Staying in Touch MS Teams April 8 Post #1 of 2

Hello Everyone!

Thank you to everyone who is actively participating in MS Teams. It is so nice to connect with you all through daily chats in our conversation channel!

As a reminder, check MS Teams daily. Here are the things you can and need to do in there:

  • Participate in class conversation, on the Connect with Classmates channel.
  • Join a small group meeting or a meeting with Ms. D. For these meetings, you will receive an email invitation. Please click accept, and it will add the meeting to your calendar. Then, you can go in to Calendar on the left side bar of MS Teams to see the meeting in your schedule. At the designated time for the meeting, just click join!
  • Watch videos from Ms. D about class topics or to hear readings. Links are in the General channel.
  • Get information about assignments, in the General Channel OR by using the Assignments tab at the top.
  • Submitting assignments, uploading documents or putting in links to say you have completed work for the week.
  • Use the Class Notebook tab to access your journal. There is a folder called Independent Project, and you can write in that folder anything you are doing about independent project.  It will only be seen by you and me. The Class Notebook tab may also be used in the future for class discussions under the collaboration section, so at least try to find where Class Notebook is!

To answer some questions people have asked:

  • Do I have to do the assignments? Yes. To show me you are actively participating in our class and to give me feedback I need to create new learning opportunities, I need you to participate in MS Teams by submitting assignments.
  • Are we marked on the assignments? I am providing feedback on assignments and e-ports, going through all of them as fast as I can, and the feedback, as always, is part of assessment for our class. There will be a report card for term three, so participation and completion of assignments will be something we can talk about for that report.
  • Are all assignments due by the due dates? I put due dates to help everyone stay on track and have a schedule. Even with this changed learning environment, we all need some structure, otherwise we would never get things done and move forward in our learning. BUT, I completely understand every family is different, you are all doing the best you can in this stressful situation, and you may not always be able to do things by the deadlines. So, MS Teams allows you to turn in work late. I will contact both you and your parents if I don’t see you participating or turning in anything at all.
  • I can’t seem to access the video link from MS Teams. What do I do? Remember, to access videos, you will need to be logged on to your Microsoft school account ON THE WEB first. Generally, you click on the link for the video, and a sign in screen should pop up. Once you sign in, the video will show. If you don’t get a sign in screen, try logging in to your email first on the web. Go to this link to do that. If you still have trouble accessing videos after that, please email me.
  • I need to talk to you, how can I do that? I respond to emails and the Connect with Classmates channel from 9 AM to 3 PM. Sometimes you will see me on there outside of that time, as well, but I may not respond right away. If you want to talk with me, just schedule a 5 minute video conference with me, any time! Send me an email.
  • How can I connect with classmates? Send them email letters! Maybe start with responding to the pen pal letter that was sent to you as part of assignments. Email is best used for longer communications. You can also connect on our Connect with Classmates channel in MS Teams. I will put prompts in there daily, and you can also do the same! You can also make arrangements via email with a friend from class, and then chat with them outside of school, using a non-school communication tool. As a reminder, please don’t use our school email for chatting. The only chatting is on the Connect with Classmates channel, or by using other tools at home, which your parents will need to supervise. I only supervise the MS Teams chats. Thanks!
  • How do I find someone’s email address? Log in to your email for school.  Put their full name in the TO box. Make sure you know their last name, because there could be more than one person in the District with the first name. If you don’t know someone’s last name from class, just contact me. I am happy to help.

More questions? Let me know, either in our one-on-one meetings happening this week, or via email. I will add them to the list here so everyone can see.

Thank you,

Ms. D