Module 2 – Office 365 Tools to help support Collaboration

[Pat Brennan]

Create an assignment in Microsoft Teams

Use PowerPoint Recording to create an interactive lesson or screen recording video and upload the video to Microsoft Stream and share a link to it here.

Attempt a Microsoft Learn Education Centre Course.

Consider how Microsoft Teams can be used for shared Department and Classroom resources, listing the challenges and opportunities. Post a reflective piece (150 words minimum) as a reply to this post.

[Muirne Bennis]

MS Teams appears to be very useful for sharing.  I will have to play around with it a little more to really get comfortable.  I have tried to use teams in the past, but I found that it could be glitchy and a few rare times, I found I had no access.  This is probably down to my WiFi service at home.

I have used Teams quite successfully with my Learning-Support Teacher.  We have planning files to organise team teaching and folders to upload the content we will use.  My LS teacher has recommended that we try OneNote going forward.  So, tomorrows module will help me with that.  I think it would be worth exploring Teams for sharing information, ideas, files across our class standards (we have 3 classes of every stream).

I am not really sure where to go with using Teams in the classroom.  I think it would be an effective tool to keep assignments together and create a digital portfolio.  I think it is suitable to some assignments, but at primary school age, I do believe personal feedback still has a central role.  I am definitely interested in exploring the Learning Accelerators further – they appear to be extremely useful tools.

I engaged with the PowerPoint recording activities here, but could not find the ‘Publish to Stream’ button.  I searched for advice online and as a result tried to activate the button under the ‘save’ option with customising the ribbon.  That option wasn’t there either.  I am using our schools MS office account.  Can anyone advise please?

 

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Muirne Bennis.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Muirne,

Can you let me know what version of Microsoft 365 you are using, and we can troubleshoot the issue further? More on how to ascertain this at About Office: What version of Office am I using? – Microsoft Support 

Kind regards,
Pat

[Margaret Enright]

<p class=”MsoNormal”>https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/achievements/learn.mec.assign-assess-learners-with-assignments-forms-teams.badge?username=mjennings-3415&sharingId=1924EB22E085FA3C</p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>I Completed assign-assess-learners-with-assignments-forms-teams.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span>There are features on the version of teams that we do not have on our school account or on my home account.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span>Had not heard of the learning accelerators in Microsoft Teams such as search coach. I don’t think we have it on our Office365 at school. The learning accelerators looks very useful for struggling students. Reading coach and speaker coach help students make targeted progress.</p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>I created the powerpoint recording but do not have Microsoft stream on my office 365 list of apps to up load it.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>Teams is an excellent resource for schools.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span>Class and subject groups make organisation easy.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span>The ability to assign tasks and autograde assessments is great for time management.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span>The ability to export results of assessments to excel assists in record keeping of assessments.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span>Different features seem to available depending on the subscription taken out.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span>I will be recommending the learning accelerator tools next term.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span><span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”> </span></p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>The biggest challenge for the students is teaching students to navigate the system but the benefits outweigh the challenges.<span style=”mso-spacerun: yes;”>  </span></p>

[Michelle Griffin]

<p style=”border: 0px solid #d9d9e3; box-sizing: border-box; –tw-border-spacing-x: 0; –tw-border-spacing-y: 0; –tw-translate-x: 0; –tw-translate-y: 0; –tw-rotate: 0; –tw-skew-x: 0; –tw-skew-y: 0; –tw-scale-x: 1; –tw-scale-y: 1; –tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; –tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; –tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; –tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,0.5); –tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; margin: 1.25em 0px; caret-color: #374151; color: #374151; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, ‘Noto Sans’, sans-serif, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Arial, ‘Apple Color Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Symbol’, ‘Noto Color Emoji’; white-space: pre-wrap;”>Microsoft Teams could be used as a powerful platform for sharing department and classroom resources in primary schools. However, I feel there would be some challenges to consider when implementing it. Initially, when I came across Microsoft Teams, I found it difficult to use at the primary level, and I still feel the same. But I can see that the basic features of Microsoft Teams might be beneficial in primary schools.</p>
<p style=”border: 0px solid #d9d9e3; box-sizing: border-box; –tw-border-spacing-x: 0; –tw-border-spacing-y: 0; –tw-translate-x: 0; –tw-translate-y: 0; –tw-rotate: 0; –tw-skew-x: 0; –tw-skew-y: 0; –tw-scale-x: 1; –tw-scale-y: 1; –tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; –tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; –tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; –tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,0.5); –tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; margin: 1.25em 0px; caret-color: #374151; color: #374151; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, ‘Noto Sans’, sans-serif, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Arial, ‘Apple Color Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Symbol’, ‘Noto Color Emoji’; white-space: pre-wrap;”>I think that there would be a major learning curve for many teachers to understand the functionalities of Microsoft Teams. Training would be necessary. On the other hand, having shared resources in a centralised space promotes collaboration.</p>
<p style=”border: 0px solid #d9d9e3; box-sizing: border-box; –tw-border-spacing-x: 0; –tw-border-spacing-y: 0; –tw-translate-x: 0; –tw-translate-y: 0; –tw-rotate: 0; –tw-skew-x: 0; –tw-skew-y: 0; –tw-scale-x: 1; –tw-scale-y: 1; –tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; –tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; –tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; –tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,0.5); –tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; margin: 1.25em 0px 0px; caret-color: #374151; color: #374151; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, ‘Noto Sans’, sans-serif, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Arial, ‘Apple Color Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Symbol’, ‘Noto Color Emoji’; white-space: pre-wrap;”>While the initial use of Microsoft Teams might present challenges, the basic features it offers, such as centralised resource sharing, real-time collaboration, and organised communication, can greatly benefit primary schools. With proper training, support, and a focus on establishing a collaborative culture, Teams can become an invaluable tool for efficient resource management and enhanced collaboration among teachers. I do feel that it is more relevant to secondary schools/colleges.</p>

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Michelle Griffin.

[Michelle Griffin]

<span style=”caret-color: #343541; color: #343541; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, ‘Noto Sans’, sans-serif, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Arial, ‘Apple Color Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Symbol’, ‘Noto Color Emoji’; white-space: pre-wrap;”>Microsoft Teams could be used as a powerful platform for sharing department and classroom resources in primary schools. However, I feel there would be some challenges to consider when implementing it. Initially, when I came across Microsoft Teams, I found it difficult to use at the primary level, and I still feel the same. But I can see that the basic features of Microsoft Teams might be beneficial in primary schools. I think that there would be a major learning curve for many teachers to understand the functionalities of Microsoft Teams. Training would be necessary. On the other hand, having shared resources in a centralised space promotes collaboration. While the initial use of Microsoft Teams might present challenges, the basic features it offers, such as centralised resource sharing, real-time collaboration, and organised communication, can greatly benefit primary schools. With proper training, support, and a focus on establishing a collaborative culture, Teams can become an invaluable tool for efficient resource management and enhanced collaboration among teachers. I do feel that it is more relevant to secondary schools/colleges.</span>

[Julie Lyons Murphy]

Consider how MS teams can be used for shared department and classroom resources listing the challenges and opportunities

 

MS Teams is a fantastic resource for collaboration. It can be used to share assignments and feedback with students. It can be used

to share instructional powerpoints and videos also. These can then be shared with colleagues.

Files can be worked on collaboratively with colleagues in real time.

It is a good way to host external speakers.

The chat function is a great way to communicate with both students and colleagues as is the video call function.

It is useful also that you can communicate both within and outside the organisation. I find it a useful way of communicating with parents.

We use MS teams in our school and personally, I find it very useful and full of opportunities. The only challenge I have

encountered with MS teams is students chatting to each other during the lockdown (which I know can also be a good thing) and also I found it a bit tricky to navigate.

This course is definitely helping in that regard, as is the Microsoft education centre which up until now, I had no idea existed.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Julie,

Great to hear you are finding the course useful and that you are discovering new tools and functionality in MS365 that you hitherto weren’t aware of. personally I think where Teams really comes into its own is as a one-stop overarching collaboration and communication platform for staff, in my opinion it’s the best tool out there for such professional networks, providing all the tools required in one easy to access place. I do agree however that it can be tricky to navigate (Particularly for younger students) but it’s important to remember that Teams was primarily designed for communication and collaboration in the workplace. I also agree that the chat facility can be distracting but this can be switched off by the school admin.

[Julie Lyons Murphy]

Below is my audio recording and ppt presentation with link to forms assignment. I have uploaded it to stream.

https://ckpnsie-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/jlyonsmurphy_ckpns_ie/EVYFtRagDBxPiPH4PI2g92sBfoDlC3XNT62xqh_E4fav4Q?e=ZuaQHF

 

[Megan Doheny]

Consider how Microsoft Teams can be used for shared Department and Classroom resources, listing the challenges and opportunities.

It’s a great way to share resources.

You could have different year group teams and share your resources in different folders. You could also have subject folders where the whole school has access so if you have a child working at 4th class maths level but you are in 6th you could use some of the 4^th class resources.

A post holders in charge of subjects could also use this to share different whole school strategies we should be working on. For example in Maths we learn the same strategy each month. Our A post holder distributes resources on Aladdin however this could have it all in the one place.

You can send policies for us all to collaborate on using the comments.

Challenges: Whole school ‘buy in’, training, starting from scratch, another thing to check in our precious morning time.

I have recorded my audio (and have previously used this during lessons) but I can not publish to stream. my school email is not supported by it, I did however get onto it on a friend’s email but I can’t share my presentation I assume because I’m not signed in on powerpoint.

 

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Megan Doheny.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Megan Doheny.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Megan,

I think Teams and OneNote combined have huge potential in terms of the sharing of resources at a whole-school level. Aladdin is excellent for communication with parents and general school administration, but is nowhere near as interactive as Teams for staff interaction. The huge benefit of using a LMS like Teams is that multiple people can be involved in the process, and there is potential for ideas to be added, commented on and amended. All in all, it creates a much more collaborative environment, where people feel like they have a genuine say in the direction of school/curriculum policy (rather than simply having it sent to them on Aladdin).

[Elaine Begley]

Hi, I’m having difficulty finding the ‘Recording’ option.

https://kilranens.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/KilraneNS/Egg_Q6B7SSRPuWnlCUiBSs4Ble4Gq4N2wP73L23mTgb9cQ?e=7vVyYb

I have inserted the beginnings of my PowerPoint. I have just recently finished being organiser for Summer Programme so did a few slides about that , which I could use to explain it next year. I used the ‘Reading coach’ aspect to it when I couldn’t find the ‘recording’ part. I can see great learning opportunities with this.

In our school we are on the cusp of 365 with our older children who have been sanctioned assistive technology. We have a unique cohort of 8 children in 5th going into 6th class who during their Irish exemption time in 4th spent that time doing TTRS for their typing and literacy along with learning Word Processing skills and Powerpoint. We also spent time learning how to MindMap.

Going forward now in 6th class I look forward to using 365 with them as this will prepare them for secondary school.

Teams I can see as a great Sharing Department for our school in the future. It will be excellent for sharing classroom resources. Yes it will have it’s challenges as it could appear daunting to some staff members but if we took this step by step at Croke Park hours we could introduce aspects bit by bit without overwhelming staff members.

Teams is such a great hub for teamwork and collaboration. One could have a Department Team eg SET Team and a class team for example. I can see huge potential there for middle management with the Professional Learning Community aspect.

I think the Teams Assignments is great for secondary school where the students can access feedback. We are in a DEIS rural school so not as much opportunity for that in our Primary school.

My daughter loves Teams. She is going into third year and her school is an iPad school so no school books in the schoolbags. The books are at home. She loves getting her Teams feedback and grades.

Teams is a great way to host external speakers for Croke Park hours for example.

Teams would be great with the 6th class children in preparing them for secondary school. It would be an effective tool to keep assignments together and create a digital portfolio.

I really like the Learning Accelerators. I think in time and with training Teams will become an invaluable tool for efficient resource management.

I love the Reading Coach and can see huge potential there especially in SET.

Immersive Reader has massive potential too. A child could do their ten minutes reading for example and a reading report is generated.

Reading Progress again could be used in an SET setting to track reading fluency.

I wouldn’t have known about the Microsoft Education Center before this course. I’m loving the tutorials in it.

 

 

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Elaine,

You may be unable to locate the ‘record’ function if you are using a different version of PowerPoint. Within the most recent 365 version, you should be able to find it on the menu after you click ‘slideshow’. Teams and 365 in general are very powerful learning tools, and are certainly more geared towards senior primary classes and secondary school. The work you are doing and ideas you have will certainly stand them in good stead. The potential for teamwork and collaboration for school planning and administration with Teams is endless, and I can see more schools moving in this direction over the coming years.

[Myriam Gately]

<p class=”MsoNormal”><span lang=”EN-GB” style=”mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;”> Take Two Module Two!</span></p>
Microsoft Teams seems like a wonderful resource for teachers to share resources, ideas etc with each other online.

I can see that in larger schools where there are multiple classes in each year all the fourth class teachers could have a Team and share resources, preparation for T & L etc with other 4th class teachers.

Links to previously generated Forms and Quizzes could be stored in the 4th class Teams files and used as required. This resource could be built on over the years.

If a year group was working on a policy for let’s say maths teaching in 4th class all the 4th class teachers could work on the document simultaneously and edit in real time from their homes
<p class=”MsoNormal”><span lang=”EN-GB” style=”mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;”>Homework can be assigned to pupils, feedback given and a record of results maintained.</span></p>
Possible challenges: It would be important to remember not to have duplicate team names and to set up naming conventions early on in the introduction to Teams.

Pupils working on a particular project could have a channel where they share ideas and work together whilst maintaining a record of their work safe from the eyes of their classmates until ‘the big reveal’.
<p class=”MsoNormal”>Microsoft Teams has a huge bank of resources to support its use in education. I was interested in the examples of the Learning Accelerators including Coach.</p>
Link to video here

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Myriam,

Thank you for your post. An online LMS works so well in larger schools, where there are multiple classes at each stream. Teachers can share resources and collaborate with one another in real time. If all classes are doing this, there will be a considerable bank of resources for teachers to inherit when they move class levels. The challenge you have outlined is one that we have also had some experience with – to get around this, all classes were set up by a school administrator with the name of the teacher included in the name line. This ensured that there was no confusion when assignments were being sent from third-party sites such as WordWall and EdPuzzle.

[James Tobin]

The entire Microsoft package has so much to offer in terms of teaching and learning. As stated at the outset, we are all familiar with the basics of word, excel, powerpoint, there is so much more to support classroom work. In particular powerpoint is a presentation application that creates a slideshow of important information, charts, and images to display during your class. My more advanced understanding of the features of PowerPoint will hopefully enable me create more interesting presentations including enhanced interactive features.
In any classroom context, you always want to me presentations more appealing and interesting. Design ideas to make your presentation more visually appealing. With many on-line activities available on scoilnet and the likes, you can easily edit and adapt previously collated material to fit in with your classroom context and learning intentions. The ability to embed links, and videos to ensure multimedia presentations are top-notch can make top quality powerpoints. I would see this as a replacement for ‘ seesaw’ which is in use in many classrooms. I would envisage using the online version to allow collaboration/group work for pupils. While I found the record feature difficult at the start, I think with additional practice I will be able to master the art. I would also see opportunities.

I have seen other colleagues dabble with the teams feature on microsoft teams. In one particular case the teacher has created a class team that allows communication between teachers and students. This facilitates the management of homework and project work in a more manageable manner.
I think it would be important not just for the teacher to be able to manage teams, but for pupils to be taught the skills of using some of the apps to present work etc. I think specific apps could be taught progressively throughout the school as the pupils get older.

The feedback feature in terms of teams and being able to provide exercise feedback is certainly a feature I would be interested in developing in school. During Covid times we used teams as a mode of scheduling meetings and video calls with classes and amongst staff groups.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Eoghan O'Neill.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi James,

Thank you for your post. The Office 365 suite has so much potential for use in the school setting, both in the classroom and for office administration. PowerPoint and Sway are great presentation tools, and can be used by the teachers to share information with pupils. They can also be used by pupils as a medium to respond to certain learning activities. ‘Seesaw’ is a really useful learning platform, and I have loved using it with the younger classes. However, it is quite limited as you move up the school and there are not as many opportunities for pupils to delve deeper into their learning. Using Microsoft (or Google) platforms allows pupils the chance to take greater ownership of their own learning.

[Tara Walsh]

From my experience using Microsoft Teams, it is quite easy to navigate and very use friendly (I have always used PowerPoint and Word for lessons and lesson plans etc). I have previously used it in the classroom by showing children how to access files and documents etc. which in turn the children had no problem in navigating by themselves. (senior end of school)

As a school, I feel it is efficient in sharing school documents, such as policies and notes etc. It is a very accessible area to allow teachers communicate with one another. By having a space where many files can be stores, it shows ease of access for teachers and staff to access all files in the one area.

It also seems to be a very efficient way of communicating with parents and allow the parents to see the children’s work along with the teacher’s responses. The feedback option is also fantastic as it allows for individual feedback and guidance for the children.

In terms of challenges, I feel that the whole school would need to be on board with using it and become familiar with the different apps available, which might not always be efficient. I also feel as though perhaps the junior end of the school may struggle with using this facility in school unless they were being supported throughout the entire lesson.

[Catherine Murray]

I can see that at times the Teams app would be very useful. It is definitely something that I need to become more familiar with and I felt the overview of it here was a bit more of a whistle stop tour. I would need a bit more support and guidance in it to better see how it would be of benefit to the staff and pupils. I am somewhat competent in using technology but there would need to be upskilling of staff so that everyone would be confident in using it for shared staff communication and then for use with pupils. I found it challenging and as I said I am not computer illiterate!

I do feel that it would be a very good way to share resources but i feel this is already very well covered by using sharepoint which we use as a staff regularly. Maybe going forward I would try to switch over to using it for online meetings rather than using Zoom. I can see how the assignments section would be handy for more senior classes in primary school and really would have been of a greater benefit when we were remote teaching!

I completed the PowerPoint recording but did not have the facility to upload to Stream. I’m not sure if our version had that function.

I look forward to taking the time going forward to see more of what teams has to offer and implementing it more going forward.

 

[Tara Walsh]

Hi Catherine, I totally agree that Microsoft Teams app would be extremely useful in the senior classrooms for ‘project’ type assignments. I do also agree and think that I will be moving to Teams for video conferencing instead of Zoom due to its accessibility and efficiency. I also agree that this would be a great benefit for having all apps and resources in the same place rather than having lots of different apps holding them.

[Melissa Campbell]

Powerpoint recording
I was unable to upload to stream due to using my own 365 subscription but I have included a link to it in my drive below.
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AnNEWMFwsRDdkF858pLqUP5kbZuC?e=MUpROT

Microsoft teams has a lot of benefits for communicating, collaborating and sharing resources among staff members in schools. In primary I can see how it would be beneficial among different teams for example a whole school team, a SEN team. class levels etc. Anything that encourages sharing and collaboration while keeping it within the platform will be very beneficial to teachers and other school staff. I wonder if a challenge arises in schools where teachers are added to multiple teams and the notifcations etc. become overwhelming.

At primary I would be interested if many schools chose microsoft teams as their learning platform and how this worked with younger classes or if they limited it to senior classes and used something like seesaw for younger classes. I expect that students in senior classes would become used to the platform and be well able to work with it and the linkage with the microsoft suite of apps would be useful, particularly given the accessibility options that microsoft has such as immersive reader.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Melissa,

Thanks for your post and for sharing your recording with us. The design is excellent and it clearly is an engaging introduction to the number 5 for younger children. As you have said, Teams is an excellent collaboration tool and can be used by a variety of different teams within a school for sharing resources and planning. School leadership can really prioritise this, and include the use of OneNote to create a series of resources on different themes and topics for each class level. This would make it really easy for new teachers to the school (in terms of working on school plans), and also allow for easier transitions when teachers move between class levels.

[Alan Weston]

This is the link to my Microsoft Stream Powerpoint video:

https://etbddl-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/alanweston_ddletb_ie/ETLN4GIkYeVAjJ2mM1BK8fEBhAaJiZTlqiWIWkWyCFfeiQ?e=entkxu&nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJTdHJlYW1XZWJBcHAiLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJTaGFyZURpYWxvZyIsInJlZmVycmFsQXBwUGxhdGZvcm0iOiJXZWIiLCJyZWZlcnJhbE1vZGUiOiJ2aWV3In19

[Alan Weston]

Microsoft Teams is really easy to use and navigate, and so it is open for everyone to use, including staff, pupils and parents.
Teachers can be part of different teams within the school – from class-level teams (i.e. all the 5th class teachers, and possibly the SEN teachers at that level), to teams within the school, e.g. Digital Team, English Team, or as a whole staff communicating on day-to-day issues and resource-sharing. This includes the ability to plan meetings using the calendar.
It also crucially includes the ability to meet online, to share resources in the Files/Folders and to chat on the chat. This allows for so much collaboration. Lessons can be planned easily, with opportunities to meet and chat, and for a single location for resources to be stored. Not only that, but resources can be worked on simultaneously be several people. Team-teaching or learning support sharing are easily planned this way. Teams also allows for easy communication via the chat function as often or as little as required.
I personally have quite a few teams in place allowing for very focused work on specific areas with access to specific resources in the Files. It is easy to store, share, save in Files.
The Microsoft Streaming of Powerpoint is very useful for making supports and presentations for other teachers or for making presentations to pupils. It is also great for making flipped lessons.
Pupils can make great use of Teams to ask questions on assignments, submit assignments and access resources in folders.
Some challenges relate to training – more is always needed and more time for this is also always needed. For pupils and staff. You also need whole school buy in.
Another issue I have encountered is the need for emails for pupils under the age of 13. As a school we are not permitted to create these emails – so I need a solution to this.
The reading accelerators are great and can be particularly good for learning support.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by Alan Weston.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Alan,

Thank you for your post. Teams really does make it easy to collaborate and share files/calendars, etc. between staff members. There is scope for curricular groups and school leaders to have their own teams where school policies and schemes of work are worked out in a collective space. As you have alluded to, Teams can also be a hub for students to submit and review their work and assignments. When integrated with One Note, it could be a place to go to for study and revision – files and demonstrations worked through during school could be added to the notebook for revision purposes. These could then be reused each year with the same class level, with relevant revisions made to suit the needs of the new class.

[Annmarie Lannery]

Microsoft Teams offers an all-round platform for efficiently managing shared resources in both departmental and classroom settings. Departments can use Teams to centralise documents, schedules, and communication, fostering collaboration among members. Classrooms benefit from shared resources like assignments, presentations, and discussions, enhancing engagement and organisation. It has an awful lot more to offer than I realised before engaging with the course.

Challenges may arise in terms of getting staff members on board and technical know-how. Training may be required for some users to effectively navigate and utilise Teams’ features. Balancing access and permissions is vital to maintain data security and privacy. This is something the Digital Learning Team would have to consider. Ensuring consistent resource updates and proper version control can also be challenging.

Opportunities are plentiful. Teams allows real-time collaboration, enabling multiple users to work simultaneously on shared documents, increasing productivity. The platform’s chat and video capabilities enhance communication and can be used to facilitate remote or hybrid learning. As well as this, Teams’ cloud-based nature ensures accessibility from various devices, meaning staff members/pupils don’t have to be together when they’re working on a project.

In conclusion, Microsoft Teams is a great solution for managing shared resources in both departmental and classroom contexts. Despite challenges related to adoption and data management, the platform’s features offer ample opportunities for improved collaboration, organization, and engagement.

I am using PowerPoint 2016 on my Microsoft SurfacePro and do not have access to the ‘Recording’ function. I cannot enable it using the instructions provided in the presentation either.

[Conor Mc kenna]

After having used Teams for the first time during this course I can really see its benefits. I can see that it can be a great hub for both staff and children. For Staff it is a great place to share resources and a place to house and access easily all the important documents and files that staff members need on a daily or weekly basis.

for children it is a great way for them to upload homework for the teacher to see. they can also use it collaboratively to work on projects together. The real time communication it provides can be very helpful to children but it would need to be carefully monitored by a teacher.

With PowerPoint i never knew you could record yourself over the slides. this will be a big intensive for the child in my class as we use PowerPoint a lot for their projects and now they will be able to record themselves over the slides. they will enjoy this a lot I imagine. this will really increase their engagement with the lesson and verbalizing what they have studied is a great way to get that information to stick. Below is my own PowerPoint, it is a test run of how to use it.

 
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[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Conor,

Thank you for your post – Teams is certainly an excellent platform for use in schools and the more you work on the platform, the easier it becomes and the more comfortable you will be. It is certainly a great way to share resources as a staff and it really lends itself to the creation of a ‘digital staffroom’. Being able to access and work on documents at home/in school is essential for those who cannot stay after school for collaboration, etc. due to differing family commitments. Recording on PowerPoint has been around for a number of different versions of the app, but is certainly a feature that remains under utilised.

[Conor Mc kenna]

https://onedrive.live.com/edit.aspx?resid=B61DEF29D968D6B6!875&ithint=file%2cpptx&ct=1692089786158&wdOrigin=OFFICECOM-WEB.MAIN.EDGEWORTH&wdPreviousSessionSrc=HarmonyWeb&wdPreviousSession=28ccbcd9-98b1-44ef-a25e-e10bd8c67c33&wdo=2

[James Tobin]

Fonaic a.pptx

I played around with powerpoint and created a short phonics lesson

[David Moroney]

It seems Microsoft Teams has huge potential for use in education, again particularly in the recent years of Covid. Education relies greatly on collaboration these days and there are many different parties involved in a school community. Microsoft Teams provides a platform for collaboration for groups of teachers (SET, 6th class team, IT group, etc), class groups of students and other groups, such as board of management, etc. Groups can work on documents and teaching resources together remotely. It allows for material to be shared and thus potentially reduces workload, as groups of teachers can share the same content with pupils. Pupils can respond to teaching resources and demonstrate learning. Teachers can provide feedback to these responses. Microsoft Teams supports all of this collaboration. It does not come without challenges though, I’m sure. With regards to pupils, it presumes that they have access to technology at home in order to be able to participate outside of school. Also, staff and would need training in using its tools and to exercise caution in sharing information with others to ensure confidentiality. Overall, Microsoft Teams seems to lend itself to teaching and education, and I look forward to using it in the future. I particularly enjoyed the record function in Microsoft Powerpoint and see it as a powerful teaching tool.

[Selene Lambri]

We use Microsoft teams daily in my school to share resources, assignments, assessments within the school.
We also use Microsoft teams to chat, group chats and to host external speakers, this represents an extremely useful function especially when organising interviews or training sessions or when working from home if relevant.
This function was very useful during lockdown but I often found it tricky to navigate and not as accessible as other programs, when I was teaching in a mainstream school I found it quite difficult to manage especially because students were using the chat function to chat to one another. I now teach in a special school and I am not sure how this app could be made of easy access for my students as it appears quite complex and not of immediate understanding.
C:\Users\SeleneFitzsimons\Downloads\Ma famille.mp4

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by Selene Lambri.

[Mairead Norlin]

Regarding the assessment, I was able to create an interactive lesson on Powerpoint but could not figure out how to upload it to Stream through the Powerpoint app. That said, I managed to record the Powerpoint using Stream also.

Link to Stream – Recording-20240812_204639.webm

Microsoft Teams provides a versatile platform for sharing department and classroom resources, enhancing collaboration and streamlining communication. A major advantage is the centralized repository for materials, which simplifies access for both teachers and students. By organizing resources like lesson plans, assignments, and study materials in channels, it becomes easier for students to locate what they need. Additionally, integration with other Microsoft tools such as OneNote and SharePoint further enriches this experience, supporting seamless collaboration and real-time updates.

However, there are some challenges to consider. The setup and organization of the platform can be time-consuming, and ensuring that all users are adept with its features might require extra training. Version control issues may also arise when multiple users edit documents simultaneously. Despite these hurdles, the potential for fostering a more connected and efficient learning environment makes Microsoft Teams a valuable asset for both educators and students.
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[Carmel Hogan]

Currently trying to create a team in Microsoft teams so that I can create an assignment. However, I am getting a message saying that I don’t have permission to create a team?

I completed the course on Flipped Instruction and can see how it would be hugely beneficial. However, in the school where I work students do not have access to IT at night and so they have to be allowed access recordings in school.
I can see the benefits of Microsoft Teams as it would allow departments to share lesson plans, schemes of work and resources in the one location. I currently do this with colleagues on one drive but can see how Teams is beneficial too. The fact that teachers can share and work on documents simultaneously could make for very successful collaboration.
I can also see how for students the use of Microsoft Teams would be beneficial, as long as teachers use it consistently. With teaching from the book not a priority anymore (thankfully!) a centralised area for students to access at any time with PowerPoints, videos etc. would be hugely beneficial for students.
It would be essential for all staff and students to be given the opportunity to upskill and receive training in MS Team in order for it to roll out successfully.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Carmel,

Welcome to the course. On Teams, this is most likely a permissions issue as that message usually means your school’s IT admin has restricted who can create new Teams. It’s worth checking in with your Digital Learning Coordinator, they should be able to grant you access or set the team up for you.

Good plan to adjust flipped learning to suit your pupils’ access needs. Giving them the time in school is a good workaround for the lack of access at home.

Agreed also,  Teams is great forcollaboration, it’s a one-stop shop IMO and having everything in one place and being able to co-edit documents can make things much more streamlined

One idea to build on what you’ve outlined could be to explore Class Notebook (A favourite of mine) within Teams. It’s a great way to organise resources, support differentiation, and give pupils a space to reflect or respond.

Finally, your point about the necessity for relevant CPD is well made. I couldn’t agree with you more! If Teams (And indeed the 365 suite  as a whole) is going to be used consistently and effectively, both staff and pupils need the chance to upskill on it.

[Carmel Hogan]

Thanks Pat,

I work in a secure setting which is probably the reason why I have limited access to Teams.  Our students would not have access to Microsoft office, for security reasons but I certainly will look into Class Notebook.

[Pat Brennan]

Personally, I think Class Notebook is one of the best 365 tools to use in a classroom but if you’re student’s don’t have access, its appeal/benefits are diminished.

[Sarah Murray]

Microsoft teams can be used for departments to share resources and ideas for different lessons/topics. It is a good collaborative space for teachers to not only share documents and keep them all in the one place but also to share videos and links etc. It is great that everything can be kept together in one place and shared easily for everyone to use. It can also allow for collaborative work as everyone can work on the same document/resource.

The challenges with using Teams and sharing online resources may be that not everyone likes to work that way online, some people may be reluctant. The workload may also not be shared as some people may not upload as many resources as other people.

[Sarah Murray]

Media1.mp4

It wont allow me to share the microsoft stream link outside my organisation

[Pat Brennan]

No problem Sarah,

Thanks for letting me know.

[Emer Magee]

My Powerpoint Presentation with recording uploaded to Stream.

https://stmarysnationalschool493-my.sharepoint.com/personal/emagee_stmarysnsbagenalstown_ie/_layouts/15/stream.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Femagee%5Fstmarysnsbagenalstown%5Fie%2FDocuments%2FSummer%20Course%20PP%20Presentation%20with%20Recording%201%2Emp4&referrer=StreamWebApp%2EWeb&referrerScenario=AddressBarCopied%2Eview%2E0051a0ad%2D8ea7%2D4e9a%2D9a99%2D430a5ebccd15&isDarkMode=false

Thanks,

Emer Magee

• This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Emer Magee.

[Emer Magee]

1. I created an assignment in Teams

2. I completed a Microsoft Learn Course

3. I uploaded a link to my powerpoint in a previous submission.

4. Consider how Microsoft Teams can be used for shared Department and Classroom resources, listing the challenges and opportunities. Post a reflective piece (150 words minimum) as a reply to this post.

I used Microsoft Teams daily in my old school. It was a very big school and as head of the SEN department I found Teams very useful for scheduling meetings with parents and staff. When I scheduled a meeting which other staff members would be required to attend, I could immediately see if they were available for the meeting or not. We also used Microsoft Teams for video calling if staff members on leave or parents or BOM members were unable to attend in person.

We also used Microsoft Teams for collaboration. It was used for various staff groups to enable collaboration. For example, we had a Droichead Team. The members of the team included NQTs, PSTs and the Principal. Having a central location for organising documents and posting Droichead related queries was vital for the successful running of the programme.

Microsoft Teams can also be very useful for creating pupil teams and assignments, however I don’t think my school is ready for that yet! I am slowly introducing Microsoft 365 in my new school. I have started off with email only for the past 6 months. In the next 6 months, I hope to incorporate the use of Microsoft Teams and Calendar. Slow and steady wins the race!

[Aileen Moriarty]

 

During covid I found myself very quickly using many methods of communication with staff and the children across our school. So many platforms were tried and tested and rolled out and I really wish I had the knowledge then that I am now gaining from this course. We used Zoom a lot and even had a graduation through it, that all seems quite mad now!

I did not have much experience with Microsoft Teams except to attend online meetings so I look forward to trying it out in the future and am enjoying investigating it here also. It would also be a good way to have valuable speakers from outside your school join at Croke Park sessions. It seems very user friendly and easy to navigate around. It will also be wonderful to be able to use it to share documents and policies with others and allow teachers to collaborate together better in the future.

I also like the way of communicating with parents as it allows them to see their children’s work along with teacher responses.

I think it would be extremely important to roll something like this out with a whole staff and training would need to be undertaken by all for it to work effectively and efficiently. Staff buy in an sometimes be challenging particularly where teachers and staff change throughout the years.

I enjoy using Microsoft PowerPoint and we work as a team to collaborate on a newsletter together each term for the school. I have shared PowerPoints with screen recordings to our staff and parents to show them how to follow instructions on new initiatives we roll out across the school.

[Rafe Garland]

Link to steam presentation https://wetns-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/rafe_garland_wicklowetns_com/EXWe9JbW2AtIld8tO6dMkNUBu70LRhoI3H17m7LDmPm6Cg?e=8l2iIk&nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJTdHJlYW1XZWJBcHAiLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJTaGFyZURpYWxvZy1MaW5rIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXcifX0%3D

I believe that Microsoft Teams has great potential for sharing department resources. Our school would keep all of their policies, planning records, timetables etc on it. It’s great to have a centralised data storge that allows teachers to share resources with one another instantly. When taking over a new class, it can be very helpful to have access to the plans and resources used previously by teachers as a starting point for their own plans.

Similarly, I think it provides a great opportunity for children to work individually and collectively, while enhancing their digital literacy skills and making work more engaging. It comes with it’s challenges though as supervision of what happens on screens can be challenging and giving students a means to communicate electronically in school or at home, poses it’s only set of challenges, with regards cyber-bullying etc.

[Paul Munroe]

Hi Rafe. Thanks for your post. You have described the strengths of Teams really well. In particular, when it comes to resource sharing and planning. Having everything in one place makes everything more efficient and, of course, saves time. If you are getting students to use Teams to share and collaborate, then I would definitely have agreed rules and protocols around this. This can be agreed upon when you are demonstrating how the tools work. This will allow the children to build their digital literacy skills and also learn how to use these tools respectfully and safely.

[Rafe Garland]

Link to steam presentation https://wetns-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/rafe_garland_wicklowetns_com/EXWe9JbW2AtIld8tO6dMkNUBu70LRhoI3H17m7LDmPm6Cg?e=8l2iIk&nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJTdHJlYW1XZWJBcHAiLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJTaGFyZURpYWxvZy1MaW5rIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXcifX0%3D

I believe that Microsoft Teams has great potential for sharing department resources. Our school would keep all of their policies, planning records, timetables etc on it. It’s great to have a centralised data storge that allows teachers to share resources with one another instantly. When taking over a new class, it can be very helpful to have access to the plans and resources used previously by teachers as a starting point for their own plans.

Similarly, I think it provides a great opportunity for children to work individually and collectively, while enhancing their digital literacy skills and making work more engaging. It comes with it’s challenges though as supervision of what happens on screens can be challenging and giving students a means to communicate electronically in school or at home, poses it’s only set of challenges, with regards cyber-bullying etc.

[Jamie O’Sullivan]

https://gsfaithleann-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/jamie_gsfaithleann_ie/ERzT7l3h_SlJtni8mWzrUv0BA0e2v2L3UHKjBzw2_Ei4Bg?e=xzpa6l&nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJTdHJlYW1XZWJBcHAiLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJTaGFyZURpYWxvZy1MaW5rIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXcifX0%3D

Please find above the Powerpoint recording I created using screen recorder from a lesson I do every year towards the end of year. Apologies there is no sound as the environment I was in didn’t allow me to speak over the video. Naturally I would have done so had it allowed me to.

We as a school are only beginning the utilise all that Microsoft 365 and Teams has to offer. From a sharing perspective I think it is a valuable resource for teachers to share work, files or lessons. A huge part of teaching is our planning and we can make life so much easier for each other by having these files in a central location available to all at the click of a button. Therefore in this regards it has been invaluable as we gradually adapt to it and begin to use it more. An area that I do find challenging is in terms of communication. As in all companies or day to day living communication is vitally important. However, I do find myself frustrated with it as we have Aladdin, email, Teams Chat and even WhatsApp. There can be too many options at times and in the end nothing happens or somme teachers use one and not the other. We are creatures of habit and it can be difficult to change from what we have always done. So I do see communication as one of the challenges with Microsoft 365 because of the other options already available in a school. Then do you try and implement a policy which can only cause issues as well. Sometimes less is more at times.

 

[Paul Munroe]

Thanks for your post on this, Jamie. You have highlighted some of the pros and cons associated with Microsoft 365. It’s always good to have a central place for storage, but communication on the platform can sometimes be challenging. One thing you could try to sort that out is to maybe use  Teams Chat is for quick, day-to-day messages, and email is for longer updates. That can cut down on the confusion and make everything a lot cleaner.

[Author]

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