Bett 2013 – A collection of random thoughts…

2013 saw my first trip to Bett, so I jumped on the train with @carledgar86 and headed down to London armed with a double pack of Lucozade and six Twix caramel slices.

I would like to think that most people attending Bett this year would have been a little disappointed to be greeted by over a dozen companies selling interactive whiteboards – most of which seemed to be almost identical to each other. However, I got the increasing feeling that this was merely the norm. That said, it didn’t appear to stop floods of people from visiting these stands (or indeed the companies from lashing out in excess of £50k to be there for the week). One unnamed interactive whiteboard firm had even managed to differentiate its interactive whiteboard range from the others by lying it on its side and turning it into a table. It goes without saying that they were the most popular.

The same could be said for the plethora of companies selling visualisers, which are apparently still able to supply enough to meet their ever increasing levels of expected demand. At least a bit of healthy competition might help drive the price down a little. The point made by @James_Bowkett leaves little else to be said about the matter.

Any half decent tablet makes Interactive Whiteboards and Visualisers totally obsolete yet they are everywhere at #BETT13

— James Bowkett (@James_Bowkett) February 2, 2013

I would also like to think that most people would have been disappointed to see plenty of VLEs at this year’s event. But let’s face it, no educational technology show would be complete without their fair share of VLEs and bright colours, which irresistibly combine to make them infinitely more attractive to potential customers. I spent a reasonable amount of time playing with the soon-to-be-launched Frog4OS – interested to see if they had been able to design a VLE that is fully compatible with mobile devices (after watching a Frog employee try five times to drag a dashboard widget into place I decided enough was enough). I had one question – ‘will you be able to upload and download all types of files from your iPad into Frog?’. The answer was ‘well, er…the iPad doesn’t have a native file browser so that isn’t possible’. No further questions were asked. I arrived expecting that attempting to integrate a Frog VLE into an iPad 1:1 would be unecessarily difficult, I left knowing that attempting to integrate a Frog VLE into an iPad 1:1 would be unecessarily difficult.

Moan over. There was lots of great stuff – here were my 5 highlights:

Mathspace - I was generously pointed in the direction of Mathspace by @timstirrup, who kindly alerted me to its potential greatness and then even more kindly told me where it was when I couldn’t find it. Billing itself as ‘online maths training like you’ve never seen before’ – Mathspace might just signal a new generation of exciting maths products. Currently only available in Australia and under development for the UK curriculum at the moment, Mathspace is a web based tool or iPad app and there is a free trial available if you can’t wait for it arrive permanently. I haven’t bothered explaining what it actually does, the video below covers that. I just hope they don’t price themselves out of the UK market.

Zondle - I was almost slightly embarrassed to have never come across Zondle before. A games based learning site with versions available for mobile devices, Zondle allows teachers to create and access previously made quizzes on any subject whilst managing the progress of their class. Zondle is different from other games based learning sites in that you can ‘play any quiz, with any game’, cleverly separating them to ensure that a topic is not only associated with a specific game. Most of the content is aimed at younger students (primary or KS3), but you can easily develop your own quizzes in a matter of seconds. Their website also contains the words ‘Zondle is free, and always will be!’

Beluga Maths - Beluga have recently released their Learn Maths with Beluga iPad app, a games based approach to learning mathematics that really aims to develop an understanding of each topic. The content is currently only aimed at younger students, but will soon be extending all the way up to A Level problems, with a HTML5 web-based version on its way soon too. It will be really interesting to see how this one develops. Their website also contains the words ‘free forever, with unlimited updates’. Very nice, although student tracking comes at an additional cost.

Showbie – I have long been a fan of Showbie for iPad workflow, but I became more a fan this week when it became free to all users. It isn’t the finished product, but it definitely offers the easiest workflow for teachers looking to collect, mark and redistribute content created on the iPad.

Hackasaurus - This wasn’t technically a Bett discovery since I came across this following #tmbett2013 courtesy of @mberry, but I can scarcely believe how great it is as an introduction to coding. Hackasaurus is a bookmark that allows you to see and alter the code for any web page – watching the end result change as you remix it. An alternative version of my blog may be on the cards.

Using Google Forms to make task lists

A short while ago I was given a little problem to solve – to find a way for department members to create an editable ‘task list’ for our Curriculum Area Supervisors – and make it available on our VLE.

After a fair amount of playing around I turned to Google Forms, which is incredibly useful for surveys, formative assessments, feedback and lots of other things. Here I could create a form for staff to complete and make the results visible to all, whilst only allowing a select few to edit the resultant spreadsheet. This was exactly what I was after.

Google Forms has lots of great functions that make it ideal for this task. Both the form and the resultant spreadsheet can easily be embedded in a webpage, whilst you can also control who has access to the editable spreadsheet (Frog IF statements helped here too). The linked versions are copies containing only test data, so you can try it for yourself.

In addition, Google Spreadsheet allows the results to be filtered and sorted – allowing for a quick and easy process of identifying the tasks that need to be completed, including the use of low, medium and high priority options to filter tasks by.

So we now have a new system for building task lists and it’s unbelievably simple to create. I look forward to seeing exactly how successful it is…

Below are some of the failures I endured before settling on Google Forms as the chosen problem solver.

I tried using our Frog VLE Calendar to make the task list. It worked fairly nicely, but only showed up the ‘required completion date’ on the calendars of individuals. Frustrating, as I expected.

Naturally, I asked my Twitter PLN for advice and almost all (kind) suggestions pointed to Google Docs. So I built a straightforward document that could have the information entered on it. Not only did it look rubbish, it didn’t allow the data to be sorted either – one of the few absolute necessities.

Google Calendar was the final avenue I unsuccessfully travelled down, which is strange since I am a huge fan. For some reason Google don’t allow you to share ‘tasks’ with others in the same way you can easily share calendars. They have clearly known about this for a while too.

Any advice on how I could make this whole process even more efficient very welcome.

Maths Video Tutorials on your VLE – CGP’s MathsTutor

A while ago I reviewed a demo version of CGP’s new MathsTutor. This week I have got round to installing it on our VLE and a few people have asked me to update them on how it goes, so here it is.

The time had come for the Mathswatch package which was built into our Frog VLE to be taken down and sent back to 1996. Conveniently, our Mathswatch subscription (£350) was about to run out. My fellow department members were also very keen to have Mathswatch replaced by the new fancier-looking CGP MathsTutor (£250 – bargain). So we went ahead and bought it.

Soon after, the following problems all crossed my mind:

1) What actually is a SCORM package?

2) What on earth will I do with it when it supposedly ‘arrives in the post’?

3) It is half-term next week and we need it up and running by the time we get back to school. Will this take me all half term?

It soon became apparent that I would be here until Christmas if I tried to upload the SCORM package using my home internet. So, depressingly, I traipsed into school on the Monday morning of half term. Unfortunately, the SCORM files provided by CGP are large in size and there is close to 100 of them, each of which had to be uploaded manually onto the VLE. This took about 3 hours – it was a good job I remembered to bring a book with me.

Once the files were all uploaded and unpacked I had to make a home for the Video Tutorials in the Maths Department Website on our VLE (see pictures).  The process of actually linking the SCORM packages to the website was relatively straight forward (in comparison to most processes on Frog) and it was all ready to go.

I was hoping that CGP would have a way of making the files searchable. MathsWatch had handy features that allowed students to search by GCSE Grade. It appears that I will have to try and do this myself with MathsTutor. Currently, the drop down menu contains the links to the SCORM files. When you click on your chosen link, the chosen SCORM package boots up in another window (picture below).

I am content with the way it works but it does have a few definite areas for improvement. I will wait for student and staff feedback before developing it further.

In terms of a MathsWatch comparison, I still remain convinced it provides a far higher quality of videos and resources and I look forward to hearing student feedback on the resource. It is inevitable that because it is bigger and fancier it will take longer to upload and for the videos themselves to buffer. But it is up there now so it shouldn’t need too much changing around for a while. In fact, possibly the only advantage of having a VLE is it’s ability to host the SCORM packages.

So, in response to my earlier questions:

1) I still don’t know what a SCORM package is, but I like what it does

2) Uploading SCORM files into a Frog VLE is surprisingly straightforward

3) It didn’t take me all half term. Only one day in fact!

MathsTutor v MathsWatch

You may recall earlier in the year I wrote this post about using MathsWatch. Not long after praising the MathsWatch SCORM package we have installed at school, I caught wind of a new rival; CGP’s MathsTutor - and yes CGP are the people who make the glossy-looking revision guides.

So this is basically a head-to-head battle (I know of no other alternatives). Who will prevail?

For starters, CGP’s MathsTutor looks good and the menus are easy to navigate, losing the slightly 1980′s feel of MathsWatch. It has a greater variety of activities for each topic, including hand written answers to exam questions which are a great idea. For my money, the explanations offered by MathsTutor are generally more detailed and certainly more interactive. However, I do wish  they wouldn’t try and make a terrible joke at the beginning and end of each clip (see video below for evidence).

CGP’s MathsTutor offers DVD-Roms aimed at the Higher Tier, Foundation Tier and an additional Foundation Basics DVD-ROM for low ability students, as opposed to the simple Foundation/Higher combination of MathsWatch. However, I do like the fact that the MathsWatch clips come with attached worksheets to practice the skills you have revised. CGP don’t offer this, presumably because they want you to buy another of their revision workbooks instead. I have attached two video clips of the alternatives to help you decide for yourselves…

Cost? As I mentioned, we currently have the MathsWatch SCORM package installed on our Maths department website within our VLE, setting us back £349 (plus VAT) per year. The CGP SCORM package comes in at a relatively healthy £250 (plus VAT) per year. Sadly, I haven’t had chance to test the CGP SCORM package so the review is based on the relative merits of the two companies’ DVD-ROMs. In terms of the price of those DVD-ROMs, both companies charge £3 (plus VAT) for each DVD.

CGP have clearly realised that their successful revision guides leave them perfectly positioned to take a share of MathsWatch’s market. I agree with them; if you sell CGP Maths revision guides to your students then it makes sense to use MathsTutor’s DVD’s or SCORM package, given their equal cost. Even if you don’t sell the revision guides, it’s the best set of DVD video tutorials I’ve come across. I don’t think it will be too long before CGP unleash a host of these DVD Video Tutorials for other subjects either…

If Masterchef did ‘Virtual Learning Environments’…

Masterchef often gets me thinking. How do all the contestants keep their food warm when they are standing around waiting for John and Greg to judge the others? Why does it never seem to be on at the same time (or even the same day) each week ? How do they manage to give such a long assessment based on one spoonful of food? Why do people constantly try and cook soufflés when they surely know it will lead to their demise? I could go on…

Today, it got me thinking about ‘Virtual Learning Environments’.

#1

If I strolled onto Masterchef and confidently asserted I would be serving a pan fried fillet of gurnard, octopus pease pudding and mollusc ragoût, that would be exactly what the judges would expect. Anything less would be a complete failure. After all,  surely I could deliver on three items? If the mollusc  ragoût were missing, I would be lambasted for failing to deliver what I had promised. If the octopus pease pudding and the mollusc ragoût were missing, I would merely have served a pan fried fillet of gurnard.

#2 (the same but introducing price)

If I owned a fine dining restaurant and on the menu I advertised a rose petal masala-spiced halibut served with minted pea caviar and salted potato crisps, that would be exactly what my customers would expect. If the minted pea caviar were missing, not only would I be lambasted for failing to deliver what I had promised, I wouldn’t be expecting the customer to pay for their meal either. Equally, if neither the minted pea caviar or the salted potato crisps turned up, not only would I have merely served a rose petal masala-spiced halibut, I would be expecting the customer to publicly denounce the restaurant on  tripadvisor as soon as they got home on.

#3 (this is where the VLEs come in – you may have seen this coming…)

If I travelled the world with my company selling Virtual Learning Environments, that would be exactly what my customers would rightly expect. If the ‘Learning’ were absent from the package, not only would I surely be lambasted for failing to deliver what I had promised, I wouldn’t expect my customers to pay for what they had received and I wouldn’t be overly surprised if they publicly denounced my product across the world.

So why do schools so often turn a blind eye to the fact that their Virtual Learning Environments don’t deliver on ‘Learning’ in most cases? Why do schools so often choose to pay over-the-odds for ‘Virtual Environments’?

Mathswatch SCORM Package

Bit of background here; Mathswatch advertises itself as ‘a DVD, playable on any Windows® PC, containing every Mathematics video clip needed for the GCSE exam’. It is a revision tool and a fairly popular (and successful) one at that. Rather than handing CD’s out annually, we looked at using an alternative, the Mathswatch SCORM package , effectively a program full of podcasts, which we could build into our VLE.

Technically installing this wasn’t my work, but I did give it a little jazzing up. In fact, the Mathswatch SCORM package is very good and far better than the traditional Mathswatch approach of handing out CD’s. Certainly, in terms of cost it works out far cheaper. £3 a CD x our 300 Year 11′s = £900 a year, not bad, but the SCORM package comes in at a tidy £349 annually. Of course, it isn’t going to disappear one day either, as it is firmly placed within our VLE for students and parents to use.

And use it they seem to, I regularly hear students complaining at the sound of the Mathswatch lady’s voice.

Using some skills I blogged about earlier, we used Issuu.com to host the ‘Podcasts Clip Guide’ where students can scan through to choose revision topics. Once they have found the grade and clip number they were after, clicking on ‘Grade C’ fires up the SCORM player, a little version of Windows Media Player appears and the video, with the sound of Mathswatch lady’s voice, begins.

Maths teachers, don’t worry if you have no idea what a SCORM package is; I didn’t. Ask a member of your tech team to look into it, this might just save you a few pennies!

(note – as far as I know, Google Sites are not SCORM compliant, so if you use Google Apps as your LMS you may have just read something very unhelpful). This is a major drawback of using Google Apps as your solitary LMS at the moment.

Day -185.

I figured I should have begun this blog about 185 days ago, when I first began work on our Maths department website and my role as a New Technologies person.  You may have noticed the title corresponds to that day. If you are extremely attentive you may have realised something extra; if I also have an entry to make about the day that would currently be day minus 184, tomorrow that day will also be day minus 185. An endless pattern of posts titled ‘Day – 185′ may prevail. I will try to post quickly, as I fear I may already be confused.

185 days ago I began – and not too long after completed our new look Maths Department Website, taking over from a previous member of staff. The website is built within our Frog VLE system. I shall save all comments about the Frogbrick website building system for a rainy day, except to say I would have called this ‘Day – 210′ if I were to include the period of time spent studying the Frog manuals.

I am content with the overall layout of the website, with a specific mini-site for each of our learning stages. There are several features within the website that I am particularly pleased with, and will be sharing in a future post. Whilst we are on the topic of frog, I’ve boldly claimed that usage figures will justify the number of hours I spent building it. Is it possible to use Frog to analyse traffic to each individual page within the VLE? Because I can’t find a way. Any ideas?