A&S Learning Design & Technology Knowledge Base

Using the Class Notebook

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The Teams Class Notebook can be used as a dynamic space to house resources, create a liquid syllabus, provide space for student collaboration, and even allow for private instructor-to-student feedback.

Each Class Team is automatically created with an interactive OneNote notebook that everybody in the class can access. The complete notebook is housed in the general channel--from here you can access the notebook sections of all other channels. (Any other channel you create can only access its own notebook, which is always a collaborative notebook.) Here are the pre-set sections in the general channel: 

  • Collaboration Space where both students and instructors can modify content. This could be a good place for group projects or collaborating on class notes.
  • Content Library where instructors can share documents and other materials that students can view but not edit. This is also a helpful place for instructors who want to post lists of readings or assignments, in-class activities, a liquid syllabus, links to websites and/or embed videos as a sort of resource hub. Embedded videos can be played directly from the notebook (as they can from within PowerPoint slides if you are using them).
  • Teacher-Only Section where a teacher can edit content they do not want students to see (such as lesson plans or other course-planning material).
  • Student Notebooks where each individual student has a private place to write assignments that only they and the instructor can view and edit. This could be a good place to have students write “minute papers” or respond to other low-stakes checks on understanding.

The complete Class Notebook is housed within the general channel. From there, you are able to access all the sections of the notebook, including any sections that were created in other channels. Within the other channels, the notebook only exists as a collaboration space (i.e. there is no content library or student notebook) and it will only display the content associated with that particular channel. 

Using the notebook to house a syllabus/daily activities

The class notebook can be used in a similar way to the Lessons tool in Collab: a place to house and link daily assignments, readings, and activities. You can hyperlink to outside articles and websites, as well as to internal documents that live in your team's files tab.

Microsoft Teams Overview - Google Docs - Google Chrome

You can also link to lecture slides for that day and embed videos and other media directly into the notebook.

Microsoft Teams Overview - Google Docs - Google Chrome

Using the notebook for student collaboration

Students are able to collaborate on documents that will remain in the persistent class notebook. This is an excellent space for synchronous or asynchronous group or whole-class activities.

General (Sample Site (Sociology of Race and Ethnicity)) | Microsoft Teams

For a walk-through of setting up collaboration space in a notebook, watch this video.

To see an example course in Teams, watch this video.

To join an example course in Teams, click here.

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