One common issue raised with using Google Documents or Google Classrooms for remote or blended learning, is how to get students to engage with each other and share ideas. Google Classrooms is great for sharing files but doesn't allow students to work together in a truly collaborative way, share ideas or engage with the lesson materials. However by combining your Google account with your Verso account you can.
This example demonstrates how teachers can combine Verso with a collaborative Google Doc or Google Classrooms to allow a richer and more engaging Google experience. It shows how to link your Verso account to your Google account and then how to use Verso and Google together to allow students to respond to engage with each other's ideas and provide visibility of individual thinking to the teacher.
Student voice has never been more important. With the transition to remote learning we need to engage students in decision-making and actively seek their feedback on what works and what does not. This video explains how teachers are using Verso’s student feedback tool to check in on student progress and wellbeing. It shares how teachers are using the tool to collect feedback on practice in order to meet the changing needs of every student, maintain essential relationships and gain valuable insight into strategies and practice that work.
Co-Design Workshop 3: Review of the student led changes made to the Check-in Tool
When Verso’s Product Manager presented the updated Check-in form, the SRC students were excited to see that the changes were a true representation of their ideas. Some students commented that their peers in other classes would now have a far better opportunity to work with their teachers to make a difference to the way that they learn. They were overwhelmingly excited about the opportunity for students to be part of the change and remarked that we all have to work together to make this happen.
With this in mind, the students also picked up on the use of language on the check-in form. Before selecting an option from the list of ten, the text was changed from “What could I do differently next time?”, which the students recognised put all of the emphasis on the teacher having to make all of the adjustments, to “What could we do differently next time?” which they felt spoke to the partnership and collaborative nature of high agency classrooms. This shift was then picked up by the Verso team and similar changes were made throughout the product.
Verso will continue to partner with the Student Representative Council as we continue to refine the Check-in tool and the way that it can be presented and used within and beyond the scope of the lesson. In 2021 we will be returning to share anonymous usage data with the SRC, so they can see the strategies that students are selecting and consider adaptations to the lists, and the extent to which the emotional responses are progressing from the negative to the positive as students become empowered to connect more closely with their learning.
- About Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) -
VicSRC exists to empower students across Victoria: it is led by students, for students and supports student voice at every level. It consists of a Student Executive Advisory Committee to provide governance and strategic advice to the organisation, and VicSRC student Ambassadors who work together with staff and stakeholders to make change at every level. The VicSRC is auspiced by the Youth Affairs Council Victoria, and funded through the Department of Education and Training Victoria (DET).
Co-Design Workshop 2: Identifying the professional practices that underpin high agency learning and a positive sense of self.
In this second workshop, students were asked to think again about lessons where they had experienced those positive emotions This time they were asked to consider the strategies that led to that high academic engagement and positive sense of well being and make a list of teaching practices that contributed to a positive sense of self.
On completing their list, the students aligned their ideas with the 10 Vic Dept of Ed High Impact Teaching Strategies. This led to some additional ideas and revisions before producing a definitive list of 10 strategies / classroom practices which they thought would be most useful to their peers in schools around the world.
Verso is very excited to announce the launch of its new Instant Check-in Tool for 2021, which has been co-designed with students to support and empower Student Voice in classrooms.
The new Verso Instant Check-in makes it even faster and easier to create, launch in class and listen to Student voices. Based on feedback from students and teachers, we have made a number of important changes to our popular student check-in tool.
Most importantly we have shifted the responsibility for articulating a learning objective from the teacher to the student. This fundamental change, provides students the opportunity to articulate their own understanding of the learning intention, providing important feedback to the teacher on whether students have really understood the purpose of the lesson.
This powerful shift makes it easier to check-in with students, reducing the process to a simple select and send. However, more importantly, it now requires students to engage more deeply by elevating the requirement that students invest in understanding where they are going in their learning. This lays the foundation for focused reflection, so that students are able to monitor their progress and make informed decisions about the support, strategies and tools essential to move their learning forward.
Other changes include more inclusive student centred language that focuses on developing joint responsibility for learning, new set of emotions developed by students to reflect how they feel in 'low' and 'high' agency classrooms and an adaptive list of strategies that help learning that will change over time based on student feedback.
Its never been easier to listen to every voice in the classroom and we've got lots more to come over the next few months. Login to try the new check-in now from your class page, or create a new account and get started.
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