Blog Post

Teacher guide: Tidy up Class Notebook

Courtney

Staying organised while teaching multiple topics in Microsoft Teams can quickly become difficult. If your OneNote Class Notebook is starting to look like a digital junk drawer, this guide will help you tidy things up, fast.  

In this quick tutorial, one of our trainers Keith shows you how to distribute new sections and create section group headings for your students.  

Whether you’re starting a new unit, adding resources, or just want to structure your notebook better, these tips will save you time and keep your students on track. 

Watch the full video for a walkthrough.  

Keep reading to find out how you can: 

  • Keep student notebooks tidy and consistent. 
  • Group related sections under clear headings (like “English Comprehension”). 
  • Save time with bulk distribution tools – no manual copy-and-pasting needed.  
Tidy up class notebook with sections and groups

How to distribute a new section in Class Notebook 

Let’s say you’re starting a new topic like Of Mice and Men and want to add a section for it across all student notebooks. 

  1. Go to the Class Notebook tab in your Teams class. 
  1. Tap Distribute New Section
  1. Enter the section name (e.g., “Of Mice and Men”). 
  1. Hit Distribute
  1. The section will appear in all student notebooks. 

Tip: You can confirm it by checking any student’s notebook. The new section will be listed with the others like “Handouts,” “Homework,” and “Class Notes.” 

Add a new section to student notebooks with a screenshot of someone adding a new section to a notebook.

Another way of adding sections is via “Manage”: 

  1. Click the Manage button in Class Notebook. 
  1. Select Edit Sections
  1. Tap Add Section, give it a name and hit Save

Just like before, it’ll appear for all students automatically. 

A screenshot of adding a new section to a Class Notebook via Manage Notebook

How to create a section group in Class Notebook

Want to group several sections under a common theme (like English Comprehension or GCSE Prep)? That’s where section groups come in: 

How to create a new section group

  1. Go to the Class Notebook tab. 
  1. Select Distribute New Section Group 
  1. Give your group a title (e.g., “English Comprehension”).  Take care, because you can’t rename section groups after creation. 
  1. Add one or more initial sections (e.g., “Practice Examples”). 
  1. Tap Distribute

Students will now see a collapsible group in their notebook containing all the sections you added. 

Add section groups to Class Notebook

Add more sections later into a section group

If you’ve already created a section group, but want to add new sections to it, here’s how: 

  1. Go to Distribute New Section
  1. Give it a name (e.g., “Practice Words”). 
  1. Tap Location Details
  1. Choose the section group (e.g., “English Comprehension”) as the destination. 
  1. Hit Distribute

The new section will appear inside the section group, keeping everything neatly organised. 

Distribute new sections to student Notebooks

Using sections and section groups in Class Notebook makes your learning resources and content easier for students to navigate, keeps all topic materials grouped in one place and helps reduce confusion, especially when you’re teaching multiple classes.  

Cloud Design Box helps schools and trusts drive success and improve learning with a feature-rich platform dedicated to achieving more with Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Teams.  

Our customers also benefit from interactive, online CPD-certified courses for groups of staff so everyone gains confidence and embraces a more productive way of working. 

Get support from one of our Microsoft Education experts today. 

Talk to our experts today

Discover more from Cloud Design Box

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading