Branded tea
May 14, 2010
It’s not real until there are mugs.
This morning we’re going over feedback, looking and bugs, and figuring out which features to put into the next release. And drinking tea.
Hello!
May 12, 2010
We’ve launched!
If you or your kids go to a state school in England, Schooloscope tells you how your school’s doing, at a glance.
Tom Armitage, Matt Brown, Matt Jones, Kari Stewart and I (Matt Webb) are from the design studio BERG. We’re making Schooloscope, funded by 4iP. We’ll be looking after you while you’re here, and working on the site in the coming months. Hello!
Read the launch press release, and a load of background info over at BERG.
Lots to come.
In the meantime, tell us what you think either here in the comments, or at feedback@schooloscope.com.
Press release for tomorrow
May 12, 2010
SCHOOLOSCOPE MAKES OFFICIAL SCHOOL INFORMATION EASIER TO READ
13 May 2010
Schooloscope (www.schooloscope.com) is an honest, independent, straightforward guide to how state schools in England are getting on.
The site takes official Government-backed information, and tries to tease out something interesting from the dry tables of statistics.
The aim is to show clearly and simply what each school feels like. Are the kids happy there? Is the teaching good? If you were thinking of sending your child to this school, what would the parents there tell you about it?
A school is more than just its league table position; it’s a community of people. Schooloscope is trying to reflect that, using informative, friendly graphics that summarise each school’s mood.
The site was funded by 4iP (www.4ip.org.uk) and built by BERG (www.berglondon.com).
Matt Webb, MD of BERG, said: “There’s a lot of information out there about every school, but it’s hard to pull it all together and make sense of it. Schooloscope makes it easy.
“All of us at BERG think education matters more than most things, and we want schools in the UK to be the best they can be. We think that needs parents to be more engaged with their local schools, so that they can push for the highest possible standards.
“We hope Schooloscope will encourage debate and get people talking about the schools in their communities.”
Schooloscope has been launched in beta and currently only includes information about state primary and secondary schools in England. BERG hopes to expand the dataset soon.
NOTE FOR EDITORS
For more information, call Matt Webb on 07765 253089 or email info@schooloscope.com
BERG is a design studio and product invention company, working hands-on with companies to research and develop their technologies and strategy. Recent projects include “Popular Science+” which brings digital magazines to life on the iPad, and “Here & There,” a map of Manhattan which bends New York around you. BERG is based in London, and was founded in 2005.
ENDS
