Within Glow, a new tile can be added to your personal launchpad called the Microsoft Educator Community. Many Midlothian staff are starting to take part but what is it?
The Microsoft Educator Community is an online learning platform where you can connect, collaborate, find useful CPD and lessons, earn digital badges and certificates.
It is valuable CPD to engage with as there is training available for all of the Office 365 tools available in Glow and it can be done from the comfort of your sofa or work desk. The online courses range in length and are presented as online videos and tutorials which are followed by a quiz. If you answer questions correctly, you earn a digital badge at the end of each session. This is a good record to keep for your GTCS profile. The courses give great ideas for classroom collaboration and ways to embed Microsoft tools into your classroom.
Another fantastic tool available in the community is the ability to invite teachers around the world to Skype your class. There are Mystery Skype opportunities where your class can Skype another class in the world and they have to find out where they live using yes and no questions. Virtual Field Trips around the world are also available. You can take your class beyond the four walls of your classroom to places such as Cape Town Penguin Sanctuary, Lisbon Zoo, California…the list is endless. During your field trip your class gets the opportunity to question the professional they are skyping with. It’s a fantastic resource.
I have signed up to the community using my Glow username and password but you can do this using a personal email and password. To have a look at examples of digital badges I have earned, please click here.