Embley Sparkjar Report 2020-21 Terms 1-5 (02 07 21 LD)

SPARKJAR REPORT
Friday, 2 July 2021
Embley
USAGE
Period covered:
Number of teacher using Sparkjar at the school:
Usage data:
Messages sent
Assignments set
Pieces of student work marked
Resources shared
Pieces of pen feedback
Pieces of text feedback
Piece of voice feedback
Total
Value of time saved at £22.47 per teacher hour
2020/21 - Terms 1 to 5 inclusive
54
Volume of activity over period Estimated hours saved
Total Average per teacher Total Average per teacher
38,970 722
108
2
17,529 325
438
8
142,946 2,647
2978
55
49,462 916
343
6
158,725
57,797
11,069
476,498
2,939
1,070
205
8,824
3,868
£86,914
72
TEACHER SURVEY
Responses count: 17
How likely would you be to recommend Sparkjar to a friend or colleague? (out of 10)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 6% 24% 12% 59%
0%
0%
29%
71%
Average:
9.2
Net Promoter score:
71
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the
following statements:
Sparkjar helps me get the best out of iPad for teaching
Sparkjar helps me mark work more quickly
Sparkjar helps me give good quality feedback to students
Sparkjar helps me stay organised
Sparkjar helps reduce my admin
Sparkjar is easy to use
Sparkjar saves me time
Sparkjar helps reduce my stress levels
Sparkjar helps students organise their learning
Sparkjar helps students meet deadlines
Sparkjar is a safe digital environment for students
Sparkjar helps students learn
Sparkjar is reliable
Sparkjar has helped our school maintain continuity of
high quality education during the Covid-19 pandemic
including during lockdowns
Sparkjar is an excellent platform for remote teaching and
learning
Strongly
disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Neutral
(3)
Agree
(4)
Strongly
Agree
(5)
Average
(out of 5)
0% 0% 6% 47% 47% 4.4
0% 12% 6% 12% 71% 4.4
0% 0% 18% 18% 65% 4.5
0% 0% 0% 41% 59% 4.6
0% 6% 6% 47% 41% 4.2
0% 0% 0% 29% 71% 4.7
0% 6% 12% 29% 53% 4.3
0% 0% 29% 35% 35% 4.1
0% 12% 18% 35% 35% 3.9
0% 18% 18% 35% 29% 3.8
0% 0% 6% 29% 65% 4.6
0% 0% 12% 53% 35% 4.2
0% 0% 24% 35% 41% 4.2
0% 0% 0% 12% 88% 4.9
0% 0% 0% 18% 82% 4.8

Are the following faster in Sparkjar rather than the fastest
N/A (e.g. I don't do
Yes No
alternative (e.g. paper, email or another app)?
this in Sparkjar)
Average time saved
Setting and managing an assignment for a whole class 88% 0%
12%
13 minutes
Marking a piece of student work
71% 18%
12%
5 minutes
Sharing a resource with a whole class
88% 0%
12% 7 minutes
Writing a group message to a whole class 82% 6%
12% 26 seconds
Roughly how much time overall do you think Sparkjar
saves you each week on average? (hours)
1.5
Do you prefer Sparkjar to the other workflow apps you've
used?
93%
Role of respondents
Classroom teacher Middle leader
Senior leader SEN / EAL support
TA
47% 47% 0% 7% 0%
Other
0%
Teaching experience of respondents
Trainee NQT year 2 - 5 years
6 - 10
years
11 - 15
years
16 - 20
years
21 - 25
years
26+ years N/A
0% 0% 0% 13% 20% 27% 20% 20% 0%
Other
0%
STUDENT SURVEY
Responses count: 88
How likely would you be to recommend Sparkjar to a friend or colleague? (out of 10)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0% 2% 1% 0% 2% 14% 7% 16% 23% 16% 17%
6% 21% 40% 34%
Average: 7.5
Net Promoter score:
7
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the
following statements:
Sparkjar helps me learn
Sparkjar helps me stay organised with my work
Sparkjar helps me meet deadlines (e.g. for homework)
Sparkjar is easy to use
Sparkjar saves me time
Sparkjar feels like a safe digital environment
Sparkjar is reliable
Sparkjar has helped me to continue learning during the
Covid-19 pandemic, including during lockdowns
Sparkjar is excellent for remote learning
Strongly
disagree
(1)
Disagree
(2)
Neutral
(3)
Agree
(4)
Strongly
Agree
(5)
Average
(out of 5)
1% 2% 28% 38% 31% 3.9
0% 6% 16% 34% 44% 4.2
2% 11% 16% 38% 33% 3.9
1% 2% 24% 26% 46% 4.1
3% 7% 29% 33% 28% 3.7
0% 5% 23% 39% 33% 4.0
8% 15% 43% 18% 16% 3.2
2% 3% 10% 23% 61% 4.4
1% 2% 14% 23% 60% 4.4
Do you prefer Sparkjar to the other workflow apps you've
used?
86%

TEACHER SURVEY COMMENTS
Simple use, easy to share work and mark work with both student and staff.
Quick and easy methods to provide feedback to the pupils. Multiple submissions of work allows for
feedback to be considered and work improved as a result.
Being able to share links and resources on assignment and collating in Topics for future reference.
Its like whats app so easy to use
The instant feedback we can give the students.
It is very easy to use
Everything! The markbook, assignments are recorded and not having to carry exercise books for
marking
The ability to set work without photocopying.
marksheets, ease of marking
Easy to use
What do you like most about Sparkjar?
Ease for homework and sharing resources with class with less paper being used. Children can call
things easily on it too.
Topics
sharing assignments to a group
Being able to see students work, work set and the ability to set work easily on it.
being able to send messages on chat and set assignments
Alex Barbor
Asa
Leathem
Helen Smart
Claire Troke
Steve
Bowyer
Laura
Bream
Lisa miller
Being able to easily annotate and mark work (students and teachers), swiftly set and/or schedule
work including for those absent or working remotely both in advance or on the spot, being able to
choose and use different functions (write, type or record) to suit the situation/group/individuals'
needs), being able to duplicate previous assignments to speed up the process if you have multiple
classes for one subject or just need to tweak a lesson from the term/year before.
The ability to set work electronically and mark it online, so I don't have to carry piles of books home
with me!
If you could request *ONE* new feature or change in Sparkjar, what would it be?
If tutors/boarding staff could have the ability to see all assignments students in their tutor group
have been set. So they can monitor incomplete homework across all subjects.
To be able to mute/hide groups that I have been assigned that I don't necessarily teach. As a PE
teacher, we are all assigned to all of the groups even if we don't teach them. This means I receive
all notifications and chats form those groups.
I would also like an option for pupils to add voice notes to feedback. So not an all-out new work
submission, but perhaps some very short notes to confirm they understand feedback you have
given. Currently they can only do this in the chat, but then the message is not directly linked to the
piece of work, which could be handy if they come back to it in the future.
Manually being able to delete items from previous years assignments.
Stickers
That the class chat returns to entire class each time after you have used it to message one pupil. I
have sometimes sent a whole class message to just one pupil because I didn’t check first
None that I can think of
Alex Barbor
Asa
Leathem
Helen Smart
Claire Troke

It seems relatively easy for students to become overwhelmed with the amount of tasks they have
outstanding and to give up entirely; in that way, it is not easier but more difficult to keep up with
students who are reticent to hand in work, especially as they always have a technical excuse (the
WiFi/ the Sparkjar app wasn’t working or my iPad is out of charge). Don’t know what the solution is,
though!
For it to be available on android/laptops - thanks for adding new functions esp the pdfs upload
recently!
Easier to export marked work out of sparkjar
The ability to put ideas and photos or clips on the subjects for students to access all the time.
that I could write on a document in topics without writing over their answers.
To be able to see a dashboard with attendance etc. on. Plus having a students classes under their
name, not to go to each department separately.
I would like to be able to see all of a student's subjects in one place under their name, so that I didn't
have to go into each individual subject to see how they are performing or what work they need to
catch up on.
To be able to search for and access a pupil's Sparkjar to see their assignments through your own
'teacher account' on your iPad as and when you need to; would be able to quickly see what and
how much is or isn't overdue and intervene before this becomes too much, see the exact
instructions/deadlines so we can help accordingly (including during supervised prep and any
pastoral or non teaching member of staff).
The ability to do split screen
Anything else?
Being able to store larger documents in the topic folders. Like pdf of textbooks which are 50MB+
It would be good to be able to recall an assignment once returned in case you need to edit the
annotations. Sometimes it can glitch and then no work can be done. It would be useful to have a
students view button as what they see is different and hard to explain especially remotely.
Love it! It makes everything so much easier from Reception to Year 13! And as a parent it’s fab too!
I am happy using Sparkjar
Some pupils struggle with keeping up with the feedback and so always seem to have lots of
outstanding tasks, I wonder whether there's a way to have an expiry date on the feedback - not
delete it but to avoid disengagement. I really like the marksheets and having work all in one place
and not chasing bits of paper or books, also the variety of files you can upload. Thank you.
It's a useful tool
Steve
Bowyer
Laura
Bream
Lisa miller
Alex Barbor
Claire Troke
Laura
Bream

STUDENT SURVEY COMMENTS
What do you like most about Sparkjar?
Assignments and chat
How easy it is to find due dates for work and that you can contact teachers for help.
visually simple
How you can see that there are assignments you need to do
Easy to access the work
The animated videos
Colours
It’s easy to use
Easy to access deadlines and hand in homework.
Topics
Functionality and having everything in one place
It’s very easy to use
You can see how many assignments you have to do
Being able add videos and pictures and hear feedback from the teachers
Ease of usage
Convenience
That it is useful
We get our home work set and then when we have finished it we press a button and it gets sent to the teacher
That I know when assignments are overdue by the colours
Easily accessible and I like the reminders.
that all subjects and all my work is in one place
We have access to our assignments, which are digital so we do not need to carry them around all day.
The way you hand in homework
It helps me keep track of homework
It keeps track of assignments for me so I don’t have to remember them
All of my assignments are in one place
Helps me remember what i have to do
It’s easy to use and organised
It is easy to submit work and homework to the teachers.
How your teachers can give you feedback and it stays and also every subject is in a assignment
It’s easy
It is digital so we can not lose work we’ve done and easy to do work on
We have topics to revise in
I like that it is very clear about what you have or haven’t don
Work handing in
That you can do your work on it
That you can instead of handing it in on paper you can just hand it in on a computer it is way easier
Assignments come on time
Feedback
That it gives us homework easily
That we can complete and submit work easily
It’s easy
That you can work quickly and easily
I can chat with my teachers when I’m stuck
You can chat with your friends if your stuck and doyour work and not doing it on sheet of paper
How you can message your whole class and teachers
That you can do your work online

That you can use it anywhere on you device
It tells you if you have any overdue assignments
I like how all your homework and classwork is all in one place and the features make it so it easy to complete it
That you can text your teacher easily
How you can ask your teachers questions
Chat
Being able to write on my work and then just send it to the teachers
Easy to use
I like the fact that teachers can return work with feedback and also it is much easier to use than some other
apps I’ve seen
Topics
It is easy to submit and complete the work, which improves the learning efficiency
It’s helpful with work and to communicate with your teachers when you need help
It’s helpful with work in lockdown.
The ease of seeing all my assignments split by subject with a clear deadline, as well as being able to quickly and
easily message my teachers if I have a question or need some help.
You get your work through it and it is helpful
It’s organised
Not much
It is easy to access the work
It’s easy to track work
The ability to know what to do for homework
It’s easy to access tasks
I know when my work needs to be done by
It keeps work organised
it’s quick and easy to contact teachers and ask class mates for help!
It is easy and simple to keep track of your assignments
The ease of being able to look at assignments easily
You get feed back
I've never used any other apps like it, for me it's a place to check my tasks and submit them.
I don’t have to remember when my homework is due it’s all on my iPad
Message teachers
Organisation and deadline management
It tells us the exact due dates and we can message other students and teachers
How easy it is to access your work and homework
The fact that you can get feedback without handing books in
You can look back on previous assignments
Student feature request themes
1 - Bring back notifications for assignments due / something that helps see the work I need to do in one place
2 - I'd like to be able to change my profile picture
3 - Students being able to delete messages
4 - Reliability concerns, particularly from peak times (lockdown, mock exams)
Anything else?
I think there should be a new tab for homework not just assignments. Also editing messages should be added
and editing our own topic folders to put revision material!
It’s glitchy
For students to be able to delete messages
And change profile pictures

Possibly have a timetable for each student built in because that would help me instead of having to load a
different app to check I could have everything in one place
It’s really easy to use but I think you should be able to change your profile picture
it is very good for the environment because we shouldn't use the paper
No it’s perfect
There isn’t an option to select multiple pictures to put in assignments, which makes it time consuming
Nice
It’s good
Like it
I feel you should add the ability to change your profile picture because it’s embarrassing having an old photo of
your self on your profile and it fuels bullying
It is great organisation for students who are not.
Amazing
I wish you could change or update your profile picture every so often . Mine is from 4 years ago and it doesn't
look like me anymore
It is very easy to use and can help students learn
It fun
It has been a great experience to be able to still d school work over lockdown
:)
It gives you all the assignments that have been issued
I would like to say that i would EXTREMELY recommend this to anyone. Teachers or pupils. It is brilliant
It doesn’t show how many assignments we have due on the a notification
Let children set essimnts
It as an amazing app
There is a problem I’ve encountered where when undoing an edit while someone is presenting it can undo there
edit for your screen although it won’t effect anyone else
Sometime it glitches
In fact, I hope that the school can solve the problem of not being available in China (maybe there is no VPN),
which will help some international students very much.
It’s very helpful with work
It very helpful,
It is good
It’s incredibly neat and organised, I really enjoy working on Sparkjar.
It’d good
Is it possible to look at two parts of the same assignment at once so you don’t have to continue swapping
between sources
Sparkjar all around is very help to let you know when deadlines are what work you have and helps keep it
organised rather than having paper worksheets that get crumpled up in a bag
Its good
It’s useful
It glitches a lot
At least I can't give you any advice, because I think it's mature enough
Please allow us to change our icons.
I love all the features, I just wish you could add back the notification in the top right hand corner of the app icon to
show how many assignments and messages you have
If there could be a way to sort through completed assignments so you can find the one you are looking for, that
would be great.
I like that you can look back on feed back art any time.