Welcome back to school!
To help with accessing latest Glow updates and news, we have pulled together a Back to School with Glow update for August 2024.
This page has been divided into key areas including, Microsoft, Google, National Apps and Safeguarding, to hopefully make it easier to find useful information.
You will be able to find news items regarding,
- Microsoft Learning Accelerators: Microsoft Learning Accelerators are a set of tools baked into Microsoft 365 for Education, designed to help educators personalise learning for every student.
- Machine Learning and AI within Google Workspace: Let’s have a look at the time saving AI features that we are already using in Google Workspace and Google apps in Glow.
- Adobe Express for Education: Adobe Express for Education is a free, web-based and mobile app suite that provides students and practitioners with tools to create and share engaging visual content.
Please click on any of the links below to find out much more.
Microsoft
Microsoft Office Desktop App – August 2024 Changes
Microsoft has postponed the implementation date for changes affecting Glow’s Office A1 Plus licenses from August 1, 2024, to October 28, 2024. Users will no longer be able to download or activate desktop applications like Word and Excel through their Glow accounts, impacting both staff and students.
Assignments in Teams
Microsoft Teams offers an assignments feature tailored for educators. It enables teachers to create tasks, quizzes, and track student work and grades. Benefits include organized submission, clear instructions, efficient grading, and progress tracking. Key features include multi-publishing, flexible deadlines, group assignments, and rubric grading, enhancing classroom efficiency.
Learning Accelerators
Main home landing page for Microsoft’s Learning Accelerators that seamlessly integrate into familiar tools like Teams, OneNote, and PowerPoint, making learning smoother for everyone.
Classroom Notifications
Local Authorities can opt-in for Guardian email summaries in Google Classroom to keep guardians informed about their students’ progress. This feature allows teachers to manage guardian addresses and send regular updates about missing and upcoming work. Guardians can unsubscribe anytime, enhancing communication without granting direct access to student work.
Google Additional Services
Google Workspace for Education Core Services are available in Glow, with continuous development based on user feedback. Access to Additional Services, such as YouTube and Google Maps, requires consent from local authorities. Changes undergo governance processes prioritizing safeguarding and privacy. Users can request additional apps through their Key Contact for further support.
Machine Learning and AI within Google Workspace
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are increasingly integrated into daily tasks, enhancing efficiency. Google continuously updates its AI features across apps like Gemini and Notebook LM, which assist in creativity and research. Users must be mindful of content appropriateness and privacy when utilizing these tools in the Google Workspace environment.
National Apps
National Applications
National Applications are apps that have been accepted by Education Scotland as having national benefit. These apps are 100% free to use and align to the 3-18 curriculum.
Glow Blogs Webinar
This session provided an overview of how Glow Blogs could be used by practitioners and students to capture and exemplify learning. Live demo exploring Block Editor and H5P Plugin.
Adobe Express for Education
Adobe Express for Education is a free, web-based and mobile app suite that provides students and practitioners with tools to create and share engaging visual content.
Glow
Back to School Glow Housekeeping
The start of a new Academic Year is a perfect time to carry out some digital housekeeping in your online environment. Deleting old files, manual accounts, teams and groups, supports with increasing productivity, improves security and gives you peace of mind that your digital content is up to date.
National Professional Learning Communities in Glow
Use this link to browse the range of National content and resources for all curriculum areas.
Glow Contacts
Use this link to find out how to contact your National Glow Key Contact, who will be able to support with any Glow related questions.
Safeguarding
Glow Password Guidance
To help children and young people stay safe online we want to make sure they know what makes a strong password when using Glow. This post has useful links and a helpful video.
Glow Report a Concern
The Report a Concern form allows users to report details of any content or activity within Glow which has caused them concern, or which is worrying, nasty or offensive.
User Feedback
Let us know if you think this Back to School with Glow update is useful by reaching out via,
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