FAQs
How do I navigate the website?
You move around the website by clicking on the coloured boxes on the left-hand side of the screen. After you have clicked, the coloured box will expand downwards and you will be able to see all the pages that belong in this section. Click on each page title to visit it.
There are parts of the Pod website I can't see. Why?
This could be because you don't have a Flash player. Flash is a free application which is quick and easy to install, taking around two minutes to download on a 56K modem.
Download Flash from the Adobe site.
How do I get involved in the Pod?
First of all, you will need to register with the site. If you are a teacher, simply visit the registration page, fill in the compulsory fields and register yourself against your school. As well as setting yourself up with a username and password, you will also be sent an invitation code by e-mail. Give this code out to your students, and they will be able to register individual accounts too.
If you are a student, start by getting an invitation code from your teacher. Your teacher will need to register with the site to obtain this code. After typing in this code, you will be able to register your username and password with the site.
Once you have a username and password, you can start activities, contribute to blogs and win medals for your schools!
Is the site linked to Eco-Schools?
All of our activities have been reviewed and approved by Eco-Schools. Running Pod activities can help you win a Bronze or Silver Award, or even a Green Flag!
We encourage anyone participating in the Pod to set up an Eco-Schools Action Team, to carry out an Environmental Review and to draw up an Eco-Schools Action Plan.
Your school home page has a special Eco-Schools area where you can store these documents if you wish.
When your Eco-Schools Committee is ready to start work, you’ll find that our activities are arranged by Eco-Schools topic. For instance, if you decide to address the Eco-Schools Energy topic, there are already six activities you can try in your school.
Each activity page contains an Eco-Schools panel explaining exactly how you can use the activity in your application for an Eco-Schools award.
Can anyone join the Pod?
The site is currently aimed at 7 to 14-year-olds – that is, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils. Most of the resource packs and online activities are written with these pupils in mind. However the site will continue to grow over the next four years. As the site expands, we plan to include activities for both younger and older pupils.
What is ‘Learn, Act, Inspire’?
This is our framework for learning about green issues.
First students learn about the issues around a key green topic, for example energy, water, transport or waste.
Then students take action. They encourage students in their school to change their behaviour and save energy, water, waste, carbon or all four!
Finally students inspire others. They take their ideas into the local community and share their work with schools across the UK.
Each topic has Learn, Act and Inspire pages, containing lesson plans, information packs, games and links to other resources.
How do I blog?
After you've registered your username and password, you can start any of the activities on the site. As soon as you start an activity, an activity blog is created.
To add a post to a blog, simply click the Add Post button at the top of the blog. You can now upload an image, movie clip, audio file, written report, Lessons Learned report or text post on to the site. Then other users can leave comments about what you've uploaded. The most recent blog posts will appear first.
Will everyone be able to see my blog posts?
It's up to you. You can choose whether to make your post visible to everyone or to other registered schools only. In addition, if you are a student, then your teacher will be moderating your posts. Your teacher will only make your post live if it is relevant to the activity you are running in your school.
Once my blog post goes live, can anyone remove it?
Your teacher can delete any post that he or she thinks is inappropriate or out-of-date. In addition, we reserve the right to delete any posts that we think are not appropriate for the site or its target audience.
How does my school win a medal?
Have a look at our medals page. In addition, each activity page has a link to judging criteria. This tells you what you have to do to win a gold, silver or bronze medal for each activity. If you submit a start and end audit form, then your medal score is worked out by combining your audit data and the amount of work you have put into your blog. If you skip the audit, then your medal is awarded based on the number and diversity of your blog posts. If you do not complete an audit, then you are less likely to win a medal.
How do I upload an image to the gallery?
Click on the Upload button on the Pod gallery. You will be taken to a page where you can upload images to the gallery. You have to give your image a name and caption and associate it with an Eco-Schools topic (e.g. Energy, Water, Waste, Healthy Living).
In addition, remember that if you are a student, a teacher will be moderating your submissions.