Remote Learning
Welcome to the Penistone Grammar School online learning support pages
For those students required by Covid-19 measures to stay at home, teachers will set work or deliver live lessons via their Microsoft Office Teams account. We will continue to do all we can to limit the impact of Coronavirus on our children’s education and we thank you for your patience as we implement these new ways of working.
You will find instructions on this page relating to:
• How to access Microsoft 365 and download the relevant applications;
• How to access Microsoft Teams;
• How live lessons will be delivered to students;
• How students will access independent learning tasks.
If you require further assistance after reading this information, please contact us by clicking here and filling in our contact form.
Microsoft 365
Penistone Grammar School issues a Microsoft 365 license to each student. This license entitles students to take part in all the digital activities that are part of school life.
The Microsoft 365 license includes access to the following features:
• An email account and email address
• 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage
• Microsoft Teams
• 5x full installations of Microsoft office, including personal/home devices
• Web versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Penistone Grammar School students can access this license by simply signing in with their school email address and password (e.g. JoeBloggs@penistone-gs.uk and password1)
• Students must install Microsoft Teams or access it via a web browser
• Students should try to install the official Microsoft applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook and OneDrive applications
Recommended home setup
There are lots of different devices available and Microsoft 365 works on almost all of them. We recommend that students make sure they install the relevant Microsoft applications on whichever device type they are using:
• Windows/Mac PC or Laptop
• iOS iPad or iPhone
• Android phone, tablet or ChromeBook
• Edge browser, recommended for all devices (We recommend installing the Microsoft Edge browser to access the Penistone Grammar School digital experience.)
Note: We are unable to accept Google Documents, Libre Office or OpenOffice documents. Please use the Microsoft tools provided with your Microsoft 365 license.
Microsoft Teams: Assignments
Home learning
Assignments
All home learning assignments will be set via Microsoft Teams. (See image below.)
Students may need to access documents in the assignment itself or upload photos of their work using the Add Work link. Students can create Microsoft documents right in the assignment, upload from OneDrive or from their device. If students open and edit a Microsoft document from inside the assignment itself, it will automatically save back to the assignment.
Classwork tasks and meetings
Teams will be used for all classwork tasks and live lessons.
If the student is isolating due to Covid-19, they MUST check for assignments, live meetings and messages in Teams.
If they are set a classwork assignment it will be titled with the date and period in which it should be completed. Students should check the relevant class Team linked to their timetabled lessons. (E.g. if they have English during Period 1 on Mondays, check the English Team for work set at that time.)
Handing in assignments
Once an assignment is completed, all students should use the Hand-In button to notify their teacher they have completed the work.
Microsoft Teams: Live Lessons
Live lessons
If a student is isolating due to Covid-19 restrictions, some of their lessons may be delivered live online via Teams. The live lesson link will be available in the relevant class team that matches the timetable period.
Students should look for a purple camera icon alongside the ‘General’ channel, or a purple ‘Join' alert in the posts, as below:
If you have Microsoft Teams open you should see a notification and a purple ‘join’ link when the meeting has begun. (When the student clicks the Join button, they should be mindful that the lesson may already be taking place.)
What students can expect during live lessons
The live feed may start a few minutes into the lesson whilst teachers prepare the in-class students and take a register.
Students might be held in a virtual ‘lobby’ until the teacher is ready. Once in the lesson, teachers may give instructions for whether microphones are to be muted and video feeds switched on or off.
Teachers will likely share their screen so that students can follow the lesson activities.
Students will be required to try to complete the activities as they arise, just like in a normal lesson.
Teachers may ask questions directly to students; if so, they can unmute and answer as required.
If students have a query, they may use the ‘raise hand’ button to notify the teacher.
They may need to download or locate resources for the lesson; the instructions will be posted in the class Team channels.
Students may be asked to upload evidence of their work after the lesson.
At the end of the lesson students will leave the meeting and either join their next lesson, or check for additional assignments.
Useful Resources
Official Microsoft Support Guide to using Microsoft Teams
Quick Start Guide to Using Microsoft 365
Distance Learning with Microsoft 365: A Guide for Parents and Guardians
The net-aware.org.uk Guide to Teams (Safety Advice for Students and Parents / Carers)
Troubleshooting
I cannot access Teams / I cannot sign in
Restart your device and try to sign in again. Carefully make sure your password is correct. To check this, try logging into another school product (such as email) with the same password. Try logging into Teams in a web browser instead (go to https://teams.microsoft.com).
I cannot see my class teams
Click on the Teams icon more than once to take you to the full list of class teams. (At the side on the laptop / PC version; at the bottom on the mobile version.) If you still cannot see the list of class teams, restart your device and try again.
I cannot see the live lesson in Teams
Check the class team General Channel for the class where you think the live lesson is taking place. Check the Assignments tab to see if an assignment has been set instead.
I cannot see the assignment for the lesson in Teams
Check the class team Assignments tab for the class where you think the assignment should be. Check the General Channel to see if the live lesson has been started instead.
I cannot hear the live lesson
Go to the meeting options (three-spots menu) and select Device Settings. Check that Audio Devices, Speaker and Microphone are correctly set. Check that your actual device (your laptop / PC / phone etc.) is not muted. You may wish to use a set of earphones and microphones instead.
If you still cannot hear, check your camera / microphone permissions for Teams in your device security settings. Make sure that Teams is not restricted from accessing the microphone or speakers.
I keep getting a message about ‘Poor Network Quality’ / my internet is slow
There is little we can do to adjust your internet settings at your home. Try to reduce the number of devices that have wifi switched on at the time when you are on your live lesson. Often smart devices such as cameras can take a large proportion of your bandwidth. You can also try restarting your wifi router to make a new connection to the internet. If you think your device may be at fault, try restarting your device.
I have tried all the above but I am still having difficulties
Use the form below to register your issue with the IT Services Department. They will most likely contact the student directly in an attempt to resolve the problems.