Teams has introduced a new group assignments feature, allowing students to work together and submit one assignment for the whole group. Teachers can then provide feedback and grades to either each individual student within that group or give out an overall grade for the group. Below is a walk-through of how you can: Create a … Read more
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In this podcast episode, we speak with Rachael Howarth, Vice Principal of Bradford Girls’ Grammar School about how they’re using Microsoft 365 to assess and engage students in a blended in-classroom and remote learning setting. Rachael walks us through some key ways in which they’re using Microsoft Forms, Class Notebook, Polls and Insights to increase … Read more
In this podcast episode on Microsoft 365 user adoption, we speak with Mark Guest, Director of Innovation at PolyMAT, a multi academy trust in Thamesmead and the surrounding areas. Mark discusses how the trust uses SharePoint to improve communication across the schools and created dashboards with Microsoft Power Apps to save teacher time. PolyMAT is … Read more
The Microsoft School Data Sync (SDS) rollover process 2021 has changed slightly since last year, so we have created a video guide to walk you through the process. If your profile has expired and you’re ready to start the academic year, then this guide is for you. One thing you’ll notice is that there is … Read more
Cloud Design Box is hosting a free virtual event for Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) to demonstrate how our Cloud Box package can help streamline teaching processes, enhance learning resources and save teacher time using Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. The one-hour session takes place on Wednesday 23 June 2021 from 11am until 12pm and runs through … Read more
Reading Progress is a tool in Microsoft Class Teams that supports teachers in tracking their students’ reading fluency and progress. The feature allows students to record themselves reading assigned passages and automatically generates data based on their performance. In this guide, we show you how to set up Reading Progress and tailor it to your … Read more
In this podcast episode, we speak with David James, Head of Education at Cornerstone Academy Trust and Anthony Lees, Deputy of Westclyst Community Primary School. The Cornerstone Academy Trust is made up of four primary schools, including Broadclyst Community Primary School, Westclyst Community Primary School, Yeo Valley Community Primary School and Monkerton Community Primary School. … Read more
Using Presenter Mode in a Microsoft Class Teams meeting gives teachers more control over their lesson. They have access to their presenter notes and all the usual Class Teams tools, plus additional presenter options. Presenter Mode is only available in the desktop application of Teams. In this quick guide, we show you how to use … Read more
In this podcast episode, we speak with Stuart Carvell, Assistant Head at Eaton Bank Academy, which is part of the Fallibroome Trust about how Microsoft 365 is being rolled out across the trust and its academies and schools. “Microsoft 365 was an obvious choice for Eaton Bank Academy. Many of the schools in the Fallibroome … Read more
Microsoft Viva Connections is a great way to communicate and publish information to users in Microsoft Teams. If you are already familiar with SharePoint, then the simple way of describing Viva Connections is “A SharePoint Intranet inside a Microsoft Teams App”. It means that users can access company news, policies, and other published information without … Read more
When considering Teams for your school, there are several different approaches, you can create your own Class Teams manually, use a PowerShell script or take advantage of Microsoft’s School Data Sync. Below, we have rounded up the pros and cons of each method so you can decide which is best for your school, academy or … Read more
In this guide, we show you how to distribute a page from a non Class Notebook to a students’ Class Notebook within a Class Team. Here we have a Notebook that has been stored within an English resources folder on SharePoint. Within the Notebook, there’s a worksheet that we need to distribute to the Year 7 English … Read more
The chat feature in Microsoft Teams is a useful tool that allows students to communicate with their teachers and peers during online lessons. However, there may be times where the chat feature isn’t necessary and is causing distractions during lesson time. Similar to the mute feature on Teams, this can easily be controlled and turned … Read more
Locking a page within Class Notebook is important when marking and assessing work, to prevent the student from editing the document after its deadline. In this guide, we show you how to review students work in Class Notebook and how to lock a page to prevent further editing by a student. How to review pages … Read more
In this guide, we show you how to lock the collaboration section in a Class Notebook. The collaboration space in a Class Notebook is where all students can edit the same pages and work together on projects. After using it, teachers may wish to lock the section to prevent students from editing the page, or … Read more
Cloud Design Box has been working with Wilberforce College, a further education Sixth Form College in Hull, to support them in moving to Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, through training and strategy sessions, as well as software set up and implementation. Assistant Principal at Wilberforce College Jonathan Butler recently joined us on a webinar to discuss … Read more
Breakout rooms in Microsoft Class Teams launched in January 2021, allowing teachers to create sub-meetings within the main class meeting for students to work together in small groups and discuss their learning. In this discussion, we’ve included everything you need to know about breakout rooms in Teams, from how to set them up to safeguarding … Read more
Schools are currently facing additional challenges when managing class cover as a result of a teacher being absent due to sickness, needing to self-isolate or be re-deployed to teach key worker students. Cloud Design Box has created a solution that allows schools to quickly and easily organise class cover, making sure the member of staff … Read more
Cloud Design Box and SalamanderSoft have partnered up to design and deliver three free webinars tailored to schools, academies and Multi Academy Trusts who are looking to make the most out of remote and blended learning with Microsoft Teams. Throughout January and February, the training sessions are free to anyone who works at a school, … Read more
Rubrics are a powerful tool used to assess students’ work. The criterion helps students to have a concrete understanding and visualisation of what they need to do to achieve a particular score. Each criterion also includes a gradation scale of quality. Microsoft Teams for education includes rubric based grading. They can be created and reused … Read more