School Jotter is the UK’s number one primary school website system. It has been extended to include a suite of education apps so that many aspects of a school’s teaching and learning activities can be supported online, on one website, from one easy to use dashboard interface.
Let’s take a look at two of the most popular apps, Blog and Learn.

Blogging for Schools

The Blog app allows teachers and pupils to create multimedia posts – for instance, a teacher’s explanation of recent class activities, a writing competition, or reflections on a school trip – and to share their feedback and thoughts with each other.
This content can be published across other apps, such as the school’s main website. This allows the wider school community to view selected posts or entire blogs, and add their own, moderated, comments.
Step 1 – Teacher writes a blog post:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Step 2 – Which is published on the school’s website:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Learning and Teaching Resources

The Learn app lets teachers create and share mini websites that are more than a list of Powerpoints and videos. They can include interactive quizzes, assignments and collaborative learning tools such as the wiki.
Learning sites can be shared among the school or with the wider School Jotter Community to quickly recycle common content every year, or share teaching ideas and learning materials.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A hub for your e-learning needs

With these, and the 12 other apps that comprise the School Jotter suite, you can turn your school website into a hub for digital learning activity that is easy to learn and manage and is fully supported by Webanywhere, a leading company in the educational learning business.
In addition, SIMS integration gives seamless and complete integration with your school’s user database so that School Jotter is always up to date with parent, pupil and staff information, with no administration overhead.
Sign up for a free 30 day trial of School Jotter here.

It’s been a while since we updated you on the new School Jotter Apps we’ve been working on. To jog your memory, School Jotter became integrated with a range of e-learning apps earlier this year that can be activated from your School Jotter dashboard. Continue reading →

We had a fabulous response to this competition, seeing the Tour de Yorkshire really captured your imaginations! A very big thank you to all of the fabulous pupils and schools that sent entries to us. You made the judges job very difficult!
Our winning entry is from a year 3 pupil who attends Skipton Parish Church Of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School. The team is called Speeding Sharks!
 

I think you will all agree this is a perfect representation of the Tour de Yorkshire which gave Yorkshire an exciting and colourful weekend.

We would like to showcase some other fabulous entries that we believe deserve a well done! 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If you would like to know more about our Bloganywhere app you will find more information here.

As an e-learning provider, it pains us to say it, but it’s true: there are teachers who hate educational technology.
Sometimes it’s a simple case of not having been exposed to technology enough in a school environment (and even in their private lives). But there can often be more deep-rooted reasons that stretch back to a bad experience with a particular system within their organisation.
There is also the belief that technology, and in particular social media and online communities, can distract from learning and actually harm a child’s success in school.
We recently came across this blog post which, although it dates back to 2012, still rings true. On the one hand, Webanywhere often hears the very reasons that are listed in this blog why teachers hate technology (or, as the blog post corrects, are annoyed by it). Most importantly, though, the blog post lists what a teacher wants from a tech solution, and without meeting these requirements, is doomed to failure.
The reasons why teachers tend to be annoyed by technology are:
When something takes more time with technology that it would if it were handwritten.
We agree whole-heartedly with this. One of the key benefits of technology is that it can save you time; if it doesn’t forget it. However it’s good to also look at the bigger picture: for example, if lesson prep takes slightly longer by using a VLE than it does without, it may be off-putting, but ultimately you are saving lesson prep time in the future. In other words, once you have created a lesson on your learning platform, you can return to it again and again, wiithout an extra prep.
There is, of course, the fact that online learning could engage the child more than a piece of paper, and therefore benefit their learning.
 
Games and programs that have no relevance to learning at that moment in time.
The blog post we’ve linked to above mentions that ‘teachers must know the technology better than the students.’ The is completely true, and some may argue this is increasingly difficult to achieve as today, many children are using technology literally as soon as they are able to use their hands.
To ensure that teachers are one step ahead of the learners a significant degree of training and guidance needs to take place – Webanywhere are aware of this, of course, and it’s why we provide full training plus unlimited support on all our products.
 
Solutions that are not useful.
In wanting to join the technological revolution in education, many schools may jump straight in without considering the options. Obviously finding a solution that is of use to a school, its teachers and its learners is the ultimate make-or-break; if it’s not useful, it’s going to fall flat on its face.
In fact, whether a piece of technology is useful or not can be determined by the above blog post’s list of things teachers want in a tech solution. They are a solution that:

• Is NOT used in my classroom (or at least, not yet)

• Is ACCESSIBLE to all kids

• ENGAGES kids

• TEACHES something truly valuable

• SAVES TIME

We recommend that every school, when looking to take on an e-learning solution, considers the above list. If all the above points are relevant, and the solution does not meet all of them, forget it!
The blog post concludes that teachers don’t actually hate technology after all – they just want something that works. Going back to our what we said at the start of this blog post, we can imagine most teachers who have been nodding their heads to the points above are the ones who have had bad experiences with education technology in the past. All we can say at Webanywhere is that, with every solution we create, we have the above criteria in mind.
For those who are new to technology, speak to us about solutions that are easy to use and won’t bamboozle you. We’re happy to talk edtech to anyone who needs help, guidance or opinion!

This week’s School Jotter pick is Abel Smith School in Hertfordshire. The site template is subtle, in red and white and allows the content to really stand out – especially the large central slideshow, which the school use to show off events and activities.
 
Continue reading →

Wow… It’s Christmas Eve already! Here at Webanywhere we’d like to wish every customer, non customer, teacher and school the Merriest of Christmases – and a delightful New Year.
Continue reading →

Last night saw Webanywhere launch Learner Journey here in Keighley. Learner Journey is the new pupil e-portfolio system that allows learners to showcase their proudest achievements – and with the option to communicate with peers in a safe, secure environment, it promotes e-safety in schools.
e-Safety is now a big part of Ofsted’s inspections, so we invited along safeguarding expert Jeff Haslam. Jeff sits on the Education Board of CEOP and is a consultant for the UK Safer Internet Centre – making him the perfect choice for guest speaker.
Jeff took us through Ofsted guidelines and the legal responsibilities for safeguarding in schools, discussing how they can protect both staff and children from the risks the internet presents. A walk-through of Learner Journey followed, with its many functions demonstrated: from sending messages and posting on peers’ walls, to uploading work and collaborating on joint projects. Learner Journey works in a similar way to social networking sites like Facebook – but users’ profiles are not visible or accessible to anyone outside of their school.
Guests were then able to try it for themselves – and enjoy some of the delicious buffet provided! Webanywhere looks forward to working with these teachers further – and help promote safe social networking in schools, with Learner Journey.
If you’d like to keep up to date with Webanywhere events like this, follow us on Twitter (@webanywhere_ltd). If you would like to book a free Learner Journey Demonstration, contact us by clicking here.