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 activities on the Pod are currently aimed at 7 to
14-year-olds - that is, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 pupils. Most of
the resource packs and lesson plans are written with these pupils
in mind. There is also a Key Stage 1 area for pupils aged 5-7 which
contains four lesson plans and four great interactive games
covering recycling, saving energy, transport and habitats. The
content provides a fun and inspiring introduction to environmental
issues for younger pupils.
The site will continue to grow and will include new 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.