{"id":1280,"date":"2020-11-19T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2020\/11\/19\/6-ways-to-be-insight-ful-and-support-student-engagement\/"},"modified":"2024-06-03T12:33:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T19:33:41","slug":"6-ways-to-be-insight-ful-and-support-student-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2020\/11\/6-ways-to-be-insight-ful-and-support-student-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Ways to be Insight-ful and Support Student Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the top questions we hear from educators is \u201cHow do I know if my students are staying engaged\u201d? Now, with new updates to Insights in Microsoft Teams for Education<\/a>, there\u2019s an easy way to see student behavior and take the action to support their learning, even if they\u2019re at home, in the classroom or lecture hall, or going back and forth between the two.<\/p>\n

Here are six ways you can use Insights to help your students achieve their learning goals:<\/p>\n

1. See engagement across multiple classes<\/strong><\/p>\n

How this helps:<\/strong> When you\u2019re teaching multiple classes it can be helpful to see how classes compare to one another and where your attention may be needed most. Now with Insights you can see a quick view of inactive students, active students\/day, meeting absences and missed assignments across all your classes.<\/p>\n

How to do this:<\/strong> If you already have Microsoft Teams for Education, click here to add the app to Teams<\/a>. Or while in Teams click the More Options \u2026, search for Insights, and add. Right-click on the Insights app on the left app bar and select Pin for easy access. When you click on the Insights app on the left, your classes will automatically populate to show the engagement across your different classes.<\/p>\n

\"insights1.png\"<\/p>\n

2. Drill down to specific activity within a class<\/strong>
\nHow this helps:<\/strong> If you\u2019re only teaching one class, or you need to see how a specific class or student is doing, you can drill down and see that engagement for a specific class to know how your students are doing in their learning. This includes overall student activity, assignments, grades, meetings, communication and more.<\/p>\n

How to do this:<\/strong> If you\u2019re in the Insights app (image above), click on a class name section to see the specific classroom data. Or if you\u2019d just like Insights within a particular class, click on Teams, choose your class, and in the General tab select the + sign to add a tab, search Insights and add.<\/p>\n

\"insights2.png\"<\/p>\n

3. Get spotlights of student behavior and individual habits<\/strong><\/p>\n

How this helps:<\/strong> Spotlight cards cut through the data to automatically show you trends, habits, and behaviors of students in your class. This helps to show new views of classroom activity that may not have been visible before. Whether there\u2019s a student who turns in assignments early, students who work late in the evening, or students who show up to class late, these behaviors are highlighted to keep you informed and ready to take action.<\/p>\n

How to do this:<\/strong> After adding the Insights tab to your class or clicking on a class name section in the left hand rail Insights app, check out the spotlight cards on Activity, Habits, Meetings and more. Click on bolded text showing a number of students to see individual names. Thumbs up to keep receiving similar information (and thumbs down to not receive that same kind of information). Click on the compass to see the filtered digital activity report for that time frame and behavior.<\/p>\n

\"insights3.png\"<\/p>\n

4. See overall student activity (or inactivity) on Teams<\/strong><\/p>\n

How this helps:<\/strong> When you\u2019re teaching to a remote or hybrid class, it can be more difficult to connect with students and understand who is engaging in class and with class materials. By seeing whether students are on and using Teams for their classes and courses, you can make informed decisions to send a message to check in with the class or with specific students.<\/p>\n

How to do this:<\/strong> If you\u2019re in the left hand rail Insights app, click on a classes Inactive students. Or if you\u2019re in the Insights tab within a team, from the main dashboard click on \u201cTrack student activity\u201d to get to the Digital Activity view.<\/p>\n

\"insights4.png\"<\/p>\n

5. Drill down to see synchronous class behavior (aka Teams meeting behavior)<\/strong><\/p>\n

How this helps:<\/strong> If you\u2019re not in person with your whole class, it\u2019s helpful to gauge which students are attending class online. By seeing synchronous class or course activity, you\u2019ll be able to better tell which students are showing up and which student may need reminders or extra help.<\/p>\n

How to do this:<\/strong> From the Insights tab in a class, go to the Digital Activity report. Click on \u201cAll Activities\u201d and select \u201cMeetings\u201d. (You can also select specific students and different time frames.) From this view, hover over the different bars to see specific student behavior. A red bar means a missed meeting, a red dot by the student\u2019s name means they were not active during the selected timeframe.<\/p>\n

\"insights5.png\"<\/p>\n

6. Get quick access to class grades and grade distributions<\/strong>
\nHow this helps:<\/strong> Tracking a student\u2019s grades over time can be a useful way to check in and see if they need help. By checking the distribution of grades \u2013 either for a specific assignment or overall for the class \u2013 you can help plan future assignments and assessments. It can also be helpful to determine if different groups of students within similar grade ranges need different help or different kinds of assignments.<\/p>\n

How to do this:<\/strong> Within the Insights tab in a class, click on \u201cView grade trends & distributions\u201d. From there you can filter for different views, students, timeframes and assignments.<\/p>\n

\"insights6.png\"<\/p>\n

Looking for resources and training to get started?<\/strong><\/p>\n