糖心Vlog传媒

There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic, and resulting guidance from the Department for Education, has continued to effect the way our schools are able to run now and will do so moving forwards.
When it comes to working with our school customers, we want to help you stay on top of what’s happening in as many ways as possible, so as well as ensuring you have regular contact from our team direct, whether that’s by email or phone call, we’ve also continued to create some great and informative new episodes of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Podcast. Here’s an overview of some of the latest episodes, available on and on .

Sean talks with Sharon and Lawrence about the new Coronavirus Act 2020 and about how schools need to ensure education continues.

Sean talks to Arthur and Lawrence about how schools can handle parents evenings in the current social climate.

We examine different approaches to remote education during recent local lockdowns. We explore the use of video, learning platforms and the use of off-line work packages.
There are many more episodes of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Podcast available, if you’d like to find out more about any of the topics covered or you’d like to suggest a topic yourself, please do contact us.

Supporting wellbeing through meaningful communication during lockdown is important for all schools, and plays a vital role in MAT鈥檚 strategies for coping during lockdown. Gov.uk posted a case study on the 5th of may outlining how schools can stay in contact during lockdown. This outlines effective communication strategies that schools are using to maintain contact to support students wellbeing in both primary and secondary academies in trusts ().听
The article highlights how the use of calls and consistent text messages are helping schools to continue to support student wellbeing. This highlights the reliance of some schools on text message systems, which are designed for regular use – and get very expensive when used to message large numbers of students daily. Online messaging systems with unlimited messaging, such as the 糖心Vlog传媒 app messages add on, allow the schools to have the freedom to send persistent messages without worrying about high cost message packages.
On top of the cost of texting, privacy issues may arise with increased communication. With teachers and safeguarding staff working at home, making calls to vulnerable students could easily compromise the personal data of staff. To overcome this, 糖心Vlog传媒 is adding a calls function to the mobile app, facilitating video or voice calls between staff and students. This is integrated with your schools MIS, so there is no unnecessary data sharing.

Alongside this, the 糖心Vlog传媒 Mobile App lets schools share news updates, notices and newsletters through push notifications. This is a great way to share information with parents, getting messages directly to their phones.
Until the end of July, we are offering our online spellings software for free to any school who purchases the 糖心Vlog传媒 Mobile app with messaging and calls, and the first 5 orders will gain free access to our internal communications platform, Watch and Learn, which is perfect for inter-school communication in a trust during lockdown.
Get in touch here to find out more

We were excited to interview our newest Marketing Intern, Wiktoria from Keighley’s Holy Family Catholic School. Although she has been with us for a short amount of time, we have had a blast getting to know her!
Wiktoria is an incredibly fast learner and has impressed us with her ability in completing tasks quickly and efficiently. She helped us publish聽content on our blog and聽organise an event that some of the biggest companies in Leeds will attend tomorrow. She is also learning how to build school websites with 糖心Vlog传媒.
We got a chance to interview Wiktoria, and are excited to introduce her to our readers!

Tell us something fun about you.
Hi, my name is Wiktoria Plata, I am 14 years old and I come from Poland. I live in Keighley with my younger sister and my parents. I am in Year 10 and go to Holy Family Catholic School.

What do you hope to learn by the end of the internship?

By the end of this internship, I hope to learn how Webanywhere works with and helps schools through education websites and apps.

What is your favourite thing to do outside of school?

Outside of school, I like to meet up with friends and do something interesting.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years, I see myself at university studying a degree that will help me get a well-paid and helpful job.

What would be your ideal job?

My ideal job would be to do something that hopefully helps people.

What is your favourite book and why?

My favourite books are written by Michael Morpurgo, because his books are always adventurous and usually have a meaning behind them.

What kind of music do you like and who is your favourite artist and why?

I like listening to pop and sometimes some country music. My favourite artist is Sia because of the way she sings and writes her songs.

Listen to our podcast on Bett Show’s survey of 1,000 teachers.

 

Jotter 糖心Vlog传媒s enables you to create multiple different blogs. A blog is like a folder or container. Within each blog you can have multiple posts, which are like individual diary entries. You can create as many blogs as you like, and post as many entries as you like.
For example, you might have a blog called Class page and inside that blog add posts about what you鈥檝e done in class. You might have another blog called School events and then post things that have happened at school in there.

As soon as blogging is switched on for students, they will all be able to create their own blogs and posts, which everyone else in the school can see and comment on.
The word blog is the bringing together of two words, web and log. A blog started out as being the work of a single person recording information about themselves or their interests, sort of an online diary. With web 2.0 technologies allowed the blogs readers to post comments and thus start a conversation about a post, making blogging a way to engage with like minded people and interactive, rather than the reader having just a passive role.
Today blogs are used to collaborate, collect information in one place whilst brainstorming and reach out to others that share your interests.
糖心Vlog传媒s have now made it into the classroom and have become a useful tool in many ways. Firstly as a communication tool and a way of recording events and more recently as a way to encourage collaboration, engage boys and improve literacy skills. In your blog you can encourage peer support, everyone taking an active role, whether as a teacher or a learner and hopefully both!
糖心Vlog传媒 posts can be made up of text, images and links to websites and files.

Jotter Mobile just got even better with the release of v1.8, which will roll out across all apps by May 5th.
After lots of market research our developers have created the features you most requested, and we hope you will benefit from this free update. 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
Here are some of the changes you can expect to see:

Custom apps:

• Custom sections in the navigation structure. Each custom link consists of a name, icon and an URL. You can define up to three custom sections.
• Reordering and disabling of sections in the drawer menu and the dashboard tray. These are edited from the Mobile Centre module.

All apps:

• Notification badges on sections within the app. These show that new content has been added but not read by the user.
• New expanding dashboard tray option. This can be configured at the delivery stage or can be added with PCR.

If you would like more information about v1.8 or Jotter Mobile please call 0800 862 0492 or fill out our short contact form.

In 2007 we launched the original 糖心Vlog传媒 website system. Since day one we have received praise for how the system makes it easy for teachers to manage their school鈥檚 website. In 2012 we released 糖心Vlog传媒 2, which further tailored the system to the needs of our thousands of customers.

Introducing 2.5

Our latest product innovation, 糖心Vlog传媒 2.5, expands on this by pairing our class leading website system with a range of eLearning software, which empowers schools to bridge the gap with parents, governors, and students.

Modules

With 糖心Vlog传媒 2.5, our platform now includes extra modules which ease communication, such as a Surveys module to gain feedback (perhaps for a parental survey) and a 糖心Vlog传媒s module which headteachers and other staff can use to engage parents with day to day school life.

According to The Joseph Rowntree report, engaging students and parents with a child鈥檚 learning is one of the key influencers on student attainment. Using the 糖心Vlog传媒 2.5 eLearning software, such as Jotter ePortfolios, students can showcase their work, and this can be shown to parents, while teachers can give online feedback.

Amazing Value

Our new 糖心Vlog传媒 2.5 offering represents great value, as it saves money compared with buying the equivalent products separately. With unlimited users, storage and training, upgrade to 糖心Vlog传媒 2.5 TODAY and your school can save 拢500 on the recommended retail price. Please call use for more information.

As a retired primary teacher I find it unsurprising that numerous studies show a gender gap where girls are significantly outperforming boys in literacy. One of the latest studies, commissioned by Save the Children, has found that the female advantage is established even before they step foot in the classroom. Understanding the Gender Gap in Literacy and Language Development was undertaken by researchers from Bristol University鈥檚 Graduate School of Education. Apparently in the 2014/15 school year, one in four boys were behind in language at age five and started Reception without being able to follow simple instructions or speak a full sentence. The report also states that for those children who start school behind, few will catch up.

Factors
While the gap appears to exist for all socio-economic groups, it was wider for those children eligible for free school lunches. Whereas the overall ratio was 25% of boy starters unable to answer simple 鈥渉ow鈥� and 鈥渨hy鈥� questions compared to 14% of girls, this escalated to 35% and 23% for lower income families. Several of the schools where I taught had 鈥榖reakfast clubs鈥� before school, run by volunteers. It was a sad fact that this club was bursting at the seams. Whether this was simply due to poor time management by parents or because of economic factors, cereal and toast were gobbled up greedily. Once the children鈥檚 blood sugar levels rose, behaviour improved and they stayed on task longer. But where gender difference is concerned, evidence from the Save the Children study couldn鈥檛 definitively point to biological, developmental or social causes. An earlier study in 2008 by the Institute of Education (part of the ) found that for both sexes attainment was better for children with two working parents, particularly if they held qualifications. Pupils in stepfamilies or with one parent had lower achievement.
Department for Education
The DfE produced a report in 2009 entitled where they tended to refute most of the gender gap findings, however the evidence spoke for itself when it came to girls attaining higher in English. At key stage two, the gap is considerably wider for writing than reading but this is hardly news to me, as I repeatedly felt like I was hitting my head against a brick wall trying to get boys to write. The DfE say that increased provision has been made for Early Years practitioners to try and redress the gender gap but is it too little, too late?
Solutions
I recall an old study that maintained girls were better communicators because female babies tended to be carried facing inwards, whereas boys faced outwards. Facing inwards allowed babies to see their parents鈥� faces and be spoken to directly. They would learn to read facial expressions and understand nuance more quickly than if carried outwards. Somewhat controversially, the Save the Children study advocates treating boys more like girls. Girls tend to be sung to and have nursery rhymes recited to them. The researchers want to boys to experience this in equal measures, as well as having storybooks read to them and being given rewards for good performance. More creative activities such as painting and drawing are also seen as a way to help with cognitive development. But is it fair to lay all the blame at parents鈥� feet for the gender gap in attainment? Schools need to build a trusting relationship with parents and carers, working with them to promote the importance of one-on-one activities at home. Pupils need to be taught the value of being self-reliant and independent learners, which will raise self-esteem.
Role Models
There are relatively few male Early Years practitioners in UK schools. It鈥檚 more typical for men to teach at secondary level, with a view to obtaining headships. With so many single parent families where dad is seldom seen, a positive male role model is vital. In my last primary school they had no less than four male teachers out of 12, one of whom was in Early Years. This state school had some of the best behaviour I鈥檇 experienced and the male teachers certainly contributed to that. They provided a different caring style and allowed children to see a more natural gender mix, representative of society. Surely the DfE should do more to recruit male teachers into primary and particularly Early Years.
Methods of Delivery
There is little doubt that even the youngest pupils relate to technology, as it can be exciting and varied. In my KS1 class, while girls would often grab a book and sit in the reading corner, the boys competed for the two computers where they could play games, albeit with an educational objective. More provision should be made at Foundation Stage for pupils to have access to a. Lower achievers could work through specially designed modules to help them catch up with language skills. As many schools may not have the funds to provide sufficient portable devices to use, a BYOD (bring your own device) policy could be introduced, so that pupils could bring in a tablet or smartphone from home. If boys are more reluctant to read and write, interactive storyboards and gamification could provide the catalyst needed to spark their interest. The beauty of BOYD is that any elearning content can be easily accessed at home as well as at school, hopefully encouraging parents to get more invested in their children鈥檚 education.

Kids on the phone wind me up no end. Telling kids to get off their phones when they鈥檙e not supposed to be on them winds me up even more. Kids ignoring me after I tell them to get off their phones when they鈥檙e not supposed to be on them is liable to send me into apoplexy whilst carpet bombing detentions in the general area of said kid as they continue to remain blissfully unaware and firmly ensconced in the world of Snapchat, YouTube, WhatsApp and every distraction the digital world has to offer.
So annoying. But then I鈥檓 one to talk.

When it comes to being on the phone, there are times that I鈥檓 worse than the kids. To the detriment of such minor annoyances as social interaction, the all-out horror of 鈥榝amily time鈥�, or meals where some of the food actually goes into my mouth rather than down my shirt as I gaze lovingly at my tiny little screen to the world, I鈥檓 pretty much surgically attached. 鈥楪lued to the screen鈥� doesn鈥檛 quite cut it – I鈥檓 more cemented. I鈥檓 nothing if not massively hypocritical when it comes to the kids.
So phones, yep – a lot of the time they are tiny little distraction machines that eat focus for lunch and have productivity for pudding.
叠耻迟鈥�
Technology isn鈥檛 usage and usage isn鈥檛 technology. It鈥檚 true that in many cases, a mobile in your hand means nothing else gets done and it does take a modicum of self control not to get lost in the world behind the screen. But having said that, a phone can also be a fantastic tool for a busy and almost pathologically disorganised teacher like me. With the right apps, it can become a great way to save time, cut down on workload, and organise your day in such a way that it may give you a few extra minutes (which could, ironically, be spent telling more kids to get off their phones). It鈥檚 true, there is a world of distraction out there, but then again, there is also a world of help as well.
For me, my phone is a toolbox – it contains a whole bunch of things that I can use to get my job done. A bunch of equipment that formerly would have filled a decent sized bag – cameras, sound recorders, endless reams of paper, art supplies, games, whiteboards, notice boards, to do lists, maps, projectors; all these things can be squeezed into a little black rectangle, whacked into your pocket and taken with you, everywhere you go. That鈥檚 a lot less lugging and for me, less lugging is what it鈥檚 all about. Efficient, easy, portable – the abundance of mobile apps means that there鈥檚 often something available that can really help. Sometimes it鈥檚 even free. Free stuff rules.
The perception of the mobile phone as a hurdle to productivity isn鈥檛 necessarily a false one but when it comes right down to it, the phone itself is pretty much blameless. It鈥檚 what the user does with it that turns it into a help or a hindrance. In my own situation, it can often be a bit of both but ultimately that鈥檚 down to the type of person I am rather than the phone itself. And even at my most slack-jawed and unresponsive, the benefits that it represents far outweigh the annoyances.
In a case of 鈥榩hysician, heal thyself鈥�, I try to model the use of mobile tech for learning with the kids, show them some of things that I鈥檝e discovered that I think might help them in their own studies, maybe prize their faces away from the gossip, self-affirmation and the more addictive elements turning them towards things that鈥檒l help with productivity, understanding and streamlining cumbersome processes (because there鈥檚 plenty out there). In doing so, I try to remind myself that there is a world away from social media, lolz and likes – a world where instead of a barrier, mobiles and the apps they contain can make the difficult job of teaching ever so slightly easier and that the screen can act as window to a different way of working rather than a mirror of some of our less wholesome traits.
That doesn鈥檛 mean I鈥檓 going to stop telling them to put their phone away, mind.
In the next post, I look at how effective use of mobile apps can improve your workflow.
Tom Starkey is an educator based in Leeds. He鈥檚 written for the Times Educational Supplement and Teach Secondary magazine. tweeting at and writes at .