Students, parents and families have had to adapt remarkably quickly to remote learning. Part of this process has involved learning to use new software, such as Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom and Zoom.

Many parents may find it difficult to support their child with remote learning when they do not understand the technology involved, and so this guide aims to give parents the information and tools needed to become more familiar with their school’s set-up.

Before we look into each of the tools in turn, Think Academy’s team of education experts and tutors have worked hard to create remote learning packs for primary schoolers learning at home.

Remote Learning with Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is, to put it simply, a chat-based workspace. This means that students can chat with their whole class, in groups with other students, or one-to-one with their teacher, and they can also make video calls – this is often how schools host ‘live’ lessons.

Each of your child’s classes (if they have more than one) gets its own team, which is set up by a teacher or IT admin. Their teacher is the ‘host’ and therefore can control the class’ activity; the teacher can mute any students who are not participating sensibly and can also delete any inappropriate messages. 

Advantages of learning remotely with Microsoft Teams

The biggest advantage of Teams is that it has an in-built ‘Assignments’ app, which can allow teachers and pupils to track homework and input deadlines; if parents want to check what homework their child is being set, they can simply ask them to show their Assignments. Teachers can also set up weekly email notifications to parents.

There are two ways students can submit work: either by attaching it to the Assignment or by uploading it to their Class Notebook on a programme called OneNote. This is an interactive word space similar to Google Docs – students can make notes, complete tasks or reference resources in a way that allows their teacher to oversee everything.

The disadvantage of remote learning with Microsoft Teams

The main disadvantage of Teams is that it does not sync with email very easily, and students are not always notified of changes or updates (for example, if a teacher adds a document or changes a homework assignment). It is, therefore, necessary that students check the app regularly so that they don’t miss any important information.

Using Google Classroom for Remote Learning Activities

Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams are actually very similar: both allow teachers to make assignments, communicate with their class, upload resources and materials and enable students to chat with each other. Microsoft Teams is integrated with Office 365 (i.e. Word, Excel and PowerPoint), whereas Google Classroom is linked with Google Drive, which means that students can integrate and switch between other apps such as Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.

Advantages of learning remotely with Google Classroom

There are two main benefits to Google Classroom over Microsoft Teams. Firstly, it is very user-friendly, and there are numerous helpful guides online (plus Google’s support forum is excellent for finding answers to frequently asked questions). 

Secondly, it is incredibly easy for teachers to give written feedback using the in-built commenting tools, whereas on OneNote teachers either have to input extra text boxes, or they may handwrite on the screen with a pen, which is not always easy to read.

One really helpful activity that parents can do is encourage their child to check their homework after they have submitted it, or even whilst they are working on something. Many students upload assignments and forget about them, and see it as a box-ticking exercise rather than something they need to actively learn from.

Similarly to Teams, you can also ask your child’s school to enable email summaries, which give you a weekly update on submitted and outstanding work. If you are unsure about any aspect of their homework, you can ask your child to check the ‘Stream’ tab on Google Classroom, which is where teachers post any assignments and communication.

Remote Learning using Zoom

Zoom is more straightforward than Teams and Google Classroom, but it is also more limited. As a video-conferencing software, Zoom allows hundreds of participants to attend online meetings, but it does not have any other features, like the ability to set assignments. This actually makes it more user-friendly though for younger students, who may need their parents’ help to navigate Teams or Google Classroom, which are more complex.

Read more: Top 50 Home Learning Resources for UK Primary School Maths

Advantages of using Zoom

There are still lots of features on Zoom to make learning as interactive as possible; users can share their screen; use a digital whiteboard; go to ‘breakout rooms’ where they can talk in smaller groups; use icons for raise hand, disagree, clap, speed up or slow down; send messages to the entire class or direct messages to the teacher.

Zoom is also ideal for events such as online assemblies, as it can host up to 500 members. Teachers can also see up to 49 members in a single grid layout, and so it is easy to keep an eye on everyone at the same time; this is not the case with Google Classrooms and Teams, where you can only see a few pupils at once (normally the ones who are speaking), and so it easier for students to fly under the radar.

Disadvantages to using Zoom in your remote learning routine

However, a potential disadvantage of Zoom is that it requires quite a lot of bandwidth, and so families may struggle if they have a poor or inconsistent internet connection, or if they have lots of people using the wifi at the same time. 

A final word from a teacher and tutor

It is inevitable that there will be technical difficulties and challenges during this period, but it is vital that parents and teachers do not let students fall behind because of technical issues or misunderstandings (some of which may be genuine, some of which may not be!)

All schools should have an IT department or an IT spokesperson who they can contact, and many school websites have guides to their chosen software. Communication is key, and it is important to keep checking in regularly with your child and their teacher.

More resources:

• Year 1 Maths Worksheets and Games
• Year 2 Maths Worksheets and Games
• Year 3 Maths Worksheets and Games
• Year 4 Maths Worksheets and Games
• Year 5 Maths Worksheets and Games
• Year 6 Maths Worksheets and Games

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About the author

Kristina is an Oxford English graduate and qualified English teacher. She trained through the Teach First programme before working at one of the top independent schools in London. She is now a private tutor and freelance writer.