EduKite gives students at your school or kindergarten their own portfolio website, or ‘kite’. This simple idea brings simplicity, usability and fun to e-learning. Kites combine online communication, activity management and e-portfolios together in a simple and easy to use way. Kites offer students the opportunity to display notices, activities, projects, wiki threads, events, and most importantly, e-portfolio items. EduKite is a complete e-learning framework.

Kites are the basis of a learning and communication framework that will engage your entire school community, and this is where EduKite shines. All three participant groups (children, parents and educators) are able to become involved through the simplicity the system offers.

EduKite uses the same simple process to create a notice, build activities and portfolios, and even to administer the system. Previously difficult e-learning functions are now as simple as posting a notice – you need only follow the same process. The result is a system that allows teachers to use the entire application with little training, allowing more time to be spent educating. Teachers who have no previous experience with e-learning are soon hosting wikis, assessing work and managing e-portfolios online. All this is made possible through the advanced simplicity of the EduKite system design.

Kites empower teachers to deliver quality e-learning in a process that is simple and uncomplicated. Parents can visit their child's kite to see homework tasks, to check on the latest school news and to browse through the portfolio. Meanwhile, children respond to projects and collaborate via an activities-based wiki. EduKite is a fully functioning e-learning system that everyone can master and enjoy.

Edukite has an advanced e-portfolio process built into its DNA. The system encourages children to develop a history of their achievements, which they can look back upon. Children and parents can upload multimedia and artwork into their kites where they will be archived for safe keeping and reflection. Teachers can convert almost any content item into a portfolio item, allowing straightforward record keeping.

We are loving edukite this year. Our K-2 Dept put weekly spelling results

on and the kindys have uploaded photos and short movies -

very positive parent response and 100% usage in my class!

Amanda Drain - Loquat Valley Anglican School

Edukite has an advanced e-portfolio process built into its DNA. The system encourages children to develop a history of their achievements, which they can look back upon. Children and parents can upload multimedia and artwork into their kites where they will be archived for safe keeping and reflection. Teachers can convert almost any content item into a portfolio item, allowing straightforward record keeping.

The Kite Wiki

EduKite’s collaboration wiki makes it possible for students to share knowledge and solve problems as a group. Students can communicate with each other from within their own kite, and they can have a private dialog with their teacher, building and creating strong and trusting relationships between educators and learners.

Activity Management

The ease with which educators can review and assess student work with the EduKite system is supreme and unequaled. It is here that EduKite really shines. Using the unique task manager, educators can view each student’s entire activity in summary table, and roll from one student to the next, viewing their completed work.

Teachers simply create an activity topic and transmit it to an individual or group of students. Activities fall into two categories: homework and project. Homework items keep students and parents informed of day-to-day tasks. Projects have more advanced assessment and feedback features, which enable teachers to easily review student work.

Special Tasks

Every child is different, and that is why activities should not be the same for everyone. EduKite allows teachers to modify an activity for any student. For example, when an activity is created for a specific class, teachers may wish to modify that task for certain students. EduKite is great if for working with special needs or gifted students.

Reflections

Encouraging words and advice are always appreciated, regardless of the students’ abilities – EduKite makes providing this feedback easy. Creating a reflection notice is a breeze. Here is how: create a notice, select a topic (such as maths), then launch the notice to the student or group. As each reflection notice relates to a specific learning area, it only appears when the student or parent is looking at subject-specific items.

I must say that I am really impressed with the updated version of Edukite.

I say this as someone who works at the school as well as a parent of a boy at the school.

Thank you for your ongoing support of what we try to provide to our families.

Rosalie Reeves - Deputy Principal - Canberra Grammar School, ACT

No Previous IT Knowledge Necessary

EduKite makes traditional administration stresses a thing of the past. Unlike other systems on the market, EduKite uses the same simple process to manage its database as it does to transmit content. Users can add students and parents to the system, create groups and control and manage content without any training, making EduKite ideal for schools that do not have dedicated IT support staff. EduKite can be administered by teachers, librarians or office staff – it is up to you.

Kites on a Cloud

Cloud computing refers to applications which are located on the Internet rather than on a server in your school. (The term cloud loosely means the Internet). Cloud-based applications are becoming increasingly popular as people look to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. Cloud computing means maintaining hardware and software is no longer your responsibility – it is managed for you. If you have access to the cloud, you are ready to fly.

Looking After Parents

EduKite works hard to keep parents informed of day-to-day activities. When a teacher posts a notice to a child’s kite, EduKite will send an email to that student’s parents, informing them that something new is available for viewing. Parents can edit their own login and contact details, and can even make contact with other parents. For example, those parents who have children involved in soccer can use EduKite to make contact with other soccer parents.

Staff Notice Board

Staff have their own portal page on which they can post notices to each other. And, as with every transmission in EduKite, educators can determine who views their notice, whether it is the entire staff group or just one colleague. Kite News can virtually replace the staffroom notice board as every staff member logging into the EduKite system sees it.

Your Gateway to the Internet

EduKite is the gateway for schools looking to use the latest applications and services on the web. Therefore, EduKite is also ideally placed to control and direct the access to specific resources on the Internet. EduKite has developed a link manager that allows any teacher to control this process. Staff can create web courses using other applications as required. EduKite is the ideal way for administrators to channel members into chat rooms, blogging sites and wiki environments.

Content Management - With a New Kind of Usability

Content management is the process of posting and managing digital content onto the portal. EduKite is a powerful content management system in its own right, with the ability to replace most email and paper-based communication. This includes text documents, audio and video files, and so on. The EduKite approach to managing content is straightforward, fast and effective.

Notices That Go Everywhere

An EduKite notice is a very powerful content package. EduKite notices contain, amongst other things, a built-in slide show and the ability to display multimedia objects such as Vokis and YouTube videos. The best thing about EduKite notices is that they can be launched to any section in the kites. Notices can also be placed in any column of the homepage and can be used as reflections associated with a learning area. Like any content item in EduKite, the user retains complete control over the viewing audience of the notice.

Transmissions Quick as a Kite

Transmission is the process of sending content to, and communicating with, selected kites. To do this the user simply selects an ‘audience’ from the assembly panel and then moves the transmission group across to the audience panel. Everyone in the audience will then receive the transmission. It really is as simple as that.

Your Launching Pad to the Internet

EduKite is a launching pad to the Internet – teachers can direct students to appropriate learning websites from EduKite or can simply include the learning object into the kites of the students’.