How to Use Microsoft's Reading Progress
NO MORE RUNNING RECORDS! You read that right. Microsoft’s new Reading Progress will take these off your hands, freeing up time that you can dedicate to your students. Learn how it all works, here!
Running Records are crucial assessment pieces. We love having the data that shows how much our students have grown, but it takes a great deal of time to carry out Running Records. Microsoft understands the importance of them, but also understands that our time is valuable. This inspired them to develop their Reading Progress app. What if we told you that Microsoft used the same type of technology used in the Flipgrid Shorts Camera, combined with the power of Immersive Reader and the distribution power of Microsoft Teams. Yes, you read that right! Meet Microsoft’s Reading Progress app! Full launch of this tool is coming in late August!
In this blog post you’ll learn:
(Click on any subheading to jump to that section)
What is Microsoft’s Reading Progress and what does it do?
Reading Progress is a ⚡️FREE⚡️ tool that can be found within Microsoft Teams. Imagine if the developers of the Flipgrid Shorts Camera, Immersive Reader and Microsoft Teams all sat down at a table and collaborated on what to do next. Reading Progress uses the technology from the Flipgrid Shorts Camera to record a video of students as they read. The same type of technology that is used in Microsoft’s Immersive Reader then takes the video and intelligently looks for errors, mispronunciations, miscues and more - AUTOMATICALLY. You read that right. The technology does all the work. A full report is provided to the educator, who can go back and view the recorded video and listen back to how the student performed. If the technology marks a student as reading a word correct / incorrect, the educator has the ability to change it on their end. The end result is a full running record, all on video!
How to set up Microsoft’s Reading Progress app
Getting started with Microsoft’s Reading Progress app is simple! Follow these steps to get started.
1. Create a new document in Microsoft Word. (PDF’s will work if you have those, too.)
2. Type out what you would like your students to read.
3. Save a copy (you’ll eventually upload this as the assignment).
4. Launch Microsoft Teams.
5. From your Team, click Assignments.
6. Click the purple Create button located on the lower left side of the screen, then click Assignment.
7. Select the appropriate class /team to assign the passage to, then click Next.
8. Give the assignment a title (TIP: Include the reading level of your passage in the title).
9. Under the Instructions area, locate and click the purple Add Resources link.
10. Click the Reading Progress icon and fill out the information. Give the assignment a name (it can be the same as the title).
11. Now it’s time to upload your Word document (or PDF) reading resource / passage. Under Reading Passage (required), click on Upload a document. Upload the Word document or PDF that contains your passage.
12. After the upload process is finished, enter the reading level and genre. Adjust the number of attempts to any number that you would like (this is the number of chances students have to read / record themselves reading the passage).
13. Next, adjust the pronunciation sensitivity. This adjusts how sensitive the app should be when listening and estimating errors. (Note: educators can always manually edit errors for accuracy).
14. Toggle the Require video on or off. It’s defaulted to on and we recommend leaving it on, but some students may be reluctant or camera shy. In that case, their audio will be recorded but not the video.
15. Last, click Attach to add it to your class assignment. Then, click the purple Assign button on the top right corner to launch it!
Need to see it? No problem! Check out the tutorial below!
How do students use Microsoft’s Reading Progress?
The process for students to access assigned Reading Progress assignments is simple and can be done in just three clicks once they’re logged into Microsoft Teams. Follow these below to get started:
1. Have your students launch Microsoft Teams.
2. Once Teams has opened and loaded, students click on Assignments (located on the left hand panel, with the book bag icon).
3. All of the reading passages (and any other assignments you gave in Teams) will appear.
4. Students select one of the reading passage files and click on it to open it.
5. After the assignment opens, click on the passage which is attached under My work.
6. Once the assignment loads, click on the blue Ready? Let’s start! button to begin.
7. A countdown will start the recording process. When students are finished, they click the blue I’m done button to stop the recording process.
8. Students can watch themselves back (and repeat if you’ve allowed multiple attempts). One they’re ready to turn it in, they click the green Use this recording button.
9. Finally, click the purple Turn it in button to complete the assignment. If you see an animation pop up, you have successfully turned it in!
Check out video walkthrough below!
How to create reading passages for Microsoft’s Reading Progress
So you’re sold…But, how can you go about making the reading passages that you are assigning to your students? You’ve got several options:
Open a new Word document and type out what you would like your students to read. Save this file and then upload to your assignments on Teams.
Use the built in microphone to dictate the text in a Word document. Save this file and then upload to your assignments on Teams.
Those ways will get the job done, but if you’re looking for a more efficient method, check out Microsoft’s Lens. Lens is a cross platform app that converts images to PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files, digitize printed or handwritten text, and save to OneNote, OneDrive, or your local device. Use Lens to scan your pre-made resources and have it turn them into Word documents automatically. Check out our short tutorial:
Once Lens has uploaded the file to your OneDrive, download / save a copy on your computer to upload it onto you assignments on Teams. It’s that easy!
Tips and tricks for using Microsoft’s Reading Progress
We’ve been fortunate enough to pilot this wonderful software for the past year. We’ve learned a lot during this time, so here are our most recommended tips for using Microsoft’s Reading Progress:
When listening back to a student’s video recording, if you click any word - the app will jump to that section of the video where the reader is reading. This is great for when the technology marks something as correct or incorrect and you want to listen to it without having to start the entire video over!
If your students are younger or wearing masks, you might want to lower the sensitivity. New readers may not enunciate words as clearly as more experienced readers. Adjusting this setting may help the technology with marking the words correctly.
Check out the data once the students turn in their work! We love how the technology automatically calculates everything.
ReadWorks Passages Available Directly in Reading Progress!
Now, educators can save even more time when using Reading Progress, all thanks to to Microsoft’s partnership with ReadWorks! Follow these steps to use a passage from the library:
Launch Microsoft Teams, then click Assignments.
Next, click Create followed by Assignment.
Select your preferred Team, then click Next.
Click on Attach, then click Reading Progress.
On the next screen, click Browse sample library. This launches the library where you can select an article of your choice.
You can narrow down the levels by selecting the appropriate grade level. If you select an article, you can also preview that article by clicking Preview.
Once you’ve found an article that you like, click Select. Complete the necessary steps on the following screen, then click Next.
This brings you back to the original assignment screen. Take a moment to make sure that all the information is filled out correctly, then click Assign. This will assign the assignment to your students and even send them a notification that there’s a new assignment due!
-- Please follow us on social media and tag us with how you’re using Microsoft’s Reading Progress in your classroom! 👓👗
For more tips, tricks and lesson ideas for making learning more interACTIVE, check out our books The InterACTIVE Class and Flipgrid in the InterACTIVE Class on Amazon!
How to Make a Custom Microsoft Teams Background
Microsoft Teams is constantly providing updates to its platform, but the latest is one that users have been begging for: the ability to upload your own backgrounds. Now, you can create a personalized scene and Teams will virtually place you directly into your image.
Microsoft Teams is constantly providing updates to its platform, but the latest is one that users have been begging for: the ability to upload your own backgrounds. Now, you can create a personalized scene and Teams will virtually place you directly into your image. In this blog post, you’ll learn:
What are some suggested apps you can use to design a custom Microsoft Teams background
How to upload your custom background to Microsoft Teams
Find free backgrounds to download and then upload to Microsoft Teams
Something to keep in mind when designing is that the resolution of your canvas should be 1920 x 1080, and the best format to save as are PNG files.
IMPORTANT: If you have text in your background, it will appear mirrored (or flipped) after you click “apply” in the final step below. But, it will not appear this way to others joining your meeting. It will display properly.
What are some suggested apps you can use to design a custom Microsoft Teams background?
There are a few different options when creating your background. Let’s look over a few of the most popular!
Adobe Spark:
Click here to access the Adobe Spark website
Cost: Free for educators (your IT department will have to set it up, though!)
Why use Spark?
Adobe Spark is easy to use and provides simple options when branding content. You can easily search for royalty free stock images - all safe for EDU environments, and even “remix” ideas from other users.
Buncee:
Click here to access the Buncee website
Cost: Free for the “Lite” version, additional options available
Why use Buncee?
Buncee is a user-friendly platform that’s a one stop shop. You can find everything that you’ll need to create without ever having to leave the app, including safe search / royalty free images.
PowerPoint:
Click here to access the Office 365 website
Cost: Free for the “A1” version (includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and more), additional options available
Why use PowerPoint?
PowerPoint is familiar for most, making it easy and comfortable to design in. You can also easily duplicate slides to design several backgrounds at once.
How to upload your custom background to Microsoft Teams
Now that you have your custom background created, follow these steps to upload it to Teams:
From your channel or chat, click the camera icon to start a new meeting.
After the new window opens, click on “Meet Now” to launch the meeting.
Once the meeting has started, click on “Show Background Effects.”
A window will open on the right side of the screen. Click on “Add New” on the top right .
Upload your file, then scroll down to find the image. Select the image, then click “Apply.”
(Note: If you have text in your background, it will appear mirrored (or backwards) on your side of the screen - but, Teams displays the background correctly to others who have joined your meeting)
Free Backgrounds to Download
Looking to save some time? We hear you. Here’s a few neat backgrounds that we found that you are free to download / upload on your own. To do so, simply right click then select save (remember to watch where you are saving the file so that you can find it later on!).
Please note: We did not create any of these, just found them being shared online. All of these images have been labeled for reuse.
Animal Crossing:
Source: Nintendo
The Big Bang Theory:
Source: TBS
Blue’s Clues:
Source: Nickelodeon
Fortnite:
Source: Epic Games
Friends:
Source: FOX
Game of Thrones:
Source: HBO
Jeopardy:
Source: NBC
The Last O.G.:
Source: TBS
Minecraft:
Source: Microsoft
Parks and Recreation:
Source: NBC
Schitt’s Creek:
Source: Netflix
The Simpsons:
Source: Fox
Spongebob Squarepants:
Source: Nickelodeon
Star Wars:
Source: Star Wars / Disney
The Office:
Source: NBC
Today Show:
Source: NBC
Top Gun:
Source: Paramount
Toy Story:
Source: Pixar / Disney
Stay interACTIVE!
~👗➕👓
For more information on how you can make learning in the classroom more #interACTIVE, check out our books The InterACTIVE Class and Flipgrid in the InterACTIVE Class!
How to Embed Nearpod Presentations Into Microsoft Teams
Nearpod and Microsoft Teams have partnered up to provide a complete game changer - especially when it comes to remote learning. Now, you can “go live” with your Nearpod Lessons in Microsoft Teams!
Nearpod and Microsoft Teams have partnered up to provide a complete game changer - especially when it comes to remote learning. Now, you can “go live” with your Nearpod Lessons in Microsoft Teams! You’ll learn:
💥 How to embed a Nearpod presentation into Teams
💥 How to start a meeting in Teams
💥 How to launch your Nearpod presentation while you’re LIVE in a TEAMS meeting!
💥 HOW TO EMBED A NEARPOD PRESENTATION INTO TEAMS 💥
You’ll need to make sure that you are logged into your Microsoft Teams account, and that you have already created an account on Nearpod. From your preferred Teams “General” channel, click the “+” sign on the top right of the tabs bar.
Once you click on the “+” sign, you’ll be asked what type of tab you would like to add. If Nearpod doesn’t show up in the first few images, you can do a quick search for it. Once it pops up, go ahead and click the Nearpod image.
Now you’ll be asked to log into your Nearpod educators account. Enter your username and password, then click the blue “Log In” button. Tip: At first glance, it looks like you won’t have any options to log in. Make sure you scroll down a bit (the window is small), and you should see the required fields.
Once you’re logged into your Nearpod account, you’ll have the option to select the (predesigned) presentation that you would like the class to complete. Pick out the presentation, then you’ll be asked which type of lesson you prefer: Live Lesson (where students complete the presentation together in real time), or Student Paced (where students complete the presentation on their own time). For our example today, we’ll pick “Live Lesson.”
Once you’ve selected your preferred lesson type, the presentation will automatically embed directly into your Teams channel. It will appear in the conversation, and also at on the top tab bar. Congratulations! You’ve successfully embedded your Nearpod presentation into Teams!
💥 HOW TO START A LIVE CLASS MEET IN MICROSOFT TEAMS! 💥
To start a live class meet in Microsoft Teams, click on the “camera” icon located in the bottom of the tools bar. If you’re unsure if which icon to click, try hovering over them until you find the one that says “Meet Now.” Click it, then click the purple “Meet Now” button. Once you do, you’re LIVE!
💥 HOW TO LAUNCH YOUR NEARPOD PRESENTATION WHILE YOU’RE LIVE IN A TEAMS MEETING!💥
Now that you’re LIVE, you’ll need to wait for your students to log on to the meeting. You can check a meeting’s attendance by clicking on the “Participants” icon (that looks like two people). Once everyone has arrived, explain to your students that you will work on a Nearpod presentation together. Reveal that they will need to click the back button on their Teams Meet window to return to the conversation tab. Explain that they can access the Nearpod presentation from either the post in the chat, or from the tab located at the top. Once they select Nearpod, they will be asked to log in using their name. This is all they will need to enter the presentation. Once everyone has logged in, you may begin your live instruction!
Check out this video for a step-by-step explanation, and a side-by-side comparison of what educators see and what students see.
