UK primary schools leap to embrace learning platforms
Frog Primary is poised to take teaching and learning beyond school walls.
- (1888PressRelease) September 21, 2010 - On 21st September 2010, award-winning education provider, Frog (www.frogtrade.com), is launching a brand new learning platform dedicated to giving primary schools the freedom to shape their own teaching and learning environment. Prompted by rising demand from primary schools, the Frog Primary Learning Platform has been specially designed in conjunction with Key Stage 1 and 2 teachers to develop cross-school communication and collaboration. Research from the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) in 2009 found that only 42 percent of primary schools use learning platforms, compared with 67 percent of secondary schools. Having achieved outstanding success with the implementation of Frog in over 450 secondary schools across 60% of Local Authorities, over 150 primary schools are set to implement Frog Primary in September.
Encouraging creativity in pupils, improving communication across the school and driving dialogue with parents, Frog Primary is an exciting, flexible and cost-effective learning platform for today's primary schools. Frog Primary will be hosted by Frog's own central server; however a local authority can choose to host this from their own data centre if they wish.
Every school is provided with a communication area with news feeds and the ability to provide message walls to ensure all staff are kept up to date. Schools using Frog find that learners are motivated to continue learning outside the classroom and parents are also encouraged to log on and become more involved in their child's development.
David Procter, ICT Co-ordinator at Carlton Junior & Infant School in Dewsbury, comments: "The Frog Primary Learning Platform will play a major part in transforming teaching and learning both within and beyond the classroom. We are excited about taking the leap to embrace learning platforms and the fresh opportunities this will open up to get pupils, teachers and parents all engaged in the learning process."
Gareth Davies, Managing Director, Frog, adds: "Primary schools must evolve to cater for the next generation of technologically savvy pupils. Following the huge success of Frog in hundreds of secondary schools, we are confident that Frog Primary will empower primary school leaders with the tools and resources to enhance the learning experience and encourage pupils to take ownership of their own work."
The simple user-interface is tailored specifically for primary schools and features three areas: About Me, School and My Classes. Recognising that every school is different, each Frog Primary Learning Platform can be customised by teachers to create a unique environment that is specific to the ethos of the school, in addition to meeting their teaching and learning requirements. Teachers can create content and embed resources that enrich learning. Pupils can personalise their own user-interface by choosing from a range of fresh and exciting interchangeable designs such as 'Jungle', 'Music', 'Outdoor', 'Monsters', 'Space', 'Skateboard', 'Football' and 'Art'.
The About Me area gives pupils their own space to personalise their profile, store work, create their own web pages, set homework reminders, email teachers and friends and keep a calendar of friends' birthdays. Using Frog Widgets, pupils can populate their own web pages with a variety of functions such as a Google widget to search the web without opening a new window, a noticeboard widget to jot down notes, a stop watch and a music player. This area can be adapted as the pupil progresses through the school. Typically, a Year 1 pupil would need to store their work and set homework reminders, whereas a Year 5 pupil would require more advanced features such as email access and tools to build web pages.
The School area is also fully customisable and can include contact details for pupils, staffing lists and absences and schedules for parents' evenings, and school trips. The school can also provide parents with access to material ranging from their child's homework to photographs of school trips. Teachers can set up folders on topics such as 'Tudors' or 'Vikings' without any technical help or knowledge and provide access to specific groups of pupils. They can also assign work to pupils, see when work is ready to mark and, at a moment's notice, change passwords for pupils should they forget. A dedicated 'Management' area allows teachers to manage messages on walls in the virtual classroom and events sections and export them for reporting and evidence.
The My Classes area shows to which class each pupil belongs and allows teachers to create or edit class lists. As with the actual classroom, teachers can personalise this area to create a relevant, fun and interactive learning environment. They can add topics and themes and develop these over time, plan resources in advance and hide them until they are required later in the academic year. Teachers can also create a folder that allows parents to see their child's work, access homework tips and participate in a blog to drive dialogue.
For further information about Frog Primary please call 01422 250800, email: hello ( @ ) frogtrade dot com or visit: www.frogtrade.com/primary.
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