UTB eNews NZ: Oct 2021

Published
1 October 2021

Spring is here and after these school holidays, we’ll be on the homeward stretch to Christmas!

With the country in lockdown over the past month or so our trainers have been busy! To ease the load and seize the opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade, we offered teachers around New Zealand and across the ditch FREE 30 day access to our Learn on Demand courses. We had a huge take up on our offer with nearly 400 people signing up!

We’ve also given teachers help with lesson planning and innovative strategies to ease the burden of extended online learning with students. We’ve explored different ways to increase efficiency with digital tools by unpacking helpful ways they can streamline assessment practices, and have had developed integrated, relevant classroom tasks with them.

With parts of New Zealand still operating at Level 3, we’ve chosen some great tools we’re sure will help lighten your load in and out of lockdown. As always, we’re only an email away for extra support!

Content Overview

1 Tech Tools for Teachers: Toby Mini Chrome Extension
2 Trainer Tip: Sparkline tool in Sheets
3 Learn on Demand: Microsoft Teams Deep Dive: Educator Edition
4 Lesson Planning Made Simple: Maths Lesson Ideas
5 PLD Update: Get Your MoE Funded Pandemic Support
6 Upcoming Events: Google Workspace for Education Plus Guided Tours
7 Blog Bites: How to Host a Webinar in Microsoft Teams

Tech Tools for Teachers

If you’re guilty of having multiple tabs open in your browser, you are not alone! You may even be blissfully unaware of why this habit is a habit worth breaking.

Not only does it slow down your machine, but it also slows down your ability to find what you’re after, quickly and effectively. A bit counter-intuitive, right?!

Don’t worry, this super helpful tool will guarantee that all your favourite and regularly visited websites, docs, and files are easily accessible anytime you need them.

The Toby Mini Chrome extension helps organise your browser tabs. Simply add new tabs by dragging and dropping them into collections or save an entire session in just one click.

Access all of your collections on any desktop with the automatic sync feature. Use tags to organize your collections or create notes for your to-dos. You can even create a collection that automatically opens every time you start up your device. Revolutionary, right?!

Click here to download the Toby Mini Chrome extension.

Trainer Tip

Tracking student progress can be really handy, especially when it’s quick and visual!

Create a visual graph of student progress with the Sparkline tool in Sheets – no prior knowledge of Sheets is necessary!

Watch below to see Adrian’s short Sparkline how-to video.

Learn on Demand Featured Course

Managing the distribution of information, giving timely feedback and marking tasks, all while facilitating better learning outcomes for your students is a challenge at the best of times!

In just 90 minutes the UTB Microsoft Teams Deep Dive: Educator Edition course will arm you with tried and tested tips and tricks designed to help you manage teams and communicate better, streamline your assignment life cycle, and gain powerful insights into student learning.

Take the Microsoft Teams Deep Dive: Educator Edition course and improve communication, collaboration, and efficiency day in, day out.

Click here to get the Microsoft Teams Deep Dive: Educator Edition course.

Lesson Planning Made Simple

Survive to Thrive: Maths Lesson Ideas
We often meet teachers who are keen to find new ways to integrate digital activities into their lessons; especially maths teachers who want to use digital devices beyond the practice of basic facts and maths games.

With so many ways to develop authentic and engaging tasks using a variety of technology, we’ve done the hard yards for you. We’ve created a helpful maths lesson resource. We’re sure there will be something just right for your students.

We encourage you to choose one idea, give it a go. When you’re ready for something new you can jump back in and try another idea.

Be sure to think about what is going to make learning accessible for all and how your learners can show you what they know.

Click here to get your copy of our ready-made classroom resource.

Upcoming Events

Avoid the Dreaded FOMO Feeling. Register Now!

Now your school has the opportunity to get the FREE upgrade to Google Workspace for Education Plus you’re probably wondering what the new features and benefits are and how to get the most out of them.

Get up to speed on all the additional features and key benefits of Google Workspace for Education Plus with our guided tours. And if your school hasn’t already received the upgrade, we’ll tell you how you can get it. Easy peasy.

Click here to save your spot on the Google Workspace for Education Plus Guided Tours (for teachers and IT/administrators).

NZ PLD Update

Don’t Go it Alone in Lockdown

FREE distance learning PLD support is now available through a special Ministry of Education fund. Apply now to receive up to 25 hours of distance learning or any pandemic related support for your school.

Click here to apply for distance learning PLD support for your school.

Schedule a call here and one of our experienced trainers will guide you through your MoE proposal.

Blog Bites

Lockdown has forced more of our communication online, but anyone can present like a pro using Microsoft Teams. Learn how to host webinars for up to 1,000 people in just 4 easy steps.

Click here to learn How to Host a Webinar in Microsoft Teams.