Frequently asked questions

Transitioning of the National Online Learning Services

While the Scootle application will continue to operate as normal, you will see a number of changes at the end of 2020. Here are some examples.

  • The search engine will be updated to provide personalised suggestions based on an individual teacher's profile, bookmarks and learning progressions. This approach will improve over time as the suggestion learns from the use of the system by teachers.
  • Existing interactive learning resources that utilise the Adobe Flash Player plug-in will be archived to reflect the end-of-life of the Flash Player plug-in. Learning paths that include these resources will have alerts to notify teachers and students that one or more of the resources will be unavailable.
  • The separate back-end systems will be simplified, with some functions re-established inside the Scootle application for 2021. This includes the Resolver, Sharing Exchange and Metadata Exchange. None of this will affect how the system operates for teachers and students.
  • While Scootle will continue to operate normally during 2021 and continue support for the Australian Curriculum, it will play a role in the proposed ecosystem for the Online Formative Assessment Initiative currently in its Alpha design phase. See here for more information about the Initiative.

Other than the archiving of the resources based on Adobe Flash, Scootle and the Single Sign-On (SSO) infrastructure will continue to operate normally throughout 2021 as the transition to the Online Formative Assessment Initiative is completed. Support for Scootle users is available through the Scootle helpdesk as normal.

Due to declining usage and the archiving of resources in Scootle that are based on Adobe Flash, Improve will be decommissioned at the end of 2020.

Improve will be decommissioned on 18 December 2020 and all test items will be archived. However, they may be reused in the Online Formative Assessment Initiative.

All teacher and student data will be deleted as per ESA Privacy and Archival policies. Teachers are encouraged to download any information they require from Improve well before the decommissioning process commences. Help is available via the Improve helpdesk.

Language Learning Space will continue to operate for teachers and students as normal, with support from Education Services Australia.

SHEX was developed in the context of a centralised approach to digital content hosting, maintenance and support in 2010. Over time this model has become less relevant, as all jurisdictions have access to more cost-efficient and effective cloud services. Also, the adoption of Creative Commons licences has made the management of intellectual property more straightforward. With the intention to move towards a more inclusive ecosystem under the Online Formative Assessment Initiative, the functions performed by SHEX are better placed at the local level where content is provided to teachers and students.

All of the existing content shared by jurisdictions in SHEX will be published to the online content store within Scootle with the associated jurisdiction licencing and sharing rules. At the start of November 2020, access to the Sharing Exchange will cease, and the system will be decommissioned early in 2021. Any content published by the end of October 2020 will continue to be available in Scootle until the publishing jurisdiction requests that the content be archived and removed from the search index.

Any additional digital content-sharing between jurisdictions will be handled by the new web-crawling process to a publicly accessible location organised by the content owner, or, if required, through an individual hosting arrangement with ESA.

External access to SHEX, and the ability to make digital content updates to resources within it, will cease at the end of October 2020.

All the existing records in MEX will be published to Scootle before November 2020 and these will be migrated to the new web-crawling process being developed to support the Online Formative Assessment Initiative. Some of the existing MEX functionality and benefits will be enhanced in the re-architecting of the Scootle back end with more automation, decentralisation and fewer ongoing maintenance costs. During the transition process from November 2020 to January 2021, MEX access will be offline. Queries in regard to content in the MEX should be email to the Scootle helpdesk.

User documentation on the web-crawling process will be published when the system is online.

Downstream systems with access to digital content in the Sharing Exchange (SHEX) are encouraged to download published content before October 2020 and then manage this content within their repositories when the exchanges close in early in November. ESA will keep downstream systems notified of content that has reached the end of its licensing period or that requires archiving locally due to changes in educational soundness.

Login

You can login to Scootle by selecting the ACT Department of Education and Training logo in the Login via your education network panel.

ACT Government Education & Training  logo

Scootle will then redirect you to your education network portal where you can enter your DoE username and password.

If you have already logged into your education network portal during your current browser session then you will not need to login again but will be able to enter Scootle immediately.

You can login to Scootle by selecting the NSW Department of Education logo in the Login via your education network panel.

 NSW Department of Education logo

Scootle will then redirect you to your education network portal where you can enter your DEC User ID and password.

If you have already logged into your education network portal during your current browser session then you will not need to login again but will be able to enter Scootle immediately.

Scootle will allow you to login using your LearnLink username and password. It does this by redirecting you automatically through to LearnLink when you access Scootle and indicate you are a user from DECD by clicking on the DECD logo.

South Australia government logo

If you have already logged into LearnLink during your current browser session then you will not need to login again but will be able to enter Scootle immediately.

You can login to Scootle by selecting the TAS Department of Education logo in the Login via your education network panel.

Tasmania Department of Education logo

Scootle will then redirect you to your education network portal where you can enter your DoE username and password.

If you have already logged into your education network portal during your current browser session then you will not need to login again but will be able to enter Scootle immediately.

You can login to Scootle by selecting the NT Department of Education logo in the Login via your education network panel.

NT Department of Education logo

Scootle will then redirect you to your education network portal where you can enter your DoE username and password.

If you have already logged into your education network portal during your current browser session then you will not need to login again but will be able to enter Scootle immediately.

You can login to Scootle by selecting the Catholic Network Australia logo in the Login via your education network panel.

Catholic Network Australia logo

Scootle will then redirect you to your education network portal where you can enter your CNA Participant ID and User ID.

If you have already logged into your education network portal during your current browser session then you will not need to login again but will be able to enter Scootle immediately.

You can login to Scootle by selecting the Catholic Education Network logo in the Login via your education network panel.

Catholic Education Network logo

Scootle will then redirect you to your education network portal where you can enter your CENET User ID, password and diocese.

If you have already logged into your education network portal during your current browser session then you will not need to login again but will be able to enter Scootle immediately.

You need to recover or reset your password from your education network portal or contact your education network directly.

If you already have a Scootle account, login using your Scootle username and password. If you do not have a Scootle account yet, you may create one here.

Registration

Please register and access help with your school email address so that we can direct you to the person who can best help you. Your school email address alerts us to your education network. Using your school email address also helps us if you change schools in the future.

The following can self-register to Scootle via http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/preregister.action:

  • All independent schools from Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia
  • All government schools from Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia
  • All catholic schools from Tasmania
  • Faculty and students at Australian universities and TAFES, and members of licensed professional associations

Government schools from Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania do not need to register since single sign-on has been enabled from their education network portal.

Catholic schools that are members of Catholic Network Australia or Catholic Education Network also do not need to register since single sign-on has been enabled from their education network portal.

  1. Go to http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/preregister.action.
  2. Select state/territory and sector to which your school belongs.
  3. Enter your education email address (for example: your address ending in .gov.au or .edu.au).
  4. Enter your details as required.
  5. A URL will then be emailed to you to confirm your registration.

The confirmation email may have gone to your junk mail folder or your registration may not have been confirmed. Please submit a support ticket to be manually confirmed.

General questions

If you are unable to access Scootle learning paths or resources, it is an indication that you were not registered under a school group. To be added to your school group, liaise with your school administrator or submit a support ticket.

If you are a school administrator in an independent school and would like to register your school staff, email them the school's specific Scootle registration link.

Your school's staff will then click the registration link, register using their email address and establish a password. When they have completed their registration form, a confirmation email will be sent to them. They can then click the link in the email to confirm their registration. For your easy reference, more details about registration are on page 9 in the Scootle user guide for school managers (PDF, 1.02 MB).

Your education network's Scootle contact can be found on the Contact us page, or on the National Digital Learning Resources Network website, under Schools. This information is regularly updated.

A learning path allows you to create a collection of resources on a topic or curriculum area. Once your collection is compiled you can edit item descriptions and add your own comments, navigation instructions, links or tasks associated with each learning item.

Each path has a unique pin, allowing you to quickly share your learning paths with your students. You may also share your learning paths with colleagues from your school, jurisdiction or make them discoverable to all Scootle users. Alternatively you can export your paths as a spread sheet or PDF.


Follow these steps to create a learning path

Step 1 Search for a topic or browse resources by Australian Curriculum.

Step 2 Add a resource from the search results to a learning path by selecting the '+ Add to' button located at the right side of each resource title.

Step 3 Add the resource to your existing learning path(s) by ticking the checkboxes.

Step 4 Add the resource to a new learning path by selecting the 'Create new learning path' button and completing the form. You can save the new learning path to an existing folder or on a new folder.

Step 5 Manage your learning paths by selecting 'Learning paths' in the main navigation and selecting the 'My learning paths' tab. There are several actions available. You may edit, delete, copy, share or export a learning path.

Students access learning paths by using a student PIN. Each learning path that you create has a unique PIN associated with it. The PIN is located at the top of the page, under the name of the learning path that you've created.

You can copy this PIN and provide it to students. Students can enter the PIN at http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/pin to get access to that specific learning path.

A collaborative activity is a secure online workspace for teaching and learning.

  1. A collaborative activity begins with a learning path. Create a new learning path or choose an existing one.
  2. In the learning path folder, select the 'Edit' link that appears beside the title of the relevant learning path.
  3. Next select 'Convert to collaborative activity' in the 'Actions' box.
  4. You will now see the range of options available for the collaborative activity you have set up, such as 'Preview activity' (what the students see) and 'Live workspace' (where the students work collaboratively).

Many learning resources are downloaded as compressed zip files to make them smaller. These files need to be extracted - unzipped - before you can use the resource. Most computers have software for unzipping files. The software you use will depend on which type of computer system you are using.

If using Windows:

  • To extract a singlefile or folder, double-click the compressed folder to open it.
  • To extract all files or folders, right-clickthe compressed folder, and then click Extract All. In the dialogue box that appears, specify where you want to store the extracted files.

If using a Mac:

You can decompress Zip files without extra software if you are using Macintosh OS 10.1 or later.

  1. When you download a Zip file using your Internet browser, the file will usually be unzipped automatically. The uncompressed files will be found in the same location as the downloaded zip file. If not, you will need to locate the file in your Downloads location. The Zip file may have the suffix .zip at the end of the file name.
  2. Double clicking the file should start the unzipping process. The uncompressed files will appear in the same location as the downloaded zip file.
  3. The original Zip file can be deleted after extraction. For a Mac you can also use a program called Stuffit Expander to decompress zipped files.

For the Scootle app to run on your device certain URLs must be unblocked in your firewall and a range of IP addresses allowed.

Unblock the following URLs:

  • www.scootle.edu.au
  • www.puffinbrowser.com
  • www.cloudmosa.com

Allow the following IP ranges:

  • 107.178.32.0/24
  • 107.178.36.0/24
  • 107.178.37.0/24
  • 107.178.40.0/24
  • 107.178.44.0/24
  • 54.241.21.123/32
  • 216.218.220.2/32
  • 216.218.220.27/32

If you continue to experience issues please submit a support ticket.

If your question isn't covered here, you might like to look at the Scootle user guide for teachers (PDF, 9.4 MB). You can also submit a support ticket for further help.