[Neil Hamilton]

05/02/2021 at 9:21 am

Hi All

Having been lucky enough to be able to use this remote learning time to teach Computer Systems, I now have the daunting prospect of teaching Python remotely. Im aware that there will be seniors possibly coming into schools in the next few weeks to do elements of practical subjects but that wont nearly be enough time. Every student has an ipad and most have their own laptops. Ive a couple of questions.
– For ipad users would repl.it be a suitable platform
– If yes, for laptop users should I just have them use repli.it as well for consistancy or just download Python?

Many Thanks
Neil

[Iain Purdie]

05/02/2021 at 9:28 am

Morning, Neil!

We’ve gone with “download Python if you can, but repl.it is fine otherwise”. Just make sure pupils download the right version of Python if they’re going that way. The easiest way for Windows machines is to go to the Store and grab it there.

If they’ve used it in school before (Higher students, I guess) then it’ll be nice and familiar once it’s installed. Also useful as your resources / screenshots may be based on that environment. Having said that, I don’t think we’ve had any major issues with repl.it as yet. Some pupils prefer it as it means they can access their work at home more easily – they started using it before lockdown after being given the choice in class.

[Kirsteen Nakau]

05/02/2021 at 12:54 pm

Been using Repl.it for Higher, N5, S3 for coding, SQL Lite and web development it has been a lifesaver in lock down. Unfortunately now having to pay for TEAMS but they will negotiate deal.

[Eoin Neil]

05/02/2021 at 4:01 pm

I’v used repl with my H this year – they’ve liked it. Use with N5 last lockdown (may/june) for WDD – they liked it. Also used for DB with eSgoil.

I’ve had student program on phones and tablets, and it’s been ok. The bigger the screen the better, and for python a keyboard would probably help for indentation.

When first start using Repl.it I started using their classroom feature. I’m now not using Teams, don’t think the cost is justifiable. Each student has created their own account and share links with me to their code via MS Teams. Is working well.

[Greg Reid]

08/02/2021 at 2:12 pm

I pointed out to repl.it that their procing structure for Teams precludes many departments from using it at all. A message from repl.it regarding pricing below.

We actually released an unlimited plan to help with affordability. It’s $1,000/year/school for unlimited teachers, students, and classes + a 25% off discount for primary/secondary schools, so just $750/school/year. Here’s a page with details about the Teams product and the different pricing options that you can share with schools and teachers.

If you listed Replit on your site or something, we could also give you a coupon code code to publish for 35% off so it’d be just $650/school/year. And if a district (not sure how groups of schools are organized in Scotland) wanted to buy Replit on behalf of multiple schools, we offer volume discounts. Or if there was some way to do a nationwide deal, I’m sure we could get the per school cost quite reasonable.

We can do GBP billing, but because of the administrative overhead, we charge extra for that. Happy to share more if necessary.

Hopefully this all helps make Replit more affordable for schools in Scotland! We’re really committed to education and making it easy for teachers and students to use Replit.

I also neglected to mention a couple things related to privacy/data on our call that I want to make sure to share.
• Student profiles on Replit are private (details). This means that we don’t collect sensitive personal data and these students can’t be contacted by others on the platform outside of their immediate class. We worked hard with our lawyers to make sure we were compliant with privacy regulations in various locations around the world.
• We also have a Student Data Privacy Addendum (attached) that we can sign with individual schools or make edits/redlines to and then sign.
• We have a GDPR compliant model contract for data transfer (attached). Our lawyers let us know that this covers data transfer outside of the home country from a security/privacy standpoint. We will be uploading this to our site and updating our privacy policies and ToS to reflect it very soon.

They are open to being contacted regarding what you can afford.

[Neil Hamilton]

09/02/2021 at 10:20 am

Thanks for the info. Much aprreciated!

[Neil Hamilton]

09/02/2021 at 10:20 am

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated!

[Neil Hamilton]

09/02/2021 at 10:21 am

Ive email them of Friday regarding a discount. Waiting to hear back from them.

Cheers Folks!

[Suzie Stewart]

09/02/2021 at 12:17 pm

Interesting. We are waiting for our council to add repl.it to their list of sites which have fulfilled their data protection policy. There are very few sites that have.

[Neil Hamilton]

09/02/2021 at 12:51 pm

Greg. Was the the sales email addressed you used to contact them?

[Nicola Hearnden]

09/02/2021 at 1:19 pm

Like a few of you we have been using REPL for a few years now and found it a fantastic tool.

We have had to migrate from the classroom version to teams and it is taking a wee bit of getting used to. However, if you do have an old classroom there is a four months free trial of teams which might help out short term, you need to migrate your existing class to get it.

Teams provides an additional level of control for assessments as you can control when the student can work/access their tasks, which you can’t do on an individual repl. You can also set the export mode so the task itself cannot be shared.

Its good to see the GDPR is now in place, though not to sure if/how different to “UK GDPR”.

If you are migrating your class I suggest you get your students to download their work first as it does not port over their class work onto the teams platform, just the task set.

[Neil Hamilton]

09/02/2021 at 1:39 pm

Thanks for the info. Never used it for a class yet but looks ideal for in class and remote learning.