CASE STUDY 1
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Birmingham
Keith Phipps MBE explains the innovative nature of our 15,000+ resources, their impact upon learning and cost-effectiveness:
"For all the posturing in the market place from platform and content suppliers, there are very few products that work in conjunction with one another. Birchfield's content and games work on our learning platform because the subject courses provided are SCORM compliant.
The professionally prepared animations, film and spoken text have proved very popular with our "YouTube" generation of pupils, compared to the static content generated by our teachers. The media rich delivery supports a range of learning styles, especially visual and auditory. Crucially, the focus of control has passed to pupils who can work at their own pace. Our brightest pupils have accelerated their learning, accessing new topics via the software. Other students who have found a particular topic a challenge have used Birchfield's content and games to review prior learning.
Assessment has been a major plus. Pupils have received immediate feedback during activities, whilst staff have tracked individual progress, including the time spent on a course and assessment results. Embedded into our VLE, Birchfield's software has enabled us to truly personalise learning. Our pupils have enjoyed access to the content and games 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Their learning quite simply is no longer confined to a particular building, single location or moment.
Teachers often complain that there is never enough time to cover the content of the syllabus, especially at GCSE level. However, this year, thanks to the depth of topic coverage provided by the software, I've had more time in lessons to innovate and broaden the curriculum. Absent pupils have even logged in from home to catch up on missed course work and assignments.
The biggest cost benefit for us has been in teacher time. The fact that the content has been prepared by practising, commissioned teachers, but illustrated by professional animators and film makers, has resulted in a product that's far and away superior to anything most of my teaching staff could have produced. Teachers simply haven't the time, even if they possess the necessary multimedia skills, to produce such high-quality content. Birchfield's whole school solution has saved us time and money. In return for our investment, we have got major coverage of the 11-18 curriculum for 15 subjects � good value for money!
In the past, our curriculum-based learning was dependent upon teaching, followed by teacher assessment. Birchfield's content and games for VLEs has facilitated independent learning with immediate assessment to inform future learning. This was always the promise of the "technological revolution". It has finally become a reality."
CASE STUDY 2
Pembrokeshire County Council
Mike Isted, Education Portal Manager for Pembrokeshire County Council, describes the appeal of our Content Packs and how the county's secondary schools have benefited from the purchase:
"Critical factors in our decision to purchase Birchfield's resources were their breadth of coverage, attractive and relevant use of animation and media, accuracy of content and ease of use.
The breadth of resources enabled us to support the broadest number of staff and students with engaging materials, maximising the impact of the purchase. They are used to underpin training programmes at department level and with our "gold standard" Education Pedagogical ICT Licence qualification for the use of technology in teaching and learning.
Each page in a learning sequence contains animation, a video clip or relevant image. The inclusion of a voice-over further enhances the appeal of the materials to students with different learning styles or additional learning needs. The pace of the material is good, with just one or two sentences on each page.
We have found the content and games to be accurate and relevant.
Working closely with Birchfield, we have been able to deploy the resources for whole class whiteboard use and for independent study by students via a learning platform. This demonstrates the innovative approach of the resources and quality of the partnership with Birchfield, and has allowed us to derive maximum value for money."
CASE STUDY 3
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
The South Yorkshire Times describes how pupils throughout Rotherham Metropolitan Borough are utilising our Content Packs on their local authority's learning platform:
Dearne pupils will be using the internet for schoolwork next term when learning services go online.
Youngsters at Wath Comprehensive and St Pius schools are among the first in the area to take part in a new interactive website which will give access to thousands of curriculum subjects.
Rotherham Council has teamed up with educational software specialist Birchfield Interactive to become one of the first authorities in the country to offer the service.
Learning Portal Development Manager at Rotherham MBC, Tom Ormerod, said, "The portal will enable pupils to upload files both at home and school, and to have access to a huge range of educational videos and interactive content. Using Birchfield's expertise, we can maximize the impact of online learning and bring real benefits to both teachers and students."
Covering 15 subjects, the resources have been designed by teachers and professionally animated to offer students a visual, colourful and multimedia learning experience.
Teachers can personalise learning for their students and cater for all their different learning styles. Specific resources can now be allocated to specific students, individual progress can be tracked and staff within each school can benefit from a common set of resources.
The system will be open to schools from Key Stage 2 and above, and the authority plans to introduce the scheme to more than 40,000 pupils in the borough in 2008-09.
"The way the software is designed means that it can be accessed from anywhere and at any time via the internet, and pupil progress is easily recorded. This makes it a positive experience for pupils, who can proceed at their own pace. Independent learning is also encouraged as pupils can follow their own programme of study and be rewarded with relevant learning games."
JONATHAN BOYLE
The Guardian
"Birchfield's content and games, delivered seamlessly through RM's online Kaleidos vle, has wowed teachers and students. Birchfield's content is a valuable and engaging tool in our virtual learning environment, being used both for whole class teaching and independent learning."
DR JOHN MILEHAM
Farmor's School
"...one of the first educational publishers in the UK to launch resources that comply with SCORM, the specification governing e-learning."
TONY WINFIELD
The Guardian
