The second in our series of peer-to-peer reviews of apps being used by schools
Here at E-safety Support, we are regularly contacted by our members who want to know a little more about a new app they are investigating for their school.
Following our first review of ClassDojo, we received a number of comments from fellow teachers, which allowed others to make more informed decisions about whether to use it in their schools. Thank you all for your input.
As our series on educational apps grows, our intention at E-safety Support is to provide a useful arena for teachers to share their comments, allowing others to evaluate the feedback and help them decide if the app is for them.
We continue our series with GoBubble
The age limit on using sites like Facebook may be 13 but that does not stop four out of five primary school kids admitting to using social media at least once a day. Determined to give parents and teachers the tools to deal with this growing trend, former police sergeant and e-safety guru, Henry Platten took matters into his own hands, developing a safe social media platform that young children can use.
GoBubble from eCadets is designed to put an end to unwanted friend requests, dubious content and the potential for cyber-bullying. It allows children to take advantage of the best bits of social media without any of the negative aspects. With GoBubble children can chat online with school friends, share jokes, pictures or videos and learn about different cultures by making new friends of the same age from around the world.
“We need to accept that our kids love social media and will use it no matter what the age limit is, so my view is, don’t ban them, just provide them with a safe alternative that has all of the up sides but none of the down sides,” says Henry Platten founder of the multi-award winning eCadets. “GoBubble is that safe alternative.”
What are your thoughts on GoBubble?
If you are using GoBubble in your school, or have had experience of the app and would like to share your thoughts to help other E-safety Support members, please use the comments section below, or email tina@e-safetysupport.com.
Are there apps you would like to discuss?
If you would like to ask about other apps that interest you, please let us know by emailing tina@e-safetysupport.com.
ClassDojo is a US based app which "connects teachers with students and parents to build amazing classroom communities"
With the fallout from cyber-bullying and sexting regularly hitting the front pages - unfortunately in most cases when the ultimate price has already been paid – you would have thought it would be easy to engage parents/careers when it comes to trying to combat the issue. However, this is not always the case, and with Ofsted now recommending that parents attend regular e-safety sessions schools are under increasing pressure. 