What is it? #

Sway is an app within Microsoft O365 that can be used in education to help teachers and pupils express ideas using an interactive, web-based canvas.

Why would I use it? #

Sway can be used in education to help teachers and pupils create graphic presentations for or from a browser or phone. It is easy and produces impressive results as this Sway presentation about Glow shows.

Find more ways of using Sway below:

  • Teachers can use Sway to engage students by creating and sharing interactive lessons and study guides, assignments, field trip reports and class project recaps. These can then be shared easily
  • Teachers can document their teaching practices using Sway and share them with colleagues
  • Students can learn and stay engaged by using Sway to be more creative with reports, assignments, projects, study materials, and portfolios
  • The ease of use and responsive design of Sway on mobile devices will allow learners to continue their learning from home and beyond
  • Sway’s built-in design engine helps with the production of professional, visually-appealing and informative reports. It also aids story-telling and avoids the need for extensive formatting or additional training
  • The application is ideal for creative subjects especially music, drawing and digital art. Other uses include school, department or team newsletters and storytelling
  • The creative functionality and the potential of sharing Sway stories internally and publicly allows students to share their learning, projects and achievement portfolios with parents, further education establishments and potential employers
  • Sways can be embedded into sites, blogs and wikis, and viewed securely when logged in Glow O365
  • Flipping the Classroom – learners can be provided with Sways to consume outside of the classroom so that those materials can then be discussed back in the classroom. Mobile friendliness gives Sways an advantage over other traditional means of distributing learning resources. Teachers can then focus on assisting pupils in applying the knowledge they have gained, solving problems and doing practical work
  • ‘How to guides’ for a range of curriculum areas could be created by Glow users for Glow users using Sway. These would then be easily accessible and provide a rich bank of resources for teachers and pupils across Scotland
  • Learners and teachers can use mobile apps from a variety of devices to create Sway content in the classroom and upload to Sway where it can be shared and viewed by peers and colleagues within the class, school, local authority or the whole of Glow
  • External Sharing – learners will have greater opportunity for sharing a learning story with parents, other relevant individuals, groups and organisations, further embedding and enhancing the learning that has taken place. Sway also provides the opportunity for the co-creation of and collaboration on Sway presentations with external partners, again further enhancing the learning that is taking place.

How do I get started? #