Juniors.net. Below you will find general information on the product, Evaluate’s interim product evaluation and a full classroom evaluation (where this has been completed). Click on the title bars to show or hide the interim and full evaluations.

Product: Juniors.net   Publisher: Netcradle Ltd www.juniors.net     Type: Website     Subject(s) supported: English   Science  Mathematics       Keystage(s) supported: keystage 2      Scheme(s) of work: No QCA Schemes of work available   Numeracy Number and the number system, Calculations, Solving problems, Measures shape and space, Handling data.     Technical specification(s) required: Mac  PC  Operating system:  Microsoft Windows 95  Processor speed: Intel P3 & P4 RAM: 128 Mb         Cost(s) Home use: £90 a year (occasional promotional offers), School, depending on number of KS2 pupils: £118-£875 a year     Other information: Each activity is voiced over to aid pupils with reading difficulties

The interim evaluation is an overview of the product based on the evaluator’s investigation of its capabilities outside the classroom environment. It provides information on the subject and scope of the product, its content and appearance, and the potential benefits it could offer teachers in the classroom.         Context: The product covers literacy, numeracy and science for mainstream key stage 2 pupils. This evaluation specifically focuses on the numeracy section, which is sub-divided by year group and terms. Activities can be used as a teaching tool using a projector, or for individual or paired work. Speakers or headphones are useful as text is spoken.     Technical information: The product needs Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or Netscape Navigator / Communicator 6.0 and Flash Player 6 to run. Flash Player 6 is downloadable free, although no details are given about its location. Each new page takes between ten and twenty seconds to load. In addition to a separate booklet, there is a printable list of troubleshooting questions and answers with an email address for further technical support.     Design & navigation: Colourful, cartoon-style animations should appeal to pupils. Characters explain mathematical concepts through voiced text and graphics. Navigation is simple with pulsating arrows that often need to be clicked on twice. A password-protected zone allows teachers to select activities from relevant year groups and terms. Pupils have a Stuff to Do area where pre-selected work from their teacher must be completed. Searching is easy for all to use and external links to key government sites all worked. Help is available online and in an accompanying booklet.     Content: There are three activity types: Explorer is a 15-minute lesson with interactive examples, Guided e-lessons last for 30 minutes and Quizzes assess understanding. Examples are aimed at middle to more able pupils with detailed explanations that can be used in one session or spread over several. Activities can be used alone or with printable activity sheets that follow up e-lessons. Teachers can select specific ability-related topics and corresponding activities, which go to a file for pupils to access and complete in their own time.       Curriculum coverage:   Numeracy is divided into five areas: Number Play, Work it Out, Solve it, Shape and Space and Data Play. Each activity has clear learning objectives from the NNS. I plan to use the product mainly for front of class teaching to support year 4 term 1 objectives of multiplication and fractions. Pupils will also complete assessed quizzes.       Learning outcomes:   A printable record for teachers analyses pupil performance, including the percentage of correct answers and details of wrong responses. Pupil tasks may be reviewed and adapted accordingly. Pupils may benefit from clearly explained examples and use skills that have been taught by the programme to solve mathematical problems.     Classroom management & preparation: Intuitive navigation and clear help sections mean no special ICT skills are needed for this product. Detailed explanations and advice accompany each section. Juniors.net is largely a teaching tool showing mathematical processes for problem solving, but it also facilitates assessment of individual pupils’ knowledge and understanding with detailed pupil records. Teachers can differentiate through graded levels of activity or assigning work from other year groups. Older Special Needs pupils can be helped with activities from lower year groups, but less able year 4 pupils may find activities too complex. Voiced text ensures inclusion for all.     Summary: Juniors.net is a versatile resource for pupils at key stage 2, covering most of the National Numeracy Strategy objectives in varied, informative and entertaining ways. The highly detailed step-by-step explanations seem very useful as a new way of introducing, giving further explanation and assessing knowledge and understanding of a topic. The flexible activities appear to lend themselves to whole class teaching, independent tasks or paired work. The interactive quizzes can be completed by pupils working alone and positive instant feedback should appeal those who thrive on praise and challenges. Printable achievement certificates with pupils’ names and scores may also help to boost confidence. Teachers should find this a helpful tool for creating personalised activity programmes for individual pupils as well as whole classes. The printable record system, with its clearly defined learning objectives, allows for monitoring and provides rapid and easily accessible assessment data.