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Hi Robert,
It’s clear that you have a good grasp and understanding of the functionality of OneNote. The ‘class notebook’ is such a great feature for being able to distribute content to all students in the class. This can benefit their learning at home and assist them with homework, as it allows them to recap on work covered in class in their own time and at their own speed. The ability to type, write and provide audio feedback on work submitted is also a huge benefit of OneNote. Audio feedback has been a real game-changer since Covid and I find that my students respond much better to this than typed or written feedback.
Hi Alan,
Welcome to the course. The beauty of a platform like Office 365 (or Google Workspace) is that there will always be some new feature that you have been unaware of. We are constantly learning how these new tools can be applied within our own practice. One of the great things about the instant feedback and ‘live’ results are that you can tailor how you support the children in that moment. Feedback can prompt children to complete extra activities if they are getting all questions correct, while your interface may show that you need to go over certain concepts with individuals who are scoring poorly. This can be done ‘immediately’ and allows for interventions to be acted on much quicker than traditional assessments that require you to collect them and correct/grade after school.
Hi Robert,
Welcome to the course! You have clearly shown how Sway could be used and utilised within the school setting. As Pat mentioned in a previous post, Sway can often be a better tool to use in the classroom, as it removes the distractions and ‘bells and whistles’ of PowerPoint. Students can often become more concerned with backgrounds and transitions, which takes focus away from the content of the work. Sway has a simpler interface that allows students to create work that is more focused on content. You have also made a very important point about how secure it is once it is created within the school’s domain.
Hi Orla,
It’s great that your school is engaged in that consistent self-reflection, and is willing to try new initiatives to support students in the classroom. With regard to AT, it certainly is about finding that tool that will support the needs of the child in your class. There are so many options out there, and what often turns teachers off is the fact that the wrong tool being used for that child. When the right tool is stumbled upon it can be truly transformative. Highlighting common tools and their key features for all teachers would be beneficial as it would allow them to make more informed decisions when planning interventions for those with SEN.
Hi Ciara,
Thanks for your post. As you have said, Classroom can be a really effective too; which promotes collaboration. Getting children working on shared projects separately calls for much substantive decision making regarding the direction of the project. The seamless nature in which videos, files, etc. can be attached to a Classroom assignment means that children will never have to leave the interface – this is particularly useful for a ‘flipped’ model as it allows the teacher to identify specific material that you want the children to engage with before they come to school.
Hi Shane,
The lesson you have described is extremely well suited to the needs of a third class pupil with dyslexia. It really shows how the carefully planned use of digital technologies can be transformative for a pupil with a specific learning difficulty. Pobble365 is a great resource for providing a stimulus for writing genres. ‘Once Upon A Picture’ is another really good website for this. Your use of the ‘Dictate’ feature really allows a dyslexic learner to access the writing process in a much easier fashion, which will improve their self-esteem and their attainment of learning outcomes.
Hi Sabrina,
As you have said ‘less can often be more’ when it comes to digital technology integration. We are often consumed with doing as much as we can and trying out lots of different tools. However, having a few staple ‘go-to’ programmes can often be more effective. In many ways it’s about working smarter rather than harder. Prioritising this through SSE is the perfect opportunity for a school to plan in this way and to allow for meaningful and thoughtful integration of ICT’s.
Hi Ciara,
Welcome to the course. I think that, pound for pound, ‘Forms’ is my favourite Google tool. I love it’s simplicity and how it can be used with any class on any device. The variety of questions you can ask and the ability to add different forms of media into your questions helps to create dynamic assessments. In addition to this, the self-grading is a real timesaver and the data analysis allows me to see exactly what students / what areas need extra attention. Being able to provide both generalised and individualised feedback can really help to personalise and extend learning. There will be more content on ‘Forms’ as you move through the course.
Hi James,
One of the main things I have taken from your post is the need for ‘joined up thinking’ when it comes to planning for digital technology integration. This is no easy task, and even with a digital learning team it can be difficult to get everyone moving in the same direction at the same speed. A good first step may be to survey staff and students about what they use their ‘device time’ for. Having some form of structured activities that the whole school engage in during this time can help to break down barriers. It can produce a level of accountability with school staff. Agreeing on what activities constitute effective learning experiences with digital technologies is also an important discussion to have as a staff.
Hi Patricia,
I think you touch on a very important point here when you speak about modelling the skill. It is somewhat naïve to think that the skill would just come naturally to children, and therefore modelling and covering of specific teaching points is of utmost importance. Gradually releasing different levels of responsibility and gradually increasing the intensive of the collaboration is also important. You have alluded to this in your post when speaking about ‘Think, Pair, Share’ and talk and discussion around what good/bad collaboration looks like.
The collaborative digital story you have mentioned sounds like a lovely idea and would certainly build on the ground work you have carried out, whilst also developing a 21st century skill.
Hi Sarah,
Welcome to the course. You have really hit on some of the main benefits of using Sway. The beauty of it is in its simplicity. Adding images directly is a huge timesaver, as we all know the pain of searching images, copying them and then having to resize, etc. within our document or presentation. I really like your idea for a seasonal newsletter than could evolve into a more regular publication. The great thing about this is that you will have time to plan and work on it as a type of ‘trial’. By not committing to publishing a monthly newsletter through Sway initially you give yourself the opportunity to see how the children can work with it, and if it’s something they would be able to keep up with.
Hi Sabrina,
As you’ve said, Teams is so much more than a medium for video calling and information sharing. There are so many educational benefits that can support teaching and learning in the classroom. In my opinion, students in senior classes could go much further in their learning than they could through the use of Seesaw. You have mentioned the different levels of confidence and awareness among staff in this area. This is very true and it puts a premium on strong leadership and internal CPD. Through this, it would be possible to share your school’s bespoke vision for digital technologies and how Office 365 can be used to get you there. Appropriate and targeted training can then be provided to those who need it.
Hi Lauren,
The ‘dictate’ feature is an excellent one and one that really helps students with literacy difficulties and EAL students. I find that it can make the ‘writing’ process much less daunting and bring out some creativity with these pupils. It also promotes forming speech correctly and orally using the correct sentence structure. Similar features are also available on the iPad keyboard and within Google Docs.
Your reflective piece really speaks to the need for continued professional development and that of teacher’s being ‘lifelong learning’. By constantly engaging in reflection we are identifying strengths and weaknesses within our practice. It is then our responsibility as teachers to learn or upskill in these areas so that we can deliver the best experience possible for our students.
Hi Patrice,
It’s clear that you expose your students to plenty of different ICT’s in the classroom. Designing learning opportunities that enable our students to work as problem-solvers, knowledge constructors, etc. is the key. I think we need to move away from the passive use of digital technologies to a more active use. Essentially pupils would be creating content rather than consuming content with digital technologies. Having such a god base will stand you in good stead when attempting to plan for and design these learning experiences.
Hi Clare,
It’s clear that you engaged with a wide range of useful Google tools when working as an SET during periods of remote teaching. Much of the content you experienced in this module will be geared towards older children, but you will still be able to apply all of the ‘teacher functions’ of Classroom in a junior infant room. A useful digital storytelling app that can added as an ‘add on’ by your school admin is Adobe Spark Video (now called Adobe Creative Cloud Express). This is really user-friendly and the app deals exclusively with video making. I used it a lot with 1st class over the past few years and they were easily able to navigate it.
