Artificial intelligence isn’t the only (relatively) new kid on the teaching block. AR (otherwise known as augmented reality) is another branch of technology that is changing industries worldwide. While it may be some time before it becomes commonplace, augmented reality is worth the investment for your classroom.

Don’t worry; the 2D teaching resources you’ve used for years aren’t going anywhere. AR in education brings a 3D element to the game, allowing students to explore everything from dinosaurs to human organs more deeply and nuanced than ever.

There are many benefits to bringing augmented reality into the classroom. These are just the top five:

1. Enhances Engagement Through Interactive Learning

Traditionally, classroom settings rely on passive learning methods (e.g., presentations, pre-recorded videos, lectures, etc.), leaving pupils yearning (often subconsciously) for more engaging, interactive experiences—like those provided by augmented reality in education!

This technology brings a much-needed shift in how educators conduct their lessons, offering enhanced learning opportunities through interactivity. By merging physical and digital realms, AR turns otherwise confusing, abstract concepts into tangible events that are more enjoyable and effective to engage with.

For instance, you can boost history lessons by letting pupils virtually explore landmarks or witnessing crucial events unfold in a 360-degree experience. Such levels of engagement are fantastic for long-term retention and empowering students to become active participants in their learning journey.

Augmented reality’s immersive, interactive nature doesn’t just captivate and engage students’ interests, but it also encourages collaboration between peers. They can engage with each other and the content to explore and solve captivating challenges. To put it simply, AR makes learning more engaging. What teacher wouldn’t want that?

2. Makes Complex Subjects More Understandable

Let’s use science as an example here. It’s a notoriously complex subject, with many variables and information to consider. However, AR simplifies it by helping students visualize complex concepts. Whether it’s a tiny animal cell or a huge planet, interacting with them in a “hands-on” manner helps pupils understand the components of each. 

The same goes for biology. Can you imagine anything more magical and memorable than holding a 3D model of a human heart? AR in education gives your students that experience, enchanting and motivating them to understand even the most confusing topics. 

And this is just one subject! You can use augmented reality to bring the past to life in history, make convoluted fictional worlds more immersive, and so much more. You’ll undoubtedly be surprised by its ability to make typically tricky subjects easier.

3. Promotes Active Learning and Retention

Through its integration of virtual elements into the physical world, augmented reality allows students to actively engage with the material rather than passively listen or read it. This hands-on interaction with virtual objects and realistic simulations deepens their understanding and develops problem-solving skills, critical thinking, curiosity, and retention—the latter being one of the most important. 

Knowledge retention has always been a challenge, no matter the grade. Traditional methods often fail to provide long-term information retention as pupils struggle to connect abstract concepts to real life. AR, however, works to solve this decades-long issue.

Research shows that the amalgamation of auditory and visual stimuli in augmented reality in education drastically boosts information recall compared to traditional teaching methods. Students who can see and interact with virtual items related to the subject they’re studying are more likely to retain the knowledge over time. Such a foundation of knowledge extends far beyond the classroom.

4. Supports Accessibility and Inclusive Learning

While many tools promise to elevate accessibility and inclusivity within learning environments, augmented reality (AR) is one of the most promising. It boasts the potential to banish barriers to education and let everybody engage with learning experiences.

One key element when considering inclusive education is the interests of those with disabilities or special educational needs. Interestingly, augmented reality catches the interest of students with disabilities and special educational needs. With that in mind, researchers analyzed several studies. They concluded that pupils with auditory limitations, ASD, ADHD, and dyslexia are particularly eager to engage with and benefit from AR in education.

Beyond that, augmented reality applications include real-time captions, audio descriptions, and translations, making content more accessible to those with language barriers, sensory impairments, or disabilities. They can also simulate physical environments, helping individuals with mobility challenges engage in all manner of learning experiences. 

5. Bridges the Gap Between Theory and Practice

As previously explained, traditional teaching methods often fail to bridge the gap between theory and practice. However, augmented reality changes the game. Breathing life into concepts and theoretical knowledge gives practicality to the material, deepening understanding and helping students retain the newly learned information.

Take physics, for example. Augmented reality simulations allow pupils to see abstract principles in action, making concepts more tangible and easier to understand. 

Integrate AR Into Your School Today!

Bringing AR to your classroom has innumerable benefits, including bridging the often-wide gap between theory and practice, supporting accessibility and inclusive learning, promoting active learning and retention, making complex subjects more digestible, and enhancing engagement.

If you’re looking to improve your school’s brand image and attract more students, explore our school website design!

Jonathan Noakes, the Director of Teaching and Learning at Eton College, advocates for state schools in England to establish debating clubs and train teachers to foster classroom discussions. This would improve students’ oracy (speaking skills) and help prepare them for life. While private schools like Eton have more resources for these activities, state school teachers, especially those working with disadvantaged children, often lack the time and training to focus on such skills.

The UK government aims to make oracy a priority in schools, with a curriculum review expected to include a focus on speaking skills. According to a report by the Sutton Trust, 96% of teachers believe life skills, including oracy, are as important as formal qualifications, but many state school teachers report they lack time and resources to develop these skills effectively. State school teachers are also twice as likely as private school teachers to say their school doesn’t offer sufficient opportunities for non-academic skill development.

Eton, a prestigious school that has educated 20 British prime ministers, strongly emphasises oracy. Noakes explains that at Eton, students are expected to speak in every lesson, and teachers are specifically trained to facilitate discussions. Eton also runs programmes that focus on oracy, such as rhetoric studies for year 9 students, which include public speaking and debating.

While Noakes acknowledges the challenges state schools face, he believes introducing debating clubs and providing teacher training on discussion techniques could greatly benefit state school students. He highlights Eton’s partnerships with schools like the London Academy of Excellence, where oracy programmes have been successfully implemented.

OracyChampions.com is helping UK schools enhance students’ speaking and listening skills by providing practical tools, lesson plans, and assessment resources that integrate oracy into everyday teaching. The platform supports teachers in state schools, where time and resources may be limited, by offering easy-to-implement activities and guidance on fostering classroom discussions and setting up debating clubs. With a focus on reducing teacher workload while promoting effective oracy development, Oracy Champions ensures that all students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, have the opportunity to improve their communication skills, aligning with the call for greater emphasis on oracy in schools, as advocated by Jonathan Noakes of Eton College.

You can watch Sean Gilligan talk to Jonnie Noakes, Director of Teaching and Learning at Eton College.

Oracy is an essential skill that empowers students to express themselves clearly, engage in meaningful dialogue, and build strong relationships. It involves a combination of speaking, listening, and comprehension skills, which are crucial for effective communication in both personal and professional settings.

What Is Oracy?

Oracy plays a significant role in academic success. Research shows that students with strong oracy skills perform better academically. Effective communication helps in understanding and articulating complex concepts, leading to better educational outcomes. Employers highly value communication skills, making oracy essential for employability. Being able to articulate ideas clearly and engage in constructive dialogue is critical in most careers. Moreover, enhancing oracy skills can bridge the gap between socio-economic groups, providing all students with equal opportunities to succeed.

In classrooms that prioritise oracy, there are higher levels of student participation and engagement. Students who can express their ideas and opinions are more likely to take an active role in their learning. Additionally, good communication skills are linked to better mental health. They help reduce frustration, build better relationships, and contribute to overall wellbeing.

Oracy Champions

Oracy Champions is a comprehensive tool designed to enhance students’ oracy skills through interactive activities and real-time feedback. It allows teachers to monitor and assess students’ progress in various oracy skills, engage students with activities that improve their phonics, listening, and debating abilities, and create podcasts showcasing students’ achievements at the end of each term.

The platform is accessible via web browsers and mobile apps, making it easy for students, teachers, and parents to engage with the program anytime, anywhere. Additionally, Oracy Champions offers support through experienced educators who can provide training and facilitate workshops to maximise the benefits of the platform.

Oracy education is not just about improving speech; it’s about preparing students for life, giving them the tools they need to succeed in various aspects of their personal and professional lives. For more information, you can visit Oracy Champions.

55% of all page views in the year 2021 came from mobile devices. Mobile applications are increasingly being preferred by people over desktops as they are convenient and easy to browse. 

As a result, more businesses are opting to have their own apps in the market as a way to connect with people. Your school can also benefit greatly from an app of its own.

It is not only a platform to put all the relevant information about the school happenings, but it also provides a space for students, parents, and staff to communicate as a community.

Top 5 advantages of using an app in school

Mobile applications have played a significant role in shaping education in the modern era. They help make studies fun and engaging for the students. Parents can stay updated about the school activities with their help.

The entire community can get involved to improve education with the help of easily accessible apps. Here are some of the most prominent benefits it offers.

1. Keeps everyone updated with the latest information

The traditional methods of circulating information via newsletters and notice boards were not effective in reaching every student and their parents. Apps allow schools to truly reach out to everyone in the community to relay information.

This is especially important for time-sensitive events such as cancellation of classes or urgent meetings being held.

2. Promotes communication

With apps being highly accessible, parents are more willing to use them to interact with the school and other parents. They can share their experiences and help others out.

Things that earlier required meetings and the physical presence of people can now be accomplished far more effectively without needing the people to leave their homes.

3. Boosts parent-teacher engagement 

Apps allow parents and teachers to have transparent conversations about the students. Earlier, teachers had to mostly rely on students relaying a message to the parents and their direct conversations were mostly limited to parent-teacher meetings.

Now, parents can view things like attendance records and their ward’s grades and bring their concerns to the teachers at any moment to brainstorm solutions. 

4. Promotes involvement of the community

It becomes easier for the school staff to organize and host events with the use of applications. They can inform the parents about them and entertain their concerns on the app. They can also spread the word about events better.

Mobile applications make it easier for everyone in the community simply because they are convenient and easy to access. People are not as likely to miss notifications or messages on their mobile as they would be to miss letters and circulars.

5. Saves you time and money

It may seem counterintuitive that maintaining and managing an application regularly saves you money and time, but it is true. It serves multiple functions in one place and streamlines processes in the long run. You can save so much time by ensuring effective and speedy communication. 

For example, instead of printing newsletters, you can simply make them available on your app. It allows easier navigation than a physical newspaper. It also allows users to save stories to read later.

Again if you consider the school websites, they take a lot of time to load and open up. While an app takes less time to download and is much faster. It is an easier substitute to a website and ensures a single click access to most information. 

Managing aspects such as attendance is also easier digitally. You can track students’ records and analyze them to present insights into their performance. Not only do you save time, effort, and money, but you also take a step toward a paperless society with your school app. 

About School Mobile Apps

Having an online presence is a must in the digital age, apps simply help you create a functioning one for your school.

They are a boon as classes are held in an online setting. Moreover, they serve various other purposes such as opening communication channels between teachers, students, and parents.

People can stay up-to-date with the happenings of the school, clear their doubts, and voice their opinions conveniently with the use of applications. They give them a chance to contribute to the community.

We all know that smartphones have taken over our lives, but did you know that 87% of the UK population used a smartphone in 2020 and the smartphone to population penetration was 72%? 

With those numbers, it can only make sense for your school to take advantage of this to help increase parental engagement. But how exactly can this be done?

A mobile app for your secondary school could be the perfect solution, getting key messages out to parents, whilst also helping your school to run more efficiently and reduce costs. 

How do school apps enhance communication for secondary schools? 

With a school mobile app, you can significantly improve the quality of communication between your school and parents or guardians. If you do not have a robust communication strategy in place, chances are you will not be able to deliver superior-quality communication. 

Here are a few ways in which you can work on your communication process with a school app:

• Simplify the onboarding process

   — For an app to be successful, you need to make sure as many parents and guardians as possible use it. With our school app, you can onboard parents easily. We offer full training to your staff so they can confidently help parents to get the most out of it.

• Reduce admin time

  — Using a digital solution to communicate with parents and guardians means there is a huge drop in additional costs from traditional communication methods, like printed newsletters and updates. It also saves a lot of time for your staff.

• Provide access to an integrated booking form for events and open days

  — you can save a huge amount of admin time alone with integrative bookings. Allow teachers to set their availability for parents evenings and open days, and parents can book a lot direct. 

• Offer better targeted communication

  — You can send messages to those parents who have not responded to earlier messages, and thereby ramp up the engagement levels. Being able to know which parents have received or read your messages, further enables you to understand how active or engaged they are on the app. Accordingly, you can contact them when they come to the school to pick up their children or set an appointment. 

Let’s consider the next question. 

How does a school app help you save costs? 

Here is a quick look at some of the cost-saving benefits that are offered by a school app: 

• Saves on printing costs

  — There is a lot of paper used in the UK schools on a daily basis. Having a school communication app can boost your green credentials and make your journey towards a paperless future easier than ever. 

• Saves administration efforts

  — Relying on students to pass on paper notes to their parents and then have the parents communicate with the school authorities can be a really cumbersome process. With a school app, there will not be any wasted communication with the parents. 

If you too are considering a mobile application for your school, try School Jotter. Here are a few features offered by the app that are worth considering:

• Editable app

  — Schools can personalise their dashboard, adding and removing links relevant to the time of year

• Custom design

  — It pushes the school’s brand and ethos, no boring template look

• Syncs with website

  — It seamlessly integrates with the school website and helps to prevent any duplication of work and reduces workload

That brings us to our next question. 

Why should you consider the School Jotter app?

Check out some of the key benefits here:

• Mobile centre enables you to contact and be contacted by individuals or groups of parents at no cost
• Get access to the latest news, updates, and information delivered to your mobile at no extra cost
• Add links to school policies and other important information.
• Save money with push notifications over a text service that needs to be topped up
• Syncs with website to prevent any duplication of work and reduces workload

Now if that has convinced you enough, contact our friendly professionals today at School Jotter and enable the parents and students to make the most from their School Jotter mobile school app.  

It’s the start of a new term, yet Summer 2020 is like no term any teacher has ever experienced. The ongoing global pandemic has changed everything we know about teaching and it’s difficult to be fully prepared in times like these. However, as teachers and school leaders, we need to continue educating the children in our care; it’s just a case of using the tools we have available to find new ways to deliver the curriculum and support students and parents to engage with this new way of learning. With this in mind, here is some advice on how to continue to find success through distance learning.

Stay In Contact

Parents have been thrown into a new and potentially stressful situation here. Overnight, they became their child’s teacher, and for many that’s been a real challenge. Even those parents who have relished the opportunity to get more involved in their child’s education may need a little support or advice as the weeks pass. Contact parents to check how students are getting along, and to support parents with any issues they may have. Don’t just make this a one-off conversation; keep in regular contact and make the conversation about more than just school work. 

Provide Rich Content

Yes, school’s out for summer (potentially), but that doesn’t mean learning has to slow down or stop altogether. Make sure you provide rich content for children to work on at home, to supplement any more practical activities they may be doing with parents. The internet is a vast library of audio visual and interactive content and providing links to useful resources ensures children continue following the curriculum and increasing their knowledge. 

Make It Fun

Let’s not forget that children will be finding this period of their lives stressful as well. They’ve been thrown out of their usual routine, they’re missing their friends, they can’t get outside to play, and they may be worried about family members or the future – and then you expect them to do school work as well! Getting children to engage might be difficult, especially when there are so many other activities calling for their attention. Using an online tool like School Jotter Learn means you can include interactive games and fun videos in your learning materials, meaning children are more likely to engage and learn.

Measure Attainment

In the classroom you have a range of systems for measuring every aspect of a child’s development, from numeracy and literacy skills to how well they can hold a pencil or throw a ball. It’s much more difficult measuring attainment remotely, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the effort. After all, it’s important to be able to show kids (and parents) how much they have improved, and knowing their ability level when school finally reopens will make integration that bit easier. Make sure online lessons include quizzes and “homework” that needs submitting – you can do this in School Jotter Learn – and offer children extra help wherever it’s needed.

Keep It Consistent

It may be tempting to push six weeks’ content out at once and leave kids to get on with it at their own pace, but this is not a good idea for many reasons. Firstly, seeing so much work at once could prove to be demoralising, demotivating or stressful for many children, who may feel overwhelmed or that they need to complete it all at once. In fact, some students will want to race ahead and finish work as quickly as they can, which will leave them with nothing to do for the remainder of the half term. A far better idea is to set work weekly or even daily; however you choose to schedule it, make sure it’s regular and consistent. Routine is important for us all, and children will find it easier to engage with home learning when there is a structured system in place. Again, School Jotter Learn can help you organise your online lessons so they are delivered to children in a consistent way. 
To summarise, here are the key points to ensure distance learning works and online lessons are a success.
Stay in contact: check in with parents regularly, chat about both school work and home life, and offer support where it’s needed.
Provide rich content: follow the curriculum as closely as you can and supplement more formal learning with audio visual content and practical activities kids can do at home.
Make it fun: use interactive games and videos to keep kids interested and engaged. 
Measure attainment: use quizzes or set activities to be sent back to you so you can see how much improvement is being made – and offer additional help when needed.
Keep it consistent: set work regularly; create a “timetable” and stick to it.
Good luck and enjoy the new term – however unusual it may be! And if you need any support or advice on how you can deliver successful remote learning to your students, please don’t hesitate to contact us here– we are here to help. 

The UK’s current lockdown seems daunting, and working from home can prove difficult, with time split between conference calls, emailing, and on top of that – childcare! There’s only so much entertainment to be found in worksheets sent home from school, and you can’t just leave them to play on an iPad all day. Luckily, celebs around the UK have answered your prayers – free online lessons to keep your kids entertained, and educated. Download our free homeschool timetable by clicking here, or find out more about what’s on offer below!

P.E with Joe Wicks 

Joe Wicks, known for his work as the body coach, has become the ‘nation’s p.e teacher’, with his free 30 minute workouts for all ages, starting at 9am every morning midweek. If that’s not enticing enough for you, Joe is donating all the money made from his YouTube channel to charity (about £80,000 last month!). Tune into his lessons here.

Music With Myleene Klass 

Singer and Pianist, Myleene Klass is teaching the uk classical music via YouTube. Like Joe Wicks’ lessons, this is aimed at all ages, so whether you’re looking to entertain the kids, or wanting to pick up a new skill, this is a class worth attending. Find Myleene’s lessons at 10am, monday to friday here.

Science with Maddie Moat

Maddie Moat, children’s tv presenter and youtuber, is giving live science lessons 5 days a week from her youtube channel. With a different topic covered every week, this is a great way to keep kids entertained, and provide a wide range of knowledge. Streaming at 11am from: https://www.youtube.com/user/maddiemoate

Dance with Oti Mabuse 

Strictly Come Dancing champion Oti Mabuse is supplying dance classes for children and adults on her social media platforms, with help from her husband Marius Lepure. This is a great way to stay active, and use up some energy throughout the day, and if any adults want to join in, Oti is holding a class for adults every week day at 7pm. Catch the kids lesson at 11:30 on Oti’s youtube channel here.

Maths with Carol Vorderman 

Due to the lockdown, Carol Vorderman is offering access to her maths factor lessons for free! Aimed at pupils from ages 4-12, the ex Countdown presenter, is giving free access to her online courses, following the national curriculum. Log on anytime to access the courses here: https://www.themathsfactor.com/

History with Dan Snow 

Historian Dan Snow is keeping the nation up-to-date with the past with his podcast, ‘Dan Snow’s History Hit’. Available on all major podcast platforms and historyhit.com (ad free), this is an informative show (and a chance for some peace and quiet for mum and dad!). Find Dan’s podcasts here.

English with David Walliams 

Comedian and Writer David Walliams is giving free access to a free story every day midweek during Lockdown. Taken from one of his bestselling books, each story will be available at 11:30am every day, and available to stream from his website for the next 24 hours – and don’t worry, he does all the voices! Find David’s latest story here: https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/

Food Tech with Jamie Oliver 

Jamie’s new programme, ‘Keep Cooking and Carry On’, shows you how to make the most out of whatever you can find in your cupboard. Filmed at his home, with help from his wife and kids, Jamie guides you through easy recipes that all t he family can make. After watching Keep Cooking and Carry On, you might even be able to get your kids to start cooking tea for you! Tune in on channel 4 at 5:30 weeknights, or catch up here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamie-keep-cooking-and-carry-on

“Teaching in the Internet age means we must teach tomorrow’s skills today.” – Jennifer Fleming.

Do you agree with this quote? I believe it is one of the most accurate quotes related to learning in the Internet age. It acknowledges the importance of providing our students with opportunities to gain and develop skills that will be most useful for them in the future. As discussed previously, technology is just a tool that cannot replace teachers. However, I am sure that every teacher should have some knowledge about how to integrate technology into teaching to help students develop a variety of skills. For instance, using different technology resources (e.g., quizzes, writing tools, drawing tools, forums, blogs) can be very useful for improving communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. What is more, appropriate use of technology can help to improve literacy and to improve more technical IT-related skills.

The best solution for schools is to find a tool that could make learning more engaging for students and that would be easy to use at the same time because we cannot expect all teachers or even all students to be very confident with their IT skills. If you are looking for a tool that could improve elearning within your school I would suggest trying an open-source LMS.

A virtual learning environment / VLE (also known as a learning management system or LMS), is developed by educators, for educators.

It provides a private and secure learning space for designing online courses with flexible content and collaborative activities for students. What makes open source LMS unique is the fact that it is a free software based on its community, not on investors seeking returns or by selling customer data.

Why choose Webanywhere for e-Learning platform?

We are here to support your LMS in order to implement a truly successful learning environment in your school. Webanywhere is focused on improving e-learning within education. Using open-source LMS we are able to provide engaging e-learning platforms which improve the productivity of both teachers and students. We offer a wide variety of services ranging from theme design to implementation, training, and support for schools. We can help you integrate your VLE with SIMS for automated user management, real-time reporting on attendance and behaviour and for off-site access to SIMS data. What is more, we can help make homework management easier for teachers, students, and parents with our homework-management plugin. Read more about school jotter success stories here.

Main benefits of LMS for education.

Easy access. It is available anywhere with an Internet connection, meaning students, staff, and parents have 24-hour access to a huge variety of resources, activities and school information. This is great for students who cannot attend school for whatever reason because the platform allows them to access all the information taught in the lessons they have missed. It can assist in accessing homework materials, assignments, or additional learning resources that teachers upload.

Encourages collaboration. The opportunity to collaborate with other students and to work in teams makes learning more effective. An open-source LMS allows Students to ask questions and to help each other regarding any topic on discussion forums or via instant messages. What is more, students who are hesitant to put forward their views or opinions in the classroom can use LMS to express themselves and to get involved in different activities or projects.

Helps to make learning more fun and engaging. LMS can be used to upload assignment-related quizzes or games that can help students prepare for their assignments while being fun and helping to reduce stress related to assignments. Engaging and fun activities can be used to support teaching in the classroom and to support students at home.

Enables students to learn more independently. While an LMS encourages collaboration between students, it also enables them to have more control over their learning. For instance, teachers can upload supplementary activities, documents, links to websites or other relevant materials that are relevant to the lesson being taught. This helps students enhance their learning at their own time without having to do a research for quality materials themselves.

Flexible. An LMS is highly configurable and it can be customised with different features to meet the individual needs of your school.

Access to quality resources. It can help students access only quality resources that are uploaded by teachers without having to search for information themselves. This helps them stay focused on things that are relevant and useful for their learning. “Learners in the internet age don’t need more information. They need to know how to efficiently use the massive amount of information available at their fingertips – to determine what’s credible, what’s relevant, and when its useful to reference.” – Anna Sabramowicz

Most recent features:

-Drag-and-drop quiz question types.

-Streamlined course section editing.

-Better management of plugins.

-Display the date a file was uploaded.

-Do more on your mobile. 

Finally, I would like to encourage teachers to embrace technology to make learning more engaging for students because engaged students are more likely to be interested and to stay motivated to learn and perform well!

There are a huge range of risks online for students, staff and schools when using the Internet. Fortunately there is a wide range of (generally) free online resources available to help us understand the risks, implement policies to mitigate them, and teach people to make sensible decisions online.

We’ve highlighted 6 resources that everyone working within education and with children online should be aware of, in order to prepare for using the internet and understanding what to do when coming across any potentially harmful content.
Childnet are a non-profit organisation who work to ensure the internet is a safe and enjoyable place for children. They produce a great range of free resources to help staff and students learn more about risks and how to understand and manage these in school www.childnet.com.

KidSMART is part of Childnet and provides useful resources such as lesson plans, leaflets, posters, activity days and interactive games for teaching eSafety as well as information for parents www.kidsmart.org.uk.
SWGFL are a another not for profit charity trust and a recognised leader in e-safety, not just in the South West. Policy templates, checklists and a wide range of learning resources for both staff and students are available for free www.swgfl.org.uk.
ICT4Collaboration are specialists in providing technology services to educational organisations and are part of the Yorkshire and Humberside Grid for Learning. They provide local ICT training events all across Yorkshire as well as useful online resources www.ict4c.co.uk.
IWF is the Internet Watch Foundation. They are the UK Hotline for reporting criminal content online, including child sexual abuse content and criminally obscene adult content. If you have content of this nature reported to you it is important that you do not investigate or try to access it. Just go to the IWF website at www.iwf.org.uk and report it. The process is anonymous and confidential.
CEOP, The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, part of the UK Government’s National Crime Agency, is an organisation consisting of police officers who work to prosecute online child sex offenders, including those who produce, distribute and view online child abuse material. CEOP operate a similar online reporting tool for incidents such as grooming or people acting inappropriately towards children online. This can be found at www.ceop.police.uk.
Related Content
Webanywhere eSafety – Visit our dedicated eSafety pages to find out more about the issue and how to prevent any online issues.

This week is Staff Blog week here at Webanywhere, so each day we will be sharing with you a new blog post from one of our employees. Today it’s Emily Tasker talking about her personal experiences of E-Learning.

The human race has always had the capacity and need to learn. It has helped us to evolve in the beginning and expand into the world. Without this drive for knowledge, we would arguably not have survived as a species, but that is a debate for another time.

The drive to learn is innate in our structure, it’s in our very core. The difference nowadays is how that knowledge is obtained and/or made accessible. As a child, I remember asking my parents the annoying questions all parents must suffer through, the general response I received was ‘look it up in the encyclopedia’.
When we finally had a computer in our house, the default answer to my persistent questioning was ‘look it up on Encarta’. Encarta was a CD ROM but basically was a digitised encyclopedia; the difference being that Encarta, with its games and challenges, was far more engaging and fun than an encyclopedia.
My more recent questions are easily answered thanks to my computer, tablet and mobile phone making the internet more accessible. The ability to go onto the internet to research an answer is becoming second nature, almost subconscious to society.
One example of this was during my National Childbirth Trust (NCT) Class when I was pregnant with my daughter, we were asked ‘your newborn is poorly, who do you turn to for advice?’ and for each couple to write down their answers. All had the usual answers ‘parents’, ‘doctors’, ‘other first time mums’, but all also had some form of digital platform listed such as information/chat boards, mobile apps, ‘dr google’ was also mentioned! Without even thinking twice, all new parents at that class would turn to digital help with issues relating to their newborn. That’s a significant amount of trust that they are placing in the information the internet can provide them. One answer was so second nature it had given a search engine the persona of a doctor.
I personally think that is the crux of where E-learning/Edtech is heading, as humans innately learn, there will always be a need for E-learning, but to survive it needs to be fun, easily accessible and trustworthy.
Emily Tasker

Related Webanywhere pages
Our E-learning resources – provide personalised e-learning and revision tools, allowing teachers to quickly and easily create exercises for students