Microsoft has announced several exciting updates for Reflect. In this blog post, we round up the latest improvements to the popular Teams tool.
Reflect is one of Microsoft’s Learning Accelerators. Built with wellbeing in mind, the tool allows teachers to check in with their students about how they’re feeling about school work and assignments.
Check out our previous guides on Microsoft Reflect:
- Check-in on student wellbeing with Microsoft Reflect
- Improve Student Wellbeing with Microsoft Reflect
- How to add a Reflect check-in poll to your Class Notebooks
Below are all the new updates announced by Microsoft EDU in Spring 2024:
Emotion Clusters
Microsoft has collaborated with academic researchers to build an Emotion Clusters model for Reflect.
Based on research which categorises emotions by various dimensions, such as pleasantness, energy level and their impacts on our brains and social lives.
Microsoft’s 11 Emotion Clusters are inspired by natural elements: Fire, Whirlwind, Wave, Sunshine, Rain, Rock, Fog, Desert, Cloud, Lake and Earth.
Grouping emotions in this way will allow students to simplify their understanding of emotions and make it easier for teachers to support individual learners.
Export check-in responses
A highly-requested update for Microsoft Reflect was exporting to Excel.
It’s a simple process, all you need to do is:
- Head over to your check-ins list.
- Hover over the check-in you wish to export.
- Select the three dots (…).
- Export to Excel.
Exporting responses allows you to record and track responses over time and further support your students with their wellbeing.
Brain Breaks
Taking a break is essential for everyone, but especially for young minds.
Reflect has introduced an exciting feature designed to help learners regain their focus and energy.
The Brain Breaks gallery full of resources that are there to give students a break and help them to get back on track:
In a Heartbeat – a podcast series where each episode helps students to understand a specific emotion or situation and teaches research-backed life skills on how to navigate them.
Guess the Emotion – a new game that’s designed to help learners to expand their emotional vocabulary in a fun way. In pairs, players ask Yes/No questions to guess their opponent’s Feelings Monster.
Mindful colouring book – an already-loved feature in Reflect, the new update allows you to zoom in using your fingers on a touchscreen or mouse scroll wheel. This allows you to include more detail into their work of art.
Another update to Reflect is the Favourites list. You can now easily star your favourite brain breaks to access them quickly.
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