07/02/95 Integrated Learning Systems January 1995.

An Integrated Learning System (ILS) guides pupils to use appropriate learning units and gathers information about their learning activity. It provides the communication between curriculum and management software, and presents the data, to teacher and learner, in a coherent way.

An ILS allows pupils to work independently through courseware at their own pace. By helping them to see progress it promotes personal responsibility for learning. Teachers are able to spend more quality time with pupils.

The concept of ILS can be applied to skill development and reinforcement activities, or to more open-ended learning.

Typically an ILS comprises a delivery management system (DMS) and a range of curriculum software units (courseware). .

Acorn ILS systems comply with the UK national OILS (Open Integrated Learning Systems) standard to ensure that DMS and learning software can be developed widely to suit the UK curriculum. Currently available systems focus mainly on numeracy and literacy, with a much wider range of subjects and styles of OILS compliant software currently under development for launch in 1995.

Integrated learning systems have been in use in the USA and other countries for some time but have only recently been introduced to the UK. Trials conducted by the National Council for Educational Technology (NCET) have demonstrated both substantial learning gains and behavioural improvements. Trial schools are widening ILS usage in order to avoid giving pupils who were not part of the original trials a disadvantage and to spread the benefits to other areas of the curriculum.

• Pupils manage learning and work at own pace
• Feedback to teacher and pupil
• Technology exploited to give teachers more quality teaching time.

Open Integrated Learning Systems (OILS) - the UK standard
• OILS - open standard to ensure future development and choice
• Backed and managed by British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA)
• Development in conjunction with education, to serve education's needs.

Software houses developing OILS software include: - AVP Computing - Cumana - IOTA Software - Oak Solutions - RESOURCE - Soft-Teach Educational - Systems Integrated Research - TAG Developments - Tempest Publishing - Widgit Software. .

Systems Integrated Research (SIR) is a UK leader in ILS. Acorn is working with SIR to develop its delivery management system and Global learning software on RISC OS systems. SIR and Acorn are also developing the potential of the Acorn Pocket Book within the ILS concept. .

Global OILS Management System

The Global OILS Management System from Systems Integrated Research is a fully compliant RISC OS software package that provides the following functions: .

• Provision of planning, guidance and control over the access which pupils and teachers have to the computer-based learning material and software tools on the system
• Monitoring and recording pupil activity and progress, providing standard and custom reports on pupil/group performance and achievement
• Support for the teacher in managing the system learning resources, including the ability to modify existing material and to create new units.

Global OILS Management System key benefits:

• Menu access, with authority levels, to learning units and tools
• Provides pupil details of recent activity and progress to date
• Create and edit pupil workplans
• Allocate to individuals or groups with target start/finish dates
• View or print the progress and results of any pupil or group
• Monitor and control pupil access to all software
• Full RISC OS compliance
• Log on with user name and password
• Teacher can manage system learning resources and tools
• Standard and custom management reports.

Global English - Reading Development with Listening and Spelling Global English is a teaching supplement for National Curriculum English, developed in conjunction with leading educational consultants. The package uses multimedia technology to maximum effect in order to maintain pupil motivation and give clear guidance.

The built-in assessment and guidance in each section allows progress at a pace suitable to the individual. Global English is totally interactive and uses the 'learning through doing' approach.

The whole range of reading, spelling and listening skills is covered by eight sections, including:

Word Links

• Develops the ability to recognise instantly common word beginnings and endings (onset-rhyme)
• Gives confidence and knowledge to recognise unknown words containing the explored word beginnings and endings
• Over 1,000 common words are covered.

Spelling Bank

• Assesses and develops the pupil's spelling ability
• Improves spelling ability by showing effective ways of learning and remembering new spellings
• Uses over 500 words accompanied by example sentences
• Exercises involve spelling words in isolation and within example sentences Sentence Patterns
• Builds an understanding of the way in which sentences are formed
• Confidence is developed in the rapid reading of words, phrases and sentences
• Develops awareness of meaning and syntax, both semantic and grammatical, the pupil learning through a games approach, forming valid sentences from given words or phrases
• Support exercises in grammar correction, presented when the pupil shows difficulties in forming sentences with correct grammar
• Speed test, which allows the pupil to develop sentence reading speed.

World of Words

• Vocabulary builder
• Over 1,500 words
• Each word has one or more definitions, accompanied by speech and graphics, giving examples of use in different contexts.

Arts and Life

• Allows pupils to explore text with full speech, graphics and concept maps
• Understanding of material read is reinforced using sentence sequencing and concept map building exercises
• Material includes stories for all ages.

Read, Write and Remember

• Emphasises development of reading in phrase units and promotes awareness of speech patterns through the use of rhyme and alliteration
• Working memory is developed in pupils with reading difficulties
• 120 humorous rhymes covering the whole range of phonic patterns, supported by graphics, animation, speech and music.

Active Listening and Active Reading

• Develops listening skills and the ability to relate spoken text to illustrations and concept maps
• Assesses comprehension in a number of ways, including:

• picking out key points
• sequencing
• resourcing through both inference and prediction - 50 passages are presented for each, accompanied by graphics and speech.

Global Languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish)

The friendliest language learning support software for schools. For use on standalone or networked computers, giving a flexible support resource with testing, profiling and reporting.

The Global Language Series gives a highly interactive multimedia technology boost to language skills. Learning is carried out the natural way by listening, reading and speaking.

Each language package has five different learning exercises, using different themes at each of three levels, making learning interesting and fun.

Global languages, with multimedia sound, allow pupils to record and compare their own speech with real spoken French, German, Italian or Spanish. The contents apply up to GCSE level (age 16).

• Modular approach to support of language learning up to GCSE level
• Multimedia, with animation and sound
• Enhances language skills - developing grammar, vocabulary and comprehension
• Own voice bank playback facility ('parrot mode') to compare speech with native voices
• Highly interactive: the user takes part in real life situations
• Built-in teacher defined assessment and personal profiling to set target dates and track pupil progress.

For details of availability of:

• SIR OILS Management System
• Global English
• Global French
• Global German
• Global Spanish
• Global Italian
• INSET Training on ILS.

Please contact:

Systems Integrated Research East Mill
Fourth Floor
Bridgefoot
Belper
Derbyshire
DE56 1XQ

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