1. Microsoft in the Classroom Shane Mann | Rathkeale College | sdm@rathkeale.school.nzsdm@rathkeale.school.nz

2. OneNote + Office 365 + Surface = Success! I have been using the OneNote Class Notebook Creator with my Year 9 Science class and it is fantastic! As a teacher is extremely easy to share content and monitor student progress. My students have not needed to use traditional pen and paper at all! The feedback from students is very positive. They are desperate to continue using the technology and have found lessons to be far more interesting and engaging. In addition to this, I have found myself becoming more of a facilitator of learning, helping the students to work through the content at their own pace. This method of teaching has also enabled me to differentiate far more, giving me the ability to meet the needs of all students. Most students use the school Surface Pros with a small number of other BYODs. The Surface Pro was by far the best device as it enabled students to complete the tasks while getting the most out of the technology without limits. The use of the stylus pen was very popular and became a normal function of every lesson. This is an example of a student’s work using the OneNote tool.

3. My Observations To view an example of my Year 9 Science class in action, play the video above or select the following link: View on YouTubeView on YouTube OneNote + O365 + Surface = Success! Student Engagement Students are far more engaged with the content due to its interactive nature. Increased student engagement has resulted in less classroom behaviour issues. Students enjoy focussing on the Science rather than just copying out notes. Teacher Facilitates The teacher facilitates learning by working with small groups of students rather than delivering lessons in a traditional way from the front of the class. This enables differentiated learning opportunities as opposed to a one size fits all model. There are opportunities available to extend talented students and help those that struggle. Managing Self Students work through the OneNote tasks at their own pace and manage their own learning. Students plan out when practical work, activities and homework will be completed within deadlines set by the teacher. Managing Self is one of the Key Competencies and is valuable life skill. Anywhere, Anytime The notes, activities, practical work and homework is all contained in the students’ OneNote. This enables the learning to continue beyond the classroom on almost any device. Achievement Increased engagement, self management and new learning styles/opportunities has improved achievement. In particular, early indications have shown that the results of the weaker students have improved. No student failed the last assessment! Collaboration Working in small groups and using the OneNote collaboration area has resulted in far more powerful collaboration opportunities. Redefinition The use of technology in the classroom has allowed for the creation of new tasks previously inconceivable. Students work seamlessly with a range of different digital media such as interactive animations, photos, video, Office 365 etc. This contributes to increased engagement, creativity, extension and ultimately achievement and passion for the subject.

4. Student feedback and survey results What did you like about using the technology? “It was much faster to research, get homework done and much more fun than doing bookwork. It was great.” “You didn't have to carry around your books.” “It was much neater and tidier using typing and the surfaces for drawing.” “It was easier to access our notes and we don't get spare pages lying around everywhere.” “I liked that it was independent and you could go ahead without waiting for the class. It was also a lot easier having the internet for help.” “It was a very good experience and helped with my learning a lot. I could research, create and use different tools on one device.” Did the use of technology make it easier to learn? “Everything was all in one place and it was easier to research online while doing the work.” “The OneNote software allowed us to do many things that we couldn't do in an ordinary textbook.” “Because you were going at your own pace so it was impossible to fall behind in work.” “It opened up new ways of learning. Made it easier to research create and publish documents. The stylus pens also helped.” “We were more involved and instead of just copying things down without understanding what we were writing down, we are more aware of what we are learning and understand it better.” Did you find lessons more engaging/fun? “Because it was really well organised and fun just to do all the work at your own pace.” “The activities sometimes involved watching videos and using animated games to learn new info.” “When we did the game Kahoot it was good having our own computer so everybody got involved.” I looked forward to Science more than I ever had before because of the computers. It was easier to learn because if I missed something, instead of asking the teacher and slowing down others’ learning, I could just read it again on OneNote.” “I enjoyed working with interactive technology and working with two other classmates instead of by myself.”

5. Conclusion My teaching has completely transformed with the use of e-learning. Technologies such as OneNote, Office 365 and Surface Pro form the foundation for my e-learning platform and I am excited about sharing this with other teachers. I have been using technology in the classroom for many years, but the powerful OneNote Class Notebook Creator has made the biggest impact in how I deliver my lessons. It is so refreshing to discover a way of teaching that really ignites my passion again in a new way. Ultimately, I would like to work towards approaching e-learning from the Redefinition stage of the SAMR model in all of my classes. I believe this is the epitome of e-learning.