Making use of new the features for tables in School Jotter 2

Tips from Primary Support Desk Analyst, Matthew Basierak

On the support desk we are often asked how to add and work with tables in School Jotter 2 and we have recently introduced some new features to the system which makes working with tables easier than before.
You can now change the colours of individual cells in a table.  In order to get started you first need to create an empty table by using the table icon in the grey editing toolbar.

Once you have added the table to the page, you need to select and highlight the cells where you wish to change the colour.
See the screenshot on the right.

Once you have highlighted the cells, the next step is to go to the Table menu in the grey toolbar, select the Cell option from the drop down menu then click on Cell Properties.  See the screenshot below which shows exactly where this option is located.

You should now find yourself in the Cell properties dialogue box.  If you then click the advanced Tab in the following window there are options to set the border width, style and colour.
In order to change the colour you can either enter a value into the background field, or alternatively you can click on the small back to the right hand side.  After selecting the colour you will notice that this information is automatically added to the style box.
Please see the screenshot below, which shows the background colour box with a new colour added to it.  You can now click on the OK button to save the changes.

If you need further help on working with tables, please see our help guide using the link below:
http://wa.schooljotter2.com/sites/insert-items/tables

 

“A VLE would take too much time”

“We’ve never used one before so we don’t need one”

“My staff aren’t so confident with ICT so it’s not for us”

Do these statements about Virtual Learning Environments sound familiar? I’ve heard each of them countless times over the course of my teacher training, subsequent years as a teacher and especially as I’ve delved into specialising in their usage.

It is very easy to label a VLE in the same way you would some unnecessary paperwork or a new fad dreamt up by a politician.

What if a VLE was labelled the same was as any other resource in the school resource cupboard? It becomes much more valuable and less scary when staff in school start to realise that a VLE is simply a tool that can be brought out when the occasion suits, which doesn’t have to keep chugging along behind everything you do, keeping everyone back at school an extra 30 minutes a day (even as ‘someone who knows’ about VLE’s, I can think of a hundred things I’d be better off doing as a teacher than being sat behind a computer updating a VLE on my own at 5:30).

The weighing scales in the resource cupboard; do you use them every day? Every maths lesson? Even the counting blocks have their time and place. A VLE is no different. In exactly the same way that you decided to use a physical resource, a VLE can be picked up and dropped into the curriculum as and when it fits you as a teacher and your children as learners.

Perhaps you’re onto Report Writing this half term. It would be great to compare the difference in format between newspaper articles and website articles, and then have the pupils write their own on an online Portfolio. They can even then peer assess the articles right next to professionally written articles at the touch of a button. Then, say, next topic, you are studying Shape Poetry. It would be fantastic to LEAVE THE VLE OUT COMPLETELY! Shape Poetry can be so beautifully written on huge pieces of A3 paper and coloured more creatively than a computer can handle.

Therein lies the secret of VLEs. They are brilliant when you use them as any other tool in your cupboard. Learn their advantages and disadvantages. What advantage will a specific function give to your class and your lesson? That Wiki tool will be brilliant for the collaborative writing part of the next topic.

After all, would you really shoehorn the weighing scales and counting blocks into taking your registers? Teaching Shape Poetry? You could, but you’ll hear “That could take too much time”, “We’ve never done that before so we don’t need to”, “My staff aren’t confident in doing that so it’s not for us”.

Related Webanywhere Pages

Here at Webanywhere we developed School Jotter a VLE which is developed by educators, for educators.

Making use of new the features for tables in School Jotter 2
Tips from Primary Support Desk Analyst, Matthew Basierak
On the support desk we are often asked how to add and work with tables in School Jotter 2 and we have recently introduced some new features to the system which makes working with tables easier than before.
You can now change the colours of individual cells in a table.  In order to get started you first need to create an empty table by using the table icon in the grey editing toolbar.
Once you have added the table to the page, you need to select and highlight the cells where you wish to change the colour.
See the screenshot on the right.

Once you have highlighted the cells, the next step is to go to the Table menu in the grey toolbar, select the Cell option from the drop down menu then click on Cell Properties.  See the screenshot below which shows exactly where this option is located.

You should now find yourself in the Cell properties dialogue box.  If you then click the advanced Tab in the following window there are options to set the border width, style and colour.
In order to change the colour you can either enter a value into the background field, or alternatively you can click on the small back to the right hand side.  After selecting the colour you will notice that this information is automatically added to the style box.
Please see the screenshot below, which shows the background colour box with a new colour added to it.  You can now click on the OK button to save the changes.

If you need further help on working with tables, please see our help guide using the link below:

The Education Technology conference is here, and we’re inviting you to join us at what promises to be the most exciting event in Education Technology in The North.
Hosted in the beautiful and prestigious Hilton Leeds City Hotel, the event will be a great chance to see some of the leading EdTech companies in the country, meet other teachers and professionals and take full advantage of our free catering.

Plus, we’ll be hosting talks from world leading experts in Education Technology and from schools and teachers who have changed the way they teach forever.
You can view more information on our website: www.educationtechnology2015.co.uk

Register today! Tickets are FREE (including lunch and refreshments) and are available now.

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:
Continue reading →

We launched our Homework Block just a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re very proud to reveal our newest website at www.homeworkanywhere.com.
The new site has everything you need to know about our homework plugin, and you can contact us from within it for a free demo of how its functionality can save teachers time, make submitting homework easier and allow parents to track their child’s progress.

Furthermore, the site is built entirely within Webanywhere’s own School Jotter Site platform, demonstrating again the flexibility and versatility of our platform. The site is fully responsive and we feel it really demonstrates how School Jotter Site can improve your school website.

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.