|
|
|
|
HOME FAQ overview HOW IT WORKS BOOKING & FEES TERM DATES DOWNLOADS CONTACT US
FAMILIES SAY ... ASSESS A SCHOOL STUDENTS HOW WE TEACH SOFTWARE? CLASSES/ CURRICULUM TIMETABLE TEACHERS PERSONAL SUPPORT EXAMS HOME EDUCATION USEFUL LINKS DOWNLOADS CONTACT US |
First College: SoftwareOur policy on software is to keep it SIMPLE! There are two reasons.1) A lot of families are not techies and they don't want to run a computer department at home. Nor do we think a child or young person should have to learn big new software just as they are starting a new kind of education 2) The more complicated it all is, the more likely it is to be unreliable. It's fun to do whizzy things but no fun at all if a lesson collapses because the whizz has gone bang! We might be a little boring with our approach but we can say confidently that our lessons HAPPEN, at the times they are supposed to - and the lessons run for the time needed. We also have backup software so if as occasionally happens (2 - 3 times a year) our classrooms do go down, we have another set handy. It takes less than 10 minutes for everyone to transfer. Now using lower level software does mean we're not constantly entertaining our students with films and games. Education is fun but it isn't entertainment. Students need to learn to LEARN, not just watch videos and presentations. So we could say our policy on software is 3) People not gadgets. With good, skilful teachers we have lively talks and discussions, illustrated with pictures and livened by visiting websites (with guidance). We can use Private Chats in all kinds of ingenious ways to add touches of games and quizzes to lessons. But the centre of it all is caring adults who treat the students as individuals and do all we can to understand their point of view. That's worth a thousand gadgets any day. What you need* A connection to the internet, preferably broadband. Dial up works but your student will sometimes find it frustrating handling pictures, which will make it harder to keep up with a lesson.* A browser. We recommend Firefox but Internet Explorer handles the software, it's just less secure. * Email. If your student has not got their own account we recommend gmail. Please ask if you need help. PLUS * A private instant messenger is provided to you when you start. That is for contacting teachers and other students outside and inside school. * Atlantis Word Processor. All students are required to use the same word processor program. Otherwise we have endless problems with someone unable to open someone else's files. Atlantis is an excellent program, tried and tested. It creates MSWord type documents so to the student is using a standard kind of software. It's free for 30 days (which covers your first "trial" month) then it costs $35. That is the only "school extra" apart from books at exam level. * Providing your computer is no more than 5 -6 years old, with Windows, it should run everything you need. It can be possible to run it all on a Mac with conversion software but we don't recommend it. Occasionally on an older computer you might need to download Flash Macromedia - but if your child plays games you already have it. If not it's free and takes 2 minutes to get. For the more techie minded your best bet is 2.6Mhz.  |
|