Creating a High-Tech Classroom through Learning Platforms

Learning Platforms have evolved significantly in recent years. Our editors share some of the interesting players who are making a difference in the classroom. e-Learning Update issue 63/64

Digital learning and technology use in the classroom are both ubiquitous but, like with all aspects of the high-tech market, online learning technology is constantly changing and it can be tough to stay on top of the available options.

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      string(5971) "e-learning UPDATE www.teachingtimes.comLEARNINGPLATFORMSA learning platform is an integrated set of interactive online services thatprovide teachers, learners, parents and others involved in education withinformation, tools and resources to support and enhance educational deliveryand management. Here, we look at a few key players….The promise of the digital technology is something that we’ve all heard, and many debates have been aroundhow it will reshape education, saving its major problems, reducing costs and helping both teachers andstudents.Of course, technology in the classroom makes sense, as a large part of daily life today revolves aroundtechnology and school’s mission is to prepare students for daily life tasks.Helping teachers with today’stechnologyAn ICT Update Publicationwww.teachingtimes.come-learningUPDATEFebruary 2018http://www.teachingtimes.comhttp://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’sFEATURESe-learning UPDATE www.teachingtimes.comEven more than that, students today are apt at using technology, and tools such as laptops, smart phones, andtablets are already second nature to them.In the past 10 years, education technology has gained traction in schools, while using technology in theclassroom allowed teachers to experiment more in pedagogy. With technology there are countless resourcesfor enhancing education and making learning more fun and effective. From apps to online interactive resourcesand teaching platforms, there are many solutions that can help teachers increasing student participation andengagement.The focus on having an educational online and interactive environment incorporating resources and allowinginteractions is catching on in the schools. New and updated versions of such educational platforms are beingreleased to address the issue of gaining and maintaining the attention of students, on one hand, and to simplifyteaching jobs, on another hand.Platforms can be used to increase student involvement via mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops, andtablets. Teaching platforms allow accessibility on any device and teachers can move freely during classes,compile students’ data, annotate and mark, monitor the progress, deliver assignments and many more.Unlike complex learning management systems that require extensive training and time to implement, teacherscan start using these platforms within minutes and they love how their classrooms are transformed intoengaging, collaborative, and organized learning environments.Often equipped with a suite of tools, a teaching platform makes it easy to give differentiated feedback tostudents, so everyone gets the help they need to succeed.This approach saw tools like Edmodo, Kahoot, ClassDojo or Google Classroom getting tens of millions of users ina just couple of years.EdmodoEdmodo’s teaching platform offers communication, collaboration, and coaching for schools and teachers.The Edmodo network enables teachers to share content, distribute quizzes, assignments, and managecommunication with students, colleagues, and parents.Edmodo is very teacher-centric in their design and philosophy: students and parents can only join Edmodo ifinvited to do so by a teacher. Teachers and students spend large amounts of time on the platform, both in andout of the classroom.Edmodo is tightly integrated with Google Apps for Education and Microsoft OneNote & Office and quicklyallows you to create groups, assign homework, schedule quizzes, manage progress, and so on. It also meansyou no longer have to remember multiple passwords, or click out of Edmodo to access your Google Drive or tocollaborate using Google Docs. Whether it is Microsoft or Google, both are supported.Educational content (open education resources or paid) can be shared from all over the web using EdmodoSpotlight to discover free and premium tools, apps, games, and create collections of your favorite resources. Youhttp://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’sFEATURESe-learning UPDATE www.teachingtimes.comcan even upload, share, or sell your original educational content.Kahoot!Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform, used as educational technology in classrooms and other learninginstitutions. Kahoot can be used to review students knowledge, for formative assessment, or as a break fromtraditional classroom activities. Kahoot also includes trivia games.It can be used to create fun learning games in minutes (called ‘kahoots’). These can be a series of multiple choicequestions or actual games. The format and number of questions are entirely up to you, and you can add videos,images and diagrams to your questions to amplify engagement.Kahoots are best played in a group setting, for example, a classroom. Players answer the questions on theirown devices, while games are displayed on a shared screen to unite the lesson. It creates a ‘campfire moment’encouraging players to look up and celebrate together. Besides creating your own kahoots, you can searchamong millions of existing games.After a game, players can create and share their own kahoots to deepen understanding, mastery and purpose, aswell as engage in peer-led discussions.ClassDojoClassDojo is a classroom communication app used to share reports between parents and teachers. Teacherstrack student behavior and upload photos or videos. The gamification style system teaches developmental skillsthrough real-time feedback.The platform allows students, teachers and parents to connect, support and develop student skills. To use theclassroom communication program, teachers register to obtain a free account, and then create"
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Digital Learning

Learning Platforms

5 Feb 2018

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They can also send parents a link to the tour orto particular rooms or views by email or social media and the tour isembedded as a “live” window on the school’s website.James Howell added: “Feedback has been really positive –we know that students will still want to visit us before they makea decision but we hope that the tour will dangle a very temptingcarrot.”1st Place nursery in Burgess Park is also using Google BusinessView to help them reach out to new parents. 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Digital Learning

Virtual campus tours

5 Nov 2015

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      string(5836) "64Vol 7.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comSchool BusinessSchoolwebsitesNot so long ago, a glossy prospectus was all a school neededto promote its unique facilities to potential pupils and theirparents. But in today’s digital marketplace, how are schoolsto stand out? Jay Scott-Nicholls considers the benefits of avirtual tour.Avirtualschool tour65Vol 7.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comSchool BusinessSchoolwebsitesEvery year, universities and schools compete against each other,not only on results and range of courses but also on theirphysical selling points – the best classrooms, halls of residence,grounds, gyms, drama facilities and cutting edge technologycentres. Not so long ago, a glossy prospectus was the key asset in anyschool or university’s marketing arsenal, helping to increase enrolment,improve perception, attract different types of students from bothhome and abroad, and communicate strengths and character. But staticimagery is no longer enough to attract and retain the attention of ageneration accustomed to dynamic, immersive and interactive content.In the US, with so many schoolsto choose from across 52 states,virtual campus tours have startedto play an important role in themarketing mix for students beforethey visit a campus and for thosewho simply can’t afford to travelthousands of miles to visit severalschools. Just as technology hasrevolutionised teaching andcommunication, the internet hasgiven institutions at every level aplatform that offers parents andstudents a much more interactiveand deeper insight into school life.In the UK too, the competitionnot only for pupils but for therecruitment of the very best staffhas heated up. CTC KingshurstAcademy in Birmingham forstudents aged 11 to 18 yearsis one of the first UK schools touse this new technology to offerprospective parents and studentsa much more visually informativeand interactive experience, fromthe comfort of their own home,24/7.One university reportedthat, last year alone, 89 percent of the students thattook their physical tour hadtaken a virtual tour first. Thevirtual tours help studentsin the process of selectionand elimination, and schoolsare seeing a huge increasein campus visits, all thanksto these virtual tours madeavailable to prospectivestudents.Did you know…■ 90 per cent of all internetsearches in the UK startwith Google?■ 55 per cent of UK adultsregularly use GoogleStreet View technologyfeatured in Google Mapsand Google Earth, whichprovide panoramic viewsof the chosen area?66Vol 7.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comSchool BusinessSchoolwebsites How does it work?CTC Kingshurst Academy’s 360 degree virtual tour takes visitorsinside the school and enables them to virtually explore unique learningenvironments and laboratories as if they were actually there. The schoolwanted to give prospective students the chance to see what was on offerthere without restricting them to open day visits. Like most schools whohave worked hard to build strong links with the local community, theacademy also wanted to show how the facilities were used during out ofschool hours through their Extended Services programme.James Howell, e-learning coordinator for CTC Kingshurst Academy,explains: ‘We wanted to show off our different approach to learning.How many schools have built an underground potholing system, or canconduct history lessons inside a barbed-wire-lined replica WW1 trench?We have also recently developed an outdoor education and adventurecentre, as well as a 3G all-weather flood-lit football pitch, so when weheard about virtual tours, we knew this would be a perfect way forstudents and parents to see these fantastic facilities.’Not only does the tour enhance the school’s profile on Google but it isactively engaging parents who are in the research and discovery phase ofchoosing a school. Anyone using Google search, Google Maps, Google+ orbrowsing at street level on their tablet, mobile or PC can step inside fromanywhere in the world.The Academy’s website serves 100,000 pages to over 15,000 visitors,generating over 35GB of bandwidth. At various points within the virtualtour, visitors are also able to find out more information via links to parts ofthe website, and this drives more traffic. They can also send parents a linkto the tour or to particular rooms or views by email or social media, andthe tour is embedded as a ‘live’ window on the school’s website.James Howell added: ‘Feedback has been really positive – we knowthat students will still want to visit us before they make a decision, but wehope the tour will dangle a very tempting carrot.’http://www.ctckingshurst.academy/about-us/academy-life/virtual-tour/67Vol 7.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comSchool BusinessSchoolwebsitesIn early years settings1st Place nursery in Burgess Park is also using Google Business View to help themreach out to new parents. 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Leadership

A virtual school tour

18 Dec 2015

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      string(5068) "engaged or involved with an activity (crucial for effectivelearning). This improvement was reinforced by video evidence where children wereclearly happier at T2 to sit longer with their parents when reading a book and showedmuch greater engagement with the activity.T1 – baselineT2 – end of 1st termT3 – beginning of term 2T4 – end of term 2T5 – end of Term 3Many more very positive findings emerge from the data including evidence of greaterengagement with book reading, greater parental engagement generally with theirchild’s learning, improved behaviour management and excellent nursery attendance.Finally, the intervention was demonstrated to be equally effective on all measuresfor both genders and across all tiers of risk category.ConclusionThe Field report stresses the need for greater equality in terms of school readinessto enable disadvantaged children to gain maximum benefit from the experience ofschooling. This intervention demonstrates an effective way forward in achieving thisequality. As recommended in the Field report, the intervention reported here includesthe following factors:It is targeted at a specific population (the most disadvantaged two year olds)It is intensive (with a phased reduction in support)It involves voluntary participationIt maintains fidelity to the original model (dialogic reading, home visiting)It works with both parents and children.The Allen Report2 recommends the use of early intervention and investment inprogrammes that have proved to be effective, given the evidence, the interventionnnnnnFigure 3: Leuven involvement scalemean scores.http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/supporting%20families%20in%20the%20foundation%20years.pdfhttp://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/supporting%20families%20in%20the%20foundation%20years.pdfhttp://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/early-intervention-next-steps.pdfwww.teachingtimes.com n Vol 2.6Early Years/practice research Every Child Journal63Knowledge Trails1) Dealing with disengagedparents – A look at the newStaffordshire initiative tackling loweducational aspiration by loweringthe social care threshold.2) Making the most of the earlyyears – Evaluating which earlyyears interventions work best.3) Extended services vs. socialdisadvantage – Research intothe effectiveness of extendedschools tackling socialdisadvantage.Article available from SchoolLeadership Today in theProfessional Learning Community(access by subscription).Education update for technology and learningThe list of requirements for schoolsregarding the utilisation of technologyevolves each year. This monthlye-magazine helps both primary andsecondary school leaders and teachersunderstand the issues, products,problems and the possibilitiesassociated with technology in schools, such as VLE’s, web-basedlearning, white boards, video-conferencing, online assessmentand mobile learning.Recent e-Learning Update articles have included:• Creating a 21st century learning environment on limitedbudgets• Introducing ICT in the early years• Using computer games to help people with learning diffi culties• Making maths more engaging with technologyUp and coming:• The International Comparison of Computing in Schools• The role of digital arts in cultural learning• How secure is your school’s data?• The use of social media by teachersSubscribe online at: www.teachingtimes.com/publications/e-learningupdate.htmTo subscribe to e-Learning Update: Call theSubscriptions Orderline0121 224 7578 or email sandie@imaginativeminds.co.ukreported here would seem to be a prime contender to take this recommendationforward.Sarah Lambert is Senior Manager Early Years and Family Support in Blackpool’sChildren, Families and Adult ServicesProject and research completed by Prof. H. E. Whiteley, Dr. J. M. Hutchinson, D.Shannon, J. Pullan & S. LambertField, F. (2010). The Foundation Years: Preventing Poor Children Becoming Poor Adults. HM Government ReportDecember. http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/supporting%20families%20in%20the%20foundation%20years.pdfAllen, G. (2011). Early Intervention: The Next Steps. HM Government Report, January http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/early-intervention-next-steps.pdfWaldfogel, J. & Washbrook, E. Low Income and Early Cognitive Development in the U.K. A Report for the SuttonTrust. http://www.bris.ac.uk/ifssoca/outputs/sutton.pdf (last accessed 22/03/11)Brownell (2000). Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test and Receptive One Word Vocabulary Test (2ndEdition). Academic Therapy Publications, California.Laevers, F. (1994). The Leuven Involvement Scale for Young Children ¸LIS-YC, Manual and Video Tape. ExperientialEducation Series No. 1. Leuven, Belgium: Centre for Experiential Education.Locke, A. & Beech, M. Teaching Talking (1991). Windsor: NFER-Nelson, Packs of Record Forms for Nursery"
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