"FirstClass is a superb Learning Platform that has not only provided our school with a great set of tools for online learning; it has also revolutionised the way we communicate and share resources throughout the school. Its ease of use and flexibility combined with the ability to access everything from home has made it very popular amongst our staff and students....we really cannot recommend this product highly enough."
Peter Holding, Headteacher
Sir William Borlase's Grammar School
FirstClass is a feature-rich solution that enables education organisations to build secure, collaborative online learning communities that connect key stakeholders within the learning cycle - including students, parents, faculty, administrators and alumni. The FirstClass Collaboration Suite delivers a broad range of integrated applications including email, instant messaging, calendars, contact management, web publishing, blogging, podcasting, collaboration and work spaces, file sharing, file storage and archiving, and integrated voice and fax messaging.
Thousands of organisations and millions of users are currently connecting and collaborating via online communities powered by FirstClass. One such organisation that has implemented FirstClass as their learning platform is Sir William Borlase's Grammar School (SWBGS), a co-educational school located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
THE SEARCH FOR THE ALL-ENCOMPASSING LEARNING PLATFORM
The school set about searching for an educational collaboration system as they were currently using shared drives that were open to misuse, a separate email system and a separate website for delivering curriculum material. It became apparent that what they ideally needed was a common platform or interface for all of these functions. They felt that the new system needed to be a part of their overall IT strategy and should take into account the objectives outlined by the UK Department for Education and Skills (DfES) as well as internally-developed objectives.
Having researched a number of systems, they also considered factors beyond functionality, including the ability to deploy quickly and the need and cost of associated professional services. It was after looking at FirstClass ED, the new add-on eLearning module for FirstClass which follows the FirstClass philosophy of "easy to use", that Director of ICT Services, Anu Chawla found the Learning Platform she was looking for.
FIRSTCLASS COLLABORATION SUITE
Ms Chawla feels that the communication and collaboration features of FirstClass have greatly improved the sense of community within the school and increased the efficiency of communication. Each FirstClass user has their own personalised desktop which contains their personal mailbox, calendar, contacts folder, file storage area, ePortfolio storage area, bookmarks, instant messaging facility and web publishing folder. In addition, users have access to a number of shared areas, including Staff Room, ICT Helpdesk, Daily Notices and the School Calendar.
SWBGS FirstClass Desktop
Both teachers and students have a 'My Classes' area on their FirstClass desktops which contains all the classes relevant to each teacher or student. Classes are automatically created from the school's timetable information. Ms. Chawla explained that for SWBGS, "one of the most appealing features of FirstClass as a Learning Platform has been the ease and speed with which teachers can create content and assignments for their classes". Assignments can be completed and submitted online by the student.
Course materials can be easily accessed, managed, re-used and shared with colleagues, enabling teachers to spend more time teaching and less time preparing. "We do not want the teacher to have to re-create content for each class and so we have set up a structure in FirstClass that enables teachers to build a library of material that can be augmented and reused. Right now, we are exploring ways of sharing course materials with other schools that are using FirstClass" said Ms Chawla. Many non-academic areas have also been set up in FirstClass by SWBGS to support students' extra-curricular activities. Information such as events and practice sessions can be quickly distributed to members.
SWBGS FirstClass Staffroom
The school's Headteacher, Mr. Peter Holding says, "As more and more schools move towards the implementation of a Learning Platform, we feel confident that Sir William Borlase's Grammar School has the best tools available to meet all the challenges ahead."
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