Create active learning paths with the Teams Class Notebook

Teachers who use the Teams platform (Microsoft 365) for distance education and document sharing can use the notepad tool to create pathways that put students at the heart of their learning.

Maxime Laflamme, from École branchée, who has offered numerous training sessions on the use of Teams in an educational context since last spring, is convinced that the notepad is a powerful tool to improve teaching. The Class Notebook is actually the OneNote app, included in Microsoft 365, which has been integrated with Teams.

The notepad can be described as a virtual classroom binder, where each tab can correspond to a particular subject or themes (homework, for example). This content library is accessible to students, but only the teacher can modify it. In addition, each student also has their own virtual binder divided into tabs according to the teacher's pedagogical and management intentions (think of the famous duo-tangs: one tab = 1 duo-tang). This section can also be modified by the student and the teacher can access it in real time.

The notepad also offers a collaborative space where students can work on documents in subgroups of students. It is thus possible to create and distribute various exercises to them.

Finally, the teacher can create learning paths and make them available to the students so that they can carry them out as autonomously as possible, in asynchronous mode. “The objective is to promote independent practice among students, by allowing them to contextualize their learning as much as possible,” explains Maxime Laflamme.

Learning paths

The teacher can also integrate a series of instructions (tasks to be carried out) inside a notepad and attach all the necessary elements: images, texts to read or annotate, videos to listen to, form to answer, etc. It is possible to integrate PDFs that can be annotated by the students (highlighting passages, for example). 

Then, they can complete the sequence of instructions by answering the questions directly in the notepad, whether in writing or on video (with Flipgrid for example). Interesting fact: Microsoft's “immersive reader” function is accessible in the notepad for students who need assistance in reading the instructions.

Finally, the teacher himself can directly correct each “student copy” directly on the screen with a stylus. It can also record audio comments as feedback.

“Thanks to the notepad, we can limit link sharing and platform changes. All the elements are found in the same environment and the student does not have to wander from one application or from one website to another to complete the course. Everything is centralized in the same place, ”summarizes Maxime Laflamme.

Resources

• Types of content that can be integrated (embedded) in notepad
• Notepad functionality tour

Need training?

Did you know that École branchée offers training Tailor-made CreaCamp for your school? The Teams Class Notebook theme is one of the most popular, by the way! Quickly book the real or virtual presence of a member of our team!

Also watch this training in video replay! (Free to CréaCamp Discovery members or with the purchase of a 1-month access.)

Dimension (s) of digital competence related to this article

3- Exploit the potential of digital technology for learning
6- Communicate using digital technology

To see the Framework.