Microsoft 365 User Adoption for Schools, MATs and Districts

In this episode of the Cloud Design Box podcast, join Darren Hemming as he delves into an engaging conversation with Emma Gray, the visionary Product Manager behind Microsoft's innovative tool, Search Coach. With a background enriched by journalism and a deep technical expertise in engineering and physics, Emma brings a unique perspective to the table, discussing the critical role of information literacy in education and beyond.Discover how Search Coach, developed in collaboration with leading educational experts, aims to equip both educators and students with the skills necessary to navigate the increasingly complex information landscape. From tackling the challenges of echo chambers and social media algorithms to fostering critical thinking and discernment, this podcast covers the importance of mental resilience and the concept of AI literacy in the digital age.Learn about the practical applications of Search Coach in the classroom, how it integrates seamlessly into Microsoft Class Teams, and the benefits it offers in enhancing learning outcomes without disrupting class priorities. Emma also shares insights on the upcoming releases, including Search Progress and curriculum planning lessons designed to empower students and teachers alike.Whether you're an educator seeking to incorporate information literacy into your curriculum, a parent interested in the educational tools available for your child, or simply curious about the intersection of technology and education, this podcast offers valuable insights into the future of learning in the digital age.Tune in to explore how Microsoft's Search Coach is shaping the way we understand, use, and teach information literacy, preparing students for a future where critical thinking and information discernment are key. Don't miss this captivating discussion on the role of technology in education and the wider benefits of empowering the next generation with the tools they need to succeed.Check out our website for the services and products we offer for Microsoft 365, Teams and SharePoint at https://www.clouddesignbox.co.ukContact us now for more information via the website https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk/contactSupport the show

Microsoft Learning Accelerators aim to make education more accessible by providing students with vital tools to develop their learning, while teaching them essential skills in further education and later in their professional life.  Visit the Cloud Design Box website for more information.In our latest Microsoft 365 User Adoption podcast, the Cornerstone Academy Trust (TCAT) reveals how they’re embracing the new Microsoft Learning Accelerators to enhance teaching and learning. About The Cornerstone Academy TrustTCAT is a multi academy trust comprising four primary schools in southwest England.  Its motto – “Fortune Favours the Brave”, is unequivocally reflected in its forward-thinking approach to technology in education. The MAT is a Microsoft Training Academy and runs a DfE English Hub, Behaviour Hub, a Science Learning Partnership and is also part of the West Country Computer Science Hub.  Cloud Design Box (CDB) has been working with TCAT since 2018 to develop a modern intranet in SharePoint and Teams, facilitating communication at the MAT-level and within the individual schools. By automating the management of various Class Teams and Staff Teams across the schools based on daily MIS data, the CDB team helped TCAT establish a strong digital foundation for teaching and learning. CDB has also provided comprehensive training and consultancy to TCAT through workshops and an online training portal, ensuring that colleagues stay updated on Microsoft’s digital tools for education. Jonathan Bishop, CEO of TCAT, joins podcast host and CDB Chief Operations Officer, Darren Hemming, to talk about the impact of the new Microsoft Learning Accelerators and how Reading and Search Coach are empowering students to become independent, avid learners.  Enhancing reading skills with Reading Coach. Reading Coach – available within Microsoft Teams and Immersive Reader – provides students with valuable opportunities to practice reading and improve their skills.  Empowering independent learners with Search Coach.  Search Coach helps students develop their research skills when searching the web. The tool can be added to any Class Team and works in a very similar way to a typical search engine.  Equipping children to thrive in the modern world. “Both Reading Coach and Search Coach are supporting students to develop skills for the modern world. The tools help them learn how to present their ideas coherently, succinctly and speak with clarity, as well as be confident in what they’re trying to articulate,” Jonathan adds. Support the show

In this episode we speak to teacher and housemaster Henry about using Microsoft 365 in an independent school. Blog post to follow on https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk/Support the show

Darren meets Ryan for Formative.Support the show

Ian Stuart from Avantis Education talks about the power of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality in teaching and learning.Avantis has supported teachers with classroom technology for almost two decades and now boasts a diverse range of education products, including LearnPad, ClassCharge, ClassConnect and ClassVR.In this podcast episode, Cloud Design Box’s Darren Hemming talks about ClassVR, Avantis World and creating immersive, 360° experiences for students.Embedding Virtual Reality learning experiences inside Microsoft Teams and SharePoint.Avantis World is a virtual reality theme park designed for education. Students and teachers enter the world using VR headsets or any modern browser.“It’s designed to allow teachers to take their classes to places that would usually be impossible to go to or imagine. Some places in the theme park are galleries you can walk around, and others are fully immersive experiences,” Ian explains.“For example, we have a digestive system experience where you can turn into a piece of pizza and travel right through the human body. Other examples include renewable energy and photosynthesis.”Full blog post and video can be found here: https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk/embedding-vr-and-ar-into-microsoft-teams-and-sharepoint-with-avantis-education/Support the show

In this episode Darren Hemming speaks to Stefan from Lingfield College about the rollout and adoption of 1:1 devices. Find out more about Cloud Design Box at https://www.clouddesignbox.co.ukThe benefits of 1:1 devices in schools with Lingfield CollegeThe Director of Digital Learning at Linfield College talks about the school’s plan to roll out per-student devices to every student and the challenges and benefits that come with digital transformation. Lingfield College is a co-educational independent school in Surrey for pupils aged two to eighteen. Stefan Hagen is the Director of Digital Learning and works with his team to help drive digital learning within the school, working with the school’s partner companies – including Cloud Design Box – to deliver quality technology to staff and students.  The school has bold plans to introduce a per-student device policy – eventually rolling out touch-screen laptops to every student within the school.  In this podcast episode, we discuss the challenges of moving to blended learning, as well as the many benefits that come with a 1:1 device policy in education.  Stefan also outlines what the school has done so far to lay the foundations for this digital learning strategy and what the plan is to accomplish their goal of per-student devices.  A vision for cloud-based learning. Lingfield College had begun looking at ways to “get digital moving”, as Stefan puts it before the pandemic.  But, things didn’t move as quickly as they had hoped and as the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns hit in the UK, the school had to move quickly to deliver quality lessons via Microsoft Teams.  “When we returned to the classroom after lockdown, I was keen to keep the momentum that we had built up going, encouraging staff members to use Teams and OneDrive,” Stefan explains. “However, I realised that many people were fed up with computer screens and that we had to move more slowly and carefully to get everyone on board.”  It was around that time that Lingfield College began working with Cloud Design Box to create a long-term strategy that would enable the school to migrate to the cloud, which would lay the foundations for their 1:1 device policy.  Moving to the cloud. “As they say, when you move house, you have a clear out before you move so you don’t take all your junk with you. And, it was the same as we moved from our old servers to the cloud,” Stefan explains. Cloud Design Box worked with Lingfield College to give staff the time and training they needed to move their resources over to the cloud.  “We set up key milestones and eventually turned the old servers to ‘view-only’ to give staff who hadn’t been able to move resources over yet access without creating a confusing dual system.” 1:1 devices for teachers and school staff.  Moving to the cloud allowed Lingfield College to roll out 1:1 devices for every staff member, allowing teachers to build up their confidence with the new technology.  “This approach made the most sense to us because teachers can get used to the technology as they’re using it for teaching so that when we are ready to roll out 1:1 devices for students, teachers can help resolve some tech issues if they do occur in the classroom.”  Infrastructure challenges that come with 1:1 devices.  As Stefan points out in the podcast, there’s more to think about when rolling out 1:1 devices than simply giving everyone a laptop or tablet.  “Getting the infrastructure right is a challenge. For example, our flooring makes it difficult for us to put charging ports into our classrooms. So we’re now looking at charSupport the show

An eye opening interview with Jonathan Bishop, the CEO & Executive Headteacher of Cornerstone Academy Trust.Best value doesn't mean cheapest.It's not about directly balancing reduced printing costs against buying Surface Pros - the aim is to improve T & L and build staff efficiency while spending effectively.He talked about needing fewer staff though, which I thought was controversial. Or at least freeing up staff time to do other things. I think different folks may hear that message differently though, depending on whether they are a CEO or a technician! Remember that Cornerstone outsource their technicians...More expensive devices work better and longer e.g. power requirementsHe prefers one-to-one devices to whiteboards - you don't have to turn your back!He took no prisoners in suggesting that some schools should have done more with ICT - it's not optional. Digital Divides don't just come from families with low incomes - you can have a school down the road who have not prioritised IT enough.He borrowed the money to buy the Surfaces (well, he leased them). £4K per pupil on average should allows £200 to be spent on a device annually.Teachers are saving time by marking assessments with the students on their surfaces, rather than taking them away to mark.MATs have millions (perhaps billions) of pounds sitting in their bank accounts for emergencies. He thinks some of that money should be spent on ICT projects.Support the show

In this episode, Darren speaks to Marjolein Hoeskstra about her journey with Microsoft, TweetMeets, MVPs, MSEduCentral and much more. Marjolein shares the best links for educators with over 1300 resources across 80 different topics. Created by teachers for teachers.Support the show

In this episode, Darren speaks to Martin Edworthy, the e-learning coordinator at Sacred Heart Catholic High School about moving into a single tenant for the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust.Support the show

In this podcast episode, we caught up with Mark Fuller, IT Director for Bridge Academy Trust (BAT) – a multi academy trust based in Essex – about how they have extended Microsoft 365 with Cloud Box to improve communication and collaboration between their 12 schools.Bridge Academy Trust is a large MAT made up of four secondary schools and eight primary schools. Providing education to students 3-19, the Trust needed a solution that would not only enable collaboration between its schools but also allow each individual school to embrace blended learning in its own unique way.Following a merger, BAT found themselves managing ten different Microsoft 365 tenants across the trust – one for each of the schools and one for their central trust team:“We quickly realised that this approach was unsustainable. Our staff had several different logins to access what they needed. It was complex and time-consuming, and didn’t promote any kind of collaboration or communication between our schools,” Mark explains.“To make everything simpler and to encourage more collaboration between our schools, we made the decision to merge all schools into one BAT tenant with the help of Cloud Design Box and their partners.”One of the key challenges when rolling out Microsoft 365 across BAT was that each school was at a very different stage in terms of blended learning.“Some of our secondary schools were already using the full suite of tools in Microsoft for teaching and learning. Meanwhile, other schools were only using it for email and storing some files in OneDrive,” Mark explains.“We also had a school using G Suite that we needed to migrate across and support them in using brand new blended learning tools.”Mark describes his approach when it came to encouraging user adoption of Cloud Box in each school.His first quick win is to set the school’s SharePoint intranet as the default homepage:“This way, I’ve won half the battle because they’re already using it. The page contains links the staff will find useful – timetables, web applications, finance forms, HR forms, policies etc,” Mark tells us.“When they open their computers, it’s the first thing they see – they haven’t got to start typing out the URL. It just makes navigation so much easier.”As they roll out, Mark is working with each school to introduce them to SharePoint and Teams and support them with user adoption.“I speak to staff and give them a brief demo of what SharePoint and Teams can do. I do live webinars and drop-in sessions using Microsoft Teams and record them so staff can watch later if they miss the live events,” he continues.“I have also created a training site within SharePoint for staff to access. This not only has my own resources on there, but I have links to the courses created by Cloud Design Box and Microsoft. There’s no point in me re-creating what has already been done and they have saved me so much time.”Mark points out that it’s important to recognise that each school, even if they are in the same trust, has very different needs and will use Microsoft 365 in different ways:“It’s important we work with schools to create something that they will use, rather than telling them exactly how to use it. This has worked well, and we’ve had schools ask for all sorts of things, like a place to store all exam information and a site dedicated to assemblies,” Mark enthuses.Lastly, Mark has made himself available to answer questions for any school that needs it:“It can be a bit of information overload for some staff, so alongside the training and drop-in sessions, I have made myself available to answer questions from schools.”Support the show

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 engagement, save teacher time, give feedback and keep an eye on students’ wellbeing.“We’ve been using Class Notebook to engage with students who have been learning from home due to self-isolating. It’s been a blend of live teaching and uploading class resources for those students who share devices and need access to content on-demand,” Rachael tells us. “We’ve also been teaching in school and using tools in Teams to set assignments and rubrics, run polls to get a quick measure of where students are in terms of their learning.”  n the video, Rachael demonstrates how the teachers use polls to help students further embed their learning and see which students have understood the lesson and who may need a recap.“We have been using self-marking quizzes quite successfully – they give the students the answers as they move along,” she explains.“Polls are like the classroom equivalent of holding up mini whiteboards and getting everyone to hold up their answer – you can get a broad sweep of who is understanding and who isn’t.”  This type of interactivity is carried through to providing feedback to students. Teachers at Bradford Girls’ Grammar School are adding audio files to students work to give feedback on assignments. Not only is this engaging for students to actually hear their teacher explain something to them as if they were in the classroom, but it’s also saving teacher time as they don’t need to type or format any additional words.“We’ve also been using audio files for learning objectives – just inserting a clip into a Class Notebook that explains exactly what we want the students to do – they can listen instead of writing out learning objectives and it does save time,” she adds. By using Microsoft 365 in and outside of the classroom, the school has been able to collect valuable data around students’ learning and engagement.  “Some of our students do not have access to the live lessons because they share devices. So we need to look at other metrics to see if they’re participating in other ways: Are they having conversations, are they completing assignments, are they accessing Class Notebook?” Rachael explains.  But, the Insights dashboard goes beyond checking up to see whether students are completing their homework: “It’s been really useful for pastoral support. At one point, we had a large number of users who were working in the middle of the night. So we immediately put out welfare messages to staff, parents and pupils. It gives us the opportunity to have that conversation with our community.”  Bradford Girls’ Grammar School is embracing Microsoft for the future and not simply a remedy to the pandemic:  “We’re learning rapidly – we’ve been on a steep learning curve but we’re implementing these interactive methods of assessment into our practice as we develop as remote teachers. Week on week, we’re getting a high-level engagement on Teams – anything between 190 and 700 daily active users – it shows how useful our students and staff are finding Teams.”Support the show

In this webinar we are joined by Mark Guest from PolyMAT to discuss how the Trust have extended Microsoft Teams and SharePoint further using the Power Platform.Support the show (https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk)Support the show

1111In this episode we speak with David James, Head of Education at Cornerstone Academy Trust and Anthony Lees, Deputy Head of Westclyst Community Primary School. We discuss how the trust has lead the way in providing blended and remote learning before, during and after the pandemic.Support the show

Check out our website for the services and products we offer for Microsoft 365, Teams and SharePoint at https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk​In this webinar, we talk to Stuart Carvell, Assistant Principal at Eaton Bank School about how the trust has embraced Microsoft 365. Darren and Lloyd from Cloud Design Box will highlight some key points on how to successfully rollout at trust and school level.Contact us now for more information via the website https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk/contact.Support the show

Jonathan Butler from EdTech DfE Demonstrator College - Wilberforce College in Hull talks to us about the college's Teams journey. Afterwards we will be sharing some best practices to help you get started with Microsoft Teams.Check out our website for the services and products we offer for Microsoft 365, Teams and SharePoint at https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk​Contact us now for more information via the website https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk/contactSupport the show

In this episode, Darren, Tony, Keith and Lloyd discuss using breakout rooms in online lessons. A new feature in Microsoft Teams, but how do teachers manage students? What should they consider from a safeguarding perspective when using breakout rooms?You can find out more about Cloud Design Box and our education services on our website - https://www.clouddesignbox.co.ukSupport the show

Microsoft 365 User Adoption Episode 12: Saving Teacher Time With Class NotebookOur Office 365 User Adoption Podcast highlights real-life stories from schools, academies and Multi Academy Trusts on how they’ve successfully rolled out Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Teams to staff and students.In this podcast episode, we spoke with Rachael Howarth, Vice Principal at Bradford Girls’ Grammar School and Business Studies teacher on how they’re using Microsoft 365 to support students’ learning and save teachers’ time, whether they’re working remotely or in the classroom.Bradford Girls’ Grammar School started using SharePoint in March and April 2020 when UK schools were forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.“We started out using SharePoint, but from mid-May, we’ve been using Teams to improve the interaction between teachers and students,” explains Rachael.“Since September, it has been a government requirement that anyone absent from school has immediate access to remote learning, so we adopted Class Notebook to achieve this in an efficient way.”Rachael explains that the school decided it would be a lot easier if teachers planned lessons via Class Notebook so that they could use the resources in the classroom, as well as distributing them to students who were not in school, as well as another cover staff who required access to them.“It’s been working really well. Students have access whenever they need to, and can go back and revise from these resources at a later date.”An example of this in action is a Year 13 Business lesson Rachael shows us during the podcast.“Within this lesson, I have written down some instructions for students. If the lesson was recorded, I could link the video and there wouldn’t be a need for so many words here,” Rachael demonstrates.Support the show

In this podcast, we spoke with James Emmet, Network Manager at Engineering UTC North Lincolnshire about how they use features in Office 365 to support students with Special Education Needs (SEN) and English as an Additional Language (EAL).“We have a high number of students who are EAL, SEN, dyslexic and have low reading ages. I passionately believe that – when used in the right way – ICT is one of the most crucial tools to help these students with their learning,” James tells us.“Our school’s main intake starts from Year 9, so it’s not long after they start before, we have to start prepping them for their GCSEs. Office 365 and key tools like Immersive Reader are essential for helping these students to learn.”Immersive Reader is a free tool built into many of the Microsoft Products, including Microsoft Word.“Using Immersive Reader, students can change the style and appearance of the text to help with reading comprehension,” James explains.“For example, you can change the font, text size, text spacing and even create a virtual coloured overlay.”Meanwhile, Picture Dictionary, the Translate tool and Read Aloud are particularly handy for supporting EAL students.Picture Dictionary allows students to select a word they may not understand and view an explainer image, while Read Aloud turns the text on the page into speech for the student to listen to.Both of these, combined with the Translate tool, are invaluable when it comes to improving reading comprehension in the classroom.“We have found that Immersive Reader is being used by all of our students, not only those with EAL and SEN. In fact, one of our GCSE students who is predicted a level 7 in English regularly uses Immersive Reader to break down texts and closely analyse them,” James adds.Immersive Reader also enables students to highlight word types, such as nouns and verbs, as well as break sentences down into syllables, which both students and their teachers have found useful for English and language-focused subjects.“Because Immersive Reader is already built into many of the Microsoft products, we have not had to spend any extra time rolling it out into classrooms,” he tells us.“It’s really taken off in our school. For example, we demonstrated the tool to one student and by the next lesson, the rest of their class were using it.”The great thing about Office 365 and Immersive Reader is that it works on any connected device. Of course, this capability is more important than ever before as we see many children learning from home.“We love the fact that Office 365 can be accessed via multiple devices and actively encourage our students to use their own devices or one from our bank of iPads. It gives their learning an extra boost.”To find out more about Office 365 for Education, get in touch with a member of our team today.Go to https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk for more information.Support the show

We have been asked by some schools facing part-closure to create a podcast about delivering content in virtual lessons using Microsoft Teams.In this podcast, we focus on using Microsoft Teams to provide remote lessons. This should allow some continuation of learning even if the teacher or students are remotely located and unable to get into school.You can try and replicate some of the real things you would do in a real classroom. You won’t have the same eye contact or body language as you would in person, however you can still do a lot to deliver the lesson.Take away points:Start a video call to broadcast the lesson and record it (in the General channel)Mute students as they join the video call (you should only need to do this for the first 5 students entering the meeting)Use the video recordings as revision material (or if students can’t make the live lesson)Students do their work in Class Notebook or they could create files in the Files tab during the lessonTeachers can virtually walk around the classroom by looking in the student class notebook sectionsHave one-on-one conversations by using instant messagingUse group conversations to discuss topics within the classIf you want to do group or project work – use channels to split up the classMake sure that students and teachers have good access to the internet and a device. Mobile devices work fine for watching lessons but might not be great for participating.We recommend that you use these tools in a normal classroom environment to begin with (not working remotely). This is great for becoming confident with the tools and training students on how it will work. Then, if you are faced with a situation where you need to teach or learn remotely, you will be prepared!EXTRA TIP:Measure student activity by seeing if they have done any work, asked any questions or contributed to the lesson.Check out our website for the services and products we offer for Office 365 and SharePoint at https://www.clouddesignbox.co.ukContact us now for more information via the website https://www.clouddesignbox.co.uk/contactSupport the show

We speak to Elaine Topham at Grimsby Institute about the Microsoft Innovative Educator program. Elaine is the Senior Learning Technologist at the college and is an MIE Fellow (one of only six in the UK).How could it benefit your school or college? What are some of the perks? How do you apply? Listen to find out all of the answers.Blog post and YouTube video coming soon with all the links.https://www.clouddesignbox.co.ukSupport the show