Continuity of Learning - Day 3 - 4

We are now on day four of our Continuity of Learning at Ashford School and in the process of refining our current teaching and learning practices online. It's looking like we are going to be in this for longer than we expected....but with feedback as shown below, we are only more determined to make it better for all.

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"I find it impossible to put into words the gratitude owed to you, your team, and the teaching and support staff of Ashford School who are making it possible for our children to continue with their learning during these challenging times. With a child in the prep and senior school, I am able to witness first-hand how much it means to them to be able to hear their teachers and classmates (and sometimes see them!) during their lessons.

I watched earlier this week as one of daughters sat at her 'work space' ten minutes before her lesson, eagerly waiting for it to start. Well done and keep up the good work! "

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Primary Years

1) Fantastic video footage of teachers and audio feedback from teachers.

2) Real time marking in Showbie

3) Hands-on extended activities that go beyond the school day and keep students amused and entertained for periods of time. Lots of hands-on and brains-on activities and unplugged from the screen.

4) Great PE videos by our teachers along with Youtube clips

5) We are now ready to refine the timetable and add in cross curricular activities/events/competitions.


Secondary Years

1) Scanning App -Some teachers have asked for a scanning app for students and staff to upload documents. Built in within our Surface is Windows Microsoft Lens which you can also download on your phone. Great app to take photos and remove noise/shadows which then saves the photo into your photo gallery or one drive. 

2) There has been some concern that younger students are spamming the conversation area within Teams. Some wise words from teachers:

"I am finding that even with very clear instructions students are misunderstanding or missing things out. I am therefore spending 5 minutes at the start of most lessons just talking them through exactly what they have to do, then posting the instructions onto chat (it has also been set on assignments) and that is making a massive difference"

"Suspend chat groups and only restart when ready. You can take registration by teams participants list. Get the message through."

3) Our teachers are now sharing their desktops while teaching and find this very effective while conducting live teaching sessions in Teams. Some have decided to record their sessions and share them using Stream. 

Live video tutorials available.