As the Owner Teacher you are responsible for coordinating your project, developing appropriate content and supporting your participants.
Updating your Travel Buddy site
Updating your Travel Buddy site is your first job. When participants join your Travel Buddy they would expect to read about its personality and missions.
At the Travel Buddy homepage find the "Manage your Travel Buddy" box and select your Travel Buddy from the drop down list. Click on login and enter your password. This will allow you to update your content and manage your participants. To edit Your Travel Buddy details complete the travel buddy information and click on "update details" at the top of the page.
Updating your Travel Buddy details
To begin - you will need to edit your Buddies details and add a mugshot (photo) of your Travel Buddy.
- Select your Travel Buddy from the 'Manage your Travel Buddy' box on the home page and login to the site control area.
- Select 'Edit Buddy details' from the left menu and update his/her details to add character.
- Select 'Photo control' at the top of this page.
- Click on 'Add image' and browse on your network or local drive for a suitbale jpeg image.
- When found click upload file. This may take a few seconds.
Information about your travel buddy can be added and edited as your project unfolds For example, Your travel buddy might like to ask questions.
Updating your Travel Buddy gallery
Photos and media are an important part of a Travel Buddies experiences. Adding media to your gallery helps participants to engage with their buddy and feel a part of their adventure.
- Login to the site control area (see point 1 above).
- Select 'Manage Buddy Gallery' from the left menu.
- You can add images, sounds or video clips.
Please be mindful of participating school's bandwidths. If bandwidth is small, then keep media files small too. Include the file size to inform your participants so they don't waste time trying to view a file that is too large for their bandwidth. Always optimise your photos.
Missions
Your Travel Buddy is a valued representative of your class and is sent somewhere to assist your class to gather data or solve a problem or investigation.
The mission planning is always curriculum focused. This allows your Travel Buddy to have an adventure. Go to the 'Mission Control' area and complete the details to add a new mission. Don't forget to click the add details button at the top when finished.
You can edit the information by clicking on the update details button. You must create a Mission before your Adventure. Missions can be used in many Adventures.
Adventures
Next go to Adventure Control.
The Owner Teacher will need to write a short paragraph describing where their Travel Buddy is going to collect the information. Click the 'Add details' button at the top when finished.
Adventure Travel Plans
As your Travel Buddy's' adventure unfolds you need to provide an itinerary of events. This will allow all participants in the adventure to be informed and motivated to visit your site regularly. It also ensures Partner Teachers know when the Buddy will be arriving and when they need to post it onto the next school.
Teacher Notes
As this is a curriculum focused pedagogy the teachers should have clear understandings of the planning and targeted learning outcomes or rich tasks. This area allows communication between teachers and feedback from your partner school or person. It is particularly valuable when considering how to link assessment of students' progress into this project.
Partner Details
Every mission and adventure will require partners for your Travel Buddy to visit. You will need to ensure their details are correct. When complete click the update details button at the top.
Partner Approval
Before another school or person can join your adventures you must approve and add them to your project. If a problem arises with a partner you can remove them from your project.
Usernames and Passwords
In this section you control the creation of student lists and teacher access. The blue change button allows you to add student names.
You will be asked to provide a password for the students to access your site. A participating school may require more than one student password.
Try to encourage schools to keep their student passwords to a minimum to save you work. Students could work in groups or even use the same password as long as they identify themselves when they make a diary entry. eg This is Sam and....
Never give your Owner Teacher password to any students. They should have their own password as they have different rights to you.
Diary Control
When your Travel Buddy is sent on a mission, it is provided with an online diary. Schools can add the date, text and digital photos. The diary contains information that your Travel Buddy has been asked to collect.
Your students can add information or an image or edit an entry through the front end. Only you have access to the site control area. Students will need to use their password to add information to the diary. The Owner Teacher and Partner Teachers can delete diary entries.
As the Owner Teacher, it is your responsibility to regulary check diary entries and delete anything that isn't appropriate. If you do delete inappropriate content, please contact the Partner Teacher and inform them of the content.
E-mail Tool
Keep in touch with your partners regularly. This facility will record when the email is sent. A successful project always has good communication.
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