprise to anyone keeping an eye on website traffic over the past few years, nearly 60% of all internet browsing is now done from a mobile or tablet, which is why Google is now making it a top priority. This is something that schools need to fix if they want their site to remain in the top hits in Google.
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Our friends over at Early Childhood Education Degrees recently published a great infographic on how technology hardware is being used in schools, and we wanted to share their fantastic work with you. Click through to see the full infographic, with some excellent stats on how schools are engaging with new technologies:
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One of the biggest topics in e-learning at the moment is “gamification”, but there are a few misconceptions about what exactly this is, how you can implement it and how it can help students to learn. We’ll be covering these below, but in its essence, it’s taking concepts from video games and applying them to learning.
What gamification isn’t
Some educators see the word “game” in the title and baulk, having memories of substandard and outdated education software with more focus on entertainment than teaching. Likewise pupils might be sceptical of approaches to insert educational concepts into what’s traditionally seen as a “hometime” activity. This isn’t gamification though. While there’s certainly merit to a synergy of education and entertainment, gamification instead refers to methods of incentivising more traditional approaches, turning tasks into “games”.
What gamification is
Video games generally work on ideas of work/reward relationships – by putting in the work, you get a reward, for example defeating an opponent leads to the player gaining a piece of treasure, or completing a level and receiving an achievement. These can then be compared with others’ results, adding in elements of competition. This contrasts with learning environments, where aside from the long-term educational benefits, students generally have relatively little to gain in the short-term. By introducing achievement points & light-hearted competition, you let students track their own progress.
How you can implement it
The easiest and most efficient way to apply game-based principles to your teaching is through use of a VLE or other online environment. An open-source VLE has the ability to award badges which can display achievements and track progress. These can then be shared and compared with others, with rewards (both digital and physical) given to high achievers.
By a similar token, our own Merits system (free to School Jotter users) uses the concept of Merits as a currency for students, which can be spent either on customising their avatar or purchasing physical goods. This applies the rewards concept to learning and behaviour.
What this means for you
Gamification means more engaged students, who spend less time passively learning and more time actively discovering new information, for a proper flipped classroom experience. By incentivising hard work we appeal not just to students’ desires to better themselves but to show that they’ve bettered themselves. Engage your students, reward hard work and improve your results – gamified learning is a fantastic way to teach.
UPDATE 14/04/2015: Check out our dedicated Homework Block Site!
ORIGINAL STORY: We’re now offering the Homework Block as a part of all of our solutions!
This newly-developed module will simplify any teacher’s life when it comes to managing, setting, tracking and marking students’ homework. Use the Homework Block to:
Track students’ homework
Access to the Homework Block is granted to the teacher, parents and student, meaning all are able to keep track of progress. Parents can log in from home and see what their child has been assigned and a general overview of the students’ work.
Submit homework online
Students can instantly submit their homework from anywhere with an Internet connection, meaning no more forgotten work, and not having to wait for the next day to hand work in!
A useful homework-planning tool
Homework plans for the entire term or curriculum can be entered into the block ahead of time, so you can have it automatically roll out when necessary. Assignments can be set for entire classes, and streaming is even possible for different-levelled classrooms.
We’re confident that the new Homework Block will prove to be an effective way to save you time and effort, reducing one of the most common complaints about teachers’ workloads. For more information, contact a member of our salesteam to discuss your needs and requirements.
After many weeks of work, we’re really proud to announce the launch of our new-look website dedicated to School Jotter at www.schoolanywhere.co.uk. It’s a central resource for all your School Jotter questions and information, and you can custom-build a School Jotter distribution for us to implement for you.
The new site is fully responsive and is designed to look great at any resolution – whether you’re browsing on a 27″ monitor or a 4″ phone, the site should be fluid and responsive.
What’s especially unique about the site and its versatility is that it was built entirely within School Jotter Site – Webanywhere’s own, custom-built school website system. This meant the site was easy to build, with drag-and-drop construction and WYSIWIG editing. We really think that this is an example for us to show the power of Jotter to the world – we’re so confident in its abilities for schools that we’re building our own websites in it!
We’re really pleased with our new website, and we hope you will be too. Check it out at www.schoolanywhere.co.uk.
With the rise of tablets and smartphones there’s also been the rise of buggy mobile websites, unresponsive buttons and pages that just won’t load on tablets. With such a variety of browsers and products comes concerned website owners, who just don’t know the best solution for an easy-to-use interface.
Responsive Website Design, (RWD) and Adaptive Website Design, (AWD) share the goal of solving these problems, but they use very different approaches.
Responsive website design
Responsive websites use CSS3 to create a website that responds to the device it’s on. This gives the site the ability to adapt, with text and images resizing to fit the screen. These websites are great examples of responsive design:
Adaptive website design
Adaptive websites feature a series of static layouts, which are based on breakpoints for different screens. Adaptive websites do not respond fluidly, like responsive websites, but detects the device prior to loading and calls up the correct resolution. The following links are examples of adaptive websites:
|
Positives |
Negatives |
Responsive
Website
Design |
- Responds to all screen resolutions, whilst holding consistency.
- Can be efficiently managed, with a single set of hyperlinks.
- Increased visibility in search engines.
|
- Resolutions may lead to site distortion.
- Takes longer to create.
- May not be as cost effective in certain circumstances.
|
Adaptive
Website
Design |
- Pixel perfect control
- Every relevant resolution designed for.
- Directed towards desktop computers, tablets and smart phones
|
- May lack consistency and flexibility across platforms.
- May suffer with layout from design choices and browsers
- May not be extensive testing across obscure platforms
|
So what should we take away from this? Well, responsive website design may lend itself to a less formal and minimalistic format, perhaps with a focus on arts or retail, whereas adaptive design may be more applicable to a more formal site, where a customer’s interests may lie in text-dense or informative articles.
Using these methods will ensure that you can rely on your site being visited and used effectively across devices and screen resolutions, whilst retaining customer satisfaction with a positive experience for user.
If you’d like to learn more, check out these sites:
Broadcast allows you to communicate with parents by email or SMS through an easy-to-use web-based interface. One great feature is that you can send and receive SMS messages within the Broadcast app. Watch the short video below to see more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2gKj7gvW4o
Broadcast simplifies notifying parents. You can select classes of children to send a message to, and that message will automatically go to their parents. Creating customised groups is easy and enables you to target parents of children in clubs or other extracurricular activities. You can even personalise SMS messages by automatically inserting parents’ first or last names into the message.
Broadcast communicates in two ways, SMS and email. If parent doesn’t have a mobile phone, or an SMS is sent but there is a problem with the delivery, Broadcast then automatically sends an email. There are detailed message delivery reports so you can ensure your message is getting out to parents, and contact them by other means if they have not received it.
While sending email is free, topping up SMS credits can be done in two clicks, and you choose the number of SMS credits that suits your situation.
School Jotter now has SIMS integration which means that creating and updating parent and child accounts is automatic meaning no administration time for your staff, and accurate information about your parents and students in Jotter.
Broadcast app simplifies your communications and make for more effective relationships between staff and parents. Try it out now in the School Jotter app store, or request a free demo!
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.
