The Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) and Verso Learning are proud to announce the launch of a free student check-in tool for teachers ready for Term 4 of 2020. The tool has been co-designed by VicSRC students across Victoria to give all students a greater voice by making it easier for teachers to check-in on student learning progress and understand student emotional wellbeing, either in class or whilst learning at home.
The check-in tool is free for individual teachers to use with their students and accessible from any mobile device or computer. From today it is available at https://checkin.versoapp.com. To reduce the workload for teachers the customisable tool has been aligned to over 5,000 Victorian F-10 curriculum questions covering most subject areas. In under 30 seconds teachers can send students a Verso check-in to gather feedback on their learning progress, where they need help, what they would like to do more of next lesson and how they are feeling about their learning. Teachers can access the feedback via a simple and colourful dashboard that enables them to quickly gauge individual students' learning and emotional needs and identify those who need extra support and attention.
CEO of Verso Learning Colin Wood said working with the Victorian Student Representative Council (VIC SRC) to co-design and build the Verso student check-in tool had been a fantastic experience and demonstrated the importance of listening and responding to student voice. “The students were so excited to see their ideas built into a check-in tool that is used by teachers around the world, and positively impact the wellbeing of students not just in Victoria but across the globe”. During the co-design process, students highlighted the difference between classes in which they were given opportunities to provide feedback and felt their ideas and opinions were listened to where they felt ‘motivated, inspired and engaged’. In classes where they were not they reported feeling “frustrated, bored and disheartened.” One feature specifically requested by students was a help button to confidentially ask for one-on-one support from their teacher if they feel they are not coping or need help. As one student commented “having an easy and private way to request help from a trusted teacher when you really need to is vital to feeling supported and listened to.”
VicSRC’s survey and report about remote and online learning showed that students wanted more regular check ins from teachers to support their wellbeing, and the opportunity to give regular feedback to teachers about their learning. In addition, students wanted a greater say in their learning journey and more opportunity to give input on the direction of future classes. These themes of supporting positive mental health and wellbeing at school and increasing student engagement also featured prominently at the 2020 VicSRC Congress.
VicSRC teamed up with Melbourne based Verso Learning to build a check-in tool to support teachers to regularly check-in with students either in class or when working remotely. Executive Officer of VicSRC Nina Laitala said “Working with Verso, VicSRC was able to design an innovative check-in solution that will reduce teacher workload, whilst helping support Victorian students emotional wellbeing, giving them greater voice over their education and help teachers better adapt lessons to the needs of the students.”
