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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,
PatHi Kate,
I agree, ongoing professional development is essential for educators. Gone are the days when graduation from college marked the conclusion of studies. As you’ve mooted the education is changing continually and we as professionals need to reflect and upskill to best be able to adapt to change. We are indeed all lifelong learners. However, just like our students as you mentioned in module two, there’s no one size fits all here, CPD needs to be relevant and meaningful to each teacher. If this is not the case, it becomes just a box ticking exercise.
Hi Aine,
When starting digital learning integration into teaching, learning and assessment it’s so important to start small and build from there, evolution instead of revolution. Key too is to start with your learning outcomes and then choose the technology that can best support their realisation. Sometimes we put the cart before the horse, focusing on the technology and then trying to shoehorn the curricular objectives around. The focus should never be only on the technology in itself but instead how we can embed into into our practice/pedagogy…
Hi Orla,
I agree both Immersive Reader and Dictate and extremely powerful tools for use in the SEN classroom and particularly as you’ve mooted in EAL scenarios. In fact, these Microsoft’s Learning Tools in conjunction with the other 365 apps like Word, OneNote and Teams can be used to tailor bespoke supports that cater for a vast array of educational needs. Having such powerful assistive tools inbuilt into the tools our students use daily is invaluable and even better still is that Microsoft continue to develop new assistive tools. Reading Progress in Teams is one new addition that springs to mind…
Hi Róísin,
As you have identified, there’s a lot more to Teams than video calling. In fact, it is a powerful digital hub that centralises learning, work and collaboration in one place that can be deployed for free in schools. Of course, there’s a certain degree of upskilling required to ensure all staff are familiar and comfortable with the app prior to school deployment and I would start initially with a Staff Team to aid this familiarisation process before looking at creating class teams for senior classes as suggested and giving students access. Another suggestion would be to create a OneNote Staff Notebook from within the staff team integrating OneNote functionality seamlessly, including a personal workspace for every teacher, a content library for shared information, and a collaboration space to work together.
Hi Donnacha,
OneNote’s versatility is what makes it such a powerful tool for teaching and learning and your example of using it to share school policies is one of a myriad of educational tasks it can be put to. If teacher and whole school planning is something you plan using OneNote for in your school I would strongly advise installing the free Class Notebook Add-in and use same to create a OneNote Staff Notebook which provides a personal workspace for every teacher, a content library for shared information, and a collaboration space. Alternatively, you can create the notebook within a Microsoft Team. For more information on OneNote and Class Notebook see onenoteforteachers.com
Hi Shirley,
Welcome to the course. As mooted previously on the forum, I’ve been using Microsoft’s productivity suite in the classroom for over 20 years but only up until relatively recently, focusing on the staple apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. However, there’s so many more tools we can use like Sway, Forms and my own personal favourite OneNote. I agree, the Sway app is a powerful yet simple to use tool, ideal for digital storytelling and picture or photo stories. You’ve mentioned how you might use it instead of PowerPoint for project work and sometimes less is more. The simplicity of Sway lets students focus on their content instead of getting distracted by the bells and whistles of PowerPoint.
Hi Patrice,
You’ve outlined here some of the key features of OneNote in the classroom particularly for EAL students and Immersive Reader but also for paperless teacher planning. As I’ve alluded to many times on this forum, I see OneNote as the digital version of a Swiss Army knife, it can be put to so many different uses. However, you are right to point out that for it to work effectively, it’s use needs to be planned for on a whole-school basis and a certain degree of up-skilling will need to be provided in advance, so all teachers are familiar and comfortable with OneNote. This is something that you should raise with your Digital learning coordinator or DL team in school. I would suggest, a couple of Croke Park hours designated for same would be a good place to start…
Hi Therese,
I agree that there is much we can learn from the experience of remote learning during Covid and we need to take the practices that worked and move forward whilst being mindful of the problems experienced and that the experience was not a positive for every teacher. You refer to other colleagues who are less comfortable with digital one learning and bringing these along is mission critical to embedding digital learning in teaching, learning and assessment across the whole school. This is where the provision of regular and relevant CPD for all staff comes in and designating a Croke Park hour every month for this purpose is advisable. This too can be further supported by having a digital mentoring programme among staff where the more tech-savvy teachers support those who are less comfortable with the tools.
Hi Brendan,
Welcome to the course. From what you’ve outlined here your school has been using 365 for communication and collaboration effectively now for some time. However, with so many additional tools like Sway and Forms as mooted. Coupled with ongoing upgrades and additions, it’s hard to keep up to speed with what Microsoft 365 offers. I’ve been using the Microsoft suite extensively for over 20 years and yet have only really gone beyond PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook in recent years. That’s really the primary aim of this course is to get , people to look beyond these staples and start to explore tools like Sway, Forms, OneDrive, Teams and OneNote…
Hi Shane,
Welcome to the course. I agree, Immersive reader can be a very powerful literacy tool when used in SET and and mainstream. It enables all text to be accessible to all students and provides a scaffolding approach to learning. Functionality like the ability to adjust text size and spacing, break words into syllables and the talk to text features are the key parts of this scaffold. These tools as you’ve mooted, are great for improving student confidence and increasing their opportunities to work independently.
Dictate too is a great tool in 365, particularly for students who struggle with keyboard input.
Hi Patrice,
Welcome to the course. Unfortunately, I’m unable to access that link to the form due to sharing permissions but no worries as this part of the assignment is optional. Going by the link, the form appears to be a Google and not a 365 one, both share the same name and indeed functionality so are equally useful in the classroom, particularly for formative assessment.
From what you’ve outlined, your school is already using OneDrive very effectively for teacher planning and collaboration. The next step I would suggest is to integrate OneDrive with a Staff Team in Microsoft Teams if you don’t already have one setup? The benefit of this is that you can then use this not just to access shared files/resources but also as a hub for all staff communication, collaboration and digital productivity, keeping everything together in one place rather than having to move between apps like Forms, Outlook, OneNote etc. More on Teams in Module 2…
Hi Niamh,
Whilst I couldn’t agree more, we must start with the learning outcomes and then at how technology can could support same rather than feeling compelled to use technology for the sake of it. However, it’s difficult to integrate digital learning when there’s a lack of hardware, 9 iPads shared among 24 isn’t adequate and creates added classroom management headaches. At a minimum you should have a device between two and these, preferably with similar spec and running the same version of the OS. Having the right hardware is crucial and should be the priority in your school improvement plan. Finding the money for same in already tight school budgets is another story but fortunately in the Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 published in April there is a commitment for technology specific funding annually over the course of the strategy. Exactly how much this will equate to isn’t known yet but reassuring nonetheless so schools can plan effectively for digital learning going forward.
Hi Laura,
Thanks for sharing the link but unfortunately due to sharing permissions I am unable to access same. No worries, as this is an optional part of the assignment.
I agree that developing collaboration skills among our students is really important as it is an essential skill in today’s (And tomorrows) workplace. Providing your students with more leadership opportunities through collaboration and then getting them to critically analyse the effectiveness of their group work is a great way to increase awareness and in turn develop such skills.
Hi again Clairemarie,
Just picking up on one point from your post. I think the phrase “Adaption of pedagogical strategies when using digital technologies to personalise and facilitate pupils” is key. We need to start with the teaching and learning strategies and then integrate the technology, not the other way round. Far too often digital technologies are seen as the panacea for all and this notion becomes particularly nuanced when it comes to assistive technologies. Technology should only be part of a bespoke student support programme when the technology is matched with the needs of the student.