OneNote allows us to run like a well-oiled machine

I am yet to meet a teacher that doesn’t like a short cut, or, to put it better, reduced workload! Modern teaching is just so busy, and I find nothing more satisfying than finding a method that allows me to be more efficient in my work. 9 time out of 10, this improved efficiency is achieved using technology.

When I think back to my first teaching Job in Chelmsford, I remember the first report cycle coming around and the head of PE handed me a wedge of papers and asked me to start writing reports and grades for my classes! I simply couldn’t believe that they were still hand writing reports and keeping attainment data on paper!

This was my first experience of improved efficiency as I created templates for reports and spreadsheets for data and as you can imagine, became very popular with my colleagues for doing so! I haven’t looked back since. 12 years on and I find myself in the fortunate position of working in a Microsoft showcase school where every member of staff has been given a Surface Pro device.

I was introduced to OneNote, sat and passed my OneNote exam and right now, I can say quite honestly that OneNote has been the most influential addition to my teaching career. Now, you might be thinking, how can OneNote be of any use to a PE teacher? Hopefully the examples below will answer that question:

Collaboration made easy

Our whole department is now run through OneNote. Curriculum plans, course resources, meetings, fixture calendars, if it involves PE its on PE department notebook! I would argue that we are the most organised department in our school, utilising the collaborative features of OneNote allows us to run like a well-oiled machine.

Each of our exam classes (BTEC Sport/GCSE PE/A Level PE) is set up and delivered through OneNote. Pupils are becoming more independent as they can access their work, anywhere, anytime. They can collaborate on areas such as homework, revision and coursework projects using the collaboration space.

Teachers can track each individual pupil and never have to worry about pupils’ work going missing in the abyss of the pupils’ personal folders. Our photocopying budget is so healthy right now and the amount of time saved by using the distribution features of the class notebook add on is well worth shouting about!

One of the best features is being able to link video footage needed for evidence to the business OneDrive directly from the pupils notebooks. In the past we have really struggled with storage of video evidence, but with OneDrive and OneNote this is a thing of the past.

Empowering students

I could write a whole blog just about my year 11 GCSE PE class and how they have become masters of using OneNote. I plan and deliver my lessons using the teacher only space, once the lesson is delivered I am able to distribute the content to all the pupils for them to revisit anytime or catch up if they were absent.

Pupils have been using Office Lens to upload written revision resources directly to the collaboration space as you can see in the picture above. An amazing feature of OneNote is the audio and video recording. In order to give feedback on pupils’ coursework I made short videos outlining common mistakes. Pupils were then able to watch the videos next to their work and then make the relevant changes. I can’t even begin to explain the amount of time I saved by doing this, I also found that the pupils were far more eager to respond to video/audio feedback than written feedback.

The history function also allows you to track when pupils have accessed their work and the changes they have made! My pupils and I have managed to increase our productivity and I have noticed a huge increase in pupil engagement, all thanks to OneNote! Can’t wait to see the impact on exam results in the summer.

As a mentor of trainee PE teachers, I have recently decided to use the various features of OneNote to enhance the experience of PGCE students’ placements at our school. The students and I work together to set up a notebook that replicates the contents of their lever arch files. I am hoping that the university we work with will adopt this digital method using OneNote as a replacement for the paper files. I’m sure you would agree that the benefits of moving to a digital file are huge! Some examples of the benefits include students uploading their lesson plans for teachers to comment on. We use the video recording functions during lesson observations, allowing the students a visual record to be able to evaluate their delivery. All the evidence gathered, and the progress made can be seen by the relevant people at the touch of a button, rather than having to wait to see the physical copy. There are of course massive financial and time saving benefits to this approach. The students I have tried this method with have become more organised, more engaged, and more in touch with the progress they are making.

The future of tech in PE

I have merely scratched the surface of how my department and I are using OneNote, but hopefully I have relayed some useful information about the limitless possibilities of using this technology in PE. I will continue to explore new ways of enhancing my digital classroom, safe in the knowledge that by utilising MS OneNote, my pupils are continually developing key skills that will prove priceless as they progress through school and beyond. Technology in PE is the future you see!

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About the author

#MIEExpert and Minecraft Trainer Kojo Hazel, is a PE Teacher working at Treorchy Comprehensive School. Kojo is passionate about using tech to develop independent and interdependent learners, along with helping colleagues become more efficient with their workload. His work with Microsoft OneNote has revolutionised his teaching and his pupils learning. Kojo is now the lead trainer in his school for everything OneNote, and the PE department are at the forefront of digital collaboration, organisation, and learning.