eLearning portal for state schools concludes first phase

After announcing the €8.6 million investment in an eLearning solution back in September 2011, the Malta IT Agency (MITA) has announced the conclusion of the first phase of installation of the hardware and internet in the first group of state schools.

MITA expects to have the system provided by Fronter operating in all state schools by June 2013 but teachers from the first 28 schools have already begun training and should be using the iLearning system within the next one to two months.

Head of Fronter and training manager Ingun Vaglid gave a tour of the online system as it will be seen by students and teachers.  “This solution will be like a virtual school building with online classrooms for teachers and students to interact with each other while providing parents the opportunity to keep an eye on students work and attendance.”

The iLearning system will be implemented in both primary and secondary state schools starting from as soon as kindergarten classes.

One online classroom for all subjects will be provided for primary schools while several classrooms will be provided to secondary schools according to the number of subjects in the curriculum.

“It will be an online version of what is already present in the physical schools. Teachers will be able to upload homework, examples, learning games, audio recordings and more according to the subject,” Vaglid said.

On the landing page, or the first page one encounters entering a username and password, several sections will be visible to the user. “For the students, latest messages will appear as well as virtual sticky notes from teachers or fellow students will be available. A discussion forum will also be available,” Vaglid said.

A weekly calendar will also be viewable with scheduled homework or exercises while giving students and opportunity to schedule their appointments, such as ‘play-dates’, around school work.

Teachers will be given the freedom to choose which homework can be submitted in class or online. “Corrections, grades and feedback can also be provided online by the teachers. And all previous units from varying subjects will remain available to students which will allow students to revise at the end of each unit, semester or even year,” Vaglid explained.

The portal is hoped to provide a safe environment to students for educational interaction with fellow students and teachers. “Chatting, messaging and emails will also available to contact teachers or fellow students about any problems they might be having or just to have a friendly interaction,” Vaglid said.

Students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia or even blindness will be able to use the portal with ease. “The whole system is being adapted according to web accessibility standards so blind users will have other methods to use the system,” Fronter’s Chief Technical Officer and programme director Kåre Laukli said.

Vaglid went on to say that dyslexic students and their teachers will also have the facility of the voice recorder on the portal. “It may actually be an advantage for these students because teachers can read and record the homework or certain phrases required.

Although not all families may have the luxury of having a computer or internet connection, some adjustments may be made, such as allowing students to use school libraries or IT centres set up by various local councils.

There are currently 6,000 schools using Fronter’s 12-year-old system with more than 6.5 million users logging in at any given time. “Schools will be able to bridge their content with other schools on the system both locally and abroad. So if a Maltese state school wants to develop a link with a school in London, this can be done through this system,” Vaglid said.