Literacy Bank 7

www.literacybank7.co.uk

KS3 (Years 7 - 9)

English

This program installed easily onto our school newtork. I was hugely impressed with the copious notes provided in the User Guide which walk the user through the installation process. Because records are kept of the progress of multiple student users, it is important that the package is installed properly onto the system. For this reason, Sherston has devoted six pages of the User Guide to the installation process. However, I found the process so easy that the six pages actually make the process appear more daunting than it actually is. The extensive installation notes answered any questions I had.

What This Product Offers

Teachers have such a vast array of tools at their disposal that I could only see being otherwise present in a fully fledged Virtual Learning Environment. In this case all of the resources have been provided for teachers to use and set for their students.

One of the most remarkable features of the package is the way that proper use of it allows the teacher to differentiate content for specific learning needs. The focused activities are incredibly useful as they directly target specific learning objectives. The teacher can select from the bank of worksheets available, assigning them appropriately within their class of students. This would be done in advance of a lesson, so that when a student logs in they can see the tasks that have been set for them.

The CAL approach allows pupils to work at their own pace, and to test their knowledge at critical moments in the process before they are allowed to proceed.

The tying together of the data and activities is seamless and this makes it immensely useful for busy classroom teachers. The interface is simplistic which makes it a dream to use - it is apparent that Sherston have called on their vast experience of producing easy-to-use software for Primary classes. Text, buttons and tabs are all large, adding further clarity to an already easy-to-use package.

Purpose of Using This Product

A cursory glance at the rest of the User Guide leads you to believe that if the package provides even 10% of the potential shown therein, then it will be of tremendous value in the English classroom. The Guide, complete with screen shots, gives the user an insight into what the package offers. Furthermore, the product has its own micro-website which shows teachers where the product addresses National Curriculum-level objectives.

As this package was used near the end of term and after examinations had taken place, I decided to target one or two specific areas and then let pupils freely explore the rest. In this way it was possible to obtain feedback about its usefulness. Teachers would probably want to assess its usefulness as a tool for use with Year 7 in a more structured way.

Differentiation

As already mentioned, a great incentive for using this package is the way that specific tasks can be targeted at pupils with particular learning needs. As a result, and because they can work at their own pace and receive feedback as they go, pupils can work on tasks that suit their specific needs without embarrassment.

Furthermore, the 'student self-managed learning tool' empowers pupils to check and reinforce their individual learning process. This is a superb feature that was much used in our trial. Pupils can ask 'am I right' to see if their attempt is correct, whilst 'show me' gives them a glimpse of the correct answers, should they be unable to proceed without assistance.

Pupils can also start an activity again should they wish. Throughout this process their progress and attainment is monitored and when the activities are completed a score is produced. This can be printed on a summative certificate at the end of the process.

It is wonderful to see a program that allows teachers to differentiate in this way and Sherston are to be commended on the approach that they have taken here, which coupled with the user-friendly interface makes it a pleasure to use this product.

Classroom Organisation

A class of 20 pupils each had access to a computer in the lessons. They were able to use the computer individually or ask for help from a peer or the teacher whenever necessary.

Context of Use

The group had finished their end-of-year examinations and they were given two specific tasks to try, with a range of random tasks dispersed amongst them to see how they handled the range of activities. This approach had to be taken as we had such a short period of class time to carry out the evaluation.

Ease of Use - Design & Navigation

The software is easy to install and use. Sherston know that in order for teachers to use software it has to be quick to learn, without idiosynchracies, and be easy to follow, whilst at the same time streamlining their teaching and engaging the learner. It can be hard to find two or three of these attributes in a single package, so to find all of them present is rare indeed. This program has been structured with the needs of both the teacher and pupil in mind.

Monitoring & Assessment

As each pupil logs in when they start (and as long as they do not exit suddenly), their progress is recorded on a certificate. However they choose to terminate their use of the program, their progress is stored in the Student Report section. This can be viewed by the individual student or by the teacher - in the latter case a summative overview of progress to date can be seen for each pupil. These files can then be saved and exported as text files for incorporation into other text manipulation packages.

Feedback from Pupils and Other Staff

Teachers loved using the software. They found it easy to use and were most impressed with the simple way in which work could be assigned. In addition, the ability to obtain an overview of pupil performance was highly desirable.

Pupils enjoyed logging in to see what work they had been assigned to do. They liked being able to check their own learning by making the choice at a time of their choosing. This was felt to be the best feature of all from their point of view. They found the tasks more engaging than if they had completed them with pen and paper. Not many pupils printed out certificates but those who did were eager to show them off to their peers and they wanted to take them home to show their parents.

Ease of Use

Whether from a teacher or pupil perspective, this is a delightful package to use. Teachers found the simple way that activities are assigned speeded up their use of ICT. They felt that this software would make it more likely than ever before that they would do cloze, comprehension and other such activities on a computer and that alone makes this program a valuable asset.

Pupils found it easy to use and they were able to concentrate on learning and the tasks that had been set, rather than spending time getting to know the software.

Classroom Experience

When this package was used, pupils were unanimously engaged on the tasks that they were set. They saw each set of activities that had been placed in their Student section as a personal challenge and tried their hardest to complete them all to the best of their ability. Our situation was slightly manufactured in that the program was not used in a situation that would normally reflect a typical English lesson. However, it was clear to me from what I observed that this package is a real boon for any English classroom. It is always desirable to have pupils working hard on challenging tasks, for which feedback is regularly given, freeing the teacher to give assistance where needed, and with this program it is achievable. This title is highly recommended.

Read KS3 Content evaluation...

Product Overview

This product is published by Sherston (Tel: 01666 843200)