Microsoft Teams is a digital hub for your classroom: one place for communication, assignments, and learning insights.
🔍 What does it do?
Microsoft Teams is a digital workspace that brings together everything a class needs. It combines group chat (Posts), file storage, and a powerful assignment system. In Falkirk, it serves as a virtual learning environment which is an extension of the physical classroom pupils log in to see their tasks, complete assignments, and collaborate on shared documents.
🎓 Why is it useful?
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Centralised Learning: No more hunting for files. With the Classwork tab, you can group assignments, links,and OneNote pages into organized modules (e.g., “Week 1: The Victorians”).
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Learning Accelerators: Teams now includes specialised tools like Reading Progress and Search Progress that help pupils build core skills while giving you automated data on their performance.
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Wellbeing Checks: Use the Reflect tool to quickly gauge how your pupils are feeling, helping you support their social and emotional needs alongside their academic learning.
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Paperless Assignments: Set tasks, provide rubrics, and give feedback all within the app. You can even see the “Student View” to ensure your instructions are clear before you click ‘Assign’.
⚙️ How does it work?
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Launch: Find the Teams tile on your Glow Launchpad or log into the app version.
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Create a Class: Click ‘Join or create a team’ and ensure you select the ‘Class’ type (this gives you the Assignments and Class Notebook features).
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Organise with Classwork: Use the Classwork tab to create “Modules.” Drag and drop files and assignments into these folders so pupils have a clear path to follow.
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Set an Assignment: Go to the Assignments tab. You can attach any file (Word, PowerPoint, Whiteboard) and choose to give “Each student their own copy” to work on.
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Check Insights: Click the Insights tab to see at a glance who has been active, who has turned in work, and even how the class “mood” is trending via Reflect.
🚀 Beyond the Basics
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Reading Progress: Assign a reading passage. Pupils record themselves reading it, and Teams automatically marks their fluency, accuracy, and “mispronunciations,” saving you hours of 1-to-1 assessment time.
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Search Progress: Instead of just asking for a report, use Search Progress. It tracks how pupils search the web, showing you which sources they trusted and why, helping you teach information literacy.
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Reflect: Schedule a weekly “check-in.” Pupils choose a “Feelings Monster” that represents their mood. It’s a private, safe way for them to tell you if they are struggling.
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Channel Moderation: If the ‘Posts’ area gets too busy, you can change the settings so that only you can start new threads, while pupils can only reply. This keeps your announcements from being buried!
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Live Captions: During a virtual meeting or lesson, pupils can turn on Live Captions to see what you are saying as text on the screen—essential for pupils with EAL or hearing impairments.
