Starting on 2 May 2013, the second update so far this year contains some long-anticipated features. Based on feedback from users and submissions in our idea portal, we're happy to introduce a brand new file uploading system and the possibility for copying courses with all its content and making course templates. The update also includes criteria-based assessment – also known as rubrics – in addition to many other changes and new features.

Thanks to an investment from EQT Expansion Capital II, itslearning now has money free to increase product development. The result should be an even better product with a better mobile interface. EQT Expansion Capital II, a privately-owned investment company, has agreed to invest approximately EUR 40 million in itslearning.

A new wave of teachers is invading Norwegian schools – and they're armed with computers running the itslearning learning platform. Teacher Andreas Larsstuen Nordeide is one of them. Nordeide attended the 2013 itslearning User Conference in April to gather as many itslearning tips and tricks as possible to share with his colleagues at Tranevågen lower secondary school.

Ellie overcame her shyness to address a school assembly, Thomas expanded his knowledge of HTML and Grace learned the intricacies of online etiquette. These 10 and 11 year-old students acquired these new skills at school – not in the traditional manner through textbooks and lectures, but through running the school blog. Today, students at Manor Primary School in the UK run the school blog, where they discuss in-class activities, topics they are covering at school and upcoming school events.

Need a reason to go to Australia this summer? Join me and a host of teaching experts at the VisibleLearningPlus conference in Brisbane in July. How can teachers put visible learning into practice?

Have you tried our new word quiz games yet? In February we launched two new and free educational apps that have received good feedback from teachers. The games, Hangman and Crossword puzzle, are available from the app library and are easily included in courses in itslearning.

Our free webinars have proved popular with teachers and educational professionals, regardless of whether they use itslearning or not. In this latest webinars, the effervescent Alastair Cameron shows how teachers can use itslearning to make assessment for learning achievable. Assessment for learning is widely recognised as an important way that teachers can help improve student performance and motivation.

Merethe Hollen won second prize in the Best use of itslearning awards 2012 for her flipped classroom approach to teaching. While many teachers use itslearning to flip the classroom, Merethe’s use of pages to create interactive learning tools stands her apart. Here, Merethe explains how she flips the classroom and why.

Lucy Witham won our Best use of itslearning awards 2012 for Genre Blocks, a fantastic idea that encourages students to explore for themselves, share their findings and view what they find on the internet with a critical eye. Lucy is Learning Coordinator and Head of Photography at the Guernsey Grammar & Sixth Form Centre and I spoke to her to find out more about her idea, and what she’s planning on doing with the prize. Helping students broaden their horizons When Lucy began with wh...

The IKT concept of the educational seminar in Aurich ranked among the top eight entries in the itslearning "Best use of itslearning 2012" competition. Congratulations! Here, we will present the concept used so successfully in the educational seminar.

1Just2Easy is dedicated to bringing creative tools to the classroom so students can create, share and learn in a safe environment. For the third year running, Just2Easy has made the BETT Awards shortlist – and four of their tools are available as apps inside itslearning with free trials. Just2Easy’s tools are designed to allow students to become creators.

At Reynoldsburg City Schools in Ohio, USA, school is never out because Reynoldsburg has itslearning, which teachers and students use to keep in touch over the summer. So when the dog days of summer set in, students have the option of doing schoolwork. Students in the school’s advanced placement classes use itslearning to submit book reports and keep in touch with their teachers.

I am pleased to advise that we have now resolved the recent telephony issues being experienced in the Birmingham office. However, we have had to change some of the contact details to facilitate this. Please make note of the new information For Support Enquiries please contact 0800 977 5714 or alternatively 0121 262 3500 For General Company Enquiries please contact 0121 262 3500

Congratulations to our first Bronze Aspire+ achiever, Ivana Stanley, Wootton Upper school, Bedfordshire! Representatives from itslearning were delighted to visit Wootton Upper school in Bedfordshire last week to meet Ivana Stanley, the first teacher to achieve Bronze Aspire+ accreditation status, after completing the first level of itslearning’s new Aspire+ training and accreditation programme. Adam Bates, managing director at itslearning, presented Ivana with a certificate, marking her achievem...

Connie White prefers not use the term '21st century skills', which generally refers to technological skills needed to succeed in tomorrow's workplace. Instead, Connie, the Technology & Learning Director ast Lakeview Academy in Gainesville, USA, prefers talking about the concrete skills that make up this umbrella term. She would rather talk about digital literacy, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and research skills.

Regrettably the UK offices have been experiencing difficulties with the telephone system and, due to circumstances beyond our control, have been left with a fluctuating grade of service. In the event you are unable to contact us on the 0121 289 3014 number, please use 07920 794 290. This will be answered by our support team in Birmingham and redirected accordingly.

We apologise that we are currently experiencing issues with the telephone system at our Birmingham office.  Our telecoms supplier is currently working to try to fix the problem. In the interim, if you need to contact our support team, please dial 0121 2893014 (Option 1).

Read our latest secondary case study detailing Hopwood Hall College's itslearning implementation. Case study.

itslearning is proud to present another webinar with leading ICT expert Carole Bennett. In this illuminating webinar, Bennett argues that UK curriculum is not keeping up advancements in technology. “It suggests introducing kids to the Internet when they´re 10, which is far too late,” says Carole, who leads all ICT services for schools in Hertfordshire, one of the biggest counties in the UK.

itslearning is delighted to announce that it has been selected by Wokingham Borough Council as one of three suppliers to proceed to the final stage in the first Information Management and Learning Systems (IMLS) framework tender for the supply of Learning Platforms, since the framework was announced by the DfE. The scheme, which launched in March of this year, is designed to provide schools, Local Authorities and groups that are launching academies, free schools or university technical colleges ...

Anthony Salcito grew up in a tough neighbourhood in New York City. A self-proclaimed geek, one day he discovered that technology had saved him from gangs, crime and drugs. Technology became a gateway to something better.

Leading learning platform provider, itslearning, has been appointed by the Government Procurement Service in partnership with the DFE, as an approved supplier for UK schools, through its Information Management and Learning Services (IMLS) Framework Agreement. Having successfully completed the vigorous evaluation process, itslearning demonstrated its capability to meet the Government Procurement Service’s requirements; presenting a genuine understanding of the specific needs of the education sect...

The Best use of itslearning awards 2011 received nearly 50 entries from across Europe. We’re pleased to announce the two winners, who will both receive an iMac and Canon LEGRIA HF G10 video camera for their school. There were some fantastic ideas, including innovative ways to use video to teach vocational subjects and a great way to motivate language learners.

itslearning was updated on 9 February 2012. This time we have focused on improvements that will make life easier for teachers. We have improved the calendar and assessment record, enhanced some of the content blocks, released a new version of the editor and much more.

One of our most experienced customers, Accrington Academy, have just been mentioned in the press for a project where students have been using itslearning to create their own computer games.  The project was led by Head of ICT, Lindsey Dedaniec,who commented that boys in particular were motivated to spend a great deal of time outside of school hours working on the learning platform to develop their games.  Lindsey said that “One of the challenges of teachers is to get homework out ...

Hi everyone Please accept our apologies for the email problems on Friday 18th Nov. Email was actually fixed that afternoon but it appears from this thread and some calls we received that some people are still struggling to access mail. If this is the case on your computer, it is because the website has been cached locally so you need to clear out your cookies and temporary internet files.

itslearning was updated on 17 November 2011. This time we've updated the look and feel, but we've got other news as well. In addition to the design refresh, learners and their supervisors can now access important information through the new person profile.

We have had many requests to offer affordable administration training for itslearning so we are pleased to anounce the start of a national rollout of regionally delivered training courses.  Further details and a course booking form are available at http://www.itslearning.co.uk/training-administration. These courses are being held in local schools with teachers invited to attend from a number of schools so that no one school has to bear the full cost of a training day.

itslearning was updated on 21 June 2011. This time we have improved the handling of multimedia files, and we're happy to introduce a brand new content block for notifying you about new and updated elements in your courses. In addition we have many more changes we hope you'll find interesting – from planner updates to export of data.

A clearly set out and structured course plan is important – not only for teachers and students, but also for parents. In itslearning, teachers can create a plan for each course that keeps all teaching materials associated with the subject in one place. This article gives you some useful tips and tricks on how to get the most out of the itslearning planner.

Many countries have education acts that say students have a right to participate. But how can teachers put this into practise? Kjersti Engelstad Stokke – administrative head of studies and economics teacher at Sandvika Upper Secondary School in Norway – lets her students actively participate when creating semester plans in itslearning.

YouTube is packed with funny and educational videos that you can embed in course pages to use in class. But finding them isn’t easy. Here are a few of the best that we’ve come across.

Imagine you're a teacher at a school with 700 students, your class numbers 100 students – and you only have two computers without internet connection. This is the situation Moliehi Sekese and her colleagues face daily. But they make the most of the resources they have, because they know that education is the key to a better future.

How can educational institutions do more with less money? And how can they use technology to better prepare their students in the 21st century? In a recent webinar, award-winning ICT evangelist, author & broadcaster Russell Prue showed how educational institutions can use technology to teach students the creative and problem-solving skills they need in the 21st century – without breaking the budget.

How can you combine sound and video with itslearning – and how can both teachers and students benefit from using multimedia? In his experience with sound and video, Alexander Aak Eide, a teacher at Skranevatnet School in Norway, has found that using technology not only enhances creativity and interest from a student perspective, but also saves him time. "In itslearning it's just as easy to insert sound and video as it is to write text.

BERGEN: Today, itslearning announced that it will acquire a 51% stake in educational technology provider Dactique. This cooperation will make itslearning the largest learning platform provider in the Netherlands, enabling the company to offer even better service and products to the Dutch educational sector. Norwegian-based educational ICT provider itslearning announced today that it will shortly acquire majority ownership of the Dutch company Dactique.

Are you interested in new tools to enhance your teaching? Award-winning author and teacher Russell Stannard presents three exciting online tools that can bring new life to your teaching. In a recent webinar, Russell talked about Todaysmeet, Vocaroo and Jing which are all free.

We are delighted to announce that itslearning have been awarded a place on the E2BN EU Framework in both Lot’s 1 and 3 for Learning Platforms and related services. We are especially pleased that we were ranked 1st out of the 12 providers awarded a place on Lot 1 (Learning Platforms) with the top scoring bid. This further cements itslearning’s place as the UK’s number 1 Learning Platform and justifies the decisions made by schools across the region to use itslearning.

We are launching a fun competition to help share good practice around the itslearning community.  To enter, all you need to do is to submit a short 1-3 minute video to showcase how you are using the VLE in the classroom.  More details are on the competition page and closing date for entries is June 10th 2011.

BERGEN: 71% of teachers feel that a secure internet ‘parent portal’, where parents could see details about their child's schooling, would improve school-to-parent communication, according to a survey of 5805 teachers released today by leading educational ICT provider itslearning. In the survey of teachers in France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US, 75% of teachers also rated parental engagement as either ‘important’ or ‘very important’ for the success of a child’s education. However, ...

A new version of itslearning has been released. In this version we've made it easier to change skins for individual users or groups, improved the attendance, assessment, behaviour systems and the planner and much more. Choose different skins for individual users or groups To make sure the itslearning experience is tailored to the individual user, administrators can now decide what skin different people use.

We have pleasure in inviting all customers and users of itslearning to our annual Client Forum being held in Northamptonshire this summer.  This year's event will be bigger and better than ever now that over 1000 UK schools now using itslearning.  A wide range of seminars and training sessions will be held and many of these will also appeal to schools who are not currently itslearning customers.  The general focus of the event will be on good practice and on using learning pl...

Eastfield Primary in Northampton have only been using it's learning for about 4 weeks and have already made great strides in getting children and teachers actively engaged with it.  The Northamptonshire BLT ("Better Learning using Technologies" group) interviewed Chris Hill from the school and the short 3 minute video is now available here. This is an inspiring story as teachers are often concerned about using a new technology in the classroom and the experience at Eastfield shows that it i...

Two new interfaces have been released to coincide with BETT to provide primary schools with exciting and engaging graphics for young learners.  'Animal Misfits' features colourful cartoon creatures on a vivid blue setting whereas 'Space' provides a dark and mysterious background to allow colourful content to jump off of the page at the learner! Both interfaces include our full VLE toolset which the teacher is able to fully customise to allow learners to have access to as much func...

Click here for our BETT Presentation Schedule. We are looking forward to an exciting BETT 2011 and will be hosting a series of excellent live demonstrations from teachers and practitioners on stand D50 in the main hall. All are welcome to come and see these sessions and to meet the it's learning team and our guest school presenters.  Our core theme this year will be showing it's learning's approach to teaching and learning focusing on the six stages of learning, Plan, Engage,...

Following hot on the heels of our recent announcement of the partnership we have entered into with Microsoft, we have already completed the first 45 school migrations from our old Netmedia/MySuite platform to it's learning with all mail and contacts moving across to Microsoft's Live@edu service. Live@edu is tightly coupled with it's learning, allowing not only single sign-on to the Microsoft service from the VLE but also access to a summary of recent and unread emails from Live@edu via the user’...

Potten Lower School from Sandy, Bedfordshire has been entered into the Guardian Classroom Innovation Award for their excellent and innovative use of it's learning in the classroom.   Kasia Worland, foundation stage teacher from the school commented, "Bedfordshire county council chose It's learning as our learning platform provider. Since discovering it a year ago I have found that staff, pupils, governors and parents are all able to work with it and access it with ease.

it’s learning announced that it had acquired a controlling share in InfoStance from French publishing giant Hachette Livre on 3 December 2010. The acquisition makes it’s learning the largest learning platform provider in France in terms of users, with more than 900,000 users across the country. Most educational institutions recognise that it’s learning is an excellent pedagogical tool.

On the 12th April 2010 Microsoft and it’s learning, an international learning platform provider, signed an MOU to jointly provide products and services that will transform teaching methods and advance next-generation learning. The agreement represents the first Education Partner Alliance where the Microsoft cloud computing services are adopted to develop a fully cloud based, integrated offering to the education sector.

it’s learning UK Ltd are delighted to announce that we have been selected as a supplier by the Northern Grid for Learning for their Learning Platform Framework.