Best VLE

[AndyD]

Currently we are implementing Fronter as that is what our LEA signed up all the schools in our area. Can't say I am impressed with it at the moment

They used to provide generic and bespoke installs, the hardware is included in the cost and its between £20,000 and £25,000 I think that the bespoke solution is well woth the extra £5,000.

 

These are rough prices as per.

I was liking the look of Frog until I saw this Way out of our price league. Guess I'll have to stick with Fronter

[stratisphere]

Not sure if i've already mentioned this in this thread... but those looking for an open-source alternative other than moodle... there is always Dokeos. It's what we use and i've gotta say... i'm pretty impressed!

[soapyfish]

I do not think they sell just the vle I think i comes all in. It was handy for us as we were looking for a mail server as well.

[Edu-IT]

- Frog I saw at BETT when looking at VLEs with a mate, best at the show by a mile

Completely agree! Was very impressed with what I saw.

 

I see a few not so positive comments about Fronter in this thread. I had a quick demo of this and it didn't seem that bad to me. Can anyone elaborate on why it's good/bad? Can PM me if necessary.

[bluesquarething]

For a example on how Frog can be customized please take a look at our website which is built in Frog.

 

Frog - Learning Platform, VLE, Digital Environment

 

Ah, a page that generates 199 validation errors when I run it through the w3c validator. Just the sort of stuff we shoul dbe throwing onto the web then ;-)

 

Not a lot of alt-text either - images are unusable when I turn them off but I need to click them to get someplace :-( It does cope OK with an accessibility layout though.

 

OK, so it's a funky interface and it does look just what the kids would want. I'm also being picky - it rendered OK - but if it's that great a piece of software I'd really want it to do a bit better when it comes to using it for what is essentially a corporate website.

 

I'd love to use Frog in school mind. It's just too expensive for now though. I'm sure there have to be other stuff on the way that will morph the look. Hope so anyway.

[mleighton]

Is anyone running the Sims Learning Gateway 2 successfully?

 

We have a successful implementation of SLG2 running in a SharePoint portal for staff, students and parents.

 

You can see some detail on it at the kraal - SharePoint Design, Web Parts, and ICT in the Online Education Community - Blatchington Mill School

 

and also on the Microsoft Team blog site

[Jamo]

I have been using Fronter so far at my school, have to say the interface seems to be rather clumsy, not very easy to navigate either. Has anyone else experienced it? Moodle has been the best ive tried its simple and the interface is much easier to use and on a def plus its free

[stu9000]

You need good support from the company. I felt Fronter were not offering a customisable solution. Other potential vendors were clunky and unlikely to be (non ict) teacher friendly. Also having it hosted locally is another layer of reliability. The thing that decided me was Frog people are hands on and helpful. If youve got a problem they will work with you to sort it out. Any ict project like this is going to run into problems. do you want to just "write the ticket" and hope for the best or would you rather talk to a real person.

[Monkey_Maffia]

Me too ..

[stu9000]

reading a few comments about price it seems initially that frog looks slightly more expensive. but you get 2 major upgrades a year and a hell of a lot of technical support all in that price.

 

Other companies we looked at including Fronter and Sharepoint seemed initially cheaper but i had strong feeling i would end up losing that saving in paying for upgrades of bug fixes or content updates.

 

Im really getting to grips with frog now. its the most usable system ive ever tried to foist on teachers;) There is of course the initial investment of time, but you can add video, sound, images, rollovers and text very VERY easily.

 

Im hoping that for the first time ever non ict staff will be able to manage their own web and class tools without having to ask me or my team to set it up for them.

 

Basic web pages with video etc are as easy as youtube or facebook.

 

Im v pleased with the quick issue of classwork tool.

Sending out work to students who then upload the finished document or file is quick and easy. the most impressive part is that i can see at a glance what students have not handed the work in. ive been trying to do this for years with gcse coursework but ive never quite managed a useable system either using e mail or some network folder system. The time im gonna save just flicking through gcse coursework folders is worth a LOT. Then there is the thousands we spend on paper and ink.

[Steven_Cleaver]

We are looking at using FROG here I have previously used Learnwise, Uniservity, and Kaleidos and have not really been happy with any of theses. Frog on the other hand has really impressed me.

 

I was just wondering if anyone was using Frogs Secure Gateway and Parental Portal and how they have found these, as we are looking at a one stop solution for VLE, home access and communication with parents.

[gareth.davies]

Hi folks.

 

There have been a few comments on this thread that Frog is expensive, so I've put a quick blog post together to explain my thoughts, as it actually isn't, it's just that we quote a price that includes absolutely everything, so I've broken it down a little bit to help make some sense of it - Why is Frog so Expensive? Gareth Davies’ Blog

 

For clarity, the blog post refers to "Frog", it doesn't mention our "Secure Gateway" product, or our "Parental Engagement Portal" product.

 

I hope this helps and doesn't offend anyone!

[jpwright]

Completely agree! Was very impressed with what I saw.

 

I see a few not so positive comments about Fronter in this thread. I had a quick demo of this and it didn't seem that bad to me. Can anyone elaborate on why it's good/bad? Can PM me if necessary.

 

Fronter is working really well here at my secondary, but I am not a techie and not overly bothered about customising to any extent. It is being used solely to deliver content to the students and with that clear aim, its made it easy for staff to get on board as they know what they are doing and are enthusiastic for it.

 

I understand why people do not like it, but if you a want a easy to manage solution it works. Oh and its free for us, so that is the biggest plus.

 

If I was to buy, we'd look at frog. Looks good to me.

[dtester]

I was just wondering if anyone was using Frogs Secure Gateway and Parental Portal and how they have found these, as we are looking at a one stop solution for VLE, home access and communication with parents.

 

Hi Steve,

Being brutally honest I don't think you will go wrong with FROG for those elements at all. We are a FROG customer and we're extremely happy with the quality of the product. Personally I see investment into FROG as investing into a concept and vision rather than a generic package, as it will grow with the needs and demands of the school. Secure gateway is fantastic, we currently have up to 70 students logging on remotely from home to access curriculum software as well as staff accessing SIM's. It is simple and works extremely well. The parental portal product is starting to look amazing with full SIM's integration and will be reporting a wealth of information from SIM's back to parents in addition to bringing in some of the web2.0 social networking concepts too. Sure, people talk about FROG as being expensive - but calculate the total cost of ownership over 4/5 years and it is a very different story. If you want to look at what we are doing with FROG here at Costello Technology College. Take a look at my blog - Leaping into Action with FROG@Costello

[Steven_Cleaver]

Hi dtester

 

Quite agree with you about buying into a concept and the pertentual for growth and expansion of use across the school, thanks for the link I will take a look as I am trying to do as much research on FROG before we go for it.

[mavhc]

I saw Fronter and Frog, Frog's hardware was a disadvantage for us as we're on 4 sites.

 

Anyway, Notts chose Fronter so that's what we're using

 

Just noticed: view-source: frontersupport.co.uk

 

meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management"

 

I pronounce lulz

[stratisphere]

I saw Fronter and Frog, Frog's hardware was a disadvantage for us as we're on 4 sites.

 

Anyway, Notts chose Fronter so that's what we're using

 

Just noticed: view-source: frontersupport.co.uk

 

meta name="generator" content="Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management"

 

I pronounce lulz

 

You can also tell that from the way their URL's are generated: /index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=5

[vlegeek]

When the Becta Spec was initially published 100+ VLE providers registered their interest. I'm putting together a list of VLEs (whilst accepting that interpretations differ) outside the Becta Framework. If you know of any VLEs I would appreciate the info.

I have seen a couple of posts saying a list is being compiled. Would love to see it as it is.

 

Thanks all

[Michael_T]

add to your list Joomla LMS system

 

Btw, frontersupport.co.uk should use joomla LMS on their site:troll: to tech how to use Fronter LMS :)

[Brainchyld]

Surely someone can make something which looks as good as Facebook/Bebo or something, lots of widgets, bells and whistles.

 

Hmm, having used Frog for a while now sounds like u need Frog 3... Its so good. looks good, does the job and then some and is so easy to use i even showed my teenage daughter who loves it. Give them a call if ur still looking and let them demo Frog 3 to you. You wont look back...

[gaz350]

im starting to come around to the idea of Frog 3.0. but some people have some really god aweful frog 3 layouts, but then again same can be said about moodle!

 

Anyway got frog coming in in july to do a demo will update my pov after that no doubt!

see link for a sample of frog sites

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&as_q=&as_epq=Powered+by+Frog+3.0&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=10&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch=&as_qdr=all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images

[gareth.davies]

Lots more screenshots of school sites available at: http://www.frogtrade.com/designportfolio

 

Click on the Frog 3.0 tab to see some of the newer ones

[archisly]

FROG has to be the best VLE out there for me. All stakeholders can contribute, has AD and MIS integration. Support is brilliant. And we don't have to have a person constantly working on it all day everyday. Well worth the money and the optional extras are brilliant!

[T_Brown]

I'm finding it hard to decide. I'm going to Bett next year so hopefully that'll help me to decide!

[jamesh]

I work creating content for VLE's and personally find frog is the best. It may cost money to buy, but it will be supported properly. Moodle is what I us to test on, but I find allot of problems, as it is open source and free, you are basically on your own if it goes wrong. It is buggy and I have problems with files not opening properly. You are more likely to need a tech person to set it all up and support you, which can end up costing allot.

 

So it is down to if you are want to pay money up front, or having a technical person in school to fix it up.

Edited February 25, 2011 by jamesh