magazine.T4L Issue 16

ISSUE 16

TERM 3 I 2021

Teaching and learning in the cloud

Your guide to everything online

Welcome to our special edition The T4L team have put together this special digital classroom edition focusing on teaching and learning anywhere for you

Mark Greentree

to keep handy. Whether you’re keen to build your confidence

Director,

with tech or grow your skills in developing your digital

Technology 4 Learning,

classroom, this issue is designed to step you through some of

NSW Department of

our favourite tools and platforms. All the best as you take your

Education

classroom to the cloud!

T4L Loves

Boost your knowledge of technology 4 learning by watching the highlights from the NSW DoE sessions at EduTECH 2020 !

Discover key digital resources on the Digital Learning Resources Hub  and digital tools in the Digital Learning Selector 

T4L Kids magazine special edition now available Your Classroom in the Cloud  is a bumper activity-filled 20-page magazine for students to use independently or as part of a guided series of lessons from the digital classroom. Students can: Develop a game Build a website Publish a story or news report Podcast with passion Get creative with coding Grow their pocket money and build a budget

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Please note: Tools, devices, software, links and educational practices reviewed within this publication are not an indication of endorsement by the NSW DoE and cannot be used as such.

What’s inside this edition?

Time to get online: refresh your knowledge of Outlook webmail and reacquaint yourself with the features of the Digital Learning Selector

Decide on best tools for tasks: Take a road test of our collaborative tools – explore the benefits and features of Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom and connect your classroom online.

Connect your classroom: Connect your classroom - brush up on your video conferencing skills and move your classroom to the cloud.

Develop your skills with digital tools Develop your knowledge of digital tools for feedback and assessment – brush up on some of the features in our collaborative platforms.

Find resources for the digital classroom: check out fun and free resources to power up your online classroom right now.

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Time to get online MS Outlook Webmail

Digital Learning Selector

How do I access it?

What is it?

Staff portal

Are you wanting to take your class online but are not sure where to start? Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tools to choose from? The Digital

What can I do with it?

Learning Selector has you covered. Discover

Send work to your students and collaborate with colleagues

and collaboration with a tool built by the NSW

Attach files

How do I access it?

Send links Create read-receipts

online learning tools that support ICT integration Department of Education.

Staff portal

My Learning Tools

Form groups from your address book Create contact groups to make sending easy

What can I do with it?

Use reply-all to encourage conversation

This tool enables you to explore technology

Standout features

options by learning intention:

Everyone is familiar with email Great way to initiate contact no matter what platform to use

Investigate Communicate Create

Class contact lists can be important

Organise

Don’t forget you can use Calendar to schedule meetings with students or staff

Each and every tool has been carefully selected

Accessible on any device

Development team.

How do I learn more?

Standout features

➚ Email in the DoE 

Login and access information at your fingertips

➚ Microsoft Outlook demo 

Graphical key to assist with decision making

and tested by the Learning Design and

Complete with teaching and learning activities that embed ICT directly into your lessons Links to getting started resources

How do I learn more? ➚ Digital Learning Selector – Learning Tool  ➚ Digital Learning Selector – Support 

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Road test

Microsoft Teams

Digital classroom Taking your classroom to the cloud can be made easy with digital classroom hubs. In this road test, we uncover some of the best features (plus a little bit extra), of the platforms we’re using in the cloud staffroom and classroom.

‘Teams allows me to collaborate with groups of people in channels or a single colleague through the chat function.

Sharing documents and discussing items face to face in real time with hundreds of kilometres separating us.’

Tanya, stem.T4L leader

Microsoft Teams STRENGTH Awesome for collaboration with colleagues and classes.

HOW DO I ACCESS IT? Through a browser or on desktop or mobile app – access via Staff Portal.

Adobe Connect STRENGTH Customisable pods to create a digital classroom space that works for you!

Google Classroom

HOW DO I ACCESS IT? Accessible from your Staff Portal, plugin may be required.

Google Classroom STRENGTH Great for managing a digital classroom - and feedback and assessment.

‘If you are familiar with other Google tools, the Google Classroom interface is so intuitive and easy to use, not too much, not too little, just right!’

Joe, T4L Technology Lead

HOW DO I ACCESS IT? Through a browser or on desktop or mobile app – access via Staff Portal.

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Collaborate with Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is the complete classroom hub. Simply log in to Microsoft Office 365 via the portal.

What is it?

Standout features

If you have Microsoft Office 365, you have Microsoft

Integration with OneNote ClassNotebooks

Teams! Set up and manage your classrooms or

Ability to schedule assignments, mark them and provide feedback in one interface

projects, file and curate resources, and even chat and video conference within Teams. This is also a great staff collaboration tool.

How do I access it?

Staff portal

My Learning Tools

What can I do with it?

Schedule work for your class Provide access to resources Curate and host classroom conversations via chat and broadcast (teacher video only) Create different teams for each of your classes Add in websites and other links Multiple teachers for the one class Assign quizzes

Multiple channels for concurrent streams of work Full integration with Office 365 Integrated file repository for your class Add in digital tools such as FlipGrid easily Tabs make accessing content easy for students

We’ve got you!

Check out our step-by-step range of resources for Teams on the T4L website:

➚ Introduction to Teams  ➚ Getting started with Teams  ➚ Communicating in Teams  ➚ Using Assignments in Teams  ➚ Organisation and administration in Teams 

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Shifting to the cloud?

Take your files with you and move them from your desktop or school drives to OneDrive where they will be accessible anywhere, anytime from any device!

Learn more here 

Want to learn more?

Check out our range of MS Teams resources on the T4L site , including lots of bite-size videos!

There’s also a range of resources on OneDrive, presentation tools, video tools, accessibility, coding and more .

Top ten of Microsoft Teams

1

We’ve broken down the best of Microsoft Teams for you!

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Start a voice or video call by simply clicking on the camera or phone icon in

Want some peace? Turn off your notifications

any team, channel or chat

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by clicking on your initials – click on Manage Account then Notification

Create a team and build a network –

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simply search for names and add them into your group

Save time - set your status with the options available or create a custom notification – click on your initials/photo at top right

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8

It’s easy to set up a class.

Students just need a code to join the group

See whether an assignment has been viewed – or turned in. Click on the Assignments tab, select the assignment, then explore status

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options and start marking options

Team teaching? Click on ... next to team name, choose Add member to add a coteacher to a team

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Rich text allows for bold text, bullet points and hyperlinks to be displayed

Learning on demand

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When using Assignments, a sidebar opens for you to easily mark, grade and give feedback

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Have something urgent that needs attention? Mark a message as urgent 

➚ Getting Prepared to teach and learn online with Microsoft Teams 

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Meet online with Adobe Connect Adobe Connect is a virtual meeting platform that provides the opportunity for webinars with students and colleagues.

What is it?

Standout features

Adobe Connect is a customisable tool which is

Customisable interface with configurable pods (windows for different applications including audio, video, sharing, polls and more)

great for broadcasting and conferencing either through audio or video. Its features make it useful for teachers leading classroom discussion and allows for engagement with staff and students.

Breakout rooms for differentiated learning Multiple meeting rooms per user

How do I access it?

Staff portal

Note: Adobe Connect is only a Virtual Meeting My Applications

Sign in as a registered user with your DoE user ID, a plug-in may be required.

We’ve got you!

What can I do with it?

➚ Adobe Connect in the DoE 

Adobe Connect sessions are called webinars

➚ Getting Started with Adobe Connect 

Run webinars with staff and students through audio or video

➚ NSW DoE Digital Learning Selector –

Collaborate in real-time Share resources Notes, chats and whiteboards for collaboration You can record meetings

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platform not a complete Digital Classroom solution

Adobe Connect 

LinkedIn Learning

➚ Adobe Connect Essential Training  ➚ Learning to run webinars  ➚ Success in a video conference 

Move your classroom to the cloud with Google Classroom

Google Classroom can help you get organised and collaborate with students in a virtual setting.

What is it?

Standout features

Google Classroom is a tool that does what its name

Works on any device with internet

suggests – creating a virtual ‘classroom’ in the cloud that students can join and teachers can manage.

Assignments complete with rubrics and teacher feedback

How do I access it?

Integration of self-marking quizzes

Staff portal

My Learning Tools

Sign in with your Google Education email (joanne.citizen@education.nsw.gov.au)

What can I do with it?

Add students to create a classroom Run a virtual classroom

Collaboratively share the classroom between teachers Create individual copies of key proforma documents for students at the click of a button Chat function can be disabled, giving teacher more control

We’ve got you!

Share and curate files

Check out our step-by-step range of resources

Schedule work for your class

on Google Classroom on the T4L website:

Provide access to resources

➚ Google Classroom features 

Curate and host classroom conversations

➚ Getting started with Google Classroom 

Share links online

➚ Communicating in Google Classroom 

Create digital portfolios with connections to G-Suite

➚ Using Assignments in Google Classroom  ➚ Feedback and assessment in Google Classroom 

Learning on demand ➚ The basics of Google Classroom course on MyPL 

➚ Taking Google Classroom to the next level course on MyPL  9

Road test Digital classroom Google Classroom

Top ten of Google Classroom

We’ve broken down the best of Google Classroom for you!

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1

Create a new classroom 

The chat in Google Classroom is called the Stream – this is where you communicate with members of your class

3 You can communicate with a specific group of students only – click Stream, click in the text box, start typing and select All Students – from here you can tick the students

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you want to receive the post

Did you know you can schedule a post? Simply click in the box in Stream, start typing then click the downward-facing triangle next to Post and click Schedule

Want to learn more?

Check out our step-by-step range of resources on Google Classroom on the T4L website:

➚ Getting Prepared to teach and learn online with Google Classroom  There’s also a range of resources on Google Drive, Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms and more .

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Want to learn more about getting your classroom online? Take a peek at our Webinar recordings page ! Our top picks? The 4 getting started courses!!

Getting started with Google Workspace Getting Started with Microsoft 365 Getting Started with Apple Getting Started with Technology 4 Learning

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Set up a range of

You can add a rubric to an assignment you set – simply click the plus icon Rubric button on the right-hand side

Assignments  – Quizzes, Questions, Material or reuse a Post

Feedback and assessment in Google Classroom is epic! Click on a student’s

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assignment to mark it. From here you can grade, add rubrics and private comments

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9

Suggesting mode (top right) is also great for

Choose the assignment, open a student’s

adding edits to work

submission, then click on Comment bank to personalise your response

10 In the Grades tab, get a quick overview of all student work that’s been submitted. Want to export your grades?

Watch this video 

Google Drive gold

1

Watch this quick video on setting up your

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Check out our easy to use resources on

Google drive (4:04 min) 

Google Drive 

3

Visit the T4L one-stop Google shop for all your Google Drive resources (and more) 

4 Share documents easily in Google Drive  11

Web conferencing hacks Web conferencing enables students and teachers to connect virtually online. This face-to-face medium is awesome for distant learning and your digital classroom.

Checklist Tech checklist – make sure your computer

Sound quality – do you have headphones

can web conference and test your settings

with a microphone?

Make sure your computer has a webcam or

Your space – do you have a clear, quiet space

purchase and plug in

without distraction or interruption?

Teach online like a pro!

Virginia Cluff is Head Teacher of Science, delivering online education at Aurora College – a NSW Virtual Selective High School. Here are her top tips for running web conferences.

1.

Be prepared

Utilise OneNote or another online platform to have your lesson mapped out, links embedded, questions to be answered, your presentation ready and linked into the page.

2.

Be engaging

You are teaching in ONLY 2D not 3D so ask questions and get feedback. Use a variety of platforms eg. Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom etc. In online learning, students don’t copy notes from a board, we give them all to them ... lessons are conversational, and you are asking them to consider the information and answer a question, apply the information, demonstrate understanding. Videos, interactives, Kahoot quizzes, problems to solve all help to keep the 12

learning engaging.

3.

Be a feedback master

As your students are going to be digitally answering questions, give them feedback on how they are progressing. This can be marked on screen (with a red pen-style tick), or better still verbally. Some platforms allow you to leave verbal feedback for students that records your annotations in time with your feedback.

4. Create a great environment for lesson delivery

The best place is a desk connected to high quality internet. For me, it’s my home office with cabled internet plugged into my laptop. I love dual screens – my laptop connected to an external monitor with the display extended. I can then easily see the classroom setup and the second screen can be the material I’m sharing with the students. My laptop and a headset with a microphone are essential to teach online.

Easy web conferencing

Boost your space and brain

Hacks to help you VC

Stephen Heppel’s top tips for a great workspace

1 TEMPERATURE

1 SET THE AGENDA

Tick off items as you go and send a follow-up email

Optimal working temps are 1821 degrees and make sure you have access to fresh air

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2 DRESS FOR SUCCESS Look the part, be professional and avoid busy patterns

LIGHT LEVELS

Check your lux (light levels) with an app and aim for 1000 lux. Banish shadows and keep windows and curtains open

3

MOVE YOUR BODY

Move every 20 mins, consider standing desk/sitting desk options and keep that circulation flowing

3 WEB MEETING HACKS

Plug your device in, test before the meeting, have a glass of water handy and mute all other devices

4 DUST OFF YOUR DESKTOP

Close tabs, clear your desktop and get ready to switch to presenting mode

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Colour is a great brain stimulator – can you amp the colour around your workspace with cushions or keepsakes?

5

Make eye contact, keep in mind where the camera is. Consider using a virtual background

THE FOUR WALLS

Coloured walls reflect light and add brightness which is good. Dark rooms absorb light so adjust accordingly to keep your light levels up

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5 SMILE!

COLOUR YOUR WORLD

WATCH YOUR CO2

Manage your CO2 levels – add in plants to your room to oxygenate and keep doors open to stay fresh

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MUSIC AND NOISE

Use music with no lyrics to stay focused – or choose your fave mix to keep your brain boosted

6 SOUNDCHECK

Testing 1-2. Are you using a headset with a mic? Make sure it’s a quiet space and mute your mic when you’re not presenting

8 SMELLS

What keeps you going? Baking bread or coffee aromas? Could you boost your room with an energising spritz of citrus or lavender essential oils?

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Digital tools Change up the way you and your students work! There are loads of online timesavers for formative assessment and feedback as well as taking class tasks online! Here are a few hacks to keep your students on track with hitting their goals.

Assessing online with Google Forms

Digitise your feedback

Quizzes in Google forms are simple to set up and

impact and a personal touch.

can be a quick way to start the week or lesson.

Give your students feedback with an immediate

Type your feedback

Choose from multiple choice to short and long answer questions

Use typed comments across Microsoft 365

Prompts can be given in the form of images for younger students

OneNote. Just click on the speech bubble in the

applications including Word, PowerPoint and top right of any application. Learn more here .

Distribute a quiz simply by sharing or embedding a link in a Google Classroom Convert results into easy to interpret data – think graphs, and average/mean/range of class scores Add in automated feedback

Learn more with Google ➚ Learning to assess online with Google Forms 

➚ Classroom productivity and collaboration with docs, slides and forms 

Write your feedback Write or draw digitally with a stylus on student work in Microsoft OneNote. Highlight areas of concern, provide guidance and even insert stickers.

Simply click ‘Draw’ and then select your pen.

Audio feedback Provide detailed guidance and feedback using your voice in tools such as Microsoft OneNote. Just click insert and then Audio. Learn more here .

Video feedback Give feedback to the whole class using a short video. This might be a good mid-point during an assessment or general feedback for the group.

Using Apple Clips on an iPad or iPhone is a great 14

way to record a video. Learn more here .

OneNote Class Notebook

Google Slides

Think of OneNote like an old-fashioned spiral-

Students can collaborate in groups on presentations

bound notebook but in a digital form. OneNote

in real-time. Why not try awesome collaboration

Class Notebook is a collective binder containing:

tasks such as:

A content library

Transforming a research task into an engaging collaborative presentation opportunity

Collaboration space Plus a Notebook for each student...and this is where the assessment power is Using a digital pen, you can annotate work, sketch

Creating a digital book Collaboratively create an idea-pitch Shark Tank style

diagrams, insert videos and more. Try popping a

Students can collaborate on a Google Slide by

video of instruction into a OneNote doc to bring

simply clicking on the share button. Visit the

it to life for your students. Learn more about

Google Teacher Centre  to learn more.

collaborative classrooms with OneNote .

Digital Storytelling with Sway

Realising students’ creativity potential with iPad

Think of Sway as a simple and easy to use drag

Have you seen the T4L Learning Journals - for both

and drop website builder. Get your students to:

scaffolded or independent learning, K-10? These

Create an e-portfolio Write a digital story Collaborate on a class newsletter Students can collaborate on Sway by simply clicking on the share button. Learn about digital storytelling with Sway .

journals are available in Apple Pages format and can be modified by teachers in Pages. You can get started with the journals below: Early Learners (K-2) | Pages  | PDF  Early Learners (K-2) Non-DoE Users Version | Pages  | PDF  Primary Learners (3-6) | Pages  | PDF  Primary Learners (3-6) Non-DoE Users Version

Learn more with Microsoft

| Pages  | PDF  Secondary Learners (7-9) | Pages  | PDF 

➚ Collaborative Classrooms with OneNote 

Secondary Learners (7-9) Non-DoE Users Version | Pages  | PDF 

➚ Microsoft forms to create formative and summative assessment 

Learn more with Apple ➚ Teacher productivity with iPad  ➚ Realising students creative potential with iPad 

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Resources

Fresh out of ideas? Look no further – here are some fab, fun and free tools and resources to check out while you have students learning from home.

Free online resources

Content source: the National Library of Australia website.

Oliver

National Library of Australia

The Oliver library system is available for all NSW public

The National Library of Australia (NLA) has TROVE – the

school teachers and is so much more than just a

digital archive of everything ever produced in print in

catalogue. There are plenty of other resources on Oliver

Australia! Also check out the Digital Classroom section

as well as training videos to guide you through it.

- explore treasures of the library and find resources by

➚ Accessible through the DoE portal/ My Applications  English, History and more

year level.

➚ Check out Trove  and their Digital Classroom resources  English, History, Science and more

Content source: the ABC TV Education website.

ABC TV Education

Content source: the State Library of NSW website.

State Library of NSW

Learn with the ABC! In the coming weeks, there is

Teachers and students can access free units of work 

some great content scheduled for students learning

including library tours, videos and learning activities by

from home. Each weekday will start with content for

subject area.

kindergarten level students at 10am. Primary and lower secondary level content will continue throughout the morning. Programming then progresses up to secondary level content in the afternoon.

➚ Check it out here and don’t forget you can catch up on ABC iView  Mathematics, Science and more 16

➚ Check out the schools and teachers link  English, History, Science and more

Content source: the Google Arts and Culture website.

Content source: the Tocal Virtual Farm website.

Take a virtual visit!

Google Arts and Culture

Tocal Virtual Farm

There are loads of virtual excursions on the Google Arts

Check out how a farm works with the Tocal Virtual Farm

and Culture website . The Street Art Project  is a

tour . This is an online interactive inside look at Tocal

must! Imagine what projects in English, Society and

College’s farms - from 360 VR video, to soil maps to

Culture, Business Studies, Commerce or Visual Arts that

agricultural history. There are also teaching guides and

this could inspire!

workbooks to support learning.

Content source: the Sydney Opera House, For the kids website.

Content source: the Taronga Zoo, Digital programs and online resources website.

Sydney Opera House (SOH)

Tour Taronga Zoo

The clever team at SOH have developed a special

Hanging out with the giraffes or meerkats has never

page  just for students and there are so many resources

been easier. Check out Taronga TV . There are loads

that could inspire learning and activities with your

of other digital programs  on offer from the zoo that

students. Our favourite is ‘learning how to design like

might tie in to your curriculum needs.

Utzon’  - the Houses original architect and innovator.

Content source: the Questacon, Virtual Excursions website.

Content source: the Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History - Virtual Tours website.

Questacon

The Smithsonian

The team from Questacon have put together a series of

The timezones might be a struggle, but an early morning

virtual excursions  covering several key learning areas!

wakeup to attend a session at the Smithsonian is worth

They include pre and post excursion resources. Our pick is

the alarm call! But if that is a bit too early, they also

‘foldable flight ’. Yes – you guessed it, students explore

offer virtual tours  at any time. They have a range of

the science of getting airborne with the aid of an old

experiences that are sure to spark your students’ curiosity

favourite - the paper plane!

and inspire a passion project.

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Create Activity 1 Design and engineer CHALLENGE: Design and even 3D print a customised nametag for a student backpack.

CONSIDER: Think like an engineer – will your product be durable? How easy or difficult is it to print and produce – could it be done at scale? What materials work best? Could you turn the production of nametags into a business?

Suited to: Stages 3-6

Activity 2 Conceptualise and design a new car CHALLENGE: Be guided by a masterclass video on designing

TOOL:

a Jaguar car and apply it to create Jaguar’s next

SketchUp for Schools  – a browser-based modelling tool for primary and secondary students that can be accessed through your G Suite log-in.

concept car with some cool drawing tools.

CONSIDER: Auto engineers consider aerodynamics – will your

STEPS:

car design slip through the air, or sap energy or

Watch this starter video  from SketchUp to get the creative juices flowing! Then take this guided slide deck tour  of the nametag activity. Start modelling with SketchUp here . Each activity is supported with scaffolding to step you through.

This will work for a sequence of lessons.

fuel? The designers consider the aesthetics too – does it look awesome? And getting practical – is it functional and will the vehicle meet user needs?

Suited to: Stages 1-6 TOOLS: Choose a tool for your device: Google Canvas  - A simple browser-based tool useable on any device.

Sketches School  - A tool for iPadOS and Mac that will really bring out the inner designer.

Paint 3D  - Built in Windows 10 - this app could transform students’ sketches into 3D. Watch the masterclass video here  and get creative.

Did you design a car? Did you create some nametags? How did you adapt the activity to address outcomes you needed to focus on? Share your stories of success at T4L Teacher Community .

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Create

Activity 2 Develop an app CHALLENGE:

Activity 1

Can you design an app that will help track your

Develop a video game

How about an app that solves a problem for your

CHALLENGE: Can you create a video game that people want to play?

health, fitness or improve your financial situation? school community?

CONSIDER: App designers always think about user experience – how is a mobile app better than a website?

CONSIDER:

Consider app structure, user journey and

Game developers think of everything from how the

Consider your target market – this will affect

user experiences the game, to how it can be sold

design, language and gamification elements used.

and marketed. Consider game levels, the overall challenge and the narrative storyline of what players will experience. Design, graphics and functionality are all things to consider when developing a game.

Suited to: Stages 3-4 TOOL: Here are some tools, ranked from easiest to use – to most complex: 1.

experience and what the goals for the user are.

Suited to: Stages 2-4 TOOL: Guide your app-building process using the App Design Journal  in Apple Keynote, or adapt the content  to be used on other platforms such as MS PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Read more about how to create an app in Issue 8 of magazine.T4L .

Code.org : this free online browser will step you through coding in no time

2. Minecraft : use the education edition to prototype your game design 3. MakeCode Arcade : build code online with this free web-based browser Read the very first issue of T4L Kids magazine  for a step-by-step guide to develop video games.

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T4L Kids Issue 3 This issue is all about investigating science and the ideas behind scientific enquiry. You’ll be inspired by some of the incredible scientists and the challenges they are finding solutions for.

Issue 2 This issue is all about 3D design in this issue. Don’t forget to share some of your creations with us!

Issue 1 In this issue you will develop the skills to become the creator of your very own game. We have designed these resources so that, if you are in Years 5-8, you should be able to work on them independently but you may need some help from an adult, or an older sibling.

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Everyone’s an author 

The Student Filmmaker 

Totally tech 

The Student Podcaster 

Don’t forget to check out our past issues of the magazine.T4L 

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