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Please give me a comparison of five education applications adopted by schools in Australia, New Zealand or the UK focusing on: features, price, users, reviews.
Hi! Thanks for your request asking for a comparison of five education applications adopted by schools in Australia, New Zealand or the UK focusing on: features, price, users, reviews. I found Blackboard, G Suite for Education, Schoolstream, Mathspace, and Seesaw are used in schools in Australia. The information has been compiled in the attached spreadsheet. Please find below details on my methodology and a summary of my research.
I personally found your question interesting as in addition to Scratch and G Suite for Education, my children's school recently incorporated Seesaw and Class Dojo.
METHODOLOGY
I started my research by reviewing educational and technology trade publications, news and blogs. While you expressed interest in high school and universities, you might find this 2013 article interesting as it profiles educational apps being used by primary and elementary schools in Australia. I compiled a list of apps identified in my research as those being used by either a High School or University in Australia. The apps that received the most mentions were included in the spreadsheet. This method was used to focus on apps with the highest adoption. To answer 'how,' I approached it based on what the benefits are for the student, parent, or school.
I was able to find a lot of information on this subject. To keep the answer within the scope of a single Wonder request, I focused specifically on Australia. If you would like similar information for New Zealand or the UK, please submit additional Wonder requests. As requested, I have included 5 apps that have been used by high schools and Universities in Australia.
USE OF APPS IN EDUCATION
Technology is being used in both public and private primary, elementary, high schools and universities in Australia. Some schools use Google Classroom, G Suite for Education (formerly Google Apps for Education), apps, mobile or tablet computing. Some schools uncovered in my research include St. Leonard’s College, Ringwood North Primary School, and Redlands College. Abbotsleigh School for Girls in Sydney has elected to have their own Intranet to protect student data.
The Australian Ministry of Education and Training launched their own 'Learning Potential' app in 2015. While it is not geared towards schools, but parents, it is worthy of mention. Two weeks after the launch, it was already downloaded more than 63,000 times. "The app is customisable by age and features 142 articles and 11 videos on developing parent engagement with children’s learning, from childcare through to high school."
Apps are used frequently by Universities in Australia. They use either an in-house app or a combination of in-house and supplier apps. The University of South Australia developed their own in-house app. James Cook University has both an internal app (James Cook Uni Mobile) for campus life and Blackboard as the key teaching tool for subjects.
My research has uncovered some "app fatigue." If teachers have already implemented an app "they'll probably stick with it, even if another slightly better product comes along." One work-around is to listen to what educators and their students want to do and to design a tool to address that need.
BLACKBOARD
Blackboard offers apps for both K-12 and Universities. I found that their products are being used by a number of Universities in Australia including the University of Queensland, Charles Sturt University, University of Canberra, James Cook University, and RMIT in Melbourne. Blackboard has won numerous awards including Platinum for Learning Management and E-Learning, and Gold in E-Portfolios in Campus Technology's 2016 Readers' Choice Awards. They also placed #5 in Campus Technology's compilation of the Top Ten Favorite Technologies Currently Used. Blackboard also won Platinum in T.H.E. Journal 2016 Readers' Choice Awards. If you are interested, today (or tomorrow depending on your time zone) there is a webinar featuring Simon Welsh of Charles Sturt University talking about how they are using Blackboard. There is also a Chronicle of Higher Education report available for download from the Blackboard Website. Please note my research did uncover talk of a market share slide, declining revenue, acquisitions, and a potential sale.
G SUITE FOR EDUCATION
G Suite For Education (formerly called Google Apps for Education), is a suite of education-specific software and productivity tools for classroom collaboration. It is currently used by 30 million users worldwide and by many public and private schools in Australia. Affordable Chromebooks make it an easy choice for schools. G Suite for Education (listed as Google Apps for Education) placed #2 and Google Chromebooks #10 in Campus Technology's compilation of the Top Ten Favorite Technologies Currently Used. Chromebooks also won Gold in T.H.E. Journal 2016 Readers' Choice Awards for the Most Valuable in Schools.
SCHOOL STREAM
School Stream is an Australian school app provider that launched in Feb. 2014. In 3 months post-launch, the app was being tested in 30 schools across Australia. Their focus is on streamlining parent communication from public and private schools.
MATHSPACE
Mathspace is another Australian ed-tech startup. The web-based maths software launched in 2012 and has since expanded to both Hong Kong and the USA. The app has been shortlisted for many awards. It meets the demands of the NSW syllabus and Australian National Curriculum.
SEESAW
Seesaw is used internationally by students in K-12. The app works as a digital portfolio of student's work. It allows students, teachers and parents to monitor and track progress towards learning objectives.
SUMMARY
Australia is actively using and developing apps for education. Public and private high schools and universities regularly use apps to either deliver course content (Blackboard, Mathspace), provide information (Seesaw, School Stream), help students collaborate (Blackboard, G Suite) or improve parent communication (Seesaw, School Stream).
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