Starz Primary Learning Platform

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Starz Primary Learning Platform

• Version 2
• 2009

www.starz.org.uk
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What does Starz V2 look like?

• Version 2 of the Learning Platform provides some
  exciting new features bringing together the
  latest learning platform and social network
  technologies. It provides an excellent
  introduction to learning through ICT with three
  age related themes suited to different age group
  as well as
• Safe on-line interaction inside and outside the
  classroom
• Monitored communication and collaboration tools
• Individual online learning space for the school
  workforce and pupils enabling anytime, anywhere
  learning
• Tools to enable teachers to manage and tailor
  content to a pupils needs and learning styles,
  and to track progress.
• Quick routes to subject related web based
  resources
• Collaborative projects to engage everyone in
  using the technology  

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Personal Webspace 

• All Starz users are provided with unique
  individual password accounts.
• Once a child has logged in they have access to a
  number of areas and resources.
• Firstly, a personal web space and set of tools
  with the ability to store and easily locate files
  such as photos, videos, documents and music.
• Starz lets the young learner develop their own
  ePortfolios of work and interests.
• All children can customise their own online space
  ensuring a sense of ownership and engagement with
  the platform.
•  

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Eportfolio

• Work can be stored in a work folder.
• Pupils can log in, organise and
• upload documents, images, sound
• or video files.
• Children can make a comment
• about a piece of their work and
• teachers/parents can add a
• comment about the work as well.  
• Older pupils can start a piece of
• work at school upload it and finish it
• off at home ready for when they return to
• school, and teachers can create
• homework activities in the class
• community for all pupils to access.
• Pupils can share items of work with
• others

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Blog

• The Blogging tool allow learners to begin to
  create content on-line. The blog tool allows
  individuals
• to make regular personal diary entries or
  commentaries on all manner of things
• suggested by teachers,
• recording learning,
• descriptions of events or news
• Drawings, paintings and graphics are easily
  added. Blogs entries can be viewed by others in
  the
• community and teachers can make private comments
  back to the individuals.

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Email

• Communicating with others is not a problem in
  STARZ as children can send and receive written,
  voice recordings or video messages to their
  friends in a simple to use system. The Safemail
  system ensures children can communicate in a
  protected environment free of unwanted messages
  and spam.
• As all online activity can be monitored, this
  makes it a safe place for young children to
  interact and learn the basics of how to keep
  themselves safe online.

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Questionnaire

•  
• A questionnaire tool will allow teachers and
  children to use a variety of question types to
  design their own surveys. They will be able to
  collect information electronically and then
  display the results as different graphical
  representations..pictograms, bar charts, pie
  graphs.
•  
• This tool, commissioned by the Starz Team will
  support the Data Handling strand of the National
  Curriculum for ICT.

Image available soon
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Discussion Forums

•  
• The new version of Starz makes it much easier for
  teachers to create discussion forums for classes
  to participate in. Teachers are in full control
  of the discussion forum and moderate all
  submissions from pupils. Children learn the
  basics of Esafety through participation in these
  web 2 tools and in Starz this happens in a safe,
  secure and moderated environment.

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Starz in the curriculum
The learning platform contains a number of
additional areas to support learning.

• Resources
• A resources section contains a range of resources
  for children to
• use without the danger of exposure to advertising
  features or
• unsuitable material. Pictures, photographs sound
  and video files
• are made available for children to explore and
  use to support
• their learning.
• Research 
• A research area guides children to the safest
  routes to online
• material while keeping them as safe as possible
  and yet
• supporting essential skills for life
  development. 
• Subjects
• Subject areas contain child friendly web based
  resources made
• instantly accessible for children and teachers to
  use either at
• home or school to support school based topics and
  curriculum
• subject areas.

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Projects

• Each year there are a number of centrally
  organised projects
• designed to support teachers and children in
  their use of the
• available technology. The projects also foster
  collaboration
• across the county and cover a range of curriculum
  subjects.

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Simple Administration

• With a radically streamlined administration
  interface, teachers can quickly
• and easily create new classes, place children
  into teaching groups or
• communities for project work or simply re-set a
  lost password without the
• need to call for help. Moderation of work, email
  communication and
• setting up discussion forums is all so much
  easier. Starz Primary can be
• accessed from any modern web browser. No local
  installation is required in
• order to use the platform although in order to
  make the most of its
• advanced features we advise installing the latest
  versions of Flash and Java.
•  

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Collaboration

• A powerful new tool allows the swift and simple
  creation of Community Areas, be
• they for classes of children, cross school groups
  or specific projects. The leader of these
• communities will be able to customise the
  community to suit needs, adding or removing
• functionality with the simple tick of a box.
  Community Leaders can set up collaborative Wiki
• style pages for group contribution. Communities
  don't have to be restricted to your school
• allowing you to swiftly build working groups
  across the local authority.

Image available soon
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In the Future
We will continue to work with schools and the
developers of Starz to meet further national
targets. In the future an MIS Integration tool
will mean that within the platform it will be
possible to detect class groupings. Starz at
present meets the key BECTA targets for your
school of a 'Personal on-line Learning space' for
summer 2008 and will meet the 'Integration of
school systems' target by summer 2012. We will
investigate the possibility for parents to have
secure online access to parts of the Platform so
that they too are able to share in some of the
activities available online for their children
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