12 education apps to benefit your school Webanywhere e-learning Solutions Explained
In February 2014 Webanywhere unveiled a brand new launchpad for every new e-learning solution it develops. This suite of apps will be developed and expanded so that, eventually, every possible solution any teacher could ever need will be available. In this document, we explain each of the apps currently available, and how they can benefit you and your school.
The School Jotter app. This is used to access and edit your school website. School Jotter is the UK s most popular primary school website system. It s become so popular because it s easy to use and allows schools to have an attractive, intuitive website to promote themselves. Even the least tech-savvy teacher can create pages, and upload excellent examples of pupils work and achievements. Translate option: Translates pages to any language Website statistics: Analyse visitor numbers and page clicks School calendar: Display key dates in one place Bespoke designs: To reflect the colours and ethos of your school Simple layout: Adding content and pages is quick and easy Meet Ofsted requirements: Site is easy to use, allowing you to add all the information required quickly and easily. New menu options can be created for you to add your data Improve parental engagement: Translate allows you to communicate with parents whose first language is not English; attractive designs mean visiting your website will be a joy Eliminate paperwork: Instead of sending out newsletters, you can direct parents to them on your website. Absence forms can be created and submitted on your website too Promote your school: Your website will help advertise your school to potential parents. It can show off your greatest achievements and illustrate why they should choose you Save time: The Site app is so simple to use, even the least tech-savvy teacher can update the school website
The Learn app. This is used to access your Jotter Learn learning sites. Learning sites act like real websites, but are only accessible to pupils and teachers within your school. They can be used for lesson plans, to set homework and for children to submit their work. They can be created to cover any topic, and can be embedded with resources, like videos, wikis for collaboration and self-marking quizzes. Simple design: Learning sites can be created in minutes Embed resources: Learn integrates with the Resources, GGfL and ClickView apps Secure location: Sites are online but only accessible by pupils or teachers Add quizzes: Create self-marking quizzes and add them to your sites Background themes: Make your sites engaging with a choice of subject themes Inspire pupils: Today s younger generation, the digital natives, learn how to use technology very quickly. Learn is easy to use, and makes learning fun Enhance learning: Learning sites are a new way to learn - the range of features within Learn mean children can learn in different ways, with video, audio and images Engage parents: You can allow parents to see any of the learning sites you create, and upload help sheets so parents can support their child s learning at home Encourage collaboration: Pupils can message peers and collaborate on work, and contact their teachers with questions if they get stuck Save time: Once you have created learning sites, they can be used again and again. Sites can be built and embedded with content direct from our Resources app
An app to find and store resources. This integrates with many of the other apps available. The Resources app can be used as your school s own repository for resources, which can then be added to your learning sites within the Learn app. You can also search the many resources already available within the app. Quizzes can be created within the Resources app to add to your learning sites, too. Readily-available resources: For you to start using straightaway Create your own resources: For you and other teachers to use again and again Integration: Use the resources in other apps Share resources: Cherry-picking from the best resources sourced by other teachers means the quality of your e-learning is higher Enhance learning: Use great quality resources that enhance the learning experience of pupils. Creating your own means resources tailored to your learners needs Save time: Save hours in searching the internet for suitable resources - with hundreds of readily-available content easily searchable within the app
The School Merits app. This is where you can reward pupils for good work or behaviour. School Merits is an online rewards systems - and it makes learning more enjoyable than ever. Each child has an avatar that s created within School Merits - and good work can be rewarded with merits, the School Merits Currency. Merits can be used to buy avatar accessories, donate to charity or purchase other items of your choice. Customisable avatar: A character that represents each pupil online - an important part of e-safety Reports: Pupil progress reports can be generated and printed out Online shop: With avatar accessories. Add your own items for pupils to buy Integration: Merits integrates with other apps from Webanywhere It s free: School Merits is available to all schools, free of charge Improve behaviour: Because you can reward merits for good behaviour, pupils will be more inclined to work hard and earn merits to buy avatar accessories Reward outstanding work: The Merits app can be used to give recognition to those pupils who go the extra mile, as well as highlight to you the ones who made need extra help Track progress: The reports feature means you can see what pupils are receiving merits for, and print reports on how well pupils are performing Improve parental engagement: Parents can log in at home and see how their child has done at school, helping them to reinforce good behaviour in partnership with your school Build social awareness: The option for pupils to donate their merits to charity gives you an opportunity to build awareness of real-world issues as part of everyday learning
The Bloganywhere app. This is used to create blogs for children and teachers. Blogging is an increasingly-popular way to improve literacy skills and promote collaborative learning. The Blog app allows pupils to create blogs, and write blog posts, on any topic you wish them to cover. Their peers can read the blog posts and add comments, and then you can publish any of these blogs directly to the school website. Avatar picture: Pupils School Merits avatar becomes their profile picture Publish to school website: Either a whole blog, or single blog post Commenting: Teachers or other pupils can comment on each other s blog posts Publish to school website: Either a whole blog, or single blog post Bad word filter: You can ensure pupils are using the Blog app appropriately Improve literacy skills: Blogging is the perfect way for children to be creative with their writing, inspiring them to be expressive and also helping to improve literacy skills Promote expression and reflection: Writing to an audience (pupils peers, who can read and comment on blog posts) encourages children to be expressive about topics they like Eliminate paperwork: Instead of textbooks, pupils can carry out most written tasks, from essays to answering questions, via their blog. Less textbooks means money saved Encourage collaboration: Children can learn from each other by commenting on each other s blog posts - and work together on projects by sharing blog posts and ideas Develop e-safety awareness: By writing, sharing and collaborating online, pupils can learn online etiquette, and understand how technology can be used to share and learn
An online portfolio for pupils. This can be used to display classwork online. With Portfolio, pupils can display their favourite pieces of work and proudest achievements in one safe, secure online location. As more work is added, Portfolio becomes a digital map of learning - great for viewing, at a glance, how a pupil has progressed. Portfolio will integrate with the forthcoming Social app, creating a safe social networking system for schools. An online space: For pupils to share their work with peers and the community Custom themes: Pupils can choose from a range of colourful backgrounds Teacher comments: Add a comment to any page, and give pupils feedback Intuitive design: Easy to use, in the same way as many of our other apps Share work: Pupils can see each other s portfolios Inspire confidence: Give pupils the opportunity to be proud of their work, and share their achievements and favourite learning with others Map learning: A pupil s portfolio can create a digital story of their learning, with text, documents, images and videos, that is recorded for posterity Increase parental engagement: Share pupils work and achievements with parents and the wider community, and get them involved in your school Promote expression: Writing to an audience (pupils peers, who can read and comment on blog posts) encourages children to be expressive about topics they like Enhance learning: Build pupils confidence in online learning and allow them to see the benefits of technology, plus make their learning fun and engaging
An online surveys builder. Create questionnaires for both inside and outside of school. Surveys allows you to create surveys that you can share with pupils, teachers - or, via your school website, the wider community. The app works in the same way as many of the other apps featured in this guide, which means getting up to speed with using it is quick and easy. Share surveys: Send them to pupils, teachers or the wider community Preset surveys: Choose from a bank of built-in surveys Embed surveys: Onto your school website Create reports: See the responses to your surveys Different question types: Make your surveys more visual and easier to complete Engage with your community: Get information on everything from what parents and governors think of your website to voting for pupil awards ceremonies Get feedback on school issues: Ask parents, pupils or teachers questions about particular topics and get their opinions - collated in one easy-to-read report Save time: Connect with parents and get responses quicker and more easily, and save time in counting responses, votes etc Eliminate paperwork: Surveys is completely online, so no paper to buy, which saves your school money. All data can be kept online, too - saving you drawer space! Speed up responses: Surveys are easy to send out easy to access, so you won t be waiting for children to bring forms back into school from their parents!
A parental communication tool. Use this app to get instant messages to parents. Broadcast is more than just away of sending a message to parent. It s a multi-functional communication app that s simple to use, and allows teachers to both send and receive messages, and create a history of messages sent to and received from parents. Send text or email: Choose how to send, or send via both channels automatically Accept replies: Parents can reply to your messages, too Block numbers: Eliminate spam and and unwanted inbound messages Create templates: Make sending out messages quicker and easier Get confirmation reports: See who received your message and who didn t Increase parental engagement: Connect with parents through their phone, providing them with instant information regarding your school, their child or the community Eliminate paperwork: All communication can be via technology - so no need to waste money on paper and send printed information out to parents Save time: Getting a message to every parent no longer means calling each one individually - one message can be sent to all parents in minutes Get instant responses from parents: Any message sent via Broadcast can be responded to. Message histories are also recorded in the app Send important information, instantly: Parents can get informed of anything from snow days to school event updates as soon as they need to know it
An app to help you teach spelling. Create spelling lists for tests and test revision. Spellings is a fun way for pupils to learn and practice their weekly spellings. Create a spelling list for your class, and then see how it engages them in their learning by presenting a word on the screen, hiding it, and then prompting them to spell it out. Spellings can be embedded on your school website so both parents and pupils can access them. Create custom lists: Pupils can learn new spellings each week Embed onto your school website: Or any other website Anytime access: Pupils can access spelling lists from home or school Inspire learners: Spellings is a brand new, interactive way to prepare for spelling tests. An online tool, it also helps you make your pupils more digitally confident Increase engagement: Pupils can access Spellings online, anywhere. The ability to embed spelling lists on your website makes it even more accessible Save time: Once a spelling list has been created, it can be shared again and again with pupils, by simply directing them to where the spelling list is
An app that allows you to access over a thousand educational videos. ClickView is an educational videos service, and through this app you can access the huge bank of educational videos they provide. You can play these in class, and because this app integrates with the Learn app, you can add them to your learning sites, too. Search educational videos: And share them with your class Integrates with Jotter Learn: Add videos to your learning sites Bookmark videos: Make your favourite videos easy to find Over 1,000 curriculum-based videos: All of them instantly accessible KS1-KS4 videos: Suitable for primary and secondary schools Save time: Find videos to watch easily and quickly. All the videos you ll ever need are in one place, accessible from your dashboard Make learning more engaging: Videos from ClickView can be embedded on your Jotter Learn learning sites, meaning you have a valuable resource for online lesson planning Less resources needed: You no longer need a TV in your class - all the educational videos you need can be accessed and viewed online, along with the rest of your e-learning! New videos are being added all the time
An app for creating forums - an online space for pupils to discuss learning. Forum is an app designed to encourage collaborative working: pupils can enter any of the forums you create, and discuss assignments, homework or tests in one safe online place. Accessible from anywhere, Forum is a useful tool for homework - it means pupils have help and guidance from peers at the click of a button. Avatar picture: Pupils School Merits avatar becomes their profile picture Open conversation: Pupils and teachers can join in discussions Simple layout: Making it easy to create new forum discussions Promote expression: Build pupils confidence by allowing them to take part in online discussions, in a safe environment that s for your school only Develop e-safety awareness: By writing, sharing and collaborating online, pupils can learn online etiquette, and understand how technology can be used to share and learn Develop digital literacy: Using Forum, they can develop an understanding of how to use online technology, in a controlled, monitorable environment
Find millions of curriculum-mapped resources in one place. Global Grid for Learning is an online provider of resources, and using our GGfL app you can access these resources and integrate them with your online learning. All the resources available are of high quality, and help you to engage pupils in their learning via images, video and audio clips, interactive activities and documents. Over two million resources: All curriculum-mapped Integrates with other apps: Add resources to learning sites or school website Simple search interface: Find resources you need fast Copyright-cleared: Add resources to your website, plus repurpose and edit them in any way you wish, without having to worry about breaching copyright Save time: No need to search the internet for the right resources. They re all here ordered and listed by subject, age range, resource type, timeline and content provider Inspire learners: Engage pupils in their learning via images, video and audio clips, interactive activities and documents. Appeal to media-savvy learners
About Webanywhere Since 2003, Webanywhere has provided website services and e-learning solutions to help schools communicate, collaborate and promote themselves online. As a provider of websites, VLEs, design services and e-learning content, Webanywhere is also recognised by leading organisations. Webanywhere is an approved supplier to the UK Government Procurement Service, encourage improve inspire engage Like us at facebook.com/webanywhere.ltd Follow us on Twitter @webanywhere_ltd www.webanywhere.co.uk