What are the Minimum Expectations?
The Digital Learning Team has developed two models for the college’s online provision, see below, to ensure a clear consistent learning journey for students. Curriculum teams have identified which of the two models they intend to choose. This blog outlines what content must be included on your learning platforms to meet the minimum expectations for your model.
- You can view and download the full Microsoft Teams Minimum Expectations document here.
- You can view and download the Microsoft Teams Minimum Expectations Checklist here.
| Platform | Model 1 LearnZone as the main learning platform (current model) | Model 2 Teams as the main learning platform (new model) |
|---|---|---|
| Teams | – Synchronous learning via Teams meetings and Breakout rooms – Class community / discussion using Channels | – Synchronous learning via Teams Meetings and Breakout rooms – Class community / discussion using Channels – Formative assessments using Teams Assignments and approved 3rd party apps – Resources and activities structured using MS Classwork |
| LearnZone | – Formative assessments using LearnZone activities and approved 3rd party apps – Resources and Activities structured using LearnZone Sections. – Summative assessment using LearnZone Turnitin activity | – Summative assessment using LearnZone Turnitin activity |
Naming Conventions
The naming of Teams must be clear, meaningful and easy for students to understand and find. They should be labelled with the full name of the unit/module and must include the academic year in brackets at the end. Any Channels within a Team should also be named appropriately.
Members
Every Class Team should have the relevant teachers added as ‘Owners’ along with a curriculum manager, this way the Team is less likely to be lost or abandoned if a staff member is to leave.
Students should be added as ‘Members’ and if they leave or move courses they should be removed from the Class Teams.
All Class Teams will have an Admin account added in for quality assurance; this should not be removed.
Teams Management
It is the responsibility of the teacher to manage the Class Team, including its members, uploaded TLA resources and activities including but not limited to Class Notebook, Classwork, (Formative) Assignments and the use of shared third party apps. You must also archive old Class Teams and set up new ones during rollover each year.
Home Page Overview
The Home Page for a Class Team can be edited and designed as the teacher pleases.
It must however include the following:
- Contact details for the teacher/s of the unit/module, this being name/s and email/s, it may also include office locations and working hours of each teacher involved in delivering the content.
- An Introduction/Details of the unit/module must be clearly displayed to students. The Course specification documents likely offer the text that can be adapted for this purpose. Ensuring this information has been added will help all users to be able to fully identify a unit/module.
Contact Details
The first post made to a Class Team should be an Introduction the unit/module and the teachers delivering. Along with an explanation of how Teams will be used throughout their time on the course and where to find more information. This information should also be added to the Home Page.
Classwork Management (Model 2)
If you are using Teams as your main platform to host course content and resources (Model 2) a well-designed Classwork page should contain relevant and up to date activities and resources to support the learning journey. You should only share course resources through Teams Classwork as part of Model 2.
Classwork Modules should be named meaningfully, must include a description and be logically ordered to aid the learner journey.
All TLA resources and activities (formative assessments) should be added to relevant modules including but not limited to essential course materials, slide decks, handouts, web links and other media.
Modules should remain as drafts until students need the content. Drafts are only visible to Class Team Owners, Members (i.e. students) can’t view draft modules.
If you wish to add all of your teaching materials for the full year to a Class Team this can be stored in a single draft module then moved to the relevant modules and published as needed.
All content should be maintained and relevant. Any resources or activities that are no longer relevant should be moved to a draft module or deleted.
Activities & Resources (Model 2)
Well-designed courses should contain relevant and up to date activities and resources to support the learning journey.
All resources for example course materials such as handouts and PowerPoints uploaded to Teams should be accessible. You can use Microsoft Forms to create quizzes within ‘Assignments’ for formative assessment. You can also utilise authorised third party apps with Teams to create other activities which enables you to make content more interactive and promote deeper learning experiences.
All activities and resources must be added to relevant Classwork Modules
Online Lessons
Online lessons should be set up in advance as scheduled meetings from within a Team/Channel.
You should make use of Breakout Rooms and Polls to keep your online lesson interactive and assess learning. You can also make use of authorised third party apps during your online lesson including whiteboard and other interactive activity apps.
Expectations on Assessment
All written summative assessments must be submitted through Turnitin on LearnZone. Class Teams can only be used for formative assessment.
Teachers must add a web link for all written summative assessment to the relevant Classwork Module along the brief, criteria and any essential or supporting resources.
Assessment Schedule
An assessment schedule must be added to the LearnZone page but can also be included as part of the Classwork page in Teams and must be in line with the ProMonitor assessment schedule for the qualification and group. Students must be clear on the dates of any assessment and staff members may need to update these as and when needed.
Help and Support
As always contact the Digital Learning Team for more information, guidance, and support.