Personalisation
Glow is carefully tailored to each user.
For example, each local authority can decide what their users can see - making sure people aren’t overloaded with information, or frustrated at not being able to get what they need.
Glow also includes a large number of role-based sites, offering very specific content to each group of users.
Teachers’ sites
When teachers access the Portal, they will be directed to their role-based site. Their site will contain news items directly relevant to them, as well as data from their school’s management information system. This will help reduce the time spent on routine administrative tasks, such as registration.
Through the virtual learning environment, teachers will be able to manage and control curriculum delivery to all the classes they teach. They will also be able to assign, assess, mark and return work to their pupils, as well as checking current performance against previous performance. Teachers can do all this through any internet-enabled computer.
By creating an interest group, teachers will be able to quickly and easily organise an online space. This space will contain the necessary communication tools for any group they teach, or for groups with members in different schools and geographical locations.
Pupils’ sites
Pupils will have access to their own pages - tailored to their age and needs. Their home pages will list work assigned to them by their teachers from within the virtual learning environment, and they will see a visual reminder of the current status of any incomplete task.
When they have completed a task it will be automatically returned to their teacher, with any accompanying message. Pupils will be able to read detailed marks and assessments of all their work.
Pupils will also be able to read news and documents targeted at them by the school or authority. They will be able to maintain a selection of their own useful links and participate in interest groups and learning spaces created by teachers for their use.
Parents’ sites
Parents (and carers) will be able to view information held about their own children, such as attendance and assessment results.
News targeted to them by the school, authority, or any interest group to which they belong will appear on their home pages.
Local authorities and schools
Each authority can have a site to serve its schools’ needs - with resources for authority and school staff, parents and pupils. An authority’s site can contain a sub-site for each school.
These authority sites can be created from scratch or from pre-defined templates. The administration of the site will be the responsibility of authority staff.
Interest groups and learning spaces
Interest groups are a place for any group of people who want to collaborate. That could mean secondary maths teachers within an authority or a group of staff and parents working with pupils with specific learning needs.
Learning spaces are specifically aimed at enabling collaboration amongst a group of pupils, where a teacher can publish content to be utilised by the pupils within the group.
A member of an interest group will administer the site and have responsibility for granting permissions to specific members of the entire Glow community so that they can take part in the site.