Research collated by Hays Education Training shows, weekly hours worked in the education sector fell from 28 to 21.6 hours a week, which freed up about 6.4 potential training hours during the pandemic.
The latest ONS data revealed an 8.9% reduction in hours worked across the UK in June freed up a potential 94.2 million training hours for the country’s workforce, and research shows leaders who used this time to invest in skills are more confident of recovery post-COVID.
According to The Open University, 67% of UK organisations say learning opportunities were crucial to keeping their workforce agile throughout the pandemic. The education sector is no different, with teachers having to adapt to remote and distance learning, and virtual classrooms.
Now, as schools re-open, headteachers who have invested in skills training for their schools are also likely to see more adaptability among staff as the classroom of the future emerges.
Some of the skills needed to be a teacher are changing
Between April to June 2020, average actual weekly hours across the UK workforce fell by 6.3 hours, compared to the same time last year.
By putting a few of these hours to good use, headteachers were able to upskill their staff in new areas. This is key as more reliance is placed on digital, communication and soft skills in today’s classroom.
Moving forward, schools that spend time on upskilling their teams will see the investment pay off as teachers learn how to adapt their approach for a new type of classroom, putting digital skills to use more than ever before. In addition, Hays research shows that soft skills are also more in demand, with 46% of employers in the public sector saying flexibility and adaptability are most needed right now.
Developing talent from within is often more beneficial and cost-effective than replacing existing employees with recruits. At the same time, re-training those whose roles have become redundant helps to close and prevent other critical skills gaps from arising.
Hays Education Training provides a few tips to help kickstart skills training for education staff:
Tap into the power of online training to support your team members in their upskilling journey.
Start fostering a culture of continuous learning, development, and growth in your school.
Support teachers as they discover how to best adapt their classrooms for a new approach to teaching, which may combine more virtual education and remote working than ever before.
Keep your staff agile as you prepare your team for the new world of work. A comprehensive online training resource will allow learning at an individual pace.
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-21 11:47:102020-09-21 11:47:14Investing in Skills and Teacher Training Can Inspire Growth in the Classroom Post-COVID
New Cloud-Managed Wi-Fi Network Delivers Reliable Wi-Fi 6 Connectivity and a Powerful User Experience
Extreme Networks, a cloud-driven networking company, in partnership with NETprotocol, has deployed ExtremeCloud™ IQ at Harrogate Grammar School to support its progressive 1:1 education approach. Based in North Yorkshire, Harrogate Grammar School is a non-selective school of 2,000 pupils that is part of the Red Kite Learning Trust, a group of 13 schools on a mission to offer students the best learning experience possible.
“Providing a 1:1 learning environment, inclusive to all, that helps maximise student potential is integral to what we do. We need a constant and reliable network connection to provide continuous access to education resources,” explains Iain Hails, Network Services Manager, Harrogate Grammar School.
To help Harrogate Grammar School realise their connected classroom aspirations, NETprotocol and Extreme Networks joined forces to deploy ExtremeWireless high-density Wi-Fi 6 access points and ExtremeCloud IQ, an advanced cloud management platform, and offer an end-to-end network management and operations solution.
In addition to implementing ExtremeCloud IQ, access points were added into classrooms to offer reliable connectivity for the 30+ devices in each room and to enhance coverage and minimise cross-channel interference with other rooms. The scalability, security and simplicity offered by this solution has further helped futureproof the school’s infrastructure to power a new connected and interactive learning experience for students and staff today, meeting the educational technology needs of tomorrow.
The benefits of the solution deployed by Extreme Networks include:
Enhanced connectivity for all users: the solution provided by Extreme Networks has enabled staff, students and guests to operate more than 2,500 devices throughout the school at any given time. It provides a reliable and scalable network structure capable of catering for any future growth in the number of devices.
Provides Full Control and Visibility to IT staff: the cloud-driven network technology has provided the IT team with a secure and centralised network management solution. It enables the team to move access points and routers without any disruption to network connectivity.
Eliminates Network Access Issues and Delays: with the deployment of the new network students and staff are able to access any given resource without delay anywhere on the site and at any time.
“Harrogate Grammar School is an educational institution striving to provide the best teaching experience possible for its students. By placing the emphasis on technology to better connect and educate, they are advancing their teaching initiatives and placing student experience first. To achieve this 1:1 learning, in partnership with NETprotocol, we have built a robust, reliable, and resilient networking infrastructure to effortlessly meet the needs of staff, students and its visitors,” adds Dahwood Ahmed, Senior Country Manager UK&I, Extreme Networks. “We are proud to support the Red Kite Learning Trust in implementing this same advanced solution across its other schools. The flexibility that our cloud-based approach provides will ensure that the students of today can enjoy the learning experience of tomorrow.”
Harrogate Grammar School’s mission to provide a connected and technology-focused learning environment has been realised through the adoption of ExtremeCloud IQ. It delivers 1:1 learning for students without networking limitations and has optimised staff productivity.
About Extreme Networks Extreme Networks, Inc. (EXTR) creates effortless networking experiences that enable all of us to advance. We push the boundaries of technology leveraging the powers of machine learning, artificial intelligence, analytics, and automation. Over 50,000 customers globally trust our end-to-end, cloud-driven networking solutions and rely on our top-rated services and support to accelerate their digital transformation efforts and deliver progress like never before. For more information, visit Extreme’s website or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Extreme Networks, ExtremeCloud, and the Extreme Networks logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Extreme Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other trademarks shown herein are the property of their respective owners.
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-21 11:39:492020-09-21 11:39:52Extreme Networks Delivers Cloud-Powered Connectivity for Students and Staff at Harrogate Grammar School
A leading global provider of visual solutions, today announces that its ViewBoard IFP70 Interactive Display series has been certified by Microsoft as Windows Collaboration Displays (WCD).
Among displays certified by WCD, the IFP70 series is the only one with a display size up to 86 inches. The ViewBoard IFP70 series is certified as an ideal USB-C one-cable solution, offering a superior touch and writing experience, delivering high-quality video for conferencing, and is Microsoft Azure IoT-certified to make workspaces smarter.
“The ViewBoard IFP70 series is ViewSonic’s line of collaboration solutions, which are specially designed to provide enterprises with easy-to-use, next-generation conferencing capabilities,” says Monica Sun, Director of the Large Format Display Business Unit at ViewSonic. “We are happy it was recognized by Microsoft as a certified Windows Collaboration Display and believe it will allow for advanced collaboration, and better work efficiency and productivity.”
Certified WCD solution for better efficiency and productivity The ViewBoard IFP70 series makes use of a single USB-C cable that supports A/V, data, Ethernet, and power delivery, ensuring that every meeting or presentation gets started quickly and without a hitch. Meanwhile, it offers Windows Ink functionality in Microsoft 365 to let users take better notes during meetings. Adjust the line thickness by varying pressure on the screen with the included all-in-one smart pen that works for not only annotation but also presentation.
The ViewBoard IFP70 series is embedded with comprehensive conferencing features, including a wide-angle camera lens, a six-array mic, and 2.1 stereo speakers. In addition, the ViewBoard has the ability to automatically switch between the functionality of an external PC and the IFP70 while running Microsoft Windows and video conferencing.
Microsoft Azure IoT certification means the ViewBoard IFP70 series helps make the workspaces smarter through a myriad of capabilities including built-in sensors that detect and measure the attendees, room temperature, humidity, and ambient light. These insights provide office managers with the data they need to optimize workspaces for employees and to improve upon energy efficiency by detailing energy consumption and cost breakdowns.
Beyond WCD – advanced Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) experience ViewSonic provides advanced wireless presentation display (WPD) tools to make presentations, meetings, and workshops more interactive and collaborative to unleash the power of BYOD. With myViewBoard Display even a first-time user can share content from his or her device wirelessly without the need for dongles. In addition, the content-sharing app ViewBoard Cast provides complete sharing and collaboration functions to meet a variety of different meeting scenarios.
In addition, myViewBoard Manager allows for efficient remote management of multiple displays in the same or in different offices. With Manager, IT administrators can power on/off, restart, and adjust the volume of their ViewSonic devices. Administrators now have the ability to control devices remotely and even display content and emergency broadcasts, all from a single dashboard. An added value to the WPD solution is that these can be grouped and remotely updated, making it even easier to install software on several groups of devices simultaneously.
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-18 16:26:552020-09-18 16:28:28ViewSonic’s ViewBoard IFP70 Series Receives Microsoft Windows Collaboration Displays Certification
Hands up who had a Business Continuity Plan for their school at the start of March this year? Keep your hand up if that plan included what you would do in the event of a pandemic forcing you to close your school gates to all but the vulnerable and the children of key workers.
The reality is that whilst a handful of leaders had some form of idea what they would do should something terrible happen to their school, very few could have ever envisaged a scenario where they would have to close with barely two days’ notice, and stay closed for almost a whole term.
From talking with a number of schools that RM works with, it was very clear that those that reacted the best were establishments that had recognised the role technology could play within the operation of their school long before the Prime Minister made his announcement on 20th March. Schools who had a technology vision and were well on the way to implementing it… with an internal champion who fought for their share of the school’s limited budget funding, and argued for a slice of valuable teacher inset time to train colleagues… who recognised the short-termism of buying cheap IT equipment that had a very limited use… and who appreciated that a technology partner with strength in depth could make all the difference when the chips were down.
The Lessons Learnt
Well we are where we are – we cannot turn the clock back – but we can learn the lessons, and we can ensure that there are some positives from the pain and suffering that the pandemic has brought.
Develop an IT strategy for your school. Technology is all around us and having a clear IT strategy up-front allows you to make decisions that will stand the test of time – as explained by an Academy in Stoke-on-Trent: “This made us realise the fundamental role technology plays in empowering, engaging, supporting, collaborating and enhancing teaching and learning”.
Be brave and go for it! No-one knew what the right answer was, but doing nothing was definitely the wrong one. In the words of a West Midlands’ Primary: “Staff and children are so much more confident in using technology – simply because they have had to be – they had no choice”
Set expectations with parents. This has been as much a new experience for parents as for staff and pupils. “It has brought our school community closer, with parents seeing just how much work has gone into ensuring we kept teaching” said a Primary School in Kent
Do not stifle experimentation. Whilst working remotely, many staff and pupils quickly discovered new functionality and how they could apply it in the school environment. “When someone said ‘Why don’t we use MS Teams’, I knew we had won” said a Secondary School in Reading
Cheap PCs are cheap for a reason. Whilst school budgets are always difficult, the more modern your devices are, the faster they will run, and the easier they will be to use. “Teachers are much more likely to engage with technology if it just works – no long boot up times nor system crashes” believes a Secondary School in Oxfordshire
Invest in a reliable technology partner. Schools cannot be expected to be experts in everything that happens within a school. A partner – RM or anyone else – gives you someone to look out for you, someone to turn to and guide whilst you focus on what you are judged against: how best to teach your pupils. “Whilst the price has to be right, for me the business case is all about allowing me to sleep soundly at night” said a school trust in Hull
Be lucky! It was the golfer Gary Player who said that the more he practised the luckier he got. In the words of a Secondary School in Reading “I wouldn’t call it luck, but with hindsight we made some very wise decisions over the past few years”
The Future
So as we all start a new school year, we should reflect on some of these lessons and in particular our hopes for the future.
Above all is a desire to move forward – not to regress in any way…
…to build on the high levels of resilience that have been accumulated over the last five months…
…to extend the appetite that staff and pupils have for developing new ways of teaching and of learning… and
…to maximise the investments that have been made – in technology, in training and in new capabilities…
…to prepare schools for whatever is thrown their way – whether that be local lockdowns, floods, fires, or even bad weather.
Nothing should stop us providing the education our children deserve – whether they are in the classroom or working remotely.
Simon Carter Director RM Education
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-18 15:57:192020-11-16 16:47:54Let’s deliver a better tomorrow for our children
Pasta King’s pop-up cafes ensure school catering is safe, efficient, cost-effective and nutritious.
Pasta King has created a safer solution for educational establishments which want to provide hot, nutritional school meals as the new academic year starts.
The company, which already works with thousands of schools and colleges across the UK and Ireland as well as public sector organisations, has come up with Pop-up Cafés, with safe, mobile serving stations which can turn classrooms, gyms, playgrounds or corridors into a place to serve lunches. The café carts can serve up to 180 diners per hour, efficiently and at speed in a Grab-and-Go format.
The carts offer a quick and efficient answer to mass catering solutions and also provide a COVID compliant solution for specific ‘bubble’ groups during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Serving up a host of meals including pasta dishes and curries with approved nutritional values and vegetarian and Halal options, Pasta King’s carts can be easily moved to areas in schools where social distancing can be easily implemented. In addition, a single member of staff can prepare and serve the meals which helps with social distancing challenges in school kitchens and reduced staff numbers.
Using a Pasta King solution assures educational leaders that the food they provide on campus meets the highest standards and boasts authentic ingredients including Spanish sun-ripened tomatoes, traceable meat products and pasta from the most respected producers in Italy.
To minimise contact, the easy-to-use cart comes with compostable Pasta King pots as well as baskets, ladles and spoons. Lids are also available for the pots, which has the added advantage of allowing staff to portion up pre-ordered meals which can then be delivered directly to classrooms.
Mark Stone, CEO of Pasta King (UK) Ltd, which was recognised as LACA’s (The School Food People) Outstanding Supplier of the Year 2018 within the education sector, said:
“Pasta King is best known for producing high-quality, tasty, nutritional meals for schools and other public sector organisations and our new Pop-up Cafes can help do that in the unique circumstances we are currently facing. Many schools simply cannot feed their entire school population safely from their normal dining halls, so our solution brings the food out to other areas, moving one person around the school rather than dozens.
“We understand that getting schools functioning under extreme conditions is already a tough task for many school staff and we want to alleviate the pressure of working out how to serve up balanced, healthy meals while ensuring safety is a priority. This is especially vital as recent research from the National Food Strategy revealed that only 1% of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards of a school meal.
“The importance of good nutrition for brain activity and function can never be underestimated which is why we want to play a role in dishing out good food for thought at a time when it is needed most.”
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-18 14:18:312020-09-18 14:18:34Award-winning food service company to support schools in serving up safer catering solutions during pandemic
New education resources to help teachers engage primary school children in construction heritage
Resources form part of a nationwide education programme for Breaking New Ground,a 21-month project to digitise the John Laing Photographic Collection
New films show ex-Laing workers speaking to primary school pupils in Swindon, London and Coventry
A further new film showcases the Breaking New Groundtrainee programme, where young professionals have developed skills in conservation, digitisation and cataloguing
Today Historic England launches new education resources, which have been created to help primary school teachers engage key stage two pupils in the history of buildings, as part of the Breaking New Ground projectsupported by the John Laing Charitable Trust.
The education resources are accessible to all via the Historic England website and will provide a lasting educational legacy for the project, which has run workshops and visits for primary school children to meet ex-Laing workers in Swindon, Bristol, London and Coventry since October 2019.
As part of this legacy and to help inspire schools and their pupils, three new films show the workshops and visits in action. A further film explores the trainee programme, which has enabled three young professionals to work with the Historic England Archive team and develop their skills in cataloguing, conservation and digitisation.
These new education resources and films are part ofJohn Laing Collection: Breaking New Ground– a 21-month project run by Historic England that explores the history of constructing modern Britain through theJohn Laing Photographic Collection. When completed, the project will have resulted in 10,000 images being digitised and made accessible via the Historic England Archive
New Education Resources Today Historic England has released new education resources, which have been created to enable teachers across the country to benefit from Breaking New Ground. The resources include a lesson plan and film from each of the four schools workshops which have taken place over the past year, giving teachers useful templates and resources for conducting interesting and engaging classes on the built environment.
The schools workshops aimed to develop the pupils’ sense of pride in where they live, helping them understand their local heritage and how it relates to the national story.
Through the schools workshops, Breaking New Ground has also developed a guide for conducting oral histories (see ‘Downloads’), to help teachers engage pupils in learning from others about their experiences.
New films bring construction history to life Three schools workshops and visits in Swindon, London and Coventry have been turned into films. The workshops involved local ex-Laing construction workers talking to the school children about the images of Laing’s work in and around their local area. They shared memories of their work on construction sites, took questions from the children, and rounded off with tours of the local sites built by Laing – this included visits to Easiform Housing Estates in Swindon, Clifton Cathedral in Bristol, London Central Mosque and Coventry Cathedral. Ashley McKenzie-White, Breaking New Ground Outreach Officer, Historic England said “The aim of the programme is to engage students with the John Laing Photographic Collection, to share stories and to increase the students’ knowledge and sense of pride in their local heritage. Following our workshops, we are delighted to present these education resources and films, so teachers throughout the country can access materials online to help teach their pupils about the history of their local buildings and bring them to life.”
The Trainee Programme The Breaking New Ground training programme has involved three year-long placements in archive cataloguing, conservation and digitisation. The three trainees have been part of the team at the Historic England Archive, Swindon, working first hand with the Collection and with Historic England’s Archive specialists and conservators.
In the past year, Rachel Stokes, the 23-year-old cataloguing trainee, has advanced her research skills. In order to catalogue images, she used Laing’s ‘Team Spirit’ newsletters, used mapping software, improved her skills on “Adlib” archive software, and has used the register of photographic negatives. In the past year, she has helped to catalogue images of sites including London Central Mosque, Easiform housing and the M1 Motorway.
She said: “I have really enjoyed my traineeship. My highlights have included learning technical cataloguing skills and taking part in the additional experiences and training such as conferences, workshops and social media. This has made my time as a trainee really diverse and valuable for professional development. In future, I’d like continue my career in the archives sector.”
The Breaking New Project is a 21-month project to digitise 10,000 images from the John Laing Photographic Collection, held by the Historic England Archive. Many images from the Collection are now accessible via the Historic England website, with final images to be uploaded by autumn 2020. Alongside the digitisation of images, the Breaking New Ground project has involved a nationwide programme of education outreach.
Founded in 1848, John Laing plc was one of the most significant British construction companies of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century, the company employed photographers to capture its work, which resulted in the John Laing Photographic Collection. Now held by the Historic England Archive, this Collection of over 230,000 images provides a unique insight into the origins of iconic British buildings and the professional development of the construction industry over the course of the last century.
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-07 09:00:002020-10-01 09:43:43Historic England launches new education resources and films as part of Breaking New Ground
Electronic Temperature Instruments (ETI), the UK’s largest digital thermometer manufacturer and exporter of electronic thermometers and temperature probes, has launched a new sensor-based digital timer to encourage hand washing. The new TimeWash is designed for restaurants, hospitals, schools and any business where hand hygiene is critical as the UK emerges from lockdown and people return to work.
For a more effective display, the ETI TimeWash, which costs £19.20 inclusive of VAT, can be mounted onto a wall using supplied Velcro or double-sized tape, displayed in this ‘how to’ video.
By utilising sensors, the TimeWash timer is activated by a wave of the hand which starts the countdown timer. The large clear LCD acts as a visual progress monitor and when the time is complete the user will hear an audible alarm indicating that their hand wash is complete.
The model incorporates eight pre-set countdown times: 20, 30 and 40 seconds, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10 minutes. The set time button is discreetly positioned on the rear of the unit.
Peter Webb, ETI managing director, comments: “The TimeWash is designed to encourage employees to take time to thoroughly wash their hands by giving them a visual cue. Technology can help on all fronts when it comes to dispelling any anxieties about workplace hygiene and returning to work. Products like the TimeWash can reinforce new behaviours by reminding staff to remain hygienic which reduces cross-contamination. Workplaces with the TimeWash will also reassure its occupants that preventative infection control measures are being taken seriously.”
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-04 10:59:502020-09-04 10:59:54Electronic Temperature Instruments launches TimeWash digital timer for hand washing
Free ‘catch-up’ assessments launched to identify learning gaps following school closures
Launches on September 2nd 2020 to coincide with return to school
EdPlace grows during school closure period with initial free service. Users increase by 1104%
Aim to build legacy of lifelong home learning with engaging, smart and measureable tool
EdPlace is a National Curriculum aligned digital educational platform
A COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING PARENTS:
“EdPlace is proud of the role it has played in supporting children and parents during the school closure period. These have been extraordinarily challenging times. The launch of this important ‘catch-up assessment’ reflects our commitment to providing access to smart, engaging and measurable learning tools as children return to school and beyond.”
Will Paterson, Founder, EdPlace
EdPlace is launching a free ‘digital catch-up’ assessments to help parents and educators identify learning gaps in line with the National Curriculum, as children return to school following period of school closures.
The service will define areas of strength and weakness for different age groups. This will provide a measurable and comparable picture of the child’s current academic level following this prolonged period of home learning.
The catch-up assessments are for every year group (Year 1 – GCSE) across the core subjects; English, maths and science. They will initially be available without charge (the user will need to create a free EdPlace account)
Once the student has completed the assessment, a full report will be available to download, providing parents and educators the option to share the results with their child’s teacher, tutor or parent if the assessment is being undertaken within an educational establishment.
The ‘catch-up assessments’ have been designed to be dynamic. The questions therefore change every time the student logs in. This means that a child can return to the assessment later in the academic year, for example, at half-term to see the progress they have made since commencing school.
EdPlace will also provide starter activities, linked to the child’s year group level to start improving upon the student’s weaknesses and help bridge the learning gap. A free user can access up to 5 activities a month. Paid subscriptions have unlimited access to all activities and assessments in addition to exam-board aligned 11+ and GCSE Practice Papers.
A VITAL SUPPORT DURING SCHOOL CLOSURES:
A YouGov poll published during the UK Coronavirus lockdown showed two thirds of parents felt they struggled to maintain discipline and motivation during home-schooling activities.
EdPlace has been created to provide engaging, measurable and hyper relevant support to children and parents when studying at home.
From the onset of the UK lockdown EdPlace committed to making its tools available to every parent and child that requires it. It did this by opening up activities on the website for parents to use without an account.
EdPlace also extended an offer to schools to open free accounts for up to 100 students during the closure period and created a guide prepared by leading education practioners on distance learning. These answered the key questions on what to teach, how to structure at home lessons, where to find resources and how to create fun, engaging and measurable activities for children as they learn from home.
EdPlace has seen a significant increase in the number of parents and users utilising its technology to augment school activity. The company’s user base has grown 1104% yoy.
EdPlace started in 2012 and has since then become a vital resource. EdPlace’s user base comprises both children in mainstream education requiring additional home learning support and home-schoolers.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES:
EdPlace’s own research suggests that its digital home learning tools can help students increase academic performance by 53% over expected progress / attainment over the academic year.
Independent analysis of its users commissioned by EdPlace between October 2018 and September 2019 (the last academic school year) comprises data from more than 500,000 individual activities taken through the platform.
In English, children using EdPlace materials accelerate their attainment by 47% above the normal level of progress expected as children progress though the school year. In maths, progress was accelerated by 42% and in science they advanced 74% versus normal performance.
An overall progress figure of 53% in core subjects (english, mathematics and science) has been calculated using a weighted average of improvement over the three core subjects.
LIFELONG LEARNING IN THE HOME:
EdPlace is built with the mission to help millions of students learn and revise in a smart way for exam success and beyond. It helps all students from Year 1, through 11+, SATs and GCSEs with practice papers that are aligned with the questions presented by leading exam boards.
EdPlace’s platform provides a measurable and engaging answer to increasing pressure for parents to supplement school activity in the home. Both private tutors and parents find it an invaluable tool to engage children in home learning versus more traditional measures. For families with limited incomes and those with limited access to tuition it provides a highly effective alternative to private tuition
EdPlace is a National Curriculum aligned platform. This means children are able to practice skills that will directly accelerate progress through educational Key Stages and exams. It also provides important and measurable visibility for parents and educators to identify gaps and areas for improvement.
EdPlace has drawn teachers and figures in education to create hyper-relevant resources for parents and children to support in the their academic journey. The platform provides an engaging format that is designed to inspire confidence in students and create a lifelong legacy of learning in the home.
The platform monitors progress through its ‘learn, practice and test’ methodology. Children are able to apply their newly acquired knowledge through 1000s of english, maths and science questions that range from Year 1 to GCSE. This significantly builds confidence ahead of examinations.
Built-in measurability and incentive are a key component. Parents can track progress using a dashboard and personlaise rewards through badges and specific rewards that mirror the progress and reward structures that draw so many children to online gaming.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER: WILL PATERSON:
Will is a proven entrepreneur with a background in corporate finance. Following inspiration from his education experiences, he founded EdPlace in 2012 with the vision to provide support to millions of parents and children in the UK on their own academic journeys.
At a young age, Will discovered he was dyslexic and faced the challenge of not feeling smart enough to progress. Will was fortunate to enjoy significant parental support and that instilled an attitude that the right tools, correctly applied will build confidence for millions of children.
EdPlace is the result of that vision, providing a vital source of support for both parents and children to build confidence and make learning in the home a fun, relevant and measurable experience.
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-03 09:00:262020-09-03 09:00:30EDPLACE PROVIDES FREE DIGITAL CATCH-UP ASSESSMENTS FOR RETURNING SCHOOLCHILDREN
Kaligo has further developed their handwriting EdTech for the cloud, which will help foster a love of handwriting both at home and in the classroom to help fill the gaps to support the recovery curriculum.
The Kaligo cloud version brings with it many benefits for users, including its cross-tablet capability for iPad, google and android tablets. For teachers, this means that if you have a class of ten children and 5 are working at home, all pupils can use work on tasks in real-time. The whole class can be taught at the same time, even though some are not in the classroom. Also, should the need for remote learning occur again, schools can seamlessly continue the handwriting journey for their pupils, as was the case for Wayfield Primary School.
“During the COVID pandemic, Wayfield were able to maintain handwriting skills.” Says Matthew Tragheim, Teacher at Wayfield Primary School and Kent ICT Champion of the year. “As the quality of content on the Kaligo platform is so high, our teaching teams find it very helpful. There is nothing on the market that has functions like Kaligo.”
Kaligo combines years of neuroscientific research with 15,000 analysed handwriting strokes and the latest AI technology and is a tool that will help teachers highlight handwriting difficulties in a few minutes. It is this machine learning which provides pupils with real-time, automated and corrective feedback. Each handwriting stroke is analysed based upon shape, direction and order, and identifies any difficulties children as young as age three may have with forming letters, numbers or even if they have an issue with pencil control.
Teachers choose their preferred handwriting scheme and either a pre-set lesson or set their own lesson for their pupils. Kaligo then stores the data so teachers can easily monitor progress and provide teachers with the deep dive knowledge they need through its constant classroom assessment.With Kaligo, pupils find handwriting more fun as the colourful and intuitive screens on tablets most pupils are already familiar with, making the task of handwriting more exciting.
“Children will be able to login to the same account at school and at home. This means that they can continue to practice when they are not in the classroom, and our teachers can check the continual progress both in class and at home.” Said Andrew. “The improvement in our pupil’s handwriting in a very short space of time has been really impressive. Kaligo is perhaps one of the most impressive classroom tools we’ve seen. Anything which provides individual learning, and this level of improvement for the class while saving teacher time is a must.” Andrew Clark, Deputy Head, St James’ C. E. Primary School
For teachers, the new cloud version has an intuitive interface that makes creating lesson plans quickly which are easily customisable for individual students. The dashboards and personalised reporting, making it easy for a teacher to see how the whole class or an individual child is doing in a few seconds, in real-time.
For students, there are now 9 exercise themes covering all the fundamentals of handwriting, including capital letters, lower case, pre-cursive and cursive. And, for parents, it allows them to see how their child is doing at school, as well as providing access for the child at home.
Pupils progress using a self-paced approach, then Kaligo displays a series of real-time arrows and colours on the screen to show the child if they are on track with their writing. If their strokes are accurate, the green colour indicates success, if they are not correct the red arrows show the child how they can get on track. Kaligo then provides teachers with records of each child’s ability to write and will also monitor their ongoing progress, giving teachers an accurate picture of a child’s current writing skills.
The ongoing individual assessment and interventions mean that there is no need for daily checking, and there is no impact on teachers’ workloads. Results and records are analysed and updated automatically; then they are stored in the Kaligo teacher portal, saving many hours of teacher’s admin time.
Approved by the DfE Hungry Little Minds campaign, Kaligo has also been recognised by many awards organisations, including the GESS Education Awards and was a finalist in the BETT Awards 2020 for Early Years and Educational Apps. Kaligo is a member of the National Handwriting Association and a member of the latest cohort of the UCL Educate programme.
https://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.png00adminhttps://www.the-educator.org/wp-content/uploads/image1-3-1030x686.pngadmin2020-09-03 08:44:052020-09-03 08:44:09Kaligo launches Cloud version to help provide seamless school to home learning to support the recovery curriculum
Luxury Education Seating Provides Students and Teachers with Comfort Fitting for Every Lecture Hall
UK-based seating manufacturer, Ferco Seating, has formally announced the launch of the FT10 Wrimatic™ education seating in. The FT10 is an executive style auditorium seat that is equipped with a patented and award-winning A3 integrated writing tablet.
The FT10’s ergonomic design includes inbuilt lumbar support for lengthy sitting periods. It can be configured for radial and straight-room layouts as well as adjust to any room’s unique spatial specifications. FT10 is also available as a “swivel” option which has full 360 degree movement capabilities. This allows for students to work together and collaborate within the standard lecture-style classroom.
For truly flexible layouts, the FT10 can be mounted on easyglide casters, enabling rapid and easy reconfiguration of spaces.
Above: Ferco Seating’s FT10 installation at Dundee University in Dundee, Scotland (left) and FT10 Wrimatic (right)
Designed by an aeronautical engineer, the Wrimatic™ tablet opens in one continuous movement from its unique triangular joint and stows away neatly when not in use. The smooth prismoid joint about which it rotates is the result of clever engineering design. Additionally, the knuckle joint is made of die cast aluminium which means it is extremely robust.
The writing surface is the strongest tablet on the market with a load bearing of 240KG (most tablets are tested to 40K), and its A3 size means it is large enough to support laptops – not just notepads or tablet devices. Wrimatic’s wide surface area means that it is suitable for left-handed persons as it folds out across the entire seat. Made from the same material used to fabricate motorcycle helmets, ABS, the fold out tablet is one hundred percent shatterproof. Most importantly, Wrimatic caters to all users and is available on a height adjustable self-operated gas lift for wheelchair patrons. FT10 can be customized with removable covers in a wide array of contemporary colors, embroidery, fixed desking, DDA spaces, and integrated power and data points.
The FT10 meets British Standards for strength and durability in addition to acoustic testing for performance spaces. The tablet is anti-panic to conform to fire regulations and meets health and safety requirements with no finger-traps or exposed pivots.
It is a favorite with corporate clients, discerning teaching establishments and performance spaces alike. Previous installations include Cambridge University and University College London (UCL).
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