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Top EMEIA partner accreditation for Jigsaw24’s education team

Leading IT solutions provider Jigsaw24 has been named a Showbie Platinum Reseller Partner – one of only two companies in the whole of the EMEIA region to gain the accreditation.

 

This is a fantastic accolade for Jigsaw24, who have a close working partnership with Showbie. Both companies are passionate about the product and their values on digital learning align. When it comes to IT for education Jigsaw24 realise it’s much more than just about selling products. Understanding the need for professional guidance on a school’s technology journey, Jigsaw24’s empathetic team of ex teachers and education experts know how to make schools technology work with the curriculum and provide phenomenal results in both teaching and learning.

 

When speaking about the accreditation Richard Aylott, Showbie EMEIA Channel Manager, said: “We’re excited to announce Jigsaw24 as one of our Platinum Partners in the UK! We look forward to developing our long-standing relationship with the Jigsaw24 team, as we continue to empower millions of educators in managing their classroom workflow and delivering personalised feedback.”

                                                      

Teachers across the country are looking for ways to reduce their workload, and Jigsaw24 has long been an advocate for Showbie, an iOS-based assessment app that has received fantastic feedback from teachers across all age ranges and subjects.

 

Showbie lets teachers create virtual classrooms to share and receive student work, allowing them to give instant text and audio feedback to pupils – shaving hours off the time spent marking every week. The app works for schools using Apple, Microsoft and Google Documents, has a simple design which is helpful to those with lower tech confidence and can be used in or out of class, allowing parents to access the app so families can become part of their child’s learning.

 

Jigsaw24 are keen to help their education customers use Showbie to go paperless, which takes ink, paper, and maintenance out of the school’s budget while also helping the environment. “We encourage all our customers to operate as sustainably as possible, and with education budgets being so tight, anything that can help schools reduce costs and redirect money to the classroom helps,” said Megan Brown, Jigsaw24’s Education Professional Development Consultant.

 

Megan, a former teacher before joining Jigsaw24’s education team, added: “Having used Showbie throughout my teaching career, I’ve always had the confidence to recommend the app to schools I work with. For teachers, parents and students the platform is extremely easy to use, with clear folders and assignments. The cross platform nature of the app allows teachers to upload documents of any sort from any device, saving time and reducing workload. With so many features to support personalisation, it is a great tool to adapt teaching and learning for all children in the classroom; teachers can send learning or comments to individuals, groups or the whole class and children can receive feedback in the way that best supports them: visually or audibly.”

 

Jigsaw24’s education team are well versed in the app, having received direct training from Showbie and taken that training out to schools across the country. All the Apple Professional Learning Specialists on the education training team are Showbie Certified Trainers – Showbie’s highest accreditation. Jigsaw24, which has worked with schools, colleges, and universities to deliver classroom technology and improve teachers’ digital skills for over 25 years, is also an Apple Authorised Education Specialist and Apple Authorised Enterprise Reseller – the only company in the UK to hold both accreditations.

 

For more information about Jigsaw24 and its technology solutions for education, visit https://www.jigsaw24.com/customers/education/apple-teacher.

 

EDUCATION LEADERS URGED TO UNPLUG AND RECONNECT AT BETT

Education leaders and teachers are being urged to ‘unplug and reconnect’ in person at Bett this coming January.

 

Organisers at the world’s biggest EdTech show are inviting the education community to emerge from behind the screen and come together face-to-face to connect, learn, share ideas and experiences and ultimately “create the future” of education.

 

The show is returning after 18 months of disruption and accelerated adoption of technology, where educators were forced to pivot and deliver lessons in unprecedented circumstances.

 

With all content sessions CPD-accredited, educators can even gain active learning CPD-points by taking part at the event, across the week.

 

Bett is the place for education leaders, teachers and tech pioneers to celebrate, find inspiration and discuss the future of education including the latest thinking on pedagogy, digital strategy and policy implementation.

 

Thousands have already signed up to the event, held on 19- 21 January 2022 at ExCeL London.

 

Exhibitors and sponsors will range from tech superpowers such as Microsoft, Google, Lenovo and Pearson to specialist education suppliers such as Arbor Education, NetSupport, Promethean and 2Simple to rising start-up stars – offering impactful solutions for institutions of all sizes and all budgets.

 

High-profile speakers include one of the world’s leading authorities on growth mindset, Eduardo Briceño, the comedian and actor Sally Phillips, who will speak about home schooling during lockdown and life with a SEN child, and Gogglebox favourite Baasit Siddiqui, whose Siddiqui Education organisation helps boost the morale and achievements of disadvantaged pupils.

 

Eve Harper, Bett Event Director said: “Bett brings people together to network and have meaningful conversations. Despite our focus on tech, we find that the best way to make sense of the plethora of technological solutions is to engage in-person. A range of new offerings coupled with familiar faces from the worlds of education and technology make this the main meeting point for the entire education sector.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She added: ‘We will have thousands of attendees and some exciting speakers and solution providers, from Eduardo Briceño, one of the biggest proponents of the growth mindset, to Sally Phillips, an actor with a passion for connecting pupils with SEND.”

 

A new esports feature will take place at Bett, allowing educators to see how esports is more than gaming and could in fact be the secret weapon in encouraging learning, promoting teamwork and communication.

 

Higher Education leaders will also welcome a new co-located event designed just for them – Ahead by Bett, while global education leaders and change makers can convene at Learnit.

 

Places are free for all attendees.

 

Registration is open now at:  

Tracking link: https://uk.bettshow.com/visitor-registration?utm_source=media_partner&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pressrelease01

 

For more information see uk.bettshow.com

Tracking link: https://uk.bettshow.com/welcome?utm_source=media_partner&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pressrelease01

 

For media and press enquiries, contact Alice Stephens, alice.stephens@withpr.co.uk or bett@withpr.co.uk  tel 020 7249 7769 

 

Submit your idea for speaking on stage – visit: https://uk.bettshow.com/about/contact-us?utm_source=media_partner&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pressrelease01

 

Enquire about exhibiting or sponsoring – visit: https://uk.bettshow.com/exhibit-sponsor?utm_source=media_partner&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pressrelease01

NEW Game-Embedded Teaching maths app is proving that short bursts of learning is optimal for academic progress in maths

Swedish maths app Count on Me! based on science + technology is now available in the UK   
 

Akribian, a Swedish education technology start-up, is spearheading the way in which children learn maths through short adventure game-based learning which helps children retain information and encourages long term academic success. Its first product Count on me! is a maths app for children aged 6-9 years based on a new concept of Game-Embedded Teaching (GET) which involves a unique combination of science and game design to encourage children to discover the magic of mathematics and accelerate their learning. 

The development of Count on me! is based on the latest research in learning psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and research conducted by Martin Hassler Hallstedt, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Akribian.  

Research published in The Journal of Educational Psychology (2018) has shown that children who practiced maths by playing Count on me! improved their maths skills by 60 percent, compared to children who did not use the app. Results of the study of 283 eight year old students in Sweden showed that using Count on me! for just 15 minutes per day, 3-4 days per week during a 19 week term, significantly improved their critical maths skills compared to students who did not use the program. The gap between academically low-performing students who used the program and higher-performing students who did not use the program also decreased because the low-performing students improved at a higher rate. 

The UK currently ranks seventeenth in the world league tables when it comes to maths competence assessed at the age of 15, with China, Singapore and Macau in the top three places. Sweden, the birthplace of Count on me! sits alongside the UK, in equal seventeenth place.  
 
Co – Founder and CEO of Akribian, Martin Hassler Hallstedt says“Learning should be an adventure. What distinguishes our game-embedded teaching from more traditional educational games is that Count on me! has been developed with one foot in science and the other in game design. Our unique approach to learning allows a child to engage fully in the moment for 15 minutes a day which means a short burst of wisdom is embedded with minimal screen time. This encourages a happier state of wellbeing and is a more sustainable way of learning that results in long term knowledge retention.” 

“When we look back at our school days, there are many adults who sadly have no positive memories of learning maths . With Count on me! we can help change this for future generations by creating captivating gaming experiences that increase children’s willingness to learn important mathematics skills”, adds Martin.  

Count on me! was developed by Akribian using leading education psychology techniques including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) combined with advanced gaming technology. The story-driven game is designed to last for just 15 minutes each day. Through adventure play and discovery, children learn and master early maths concepts such as pattern recognition, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and equalities.  

The approach and design of Count on me! is based on science and insight showing that children benefit and learn more from performing repetitive tasks for smaller chunks of time more regularly, rather than finishing the full game in a shorter amount of time. This also improves learning outcomes. 

Early-age maths competence is the strongest predictor for future academic success – yet many children struggle with maths and it impacts their learning and motivation as they progress through school. A study found that maths competencies among 5-6 year olds is the strongest predictor for general school achievement at 13-14 years of age. Additional studies demonstrated how maths performance significantly predicted socio-emotional behaviour and low math skills was more strongly associated with negative outcomes on employment, physical and mental health. 

Launched in Sweden earlier this year, Count on me! includes 4 tailor-made chapters to play, each containing 10 days of training for the child to complete the quests and master Math Magic. The app is been rolled out across Sweden with schools using it as part of their curriculum. The game will be offered to UK schools and directly to parents as part of the launch approach. 

Count on me! is now available on the App Store for iPads*, and will be available on Android tablets later this year. Count on me! is £9.99 a month with an introductory offer of the first three months for £2.99 (available until 30 September 2021).  

For more information visit www.akribian.com 

Synoptic make their Covid management software, ‘Reactivate’, available free of charge to schools

Following two successful pilots at schools in Cambridgeshire and Hampshire, Synoptic, a UK based tech company, is making its Covid management software, ‘Reactivate’, available free of charge to schools in England.

 

Reactivate software helps manage Covid risk in workplaces through an app which allows users to report daily symptom screening and test, vaccine and isolation status; and a management dashboard which provides managers a complete overview of reports and allows them to make informed decisions on absence scheduling, screening, testing and isolating.

 

School leaders in the pilot study said that Reactivate helped them with daily reporting required by the Department for Education, and helped them identify and isolate asymptomatic cases, keeping staff and students safe, helping to manage staff absences, and hugely alleviating the burden of paperwork.

 

Reactivate allows users to connect with each other as well as connect to their external households and wider social circles. It means that staff and pupils associated with a positive case can be immediately and automatically notified via the app or a text message and tests sent to their entire household – without compromising data privacy and security.

 

Synoptic is today making the system available to schools in England free of charge, meaning a saving of around £24,000 for the average secondary school over a six month period compared to business users.

 

Commenting on this launch, Graeme Scott CEO of Synoptic said:

At Synoptic we are driven by our mission to protect lives and help businesses get through the pandemic safely. Having worked with schools to develop a system that makes it easy for them to manage and isolate covid cases while meeting all their reporting requirements, we wanted to make this service available free of charge.

 

“This technology is made in Britain and is sold to businesses around the world to help them manage covid risk. We want to support the next stage of reopening by making it available free to schools, to help make schools as safe as possible so we can all do our part to help the UK reopen”

 

Richard White of Princes Mead School said:

“We started using Reactivate in Dec 2020 and began by testing it out with our staff. Once we were satisfied the technology was beneficial, we rolled it out to one parent per pupil and all of the pupils. The app itself is very user friendly and the dashboard is wonderfully simple; providing the information we need on one screen, and saving endless uploading, reporting and searching on excel.”

 

School leaders interested in using the Reactivate app in their schools should contact Alexandra D’Arcy Clark, Chief Business Development Officer at Synoptic at alexandra.darcyclark@synoptic.software

 

Education software provider launches innovative pre-order meal app for schools

Pre-order school meals on-the-go

International provider of cashless education software, ami Education, has launched Infinity+ Order, a pre-order app for schools globally. As part of their Infinity+ range of cashless retail and payment, ID management and registration software for schools and colleges around the world, the Infinity+ Order app enables pupils to pre-order their school meals in advance directly from their phones, ready to pick up at lunchtime.

 

Contactless meal ordering

To facilitate a contactless lunchtime for pupils, the Infinity+ Order app is linked with Infinity+ cashless software to ensure a simple payment and service process.

When pupils order their school meals via the app, the payment is automatically deducted from their cashless account. This function offers a fully contactless lunch service, and schools are encouraged to control traffic flow with designated pre-order pick-up points.

 

“When COVID-19 forced schools around the world to close, we knew that it was vital to ensure that there was a safe solution in place for pupils to pre-order and collect their lunch when schools reopen. We’re excited to offer schools a simple way to do this with the Infinity+ Order app, which allows pupils to order, pay and collect their lunches with just a few clicks.” – Tony Reeves, Head of Operations at ami Education.

 

Key features of the pre-order app include:

 

  • Removes the need for cash in the dining hall
  • Completely contactless lunch service
  • Pupils can check their live cashless balance anywhere and anytime
  • Software is linked to Infinity+ cashless system for a seamlessly integrated pre-order system
  • Pre-order school meals in advance, for the date of their choice
  • School catering teams are notified of meals ordered in advance and can prepare quantities of food accordingly, reducing food wastage
  • Pupils and parents can view current and previous orders

Following the app launch, a selection of UK schools implemented Infinity+ Order as part of their cashless catering solutions. When reviewing the app, one parent said:

“The app is amazing. My daughter downloaded it and now pre-orders almost every day.” – Secondary school parent, Preston

 

With retailers adapting to the COVID-19 crisis by switching to contactless order methods, many schools have implemented similar solutions, with ami’s Infinity+ Order pre-order app offering schools a way to mimic out-of-the-gate spending.

 

For school catering teams, Infinity+ Order is designed to improve efficiencies by notifying staff in advance of meals ordered to allow catering teams to prepare food accordingly and reduce food wastage.

 

About ami Education

With over 25 years of experience delivering software to education establishments around the world, ami Education is one of the UK’s leading provider of cashless catering and ID management solutions for the education industry. Ami’s Transact and Infinity+ software offers a suite of fully integrated cashless catering and biometric technologies designed to meet the needs of schools and colleges.

For more information on the Infinity+ Order app, please visit Infinity+ Order app.

 

Kaligo, the AI digital handwriting app, shortlisted for two BETT Awards

The technology awards for education, The BETT Awards, finalists were announced on Friday, with Kaligo being shortlisted in two categories for their AI digital handwriting app, Early Years and Digital Apps.

 

The BETT Awards are usually hosted at the BETT Show in London on in January each year but delayed due to the pandemic and the winners will be announced in June. 

 

Faisal Hamid, Director at Kaligo explains: “It’s wonderful for the Kaligo team to be recognised as a global leader in technology for schools.  To reach the finals in two categories, in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, just shows the hard work and dedication from our team this year.  For the many schools now using Kaligo, they are already seeing the benefits, witnessing the improvements in outcomes, as well as the joy Kaligo brings to the pupils, particularly through remote learning, it’s really helping.”

 

Kaligo combines years of neuroscientific research with the latest AI technology and is a new tool that will help teachers highlight handwriting difficulties in a few minutes.  Teachers choose their preferred handwriting scheme and either a pre-set lesson or set their own lesson for their pupils. 

 

This new development is set to revolutionise how younger children learn the fundamentals of handwriting.  Through Kaligo teachers can deliver the lesson, provide instant and individual interventions, as well as actively monitor the progress for every child in the class. All without adding to their workload.

 

Talking about Kaligo, the Kent ICT Champion of the Year, Matthew Tragheim said: “Kaligo provides instant feedback and children can hone their handwriting through their own choice – we can see progress as children have a passion for it.  The instant feedback given through Kaligo has a huge impact on handwriting improvement.  We’ve recently launched our impact trial which will help teachers see for the first time, concrete evidence of the positive impact of edTech in the classroom”

 

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.  Kaligo then stores the data so teachers can easily monitor progress and provides teachers with the deep dive knowledge they need through its constant classroom assessment.

 

Approved by the DfE Hungry Little Minds campaign, Kaligo has also been recognised by many awards organisations, including the GESS Education Awards.  Kaligo is a member of the National Handwriting Association and a member of the latest cohort of the UCL Educate programme.

 

If you would like you find out more about our free impact trial or Kaligo, please visit

www.kaligo-apps.com for more information.