In 2012, the Hwb+ portal was offered to 1,600 Welsh schools free of charge, in the hope that technology could improve overall learning. The portal is built on Sharepoint, which is known for its excellent file sharing capabilities. Feedback has not been overwhelmingly positive however, so let’s look at some of the possible reasons for this.
CMS or VLE?
Both Sharepoint and open source LMS offer great content storing and sharing capabilities, however Sharepoint’s core function is as a CMS, rather than a VLE. While it can be configured to act as an elearning platform, this requires a significant amount of effort and expertise. An open-source LMS, on the other hand, is designed primarily as highly flexible that acts as a spine to your elearning programme, whether a subject is taught exclusively online or just occasionally. You can use it for delivering and assessing course content, interactive and collaborative activities, quizzes, reporting and much more. The Forum activity allows pupils to exchange ideas and get support from peers and teachers.

Flexibility
Sharepoint must integrate with the MS Office Sharepoint server platform, so won’t run on standard Linux or Windows, whereas open source LMS can integrate with different servers and open source software including Drupal, Joomla and Postnuke. Being open source means it is constantly being enhanced from plugins and tweaks from the supportive LMS community. It also uses multiple authentication systems (AD/LDAP/POP). A particularly extensible platform, it has the potential to do just about anything with the right input, so perfect if you have a techie on staff who likes to tinker.
Individuality
While a default template is unexciting, there are other themes provided so you can choose a more inspiring feel. Sharepoint has a more corporate look unsuitable for schools, particularly primary. Furthermore, all their sites are very similar and lack individuality. If a user is unfamiliar with Sharepoint, it can seem cumbersome and not very student-friendly.
Time Management
An open Source LMS integrates well with an existing MIS (SIMS, CMIS, etc) cutting admin time. With the Homework plugin, teachers can upload an entire block of homework ahead of time, with it being released at predefined times automatically. It can then be marked through the LMS interface. Pupils don’t have to worry about lost homework and parents can track how their child is doing.
Cost
Software with a per-user license fee, such as Sharepoint, can prove very expensive for schools, particularly those with a large enrolment. The beauty being open-source is that there’s no per-user fee, although it can be hosted and maintained externally if required. After going through a rigorous assessment for quality and value for money, Webanywhere became approved as an elearning platform supplier to the UK Government Procurement Service.

For an elearning solution for schools, we believe an open-source LMS is a far more intuitive platform than Sharepoint. It’s more cost effective and brimming with adaptability.

‘Change’, ‘innovation’, ‘a new way’, ‘paradigm shift’ – all these are familiar terms in the education technology industry. The pursuit of the new, the framing of a product as something different and therefore something indispensable is a recognisable marketing technique as companies attempt to both distance their own product from that of their competitors, make their product seem more desirable in the eyes of the user, and whip up excitement surrounding it.
But is this technique a particularly effective one when it comes to teaching, training and education?
After a decade working in the sector, there is something that has become very much apparent to me as I try to keep up with the newest curriculum, teaching fad or ‘essential’ bit of kit – education is an area that is seemingly in a constant state of flux. From government policy to classroom pedagogy, the rate of change is such that practitioners can often feel like they are running a race they are ever destined to lose, desperately scrambling to get a handle on something, only for it to irrecoverably transform as soon as they feel as if they have a handle on it.
In a sector where consistency and stability is such a rare commodity, is more change really what is needed?
There is a narrative that paints teachers and other practitioners in educational establishments as cripplingly hesitant when using technology, as holding back the inevitable onset of progress in the classroom, as preferring a chalk-dusted, Victorian model rather than the glistening chrome and neon learning area of the future. Undoubtedly, this can sometimes be the case, but I also believe that there is something else afoot. I see hesitation in using technology as a symptom of a more general malaise that may not be to do with technology at all. I label it ‘Shift-Fatigue’.
Shift-Fatigue is a malady suffered by those in education as a result of the unending process of change that they are subject to. An underlying anxiety brought about by uncertainty, a lack of enthusiasm in reference to something newly introduced as the (often correct) assumption is that it either won’t be there for long, or, if it is, will change into something unrecognisable and a cynicism regarding a newly introduced policy or tool; these are the effects of working in a sector that is defined by its rapid and often ill-thought-out revamps, reshapes and reforms at all levels. If teachers and other education professionals are overly cautious and hesitant, then there are some very solid reasons why that is the case, not least as a reaction to the working environment that they find themselves in.
What can be done to ensure that marketing doesn’t fall victim to these symptoms of Shift-Fatigue when trying to promote an educational product? If promoting the ‘revolutionary’ aspects of a product can be counter-productive, what is the alternative?
Perhaps marketing techniques need to go through a shift of their own. A movement from the more traditional techniques of emphasising a narrative that focuses on the uniqueness of a product, how there has ‘never been anything like it before’ and other statements that (if we are going to be truly honest) are little more than empty superlatives and hyperbole and a move towards highlighting aspects of the product that reinforce how it is dependable, will compliment and augment already existing practice, and will take very little time and effort to integrate is an approach that may not seem particularly ‘sexy’, but may be a way to swerve the Shift-Fatigue that educational staff may exhibit.
By offering stability, reliability and support, a product can set itself apart in a market where promotion is often in thrall to newness and a difference to what has gone before, readily perpetuating a way of thinking that educational professionals may be extremely wary of. Instead of trying to sweep up potential users in the excitement of yet another piece of technology or approach that will ‘change everything’ (yet again), going the opposite way, and presenting the product as something that is to be depended on in times of uncertainty, may help it to stand out.
In a sector where constant change has become the norm, a company that offers a change from change, a shift away from shifts and are innovative enough to leave innovation (or at least talk of it) behind could be well on its way to finding new opportunities.

The human element of the learning process is a difficult one to predict. Even if training content is well-designed and engaging, support for completion is forthcoming and the subject is one that is essential for either education or work, there is still the infinitely complex landscape of a learner’s interior world to be considered. Teaching and learning is an essentially human undertaking encompassing motivation, ability, skill-set, attitude and a wealth of other factors and is not necessarily a simple case of measurable inputs and outputs.
Basically, it’s complex.
In any market it’s entirely natural to focus on product. Product is relatively easy to analyse, to breakdown, to improve if needed. But when it comes to training and other educational offers, the product must always be viewed through the lens of learner interaction and this can be a frightening prospect as learning can be an unpredictable, often chaotic process (in fact, at its best, it often is) and the people doing the learning bring with it their unpredictable, chaotic selves.
Offering the best product is not just about the product itself. It is about an understanding of people and an understanding that sometimes learning isn’t a smooth, clinical process. Learning can be emotive, even painful at times. A user’s motivation may change, increase or diminish, seemingly at whim. Both internal and external factors may have positive or negative effects and these factors are often difficult to pin down.

If an educational product is to be truly successful, the learner, with all their complexities has to be placed at the centre of every stage in the process from inception, design, implementation and beyond. A consideration and understanding of the very real hurdles that are faced by those using the product is essential, and efforts made to try and offset them through a realistic consideration of learners’ lives separate to the product itself.
Learners are people. When it comes to learning people react in different, unpredictable ways. If a business accepts this and adapts to the intricacies of learning behaviour in all its wonderful strangeness it will go some way to achieving maximum outcomes.

Using tech compliments the way I work but I completely understand that it’s not for everyone. Different teachers have completely different (sometimes highly idiosyncratic) ways of keeping on top of things. From extremely tech-centric, to utilising a bit of tech, to forgoing any kind of technology whatsoever, there’s a whole spectrum out there. I tend not to make any kind of value-judgement on the way people work as I’ve seen the most connected teachers be completely useless and those who wouldn’t dream of picking up a mobile to help in their teaching absolutely storm it.

But then again, it’s always nice to have the choice. Whether tech savvy or tech-averse, being able to work in a way that means that you’re at your best is always going to be important. I use my phone to organise my workload, communicate with colleagues, streamline certain mind-numbing admin activities, so what can an institution do to try and smooth the way for someone like me? And they should because I rule.

Firstly, let’s talk a little bit about one of the essentials, one of the building blocks of effective tech use in school; internet access. Undoubtedly the provision of wifi in education establishments in reference to speed and reliability have improved exponentially in the time that I’ve been teaching. But even now, there are places where this central tenet is neglected. Spotty, unreliable or easily maxed-out provision can be a real headache and effectively means that anyone using mobile technology is scuppered before they start (unless they fancy maxing out their 4G allowance, which is always an option but seems a bit like having to buy your own whiteboard markers, exercise books and A4 paper – tools that should really be provided). Decent internet and wifi that reliably reaches every room in every building is pretty much an essential now (and not just for me as a teacher, but for the kids as well.)

The culture in a school and how it views a particular way of working is also something that can either facilitate or discourage being productive with mobile apps. There have been places that have viewed my use of a phone or tablet to sort myself out with something akin to deep suspicion. I can’t really blame them as it’s the same way that I view the kids with something akin to deep suspicion when they’re on theirs. But then again, I’m a professional, and an adult (I won’t go so far to push it and call myself ‘responsible’) and I think we’re now at a point that mobile device use, if not entirely ‘normalised’ in schools, is not as much as an anomaly as it once was. Being comfortable with staff using tech to help with their work, perhaps actively encouraging it (yet not enforcing. I’m still firm in the belief that a professional should be able to make a choice in how they work) can make life a little easier. Establishing an in-house forum where teachers can share some of the tools that they’re using and perhaps demonstrate the apps that are helping them conquer the day-to-day grind can also go some way to removing any possible stigma as teachers convince others that they’re not constantly on the Facebook or happily Snapchatting away as everyone else gets some proper work done.

Because proper work is proper work, no matter how you go about doing it. Recognising that it happens in different ways, and making efforts to try and enable it, whether it be using pen or paper or the shiniest new bit of kit, is key to helping teachers do the best that they can. An environment that identifies how to support teachers in the way that works for them is an environment that values professionals and the work that they do. That value then carries over to the kids as it’s often the case that what’s good for the teachers is also good for the students. Not everyone works in the same way, but by making it easier to work in the way that best suits your teachers, a school can help their workforce reach their potential.

Communication is key to the effective running of a school. Good communication fosters good relationships and in educational institutions, with so many stakeholders, relationships are incredibly important. With this in mind, the channels a school chooses to communicate through also become important in themselves, especially as social media now offers a chance to reach people in a way that is direct and immediate.
There are, of course, inherent risks, and there is often an understandable hesitancy from schools to utilise open platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. But if this is the case, the setting up of a school blog can act as a more manageable way to put your institution’s message out there.

A school blog attached to a website can present an insight to the daily goings on behind the gates and in the hands of a curator with an eye for detail, an ear to the ground and a little talent with the written word it can offer an extremely human voice of an institution that is often viewed as being closed-off to those who aren’t teaching or learning within it. One of the complaints that parents and carers often have is that there are only a number of communication points in a year and that sometimes it can be a mystery as to what is going on (given the uncommunicative nature of many adolescents and teenagers!). An effective school blog will not only disseminate important information throughout the year in an easy-to-digest format, it can concentrate on some of the minutiae that is often lost. There may be an exceptional piece of work that deserves a wider audience, a teacher explaining the finer points of how to help the kids with their study skills for an upcoming test, or photos, video and audio from a recent volunteering event. All these and more add colour and vibrancy that often goes unnoticed. Content that includes successes, news, input from teachers, children and management in a style that reflects the ethos of the school goes a long way to offering an insight into the work that goes on and can be presented in the most positive way possible. It can also give parents and carers a chance to respond to those events, bringing the school and the local community together. And unlike other platforms, there is always a chance to moderate.
A school blog acts as a window and allows the outside world in (to an extent of the school’s choosing) and enables schools to share the fantastic things that are happening and deserve to be shared.

Many educators argue that homework can have negative effects to students such as causing unnecessary stress, frustration and exhaustion. Especially for primary schools, there is no evidence that homework can help pupils with academic success. Sometimes, it can contribute to loss of interest in learning instead.
From the other side, many think that homework is absolutely necessary for students’ learning as it prepares them for bigger end exams and it lets pupils work closer with their teachers and classmates.
We have created an infographic with some of the pros and cons of homework in primary schools to help teachers decide whether homework is necessary for their pupils.
We hope you enjoy it…

There is no doubt homework in primary school should be as light as possible. Teachers should always try and make it fun by using learning apps like the ones on School Jotter to increase pupils’ engagement in the classroom.

The importance of spelling

Learning how to spell words is one of the most useful lifelong skills and it builds the basic foundation that all children will need throughout their education and life in general. Learning how to spell is very important for other basic skills, including writing and reading. These skills support children in achieving good results and progressing through various grades. What is more, being good at spelling may have an impact on the future careers of students.

One of the hot topics surrounding the education sector also relates to learning spelling in schools. The introduction of compulsory spelling tests for all key stage 2 pupils in England is expected to improve the literacy of students.

The new spelling tests are justified by making sure the students are prepared for the secondary school. This is expected to eventually improve the standards of learning and to raise England’s position in reading and writing. However, it has caused a number of negative responses in terms of being unnecessary and putting too much pressure on pupils, causing stress or even discriminating against students who might have special learning requirements caused my mental health.

Another point that some people make against spelling tests or even against teaching spelling in school is based on the irrelevance of learning how to spell in the age of technologies.

How technologies affect the way students learn to spell?

The rise of different learning technologies causes discussions on how they could be used to support education in schools. Some people see endless opportunities in how modern technologies could benefit education, while others only see the negatives associated with technologies or even believe that technology should be banned in schools. Talking about the relationship between spelling and modern technologies, most of us are familiar with ‘autocorrect’ on our smartphones or other online resources for checking spelling. Does that mean that that it is less important for students to learn spelling at school?

Having good spelling skills is just as important as it was before different technologies were available. Although technologies provide great alternative ways for practicing spelling, it should not be assumed that learning how to spell is less relevant nowadays. Mobile phones correct our spelling and if we are not sure how to spell something, it is easy to check it online. However, different learning technologies should be seen as opportunities for learning and practising spelling and we should not encourage students to view technology as a replacement for their own thinking as there will always be situations where technology might not be available.

It is clear that it is very important to learn how to spell and it should not be considered less important in the age of technology. However, it might be worth focusing more on teaching spelling in many different ways and helping students achieve high standards without causing unnecessary stress by making them take complicated tests for spelling.

We’ve created a handy infographic to help explain some of the more confusing aspects of website creation, click on the image for a higher resolution version!

It’s no secret that there’s a recruitment crisis in education at the moment. Fewer new teachers are joining, and those already here and leaving in ever-greater numbers. A recent survey found that 90% of headteachers were struggling to fill vacancies in their schools. Naturally, fewer teachers means the potential for less learning by students – no matter how dedicated or skilled those remaining are, they’re competing with high workloads and difficult conditions.
The Association of School and College Leaders have argued that the solution here lies in flexible working for teachers, and, in a manner of speaking, we’d be inclined to agree. What this situation shows, we think, is where a blended learning strategy can really come into its own. By utilising elearning, educators and their students can learn to do more with fewer (physical) resources.

A VLE, with its self-marking quizzes, learning analytics and endless customisation options, can prove invaluable in automating much of the drudgery and admin problems that so-plague the teaching profession. This leaves the teachers themselves free to improve their lesson plans and provide better tuition to their charges.
Additionally, with the heavy focus on one-to-one teaching – something which can’t be achieved with diminishing staff numbers – a VLE with integrated social platforms can prove a real boon. Give every pupil the option to engage directly with their teachers, and in turn give the teachers the option to give quick, easy and detailed personalised feedback.
Too often a VLE is seen as a “needless luxury”, something which takes time away from more pressing matters. We think this is missing out on a lot of the positives. While it’s true that getting used to a VLE can take some time, with a few advocates and the right attitude we know that one can work in any environment, joining up learning and facilitating ever-greater growth.