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Hi Carol,
I can really relate to your comments about limited student access to technology. We have similar challenges in our hospital school, so I also see OneNote being used more by teachers than directly by students. I like your idea of sharing resources with subject teachers. I was also thinking it could become a collaborative space where staff build up lesson ideas and resources together, helping to provide a more consistent learning experience for students who move between teachers or return to us over time.
While I can see the benefits of OneNote for students, my first thought was actually how useful it could be for our teaching team. In a hospital school, students are often admitted for short periods, transferred between wards or return for recurring admissions. It’s quite common for more than one teacher to work with the same student over time, so having a shared space for lesson ideas, resources and notes could really help us provide a more consistent educational experience.
I also like the idea of using OneNote as a collaborative planning tool. Teachers could share successful activities, adapt resources for different age groups or medical needs, and build up a bank of ideas that everyone can contribute to. In our setting, where flexibility is so important, having that collective knowledge in one place would be a real asset.
Although our students don’t always have consistent access to devices, I still think OneNote has huge potential behind the scenes. One idea that came to mind was creating a digital staff handbook in OneNote. It could include our standard operating procedures, induction materials, guidance for new teachers, links to policies and practical tips for working in different clinical areas. Unlike a printed handbook, it could be updated easily and would always be available to staff when they need it.
Overall, I came away thinking that OneNote could become less of a student notebook and more of a collaborative workspace that strengthens communication, continuity and consistency across our hospital school.
The Learning Accelerators that stood out to me were Reading Coach, Immersive Reader and Reflect. Working in a hospital school, our students often have very different needs from one day to the next, so I like the idea of tools that can be adapted to each individual.
I can see myself using Immersive Reader with students who are tired or finding it hard to concentrate because of treatment. Simple features like having text read aloud or changing the layout could make a real difference. Reading Coach also looks really useful, especially for students whose reading has been disrupted because they have been away from school for long periods. It could help them rebuild confidence in a relaxed way during short teaching sessions.
I was also really interested in Reflect. Sometimes the biggest challenge isn’t the lesson itself but understanding how a student is feeling that day. A quick check-in could help me judge the best approach for the lesson and open up conversations that might not otherwise happen. Overall, I think these tools fit really well with the flexible, student-centred approach we try to take in hospital teaching.
It would also be great to be able to capture some of this data for use in our SSE process. As our students are transitory – progression can be hard to track.
I completely agree with your point about using quizzes with all learners. In the hospital school setting, our lessons are often short and can be interrupted, so a quick quiz or exit ticket is a useful way to check understanding before a student finishes. It also gives us valuable feedback on how well the lesson worked and helps us adapt the next session to the student’s changing needs and energy levels. Because we have a transitory student population we also look for data to use as part of our SSE. I think exit tickets could help with this.
Hi Carol
Thanks for sharing your reflections. You’ve convinced me to have a look at the Microsoft Learn courses on both Forms and Copilot. I liked your suggestion in the other discussion about embedding podcasts and videos in Sway. I wonder if adding Forms into a Sway could make those lessons even more interactive for students.
The challenge of limited access to technology for students is a huge barrier to fully incorporating ideas like these into our teaching.
I did create a digital story in Sway and I can see the benefits of using this tools over powerpoint. It seems that I can only share Sways within my organisation. Below is the link to a simple student exit ticket in MS forms
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/rdYrPGMCM5
The modules on Microsoft Forms and Sway made me think about how these tools could be used in a hospital school, where teaching is often very different from a mainstream classroom. Lessons can be short, interrupted, and delivered at the bedside, so anything that helps make learning more flexible is worth exploring.
One idea I had while working through the Forms module was to create a simple student exit ticket. Students could quickly tell us how engaged they felt during the lesson, whether they learned something new, or if there was anything they would like more help with. Because many of our students only work with us for a short time, this kind of feedback could be really useful. It would also give us evidence to support our School Self-Evaluation process by helping us understand students’ experiences and identify areas we could improve.
I also think Sway has real potential in hospital teaching. We already use iPads regularly with students on the wards, and I can imagine creating interactive learning “stories” that combine text, pictures, videos and short activities. Students could work through them at their own pace and return to them if their lesson is interrupted by treatment or if they become tired. It could also help ensure a more consistent learning experience, even when different teachers are working with the same student.
Overall, these tools seem like practical ways to make learning more engaging while also helping us gather useful information about our practice. In a hospital school, where flexibility and student-centred teaching are so important, I think both Forms and Sway have the potential to support teaching, learning and ongoing school improvement.
