Initial Situation

To enable communication between teachers and students, Microsoft Teams was quickly introduced at the Vocational School Bonn. One problem was that this was done without sufficient internal and external communication and lead time. This led to some families not having hardware such as laptops or computers to access digital content. Due to the lack of hardware provision and inadequate broadband infrastructure, only 16% of students in North Rhine-Westphalia could be taught digitally. Furthermore, teachers were not supported in the configuration and administration of Microsoft Teams. This resulted in high time expenditure for teachers and inefficient use of the application.

Implementation

After a Microsoft Teams basic training for some interested teachers, our specialists Mathias Müller and Julian Pawlowski informed about the various application possibilities of Microsoft Teams in everyday school life using practical examples. Topics covered included handling chats and group chats, the structure and organization of teams or classes, document management, and much more. The teachers quickly gained confidence, so that the practical implementation of configuration and administration took place during the training.

“After the experts from digatus adjusted Microsoft Teams for Education to our wishes and needs, there was a noticeable improvement in the manageability and acceptance by students, parents, and teachers. The content conveyed in the training sessions has contributed to the application being managed by our colleagues. Furthermore, an increase in usage among teachers and administrative staff was noticeable. The digatus team always responded quickly to queries and provided very good, personal support.”

Jörg Abeln – Vocational School Bonn

Advantages

After consulting with our specialists, the teachers were able to create timetables, distribute documents, and integrate the applications included in Microsoft 365 such as Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and Microsoft Forms into the ‘digital classroom’. Those who were not informed and trained by our specialists were then introduced to Microsoft Teams and the other applications by their colleagues. This knowledge helps colleagues organize their digital classrooms, and students can also benefit from the experience gained in their future professional lives. Thus, capacities were created for the actual task of teachers and students: learning.

What Has Happened Since Then and How Should It Continue?

The first digital lessons were a bit bumpy, but after a short time, the digital classroom had already established itself. The functionality of Microsoft Teams helped to make the lessons calmer; the chatting and whispering that one surely remembers from one’s own school days were absent. Student groups worked successfully on projects in specially created teams. Appointments, individual conversations, and report card conferences are now conveniently, securely, and efficiently held in virtual form. 60 additional teachers and administrative staff have since received training on Microsoft Teams and are now able to fully utilize the application.