As a retired primary teacher I find it unsurprising that numerous studies show a gender gap where girls are significantly outperforming boys in literacy. One of the latest studies, commissioned by Save the Children, has found that the female advantage is established even before they step foot in the classroom. Understanding the Gender Gap in Literacy and Language Development was undertaken by researchers from Bristol University’s Graduate School of Education. Apparently in the 2014/15 school year, one in four boys were behind in language at age five and started Reception without being able to follow simple instructions or speak a full sentence. The report also states that for those children who start school behind, few will catch up.
Factors
While the gap appears to exist for all socio-economic groups, it was wider for those children eligible for free school lunches. Whereas the overall ratio was 25% of boy starters unable to answer simple “how” and “why” questions compared to 14% of girls, this escalated to 35% and 23% for lower income families. Several of the schools where I taught had ‘breakfast clubs’ before school, run by volunteers. It was a sad fact that this club was bursting at the seams. Whether this was simply due to poor time management by parents or because of economic factors, cereal and toast were gobbled up greedily. Once the children’s blood sugar levels rose, behaviour improved and they stayed on task longer. But where gender difference is concerned, evidence from the Save the Children study couldn’t definitively point to biological, developmental or social causes. An earlier study in 2008 by the Institute of Education (part of the Millennium Cohort Study) found that for both sexes attainment was better for children with two working parents, particularly if they held qualifications. Pupils in stepfamilies or with one parent had lower achievement.
Department for Education
The DfE produced a report in 2009 entitled Gender and Education – Mythbusters Addressing Gender and Achievement: Myths and Realities where they tended to refute most of the gender gap findings, however the evidence spoke for itself when it came to girls attaining higher in English. At key stage two, the gap is considerably wider for writing than reading but this is hardly news to me, as I repeatedly felt like I was hitting my head against a brick wall trying to get boys to write. The DfE say that increased provision has been made for Early Years practitioners to try and redress the gender gap but is it too little, too late?
Solutions
I recall an old study that maintained girls were better communicators because female babies tended to be carried facing inwards, whereas boys faced outwards. Facing inwards allowed babies to see their parents’ faces and be spoken to directly. They would learn to read facial expressions and understand nuance more quickly than if carried outwards. Somewhat controversially, the Save the Children study advocates treating boys more like girls. Girls tend to be sung to and have nursery rhymes recited to them. The researchers want to boys to experience this in equal measures, as well as having storybooks read to them and being given rewards for good performance. More creative activities such as painting and drawing are also seen as a way to help with cognitive development. But is it fair to lay all the blame at parents’ feet for the gender gap in attainment? Schools need to build a trusting relationship with parents and carers, working with them to promote the importance of one-on-one activities at home. Pupils need to be taught the value of being self-reliant and independent learners, which will raise self-esteem.
Role Models
There are relatively few male Early Years practitioners in UK schools. It’s more typical for men to teach at secondary level, with a view to obtaining headships. With so many single parent families where dad is seldom seen, a positive male role model is vital. In my last primary school they had no less than four male teachers out of 12, one of whom was in Early Years. This state school had some of the best behaviour I’d experienced and the male teachers certainly contributed to that. They provided a different caring style and allowed children to see a more natural gender mix, representative of society. Surely the DfE should do more to recruit male teachers into primary and particularly Early Years.
Methods of Delivery
There is little doubt that even the youngest pupils relate to technology, as it can be exciting and varied. In my KS1 class, while girls would often grab a book and sit in the reading corner, the boys competed for the two computers where they could play games, albeit with an educational objective. More provision should be made at Foundation Stage for pupils to have access to a virtual learning environment. Lower achievers could work through specially designed modules to help them catch up with language skills. As many schools may not have the funds to provide sufficient portable devices to use, a BYOD (bring your own device) policy could be introduced, so that pupils could bring in a tablet or smartphone from home. If boys are more reluctant to read and write, interactive storyboards and gamification could provide the catalyst needed to spark their interest. The beauty of BOYD is that any elearning content can be easily accessed at home as well as at school, hopefully encouraging parents to get more invested in their children’s education.

Kids on the phone wind me up no end. Telling kids to get off their phones when they’re not supposed to be on them winds me up even more. Kids ignoring me after I tell them to get off their phones when they’re not supposed to be on them is liable to send me into apoplexy whilst carpet bombing detentions in the general area of said kid as they continue to remain blissfully unaware and firmly ensconced in the world of Snapchat, YouTube, WhatsApp and every distraction the digital world has to offer.
So annoying. But then I’m one to talk.

When it comes to being on the phone, there are times that I’m worse than the kids. To the detriment of such minor annoyances as social interaction, the all-out horror of ‘family time’, or meals where some of the food actually goes into my mouth rather than down my shirt as I gaze lovingly at my tiny little screen to the world, I’m pretty much surgically attached. ‘Glued to the screen’ doesn’t quite cut it – I’m more cemented. I’m nothing if not massively hypocritical when it comes to the kids.
So phones, yep – a lot of the time they are tiny little distraction machines that eat focus for lunch and have productivity for pudding.
But…
Technology isn’t usage and usage isn’t technology. It’s true that in many cases, a mobile in your hand means nothing else gets done and it does take a modicum of self control not to get lost in the world behind the screen. But having said that, a phone can also be a fantastic tool for a busy and almost pathologically disorganised teacher like me. With the right apps, it can become a great way to save time, cut down on workload, and organise your day in such a way that it may give you a few extra minutes (which could, ironically, be spent telling more kids to get off their phones). It’s true, there is a world of distraction out there, but then again, there is also a world of help as well.
For me, my phone is a toolbox – it contains a whole bunch of things that I can use to get my job done. A bunch of equipment that formerly would have filled a decent sized bag – cameras, sound recorders, endless reams of paper, art supplies, games, whiteboards, notice boards, to do lists, maps, projectors; all these things can be squeezed into a little black rectangle, whacked into your pocket and taken with you, everywhere you go. That’s a lot less lugging and for me, less lugging is what it’s all about. Efficient, easy, portable – the abundance of mobile apps means that there’s often something available that can really help. Sometimes it’s even free. Free stuff rules.
The perception of the mobile phone as a hurdle to productivity isn’t necessarily a false one but when it comes right down to it, the phone itself is pretty much blameless. It’s what the user does with it that turns it into a help or a hindrance. In my own situation, it can often be a bit of both but ultimately that’s down to the type of person I am rather than the phone itself. And even at my most slack-jawed and unresponsive, the benefits that it represents far outweigh the annoyances.
In a case of ‘physician, heal thyself’, I try to model the use of mobile tech for learning with the kids, show them some of things that I’ve discovered that I think might help them in their own studies, maybe prize their faces away from the gossip, self-affirmation and the more addictive elements turning them towards things that’ll help with productivity, understanding and streamlining cumbersome processes (because there’s plenty out there). In doing so, I try to remind myself that there is a world away from social media, lolz and likes – a world where instead of a barrier, mobiles and the apps they contain can make the difficult job of teaching ever so slightly easier and that the screen can act as window to a different way of working rather than a mirror of some of our less wholesome traits.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop telling them to put their phone away, mind.
In the next post, I look at how effective use of mobile apps can improve your workflow.
Tom Starkey is an educator based in Leeds. He’s written for the Times Educational Supplement and Teach Secondary magazine. tweeting at @tstarkey1212 and writes at stackofmarking.wordpress.com.

We’ve created a handy infographic to help explain some of the more confusing aspects of website creation, click on the image for a higher resolution version!

[slickquiz id=1]

Webanywhere are pleased to have been featured in this week’s Yorkshire Post business supplement in an article entitled “Elearning provider looks to States for growth”.
The article quotes our CEO, Sean Gilligan who explains that the company’s purpose is to create jobs and develop young talent whilst continuing its expansion, more particularly in the US.
Our Education Technology conference which is held at the Hilton Leeds City on the 23rd of June is also featured with Sean stating that “with the rise of web-based learning and tablet computers, there’s never been a better time to bring this conference to the heart of Leeds”.

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.

We’ve reached the time of year again where snow is in the headlines. Upland areas are inaccessible, cars can’t use the roads and the power’s in danger of going out – all of these having a massive knock-on effect for schools.
As a headteacher, you have the difficult task of considering whether or not to open your school, or perhaps you’re a parent worrying about sending your children out into the cold. At Webanywhere we believe technology can help with the problems weather brings.
 

Teachers – Tell parents whether your school is open with Broadcast

Whether your school is a small village primary or a huge comprehensive secondary, getting out the message of closure is often a hassle. If you do have to close you rely on parents checking your website, reading the newsletters you sent out or hoping they’ve listened to broadcasts on the radio or local TV.
The Broadcast app in the School Jotter suite can help with this. With its easy-to-use interface, you can instantly get the message out to thousands of people. Of course, this doesn’t just have to be used for snow – you might want to use it to promote a charity drive or a new promotion at the school – and with detailed segmentation you can target specific parts of the school as you wish, and it has some of the best value tarrifs on the market. For a free trial of the Broadcast app (and the School Jotter suite), visit schooljotter.com.
 

Make sure your learning can be taken online with a robust VLE package

Establishing good e-learning foundations is not just good for your pupils’ digital literacy – if the school has to close it’s a good way to make sure they can continue learning at home. Webanywhere have several options for VLE provision, and these come with full SCORM-compliance, so you can buy-in new content or port existing courses. Our Learn App for Jotter provides a simple interface to create learning “sites”, which can be accessed from any device, while our more robust provisions are ideal for larger rollout, and as a certified provider you know you’re in safe hands. As above, you can get a free trial of Learn from schooljotter.com, or contact us to find out more about it.
If your content is all online, you know you don’t need to worry about where your students are when they learn. Combine the flexibility of a VLE with the power of the Broadcast app and you can quickly plan for any eventuality

Team member Helen Bound tells us about her Friday exhibiting with Webanywhere

So my first time at BETT as an Exhibitor. Spent many a year trawling around the stands trying to fine that elusive ‘thing’ that would make Teaching/Learning better! So to be on the ‘other side’, enthusing and glad-handing complete strangers, was a little alien at first. However it didn’t take long to share that enthusiasm with our visitors and share all our great products and new features with them.
Friday had a different feel to it compared to the first two days and there were many more visitors at our stand wanting to know about School Jotter and what it and we could do for them.
We got a lot of interest from schools too – organisations using an open-source LMS who had hit a ‘wall’ in terms of its functionality, new features and ability to be used by colleagues in a meaningful and relevant way. In other words they needed some consultancy. They knew how to use it, but wanted to use it better, and they wanted to encourage fellow educators to use it too – a great opportunity here to extend our offering to customers and offer them ongoing consultancy after the initial training.
I remember finding at my previous employer, as well as at many schools, that after the initial flurry of activity of getting an open-source LMS installed and training the staff, there comes a point when you want to start progressing and using in a meaningful way. You’re just not sure how to move it forwards and start engaging students and staff!
Our other customers on the day were keen to see all the features of School Jotter, and to be honest I also took that opportunity to observe the presentations by a group of well-informed and professional staff who were able to read a customers request and tailor the presentation accordingly. I certainly learnt a lot and will be signing up for more  training on School Jotter in the coming weeks – as a new starter I’m still very much finding my feet!
I had many former colleagues visit me on the Friday to see how I’d made the transition from the education side over to the corporate world! I think they were impressed with what I’m doing with Webanywhere. There were many positive remarks about the stand, the presenters, the knowledge about e-learning and the passion that was very evident from a group of very engaging colleagues.
Thank you all for a great BETT. I’ve learnt a lot and it’s helped me get a very good understanding of what we do as a company and how there is the potential for new business through clever use of training and consultancy.
Helen Bound

With Christmas almost here, we’ve had a dig through the Webanywhere archives and come up with some great resources we published a few years ago. These files are free to download and use, and we recommend taking a look at the teachers notes on this page. Simply click on the titles to download the files and save them to your computer

Christmas Postcards

Cut out and create these cards, then share them with your class – they’re suitable for all ages.
Use them in your continuous provision to help foundation stage children with mark-making, or perhaps promote group-work and have pupils write a card as a whole-class activity. Place more confident writers with less able children to promote contribution and ensure that everyone can contribute. It’s a good idea to first demonstrate model-writing in front of the class, and draw attention to the unique aspects of a postcard.

Christmas Slideshow

Introduce your children to different cultural representations of Christmas with this festive slideshow. It includes interesting facts about each featured country as well as a set of questions. Use it to promote discussion of how other country’s traditions might differ from your own, and see what you have in common too!

Christmas Wordsearch

This word search features various different names for the “gift giver” who appears at Christmas around the world. Some may seem familiar, while others not so much! Encourage your children to research some of the lesser known characters, or perhaps use this in conjunction with the slideshow above showcasing different traditions.

Christmas Poems

Introduce your children to the idea of acrostic poetry with this set of templates. Ensure that you model the principles first – perhaps create a mind map of descriptive words before discussing as a class the ideas for each line before writing suggestions on the board.
One the children understand the concept, let them try a poem on their own – for lower ability students use the shorter templates, while the more able will be at home with the long ones. As with the postcards above, this could also be done as a mixed-group activity, with the more and less able collaborating on A3 sheets.

We hope you’re able to make good use of these resources and would like to wish you and your class a very merry Christmas!

BETT, the world’s largest educational technology event, is returning to the ExCel in London for four days from the 21st to the 24th January 2015, after the success of BETT 2014.
This massive educational technology exhibition brings together some of the most important players in their respective fields, allowing them to showcase the latest in educational advancements and innovation. Expect to see major brands on the show floor, including the BBC, Dell, RM and Microsoft, all dedicated to improving the education sector through technology.
Again, 2015 looks to be bringing an exhilarating event with many, many exhibitors, seminars and summits, as well as special guest speakers, including Sir Ken Robinson, an Educational Visionary; Rt. Hon Nicky Morgan, Education Secretary for the UK; and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia.
Some of the themes for 2015 include:

• Enhanced access to education through technology: traditional and disruptive ideas
• Evidence-based education
• Creating collaborative minds and personalised teaching
• A global and regional outlook of enhanced access to education
• Creating a legacy of change

Webanywhere will be returning again in 2015 with their latest offerings to the educational technology market, come and find us, we will be at Stand F380. Find out more on our exhibitor page at www.bettshow.com
We very much look forward to seeing you there!