- Intro from Lara, Technology Trainer - Creative Curriculum Design, NZ Professional Learning and Development Lead
- Something we think you'll like
- Product updates from Google to help with remote learning
- Tool of the week - Teachable Machine
- Featured online courses
- Microsoft, Google and Apple tips
- Classroom + Lesson Idea
- Website of the week - Code Avengers
- Remote teaching and learning advice
- When it all falls apart - surviving those moments when tech goes wrong!
- YouTube channel of the week: Apple Support
- Latest blog posts
- Join the UTB Team
- Win a free online course
Help us to help you!
Well the world has certainly changed in a very short space of time.
Like many of you around the world, we here in New Zealand are now on lockdown for the next four weeks. It’s a very bizarre, unsettling feeling and many of us are going to take a while to adjust to this new reality.
We want to hear from you. We want you to ask us questions so that we can answer them and really help you! Nothing is too big or too small! Often we will already have a resource that we can point you towards to answer it.
Read on to find out how you can ask us these questions and for advice about remote teaching, in what is usually our NZ PLD Update section. For the next few issues we’ll use this space to give you some advice around remote teaching and learning.
- Lara
Something we think you'll like...
Office Lens App
Office Lens is a highly effective tool to support students with literacy. It allows students to capture text from a book or a picture which they can then use with Immersive Reader to enlarge the text, changed its colour or even have it read back to them.
Updates
Product updates from Google to help with remote learning
Google has recently announced several new features in Hangouts Meet (their video calling platform) to support remote teaching and learning. This includes preventing students from muting teachers or kicking them out of the video call. Check out all the details here.
You can also check out all the recent updates from Google in this handy summary document.
Featured: Online Course
Courses to support Remote Teaching and Learning
Here are a few of our courses that could help you, right now, to get your remote teaching practices set up efficiently with tools across G Suite and Office 365.
You may have some colleagues who are feeling completely overwhelmed with getting started using the tools within G Suite. Our ‘Introduction to G Suite’ course is developed just for them. There are 10 modules, each has videos that guide you through getting started with the core G Suite tools. A great place to start.
The best way to master the 10 core G Suite skills quickly. Each module covers a different tool and takes you beyond the basics. You can purchase each module separately or the whole bundle for a heavily discounted price.
MICROSOFT - Windows 10 & Office 365
Five modules that will help you become more efficient and understand how to make the most of Windows 10. Find out more here.
This course has been designed to get you started as a user of Office 365 with OneDrive - the cloud storage platform that will allow you to access your files from anywhere and store them securely.
Microsoft Tip
PowerPoint Templates
Did you know that when you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint and you create a new file - there is an option to create a new infographic?
There are all sorts to choose from; family trees, game boards, sequence maps, timelines and much more!
There are even infographics showing how to have an organised inbox, how to work together in PowerPoint and how to host or attend a Teams meeting.
If you didn't know they were there, check them out. 😃
Google Tip
Appointment slots in Google Calendar
Now that many schools are operating remotely, we need to find new ways to keep supporting students in their learning.
One option is to use Google Calendar appointment slots to offer virtual 'consultation times' to give students 1:1 support with their work.
You can allocate time in your calendar in which students can book in to see you, and then give students a special link which they use to self-book in.
Once a student has booked a time, you could then add a Hangouts Meet video call link to the meeting so you can easily connect via Hangous Meet.
Learn more about setting up appointment slots in this blog post and more about Hangouts Meet here.
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Apple Tip
Healthy Screen Time Habits
Screen Time, found in Settings on iPad or iPhones, allows parents, children and teachers to monitor digital activity on devices.
It also allows guardians to help children create healthy habits by setting:
- Downtimes
- App limits
- Communication support
- Restrictions on viewing adult content
Screen time is an important tool for all users. Here's a quick video to show you how!
Lesson idea
Using avatars and animation for learning
While many schools are working remotely at the moment, students need tasks that allow them to be creative and engage with digital tools in a fun way.
I was recently asked to help a teacher plan a task around the idea of Identity, this is what we came up with.
Feel free to make a copy and adapt for your students. This version is a Google Slide, and uses Tall Tweets as the animation tool, but it could also be done using Keynote or PowerPoint.
Have some fun with it!
Website of the week
Code Avengers - perfect for remote learning.
Code Avengers is a great online platform for learning to code from K-12 and beyond. They are offering a free months subscription for schools, including ALL teachers and students. Teachers are able to create students accounts and learn alongside them. Check out the edu link here.
NZ PLD Update TEMP ON HOLD!
Remote Teaching and Learning Advice
In the last issue I was planning on deconstructing a New Zealand Progress Outcome each week and sharing a lesson idea with you. I’m not sure that’s our priority anymore.
As I’m no longer a classroom teacher, I can only imagine how you are all feeling right now. Shifting from being with your students face to face everyday to trying to support them and their learning remotely, while looking after yourselves and your families during this time, is enormous!.
What can we do to help you?
We have been working away and discussing this a lot over the past week or two and have many ideas in the pipeline. You’ll be hearing from us when things are set up. We’re planning webinars to support you in the best ways that we can.
Let us know what we can do for you
FLIPGRID - If you have a question that you think others might have too, please record it on this Flipgrid. We will respond to you as soon as we can and your question may help many others!
TOO SHY FOR FLIPGRID? If that’s not for you, please ask us by completing this form. If we think your question is awesome we’ll add our response (without referencing you!!!) to the Flipgrid to benefit others. If you’d like to schedule a time to chat, just add this in your comment on the form.
Please, please, please reach out to your colleagues who will need more support and ask them what they’d like to know! Chances are that if you are reading this you are already feeling reasonably confident with digital tools and you’re a few steps ahead of some of your colleagues that are now faced with teaching their students in a way they never imagined they would have to.
FOR MANY, BEING ASKED TO TEACH REMOTELY IS LIKE BEING ASKED TO TEACH YOUR SUBJECT IN A LANGUAGE YOU DON’T SPEAK.
TIPS FOR THIS WEEK -
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND CONNECT
Use whatever tool you already know (Hangouts, Zoom, Teams, Classroom…) to communicate with your students.
Start there - reach out, let them know you’re thinking of them and feeling similar to how they are. Plan a fun activity or question time. Keep it light but allow for them to talk about how they are feeling.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
We know that many of you will not only be trying to support your students from a distance, but are also helping your own families to adjust. Go slow, don’t try to recreate your classroom. Use your digital tools to connect with your students - reach out and have some relaxed time chatting or talking over video with them.
How long should students spend on classwork each day is probably the wrong question. Make sure that anything you are asking them to do is adding value to their day and worth doing.
Here are a few resources that you may like to share with your school community. We’ll have more to come soon.
Other
When it all falls apart
Sometimes we think that people who deliver training in using technology never have anything go wrong. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Check this video from Adrian about what happens when the ducks don't line up. 🦆🦆🦆
If you want to read more check out Lara's blog post here!
Blog posts you may have missed
Check out the practical, helpful tips in our blogs below.
Something you want us to blog about? Make a request here or check out our website to see all our posts.
Top tips for working from home by a remote working team - Here at Using Technology Better (UTB), working from home is a core part of our organisation and our day-to-day lives. We don’t have a physical office, instead our team of 14 work from their home offices – across three countries and five time zones! Despite being physically apart, we have created an incredibly strong and positive company culture that is certainly not lacking in personal connection or team productivity. - By Samantha Vardanega
How to maintain best practice when teaching remotely - The nature of education is a continually changing landscape and over the years the way it has been delivered should be altering significantly. Sometimes these changes are driven by education research and sometimes they are driven by societal or business influences. Currently many schools across the world are facing a marked shift in how they deliver their curriculums - what makes for best practice when teaching remotely? - By Donna Golightly
Join the UTB Team as a trainer!
We have a few training opportunities to join the UTB training team in Australia and New Zealand.
We're keen to hear from people who may be interested in full time, part time or casual work with us.
If you are a passionate educator, digitally savvy and keen to explore training options fill in this form to express your interest. We'll get back to you with more details!
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SHARING IS CARING!
We love getting your feedback about ideas you've used from this newsletter or from one of our training sessions!
In fact, we get such a kick out of it that every fortnight we want to give someone who shares the love a free online course of your choice - valued at up to $300!
All you need to do is a share a photo or video of an activity that was inspired by something we shared with you (could be from face to face, online training or the newsletter), with a quick caption telling us what's happening in it!
Here are a couple of ways you can share...
- Share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag us in with @Usingtechbetter, #utbSHARE and #utbPD
- Not on Facebook, Twitter or Insta? No worries - email it to us at support@usingtechnologybetter.com and we'll share it out on our social media
SHARE TO BE IN TO WIN NEXT FORTNIGHT!!!
Credits:
Created with images by Plush Design Studio - "Plan 2019" • Júnior Ferreira - "Lamp Magic" • JJ Ying - "untitled image" • Sara Kurfeß - "untitled image" • Gaelle Marcel - "Holding colorful balloons"