This is the second of our four-part post on learning management systems. Read Learning Management Systems: Your Opinion – Part 1, where Donna Lubrano from the Northeastern University in Boston shares her opinion with our readers.

In this post, Kathy Walter, Educator and CEO at Nsoma, reveals her thoughts on Learning Platforms and their contribution to student learning.

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are used in a number of schools to deliver online learning content in a structured way. As opposed to gather random search content from search engines, learning management systems do just that – they manage learning based on the subject, teacher and curricula being taught. Like all technology, they work only as well as the people or person loading them with content. Most technology solutions for learning do not come with content and those that do need to have that content licensed separately.

Learning Management Systems are great for delivering content to students for a number of reasons.
1. Different paces, steering together: because you can control what content students see, but students do not necessarily know where other students are in their learning path. So, for instance, one student may be far ahead in a lesson and another may be far behind, but unless the lesson plans for them working together on a topic, each student proceeds at their own pace.
2. Anytime, Anywhere: LMS allows students to log in at school or at home. So if they are sick or miss an assignment, want to review for the day ahead or want to go back and review a concept they did not understand, it’s all possible.
3. Flexible Delivery: Most LMS render on a computer or laptop, but also on mobile phones and tablets. So it does not matter what device a student has, they can learn from anything.
4. Special Needs Handled: When students require additional mechanics like braille readers, color blind screen adaptors, text readout, etc, many LMSs link with other technology tools to help all learners.
As with any technology, there are also drawbacks:
1. Training: LMSs are more prevalent these days, but many schools and teachers still have not learned to use them. And schools may change their LMSs as contracts expire and new bids have to be issued. It takes a long time to train staff and students to use them when it’s not something they are familiar with.
2. Let me in! LMSs require logins and when they are not sync’d with other login systems and a student forgets a password, it takes valuable learning time to get them up and running
3. Technology changes: LMS companies deliver a lot of technology changes each year, but not all LMSs have the same functionality. Some can vary widely. And some functionality works more intuitively than others. This can be frustrating for users when they expect to do something quickly and wind up with more work – for instance, teachers trying to load in lessons and assessments. People usually adapt well, but when a new round of changes comes out, companies still have a habit of not always understanding classroom and school processes, and it can lead to user frustration. Too much user frustration, particularly by teachers means some will stop using a system all together.

Bottom line: every school should have an LMS. The types and cost vary widely, but technology runs our world. Not introducing our school kids to technology in all aspects puts them at a severe disadvantage. It’s worth the time and effort to deliver at least part of their education via online content.

Kathy Walter, CEO at Nsoma, is responsible for conceiving and delivering innovative solutions that support the instructional and educational agendas of school districts and edTech companies. She recently served as the Executive Director, Product Strategy & Innovation at the NYC Department of Education and prior to that as Director, Product Development at a start-up online learning solution.
Kathy has a BA in Applied Math from Union College, an MBA From NYU’s Stern School of Business, and a Graduate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). She’s currently completing her JD at Fordham Law School in Education and IP law. Kathy has been an ESL Educator at Northeastern University and Cambridge Learning Center; an ESL curriculum consultant with the YearUp program in Boston; and a program developer for several teaching projects in Uganda.

Welcome back to the new year – here’s your first tips post of 2016!
There are many reasons you might want to add a private page to your website. Perhaps you’d like a hidden section for governors’ meeting minutes, or a repository of information to a specific class, or a form that only parents can access – the possibilities are endless.
Luckily, creating a password-restricted page is easy. First of all, enter Edit mode on your site and click Manage then Pages.

Continue reading →

Using mobile phones and other technology in schools has become a popular topic recently. Some people say that using mobile phones could benefit students, while others agree that restricting or even banning mobile phones in schools might be a good idea.
Controversial opinions surrounding this topic are usually caused by the concerns regarding the negative effects of ‘digital distraction’. It’s clear that most people would support the opinion that mobile phones and other technology can have negative effects on sleep, homework, exercising and studying. However, it is important to accept that technology is part of children’s lives. So instead of restricting or banning it, teachers and parents should look at how children are interacting with the technology and consider different ways of teaching children how to use technology in a healthy way.

It is important to remember that we are living in the digital age, so banning any kind of technology might not be the best way to go. Teachers should consider how mobile phones could be incorporated into the school curriculum to give children the skills they need to thrive in the modern world. Building mobile phones into the school curriculum enables students to learn everything from soft skills, such as learning to use the web effectively, to more specific tools, such as the latest communications and social platforms that are used in the world of work.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Professor Howard-Jones said: “Banning mobile phones and other technology in the classroom is moving in the wrong direction, an academic has said, as he warns children will keep using technology anyway.”
“I share concerns of parents about the effects of leisure technology on sleep and homework and exercise but it’s important that we don’t demonise it completely.”
Several studies have been undertaken in order to find answers whether mobile phones and other technology have a negative effect on the quality of learning. Again, the results of different studies are usually controversial. For instance, some studies prove that banning mobile phones in schools can actually improve grades, while other studies show that using technology allows students to study or to concentrate better which leads to improved results.
“Video games are powerful things for engaging children. Still, computers need to be turned off in the evening because they could be affecting the sleep, but if they are using games to learn that can be a positive thing.”
To conclude on this topic, it can be agreed that if used properly, mobile phones and other technology can help improve different aspects of learning. This means that banning mobile phones in schools, without trying to teach students how to use them in a healthy way, might not be the best solution.

We’ve asked education experts about learning management systems in their organisations, how they benefit their students and if they see any disadvantages or problems in using them. As the replies we received were numerous, we’ll be posting a four-part series of articles, where education experts give their opinion on learning management systems. This is the first part of that series.

The first opinion comes from Donna Lubrano at the Northeastern University in Boston:

Learning Management Systems are fantastic tools for the instructor as well as the students. For the professor it provides a repository for all the learning materials to be used for the course, a systematic approach to the course development, and learning tools to make multimedia presentations, such as podcasts, videos exams and quizzes.

The classroom is a new entity where the majority of learning comes from the students preparation for the physical classroom experience. The LMS provides the delivery of those tools that can be used outside of the classroom in preparation. It allows the professor to curate the material and provide his/her perspective on the subject/material. This is especially helpful for remote learning, hybrid and full online learning environments.
For the student it’s fantastic. They have a clear path to the material and a dynamic learning environment using many of the mediums which are part of their everyday experience. Listening to podcasts and viewing videos can be done on their smartphones while traveling or even in a coffee shop.
The multimedia nature of the tools and resources accommodates the many different types of learners and provides an opportunity to even have some fun with tools such as Quizlet to take quizzes, research tools and other materials.
Learning is no longer confined to the classroom; Harvard Professor, Eric Mazur and his concept of Peer Instruction and the flipped classroom support this idea for course management software. It has helped re-engineer the instructor’s role from “sage on stage” (not my words!) to “guide on the side”. The LMS helps the professor “curate” the material for the student to help guide them through the subject. In the curation the student gets to understand the professor’s perspective as well.
A notable disadvantage is that the student has to be technically savvy, have reliable internet access and a computer, iPad, or phone. Without those tools they cannot do the work. So in lower-income areas or schools, these tools may not be readily available to all students and will put them at a disadvantage in regards to other students.
For older students, especially those who are returning to school via online programs, learning the LMS toolset can be a barrier in and of itself. Especially if they are exclusively online and may need in-person help to learn the systems. Professors need to set clear office hours to help students over some of those barriers and to provide alternatives for students who don’t have reliable access to computers and the internet. This can be done with more flexible deadlines and options to hand in homework the old-fashioned way, via paper.
The benefit to the student is tremendous; it is 24 hours a day access to the classroom requirements; especially for those students who work to pay for their education – it allows them to work on their reading and assignments, before or after work. Because learning is a very collaborative environment, the LMS has incredible collaboration tools that don’t require students to be in the same room together. A classroom in Dubai can work on a project with a classroom in US using tools like video conferencing etc. These tools are game changers and continue to change the role of the professor and the way classrooms are designed.
Donna Lubrano is an adjunct faculty with a Master’s degree in International Business from Boston University. She has experience in a broad range of commercial endeavors including, health and fitness, international education, event and conference planning, healthcare, and corporate training. She has worked with students from around the globe, in Leadership and Entrepreneurship. She is a frequent contributor to on-line articles, is a business mentor to small businesses and start-ups. She is currently working on an international virtual student exchange program that would allow students who cannot travel abroad to work on business projects with students from international classrooms.

Webanywhere will be exhibiting at Bett 2016 – the world’s largest learning technology event!
When? Event will be taking place from the 20th to the 23rd January.
Where? ExCel Centre in London, stand F350.

Bett is your annual opportunity to experiment with the latest technology, hear from inspirational figures and experts in the industry and meet your peers from all around the world.
Join us at the event and learn more about our education products including School Jotter – the school website builder – the world’s most popular open-source virtual learning environment. Our friendly education experts will be happy to meet you, answer your questions and demonstrate our education products.
We have some exciting things planned for Bett Show 2016! Watch this space for more updates regarding the event.

Planning your time!
Download the official Bett 2016 mobile app as a planning tool for your visit and make the most of your time before the show, at the show and after the show to stay tuned.

• Decide which speakers you particularly want to hear from and plan your schedule
• Find out who else is attending those sessions and strike up a conversation
• Plan your way around the show floor
• Keep a record of your favourite speakers, exhibitors and products.

BBC News recently published an article regarding the new way of testing how well students know times tables. According to new government plans, students aged 11 will be expected to know their times tables up to 12×12 and they will be tested using an “on-screen check”. Students will be able to do this test by completing multiplication challenges against the clock, which will be scored instantly.
“Every pupil in England will be tested on their times tables before leaving primary school, under government plans”.
“The Department for Education says it is the first use of on-screen technology in National Curriculum tests”.

According to new plans, the checks will be piloted to about 3,000 pupils in 80 primary schools this summer, before being rolled out across the country in 2017. The decision to test students was based on the opinion that maths was a non-negotiable aspect of a good education. What is more, it has been noticed that some students continue to struggle with the times table; this test is seen as an opportunity to deliver educational excellence.

In addition to other benefits, this test is expected to help teachers recognise students who might be falling behind and it should also help target those areas that require more attention.
However, Labour says standards are being threatened by a shortage of teachers, and in the past some teaching unions have warned additional tests can place unwelcome pressure on teachers and pupils. Similarly, in the article published on The Telegraph, it has been noted that testing at a young age, when pupils have not developed their resilience and coping strategies, should be kept to a minimum and for the very young it is best avoided. It has also been acknowledged that teachers should have the freedom to use time more productively rather than putting pupils through a times table test.
Therefore, it can be agreed that alongside expected benefits, it is important to acknowledge all the possible negative aspects that might be resulted by this new test. The learning of times tables is obviously very important – but is a special test necessary?

You might have heard a lot about cloud storage in the last few years, but did you know you already have unlimited storage through School Jotter? All Jotter customers have access to the Files app, which lets you store, access and organise anything you like.
If you’ve been with us since the beginning, you might remember how I showed you how to add files to this as part of the slideshow process, but we’ve got quite a few new faces since then, so I’ll recap it for everyone’s benefit.
This is what you see when you click the Files app in your dashboard. You’ll notice it looks a lot like your computer’s Exporer or Finder – this is intentional, it’s meant to be easy and familiar to use.

Using the options at the top you can add files (note that the maximum upload size is set by your administrator) and folders, as well as rename, copy, move and delete existing files or folders. You should have some folders already created to help you organise things.
Uploading the files can be a little tricky the first time, so here’s how we go about doing that. First, navigate to the folder you want to upload into, then click Upload file in the top bar.

The system supports drag and drop, so all you need to do is literally drag files from your computer’s folders and drop them into the window. They’ll then appear in a list below, as I’ve done up there. You can also click Add file to manually upload them. When you’ve put your files there, click Start Upload and they should be uploaded into the cloud – the loading bar to the right will tell you how the progress is.
And that’s literally all there is to it! You can store anything in Files – images, text documents, homework sheets, even videos. Downloading is easy – just find the image in Files and click the blue Download button on the icon. You’ve got unlimited storage, so don’t worry about quotas either!
Jotter tips will return on January 7th – from everyone here at Webanywhere, we hope you have a lovely Christmas and a great New Year.
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Coming to you slightly early this month so as to keep you company over the frosty nights, the Webanywhere Podcast this month takes a look at Christmas traditions around the world, the PiZero & online security. So pull up an armchair, pour yourself something mulled and enjoy this month’s podcast:

We’ve found that schools really like this feature, so today I’m going to be showing you how to add a Google Translate button to your website using the Embedded Code widget. First of all, you’re going to want to enter your site in Edit mode and visit the page you’d like the button to be displayed on. Then, click Insert item > Embedded Code.

It’ll ask you where you’d like to put the button, just click on the location as you would with any other Jotter item. You’ll then get this window:

A little background information on what we’re doing here – basically, this is the “free HTML” box that we’re adding. It’ll let you add any snippets of things you find across the web, such as interactive content, videos or anything else. You can paste these into the Custom box at the bottom left, though do be very careful what you paste in – code can be malicious!
What we’ve also provided, however, is a group of pre-made widgets for you to insert. The image above shows search widgets, so you can quickly access sites like Google, Wikipedia or Wolfram Alpha. Where we’re looking today, however, is in Miscellaneous.

Just click on the Google translate rectangle there and you’ll be done! It might look a little off at first, but once you’ve saved and published your page you’ll have instant access to Google’s translation services – a lifesaver for ESL students and their parents.
Using the widget is as simple as picking a language – Google does the rest. I’d show you an example using my demo site, but it’s full of Latin dummy text, so it wouldn’t really work!

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Advance notice – Jotter Tips of the Week will not be publishing over the Christmas holidays. We expect to publish the last post of the term next week on December 17th. After that, the next update will be on January 7th, nice and ready for the new year!

The tradition of Christmas in fiction is one that has permeated throughout the ages, and many famous stories and poems have been written with a festive theme as a core component. Here our our favourite examples, and ideas for lessons based around some of the most cherished Christmas literature

A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

This classic ghost story of a withered, mean old man realising that he should embrace the joy in life and be a good person, else face the scorn and misery for the rest of his life, is one of the most adapted stories of all time. The structure of being visited by the three ghosts of past, present and future is a wonderful literary device that essentially gives us the life story of a character without breaking the flow of the narrative or becoming long winded. While the prose is a little advanced for some younger children, KS2 upwards should be able to read the story, and then discuss it. Here are a few ideas for lessons for A Christmas Carol:

I ain’t afraid of no ghosts – What is Scrooge really frightened of?

Although this is a ghost story, not all of the ghosts are scary. Do the ghosts represent something other than supernatural beings? Ask students to investigate what is really scaring Scrooge, and ask why ghosts are used to make this point. If they were to be visited by the ghosts of past, present and future what would they be scared to see? Get students to write a short story about their own visits from the three ghosts, and what lesson they would learn.

Bah Humbug – How A Christmas Carol has become so important

A Christmas Carol is one of the most referenced books in popular culture, with turns of phrase such as “Scrooge”, “Bah Humbug” and “God bless us, everyone” becoming part of everyday conversation. Get students to investigate how many times A Christmas Carol has been adapted or parodied by setting them a research task of finding 10 different versions of A Christmas Carol. Then ask them to discuss why they think the story is so popular, and how the phrases in the book became part of the language. Can they think of any other examples of great stories that people tell over and over again, or any phrases that originally came from books?

A Visit from St. Nicholas (The Night Before Christmas) – Clement Clarke Moore

This classic poem is not only a great read, but arguably the origin of what we now consider the modern Santa! The first reference of Santa being all dressed in red, accompanied by Reindeer and his chimney exploration habit all come from this poem. Here are a few ideas for activities:

Twas the night before… – Parody and Understanding Form (KS2)

A Visit From St. Nicholas has been rewritten and parodied over 1000 times. You can find the full list of recorded parodies here. It’s a very fun poem to imitate, so let your students have a go! More importantly, ask them to carefully examine how the poem sounds and where the rhymes are. Demonstrate to them the AABB rhyme scheme, and (if a high enough level) discuss stressed and unstressed syllables. This poem actually has the same rhythm and syllable stress as a limerick, but not the same rhyme scheme. Get everyone to write their own night before christmas verse, and then ask them to examine how accurate it is in using the form of the original.

The Tailor of Gloucester – Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter’s personal favourite of her stories, The Tailor of Gloucester tells the tale of a humble tailor who has been hired to finish the waistcoat of the the town mayor for his wedding on Christmas Morning, only for his cat to hide his last piece of twist from him out of spite of the tailor releasing the mice he caught. The mice display their gratitude by fixing the waistcoat in the night, and save the tailor from humiliation. It’s a sweet, short story that shows how a little mercy can save you in the long run.

Public Squeaking – Anthropomorphism (KS1)

The Tailor of Gloucester is a story that has lots of characters that are different animals, and they’re all portrayed in different ways. Ask students to look at how the animals act in various “human-like” ways, including how the mice dress up in their specially made clothes. Do we find the characters more or less sympathetic and lovable once they wear human clothes? Why do we care about the cat eating the mice, and why do we think Simpkins actions are bad? As students to consider in what ways the animals are like people, and then get them to write a short story from the perspective of an animal of their choosing.

Resources like these can be stored inside our School Jotter Resources app, where you can share your own creations with other teachers and work with the community to create lessons plans. You can learn more at SchoolJotter.com