Espresso
Quote from Michael Gove commending Espresso on
"using technology in order to bring the existing curriculum alive to a new generation" BETT 2012
"using technology in order to bring the existing curriculum alive to a new generation" BETT 2012
Facts
- Started in 1997
- Mission statement: To transform education by encouraging the true integration of technology into classroom instruction through the use of powerful and compelling digital content.
- Over 10,000 schools use Espresso to help deliver a dynamic curriculum
- Espresso has now branched out into producing books using the Espresso characters
- It is split into Foundation and Key Stage 1 and 2
- The bright colours mean that it is visually appealing and engaging for all children
- There are specific sections for the SATs which give lesson ideas focussing on particular areas that the SATs will test on.
- WWW- suggests other websites that might be of use. It is categorised into the curriculum areas so it is easy to locate websites.
Pros:
- Covers all curriculum areas
- Covers all year groups
- Weekly updates of new resources tailored towards events happening that week, for example Chinese New Year or World Book Day.
- Applies a 'real world' context to much of the content making it relevant to children
- Can be use in two ways; teacher led or independent pupil activities
- Videos are engaging and exciting
- As a member of Espresso you can download the videos to your computer so that you have access to them even if the school does not.
Cons:
- This service does cost and the schools must subscribe to have access.
- Aside from the cost I can honestly not see any disadvantages to this programme.
Would I use this in the classroom?
During FPP I will use Espresso because the University has a subscription to it. A feature that I really like on Espresso is their News page. It has articles and videos (linked through the Independent newspaper) specifically aimed to the different Key Stages. I think it is really important that children are aware of the word around them and so will use the News feature each week.