The de Ferrers Academy - Frog Blog » vle

Our latest Frog web pages…

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:29:42 +0000

Since our last blog update, we have been setting up some new web pages.

Here is an overview of the new web pages and details of where you can find them on the VLE:

Creative Arts Website

The Creative Arts curriculum area website is now live and a link can be found in the subjects area.

The website is being updated with resources, news and photo galleries for Art, Drama and Music.

General Election 2010

We have also set up an Election 2010 mini-site. Thanks to Paul Evason from Haybridge High School & 6th Form for creating this resource and making it available via the Frog Exchange. (You can read their blog Here).

The website provides general information by linking directly to BBC web pages and also allows students to share their thoughts and views about the General Election.

We have adapted Paul’s version slightly to include our own Frog Box voting system. A link to the Election website can be found at the foot of the student homepage.

Revision Zone

Last, but not least, is our Revision Zone. This web page provides links to external websites that will help with revision, these are split into the following categories – KS3, GCSE, A Level, IBDP, General Advice Tips & Preparation and Revision Timetables.

There is a forum which can be used to share your own revision tips and links to revision websites with other students.

Frog Box Weekly Poll

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:55:20 +0000

You can now view this week’s poll on the Frog Box. To coincide with tomorrow’s Safer Internet Day, the Frog Box topic for this week is “How safe do you feel online?”. To cast your vote you will need to log on to the VLE and head to the Student Voice section where you can find the Frog Box.

Find out more about Safer Internet Day and the 2010 topic “Think B4 U post!” by visiting the website at http://www.saferinternet.org/web/guest/safer-internet-day.

Latest VLE Updates

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:12:46 +0000

We have recently posted about a couple of new VLE sections, but there is more..!

Design & Technology now have their curriculum area website up and running. The website has resources, a gallery and forums. You can access this website through the “Subjects” area on the main menu.

In a recent post we mentioned the new IAG Portal. If you enter the IAG Portal and go to the Careers/Connexions section, there is a survey about the Careers Exhibition which took place last week on the 6th January. Please take a minute or two to complete the survey and give us feedback about this event.

Finally, the latest Frog Box vote is active within the Student Voice area. The topic this week is about the recent weather in the UK… head on over and get voting!

More updates soon…

Young Designer – Vote Now

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:31:10 +0000

The Young Designer competition takes place every 10 weeks for all students in Year 8 and Year 9. At the end of each module, each Design and Technology teacher nominates someone in each class to be the Young Designer and that could be for any reason, it won’t necessarily be the piece of work with the highest level. When all the nominees are chosen, two from each year are selected and their work is shown to everyone else.

It’s up to the students to decide who deserves to be the Young Designer, so get voting. You can access the voting centre by going into the VLE and following the button under the “Subjects” section.

New IAG Portal

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:33:15 +0000

The IAG Portal is now “live”! IAG stands for “Information, Advice and Guidance”, on anything from work experience to careers, to personal health issues, bullying, exam stress etc… It’s far from complete yet but there are already lots of really useful features

In the “crystal slider” section at the top of the page is “Subjects”. If you click on this link, one of the buttons you’ll see is IAG PORTAL. From here you can access a menu of three different options:

WORK EXPERIENCE is where you will find important information about vacancies, as well as reminders, downloadable forms like CV’s, and other useful stuff. Keep checking this as Work Experience week approaches.

CAREERS / CONNEXIONS is where you’ll find lots of useful links, downloads and other information about careers, pathways and options for post 14, post 16 and post 18. Plus, you can now contact your Connexions PA’s directly by filling in the webform with your name, email address and tutor group, as well as your question. If you need some help from, or an interview with a Connexions PA, this is for you!

ONE STOP SHOP: This is not yet complete but we will be adding a wealth of useful telephone numbers and websites on all aspects of keeping yourself safe and well. Watch this space!

de Ferrers’ Frog VLE keeps on getting bigger…

frogadmin — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:36:55 +0000

This week in Frog we have grown even more:

- Several dozen students have signed up for jobs next term as radio station presenters, news crews, sports reporters, games designers and FrogAgents…well done!

- You can now enter the FrogBox..our interactive suggestion box & voting booth. You can find the FrogBox in the Student Voice section of the VLE. This week’s topical vote…who will win X-Factor? Vote now…

- Gifted & Talented now have their own mini-website for students to access resources and links.

- Science have added the Science Blog to their revision pages. Read it here: http://defscience.wordpress.com/. You can check out what the science staff & students have been looking at and recommending…

COMING NEXT WEEK…improvements and additions to the Student Voice section, including the Council Pages and IAG gets activated…!

International Climate Challenge

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:23:46 +0000

We have recently set up an International Climate Challenge area on the VLE. This is your chance to have your say about the future of the world – tell the government what you want to see in your area to reduce climate change.

You can find the International Climate Challenge form in your “Subjects” area of the main menu. Look for the orange hand and this will take you to the resources area and drop box. Simply download and complete the form and upload it.

Week 2 of Frog…Science goodies…first VLE competition

frogadmin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:46:04 +0000

It’s week 2 of our Frog VLE and web traffic is up 20% on last week…keep it up, all you Frog users!

The Science website is now live and packed with stuff, including GCSE revision resources (past papers & mark schemes, podcasts and the podquiz, BrainBlast notes and quizzes), weblinks & Science news, class notes and the Nutty Professors Science Club. Special thanks to Mr Griffiths for getting the website out in time for resit exams.

From Friday, you will be able to see the school daily notices and lunch menu on your Frog homepage. What else do you want to see?

Finally, our 1st Frog competition: RADIO DE FERRERS JINGLE…..

We want you to use your ICT skills to design some short jingles or music for our forthcoming radio station. A panel of staff & student judges will select the best one for a music-related prize.

The deadline will be 1st January 2010. Anyone in Y7 – Y13 can enter.

E-mail your entries to frogadmin@deferrers.com. Good luck and get jingling…

Sneak Preview

frogadmin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:29:38 +0000

For those that haven’t looked at Frog yet, here is a sneak look at your new student homepage:

New Student VLE homepage

F-day is almost here…

frogadmin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:58:31 +0000

The new de Ferrers Frog VLE is almost ready to launch…this will be our second VLE, after a very successful few years using Netmedia’s MG4L, making us one of the country’s most experienced VLE users. There is already considerable excitement building, with 200-300 people logging in everyday to check it out.

On 2/11/09 we officially make the move to Frog for all de Ferrers students and staff. Parents will be able to access Frog in January 2010.

So what have we been doing behind the scenes?
- Trying various tools out with the New Technology Development Leaders, our resident ICT experts
- Checking different login profiles
- Adding learning resources in many subjects and curriculum areas
- Starting to build mini-websites for some subjects, including the learning centre

What will we be doing over the next few weeks?
- Adding even more learning resources for students to use
- Advertising for student ‘Frog Agents’ to help develop the platform, build webpages and modferate forums
- Creating widgets that can be added to your Frog area

Got any questions or suggestions about our new VLE? Why not e-mail us at frog@deferrers.com, or send us a tweet (www.twitter.com/deferrers).