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Hi Amanda,
Thank you for your post and for sharing the successes you have had on your digital journey to date. While you clearly benefitted from the support of the PDST advisor, it’s important that your school takes a lot of the credit. Achieving what you have is significant and requires strong leadership and buy-in from within the school.
I really like the way you broke down your objectives and set realistic timelines for their implementation. The Digital learning Framework has clearly guided you in this process. In terms of digital integration, many of us can be guilty of trying to achieve too much too soon. The importance of small steps and regular, small successes cannot be overstated in terms of implementing an improvement plan.
Hi Samantha,
Unfortunately, the share settings on the Form have not allowed me to view it.
The use of ‘sections’ in a form is very useful for ‘branching’, i.e. if pupils get a series of questions correct, they can skip ahead a section. If pupils are struggling they can move to a ‘section’ that allows them extra practice.
With regard to your query on deleting all sections, anything you do on a form can be undone. The back and forward arrow on the top right of your window allows you to ‘undo’ and ‘redo’ steps. This can be done multiple times (i.e. you can undo up to 20 steps you’ve taken).
Hi Laura,
Knowledge construction is such an important 21st century skill and draws on numerous skills from across the 1999 curriculum. I really like your idea of using a rubric to ensure that the learning process is scaffolded and differentiated by all learners.
Research by Dylan William on formative assessment found that the reason many students fail is due to a lack of understanding of what is required of them. The provision of a rubric sets out clear expectations and allows the children to check their progress against this at various intervals.
Hi Samantha,
When you open Google Forms, do boxes appear at the top? If so, the quiz is directly to the right of the blank form.
Alternatively, you can press ‘blank’ and then settings from the options at the top. There is a ‘make this form a quiz’ button that can be turned on (the first option after pressing settings). This will do the same job.
I hope either of those work – let us know if it’s still an issue and I can look further into it.
Hi Karen,
I’m delighted that you have found the Applied Digital Skills content and ideas useful. It is one of Google’s ‘hidden gems’, and many educators using the Google products are unaware of its existence.
I really like how structured some of the ideas and units are. For a teacher that may have a very limited knowledge of a particular area, it is a real plus. The structured nature guides both you and your students through the learning. The Google ‘CS First’ resource is similar to this when looking at more advanced forms of coding.
Hi Emma,
Welcome to the course and congratulations/best of luck with your new role. As Pat has alluded to in his post, the Google v Microsoft debate is very much subjective. In my experience, I have huge time for the Google Workspace products and feel they bring so much to the classroom. However, this opinion has been formed through experience of using the products – when I joined my school, the G-Suite license had already been secured and we were using the email function. Had the O365 license been secured by my predecessor, my opinion and approach may be very different.
I do really like the One Note function of Microsoft, of which there is no real Google alternative. However, I actually feel like Google Sites and Drawings are better tools than the likes of Sway. However, once again this is clouded by more use of Google products.
The streamlined and consistent approach that you have mentioned in your post is so important. Once a platform ahs been decided upon, it’s important to commit to using that. It’s a challenging role and there are/will be many frustrating days, but it is a huge responsibility and can bring great satisfaction.
Hi Diarmuid,
Thank you for your post – I really think it encapsulates all that is great about using Google Classroom. The variety of approaches you could use are very well outlined in your post. The ability to attach links, files, YouTube links, etc. really helps to create a ‘one stop shop’ for children. It guides them towards valuable educational content, and can cut down on time spent researching. In addition to this, it lends itself so easily to differentiation – extra content and sources can be provided for higher achievers and it can lead to far more ‘self-paced’ learning.
Hi Mary,
Welcome to the course and thank you so much for sharing your valuable experience of the use of OneDrive. The use of a cloud platform such as this is now so important in our schools, and is thought of as such within the ‘Teacher’s Collective and Collaborative Practice’ domain in Looking at Our Schools (2016).
Your post highlights how effectively you are using digital technologies, and you should be commended for this. I find all teachers, regardless of age or experience, can be reluctant to fully embrace the use of digital technologies. However, none of this is a barrier if you are willing to explore new approaches. The TPACK Framework speaks to this when it acknowledges the importance of 3 areas: technological knowledge, content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.
Hi Samantha,
Unfortunately, the access on the attached document was set to private. However, I can follow from your post that you have allowed for the use of a number of the Google Workspace products to promote collaboration.
Indeed, this could be taken a step further and the children could collaborate on formulating some ‘I wonder ….’ questions based on the investigation that they have completed. This really feeds into an inquiry based pedagogy that would allow the children to change either the conditions or a variable in the test. The Google products could then be used to record and communicate your results, and any deductions/conclusions that you were able to draw.
Hi Eimear,
Thanks for your post – the challenge the you face in your school is relatively unique and one that I would not be familiar with. It’s interesting the observations that you have noted regarding the loss of eye contact, etc. The activity you have described would be very effective at ‘forcing’ everyone in the class to open up and develop their communication skills. Doing this in a friendly, non-overbearing way is very helpful for those children who may be reluctant to share opinions and thoughts in a whole-class situation.
The issue of ‘screen time’ is an interesting one – some parents in our 2022/2023 DLF surveys noted concerns around this. However, the question must be raised about whether ‘screen time’ on school devices researching and creating curricular content is having an adverse effect, or if it is the passive scrolling on Smartphones, YouTube and video games? It’s certainly an interesting topic, and I’m sure there’s a thesis in it!
Hi Orla,
I fully agree with your point around Microsoft Forms being a superior alternative to Kahoot! While Kahoot! is very enjoyable for the children, I have my doubts about the reliability of the assessment data gathered from it. The time-bound element encourages children to rush, and the fact that they are simply pressing a colour can lead to errors. Forms offers a much simpler interface, where the emphasis is placed on allowing the child to showcase their knowledge on a topic in a non-competitive manner. As such, the data can be relied upon when making decisions that inform future teaching and learning.
Hi Elaine,
Thank you for your detailed post here. You have gone to great lengths to explain a wide range of helpful apps that you use in a special class setting. It is certainly a post I plan to save myself and refer back to. I am sure many others on this forum will feel the same.
You have also contributed a valuable piece on SSE and the Digital Learning Framework from the perspective of school management. With specific reference to the DLF, I feel it’s prudent to choose a statement of practice from both dimensions (teaching and learning / leadership and management). While it is an extra undertaking, I feel it pays off in terms of advancing the school further down the digital path.
Hi Samantha,
Thanks for your post. The ability for children to work collaboratively on documents, slideshows, etc. is a real draw of the Google Workspace products. Being able to see what changes were made (and by who) also brings accountability into the equation.
There are two ways in which pupils can be added to your class – this can be done by sharing the class code with students to join themselves or by inviting them by email (hit the person button on the right of the empty class list). This can be done in September when you have your class list and the kids are ready to go.
Hi Laura,
‘Small steps, as your post mentions really is the important thing. I’ve mentioned the importance of this in response to Amanda above, but it cannot be understated. Securing these early ‘wins’ and getting people to see some small benefits and perks of the switch to Office365 is all you will need to get momentum going in this direction.
Hi Gail,
You are correct in your summation of the importance of children being able to communicate and the centrality of ‘skilled communication’ to 21st century work. The story you have shared is extremely interesting in itself – it really doesn’t paint 1st or 2nd level education in the greatest light (obviously many other societal factors are also at play). You have suggested an excellent activity for developing on your current practice. Here, the children can be grouped by similar interests which should spark a deeper level of conversation and communication. Practice presenting in front of the group is also a very import skill.
