Scran
Already used by teachers and students in over 3,000 primary and secondary schools throughout the UK, Scran is an award-winning learning website offering cross-searchable access to a vast library of copyright-cleared images, videos and sounds from museums, galleries, archives and the media.
Relevance to the National Curriculum
Content has been mapped to the school curriculum from Key Stage 1 to 3, and can be searched by key stage using standard National Curriculum terminology.
Special packages have also been created to support Early Learning, Primary, Secondary and Special Educational Needs.
Content
Scran includes content from prestigious organisations such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, the British Library, the British Museum, the National Museums of Scotland, the Imperial War Museum, and several media archives including Hulton Getty.
Key benefits:
- In addition to 360,000 images, videos and sounds, Scran includes over 3,500 specially-commissioned concise illustrated histories covering events, people, places and a wealth of other topics - from prehistory to modern feats of engineering, and from writers and poets to war and warmongers.
- Records can be searched using free text or by geographic location, subject, media and project.
- Each record is accompanied by caption text plus links to carefully-selected websites.
- Users can view and download images at thumbnail, postcard or full screen size and zoom in for more detail.
- The "My Stuff" feature enables staff and students to assemble and share their own individual collections of resources.
- The "Create" feature makes it easy to produce materials including worksheets, displays, slide shows and mini websites.
- The "Scribble" feature enables user to blog their thoughts and to create secure, gated communities for classes, interest groups or for the whole school.
- New for 2009: The "Contribute" feature allows local content to be added to the collection with full support for captioning and tagging.
Reviews
"We value Scran enormously: it is a unique resource that is entirely relevant to so many areas of the curriculum." Primary ICT Coordinator, Edinburgh
"I have to say that the Scran website has blown me away! It is the sort of resource that I have been waiting on all my teaching career... which is a long time! Congratulations on an amazing job. The site is user friendly, has loads of fantastic information and links and the pupils really get a lot out of it." Principal Assessor for Art and Design, Scottish Qualifications Authority
"A great resource." Primary Teacher, South Gloucestershire
"I very much see Scran as a cornerstone of ICT developments in this authority. It is part of a portfolio of online resources which we recommend to teachers." EDIT Team Leader, Clackmannanshire Council
"Simply superb - a fabulous resource and so user-friendly, especially for those of use who are not good with computers!" Primary Teacher, South Lanarkshire
"A wonderful resource that takes away the worry of breaching copyright - and offers extensive support to staff and pupils in school." ICT Coordinator, Glasgow
"...the website is very easy to use and I am not a computer whizz kid. It’s always exciting to visit the site and find out what's new. Altogether a great teaching resource." Primary Teacher, North Lanarkshire
"I LOVE the worksheet/poster create tool. Great idea and VERY useful." Gaelic Medium Teacher, Highland
Access options
A range of access options is on offer to enable teachers and learners to use Scran both within the school (for example, by IP address) and from home (via Shibboleth).
An unlimited number of staff and students at subscribing schools can access Scran concurrently so it can be used in the classroom with confidence.
Pricing
Pricing is calculated according to the total number of learners at a school, or schools within a region - so the more schools that subscribe to a resource as a group, the lower the price per learner is likely to be.
All suppliers have guaranteed that the prices negotiated by JISC Collections for Schools are the lowest available.
- Download the price list for all resources for individual state-funded schools
- Download the price list for all resources for individual independent schools
- Download the price list for all resources for buying groups
- Download a spreadsheet enabling individual schools and buying groups to calculate prices for all resources
Subscription and invoicing information
- The agreement for Scran runs until 31 August 2012.
- Schools and buying groups can subscribe at any time but are committed until the end of the subscription year in which their subscription starts i.e. 31 August 2011 or 31 August 2012.
- Charges will be prorated - for example, if a subscription starts on 1 October 2010, the cost of the subscription will be for 11 months until 31 August 2011.
Please note that subscriptions will not be set up, and access granted, until a signed copy of the Acceptance of Licence Agreement Form (see below) has been received by the JISC Collections for Schools Helpdesk.
An invoice for the requested subscription period will be issued when the signed copy of the Acceptance of Licence Agreement Form (see below) is received.
Subscribing to JISC Collections for Schools resources is easy. Click here to find out more.
How to get the best price
Prices offered through JISC Collections for Schools are guaranteed to be the lowest available. Schools subscribing individually to one or more JISC Collections for Schools resources benefit from discounts on publishers' list prices in the majority of cases, but schools subscribing as part of a buying group can achieve discounts of up to 80%.
A buying group can consist of any group of schools in a region with a combined total of at least 2,500 learners that places an order for a resource at the same time.
Local authorities, and organisations such as School Library Services, are taking an active role in coordinating buying groups in many areas in order to achieve the highest possible discount.
In addition, an increasing number of schools in informal local or regional networks are also working together to secure the best possible pricing.
To find out what is happening in your area, or if you would like help setting up a buying group, please contact us.
Support for teachers
Scran can be used on whiteboards and with learning platforms, and links can be made to individual images. Flash Movies and hand outs demonstrate how simple it is to get started, and a range of materials is available to support CPD in specific subject areas.
Content has been mapped to the school curriculum from Key Stage 1 to 3, and can be searched by key stage using standard National Curriculum terminology.
Special packages have also been created to support Early Learning, Primary, Secondary and Special Educational Needs.
Download the quick start guide for Scran.
Free trials
Free 30-day trials for all JISC Collections for Schools resources are available to enable schools and local authorities to assess their value in teaching and learning.
- Request a free trial for your school, or for a group of schools
Subscriber services
Login URL
www.scran.ac.uk
Further information
- Find out more (including video demonstrations)
- Download the quick start guide for Scran
Technical, administrative, and user support
Email info@jisccollectionsforschools.org.uk
phone: 01865 339461