London, UK – October 1, 2009 – Becta has awarded a contract to Insight Direct (UK) Ltd to provide assistive technologies on all its Home Access packages when the scheme goes national later this year. Under the contract, Insight is responsible for installing and managing the distribution of licenses on behalf of software publishers and
MatchWare’s MindView has been chosen as the leading mind mapping software solution to be included in the Home Access package.
By presenting material graphically,
MindView is based on the concept of mind mapping and allows students to brainstorm and visualize their ideas, organize information, and expand on individual topics by making notes and attaching additional information.
Home Access is a government programme managed by
Becta. It aims to ensure that more children in state-maintained education in England have access to technology at home to support learning. To ensure that all learners are catered for, regardless of their individual needs, all the packages available under the programme will come pre-loaded with a suite of assistive technology software. This has benefits not only for learners, but for their families too.
Alan York, Head of Accreditation at Becta says:
“Running this competition as part of the
Home Access programme has allowed us to not only make significant savings on the software prices, but also secure access to the software suite for up to 250,000 learners. This provides all grant funded learners and their families with a range of tools to support them with their learning.
“It’s also important that the benefits of this software suite are available to all learners, whether eligible for a grant or not. Therefore this software suite will also be available to those not currently covered under the Home Access grant scheme, providing access to the same packages at a significantly reduced price.”
Ulrik Merrild, CEO, MatchWare adds “MindView is an ideal fit with the Home Access initiative and we are looking forward to working closely with Becta and Insight to provide exceptional mind mapping software to thousands of home learners. MatchWare is committed to equipping education with innovative productivity software solutions to help students improve reading comprehension, critical thinking and retention, and boost overall student achievement.”
Notes to editors:
The AT procurement process ensured suppliers were assessed on their capability to deliver the Assistive Technology element of the Home Access package. They had to demonstrate a commercial understanding of the Home Access programme and how to meet the needs of the customer group, as well as their technical capability to provide a package in accordance with Becta’s published statement of requirements for Home Access packages.
Insight took part in a further competition run under the EU compliant Buying Solutions Framework –Software for Educational Institutions.
About Becta
Becta is the government agency leading the national drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology through learning. It is Becta’s ambition to utilise the benefits of technology to create a more exciting, rewarding and successful experience for learners of all ages and abilities, enabling them to achieve their potential.
About MatchWare
MatchWare is a leading provider of multimedia, screen recording and visual thinking software that enhances individuals’ ability to create, visualize, manage and distribute information. Since 1992, MatchWare has developed easy-to-use professional software empowers business, education and government worldwide to produce and deliver dynamic multimedia content that will engage and inspire. A fast growing, highly profitable, and self-financed company, MatchWare has its headquarters in Denmark with subsidiaries in the USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and France.
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