On Wednesday the 28th of April 2018, the
Scottish Government issued its first ever RED weather warning leaving many
authorities across the country with no option but to close their schools. Now,
I am certain many primary aged children were filled with joy, I know my own
children were! In contrast many secondary school teachers dreaded the break as
assignments, SQA pickups, and deadlines are fast approaching. Teacher’s time with their students is
very precious particularly when assignments and portfolio deadlines are fast
approaching. With final year exams just around the corner nobody can really
afford the luxury of a snow day. So, what is one to do when Mother-Nature
throws a curve ball and you cannot make it to school?
We can certainly use technology to keep the classroom open even when the
school is closed. Regardless of the weather, Microsoft support Number support
Number have several Office 365 tools,
such as OneNote which can be used to support learning and teaching beyond the
walls of the classroom. Even when students cannot attend the school – learning
can take place in their living room.
Microsoft support Number support Number Teams has brought all these
amazing tech tools together and can act as the cornerstone for collaboration
and productivity. I have been using Teams with several of my classes since
October last year. I am now beginning to see an increase in the engagement from
students as they begin to experience the benefits of greater collaboration.
Students simply download the Teams app on their smart phone or device andlogin.
I instruct students to switch on notifications and updates, so they
remain up to date with what is going on within our Team. This is massive bonus
for me because I don’t have a fixed classroom or teaching area, and this allows
me to keep the students up to date with deadlines, homework tasks and forward
planning. I can effortlessly update on our channel or conversation thread when
required, particularly when there is a change to our timetabled classroom
periods.
On Wednesday, the first of three snow days, I started by posting an
update to students that the school would be closed because of the severe
weather and that they should be using the time off school to catch up on any
work that was missed which was already accessible through Teams. I was also
able to upload new classroom content, in the form of a PowerPoint, in our
channel along with questions that would support students with up and coming
assignments. I was available to answer further questions and review work set
for other classes via Teams.
Teams has many benefits, supporting varied pace of learning, flipping
learning and ensuring that deep learning takes place in the classroom wheregreater support can be offered. If students miss lessons or assignments,
catch-up is made easier as students can visit content and conversations of
missed lessons.
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