Here’s what’s been happening at Smata lately

Well, it’s been too long since anything was posted here. I really need to become more disciplined! So, in that spirit, I’m going to try an offer a monthly update of things that have been happening in the world of Smata. Here goes.

 

The App

There are a few things bubbling away here as we work towards an exciting collaboration. But, for now, here is what’s happened so far in ’22

 

In January we added the ability to share. Yes, a long time coming that one. I’ve always been wary of protecting the integrity of the data Smata makes available to inform the teaching and learning process. And that has not gelled well with sharing being a central feature. Plus, I’m just not keen on the social media-like approach to sharing some products take. Sharing had to be meaningful, I think we’ve made a good first step in that direction by making it happen via the medium of learning stories. We love it. The feedback has been great. Watch the video to see how easy it is. Give it a go yourself.

 

The portal now has filters. So what that means is you can drill into your learning analytics, all the way down to an individual student. We think this provides great insights to school leaders that can inform their strategic decision making.

 

We changed the pricing model. Yes, we did it again. The 30 day trial wasn’t working, but we need to offer a way for people to get a taste. So now, up to 2 teachers in a school can use Smata, the app, free and unlimited. Access to the portal only comes with a paid subscription.

 

Professional Learning Services

We kicked off work with two new schools this term, with a focus on assessment for learning. The Smata App is a key tool in supporting the teachers to make this leap.

A key theme that seems to be emerging is the power of learning partnerships, and the place of reflection in that process. It’s been great working with teachers to develop approaches that bring this into focus.

 

On Learning

This has been reoriented to focus on those who are paying subscribers. Free subscribers now get occasional full access, and glimpses of every post.

This change is to allow us to provide real depth to what is offered to our subscribers, and align this service more strongly with our Professional Learning Services.

 

General Updates

We have deleted our social media accounts. The protest at Parliament was the final straw.