Get ClassHive
  • More Information
    • How It Works
    • Testimonials
    • Blog
  • Platform Webinar
  • Sign Up
  • Teacher Login

THE BUZZ

Positive Changes to Teaching Practice

1/16/2023

0 Comments

 
New Year’s Resolutions for Positive Changes to Teaching Practice Banner Image
We always start the new year with great intentions for our teaching practice, but sometimes it’s hard to let go of old habits. Why not use the new year to make a fresh start and make some positive changes to benefit both you and your students? Here are 5 tips that will help you prepare for a seamless year in the classroom.
Tip #1 – Get to know your students Image
Tip #1 – Get to know your student
Getting to know your students individually can take some time – before you know it half the term is gone and you’re still unsure of how each student learns best. Getting your new class to complete a back-to-school survey is a great option to give you a snapshot of your learning community. SurveyMonkey is a free, simple-to-use, web-based tool and the URL link can be added to your students’ Hive for easy access. Asking questions like ‘How do you learn best?’, ‘What’s your favourite subject at school?’ or ‘What’s something your teacher can do to support you in your learning?’ will allow you to better understand your students from day one.
Tip #2 – Plan effectively Image
Tip #2 – Plan effectively
Planning for the year, term, week or day should be an ingrained part of your teaching practice. But finding the most efficient way to do so seems to be an ongoing endeavour. With the free app, Planboard, you can effectively keep track of lessons digitally, no longer requiring pen and paper. It allows you to become organised and keep track of all you have taught in one location. Starting the year organised will ensure better learning outcomes for your students. The best part is, Planboard saves previous lessons forever so you can always check back on what you’ve covered or refresh yourself on ideas you’ve used before.
Tip #3 – Set achievable goal Image
Tip #3 – Set achievable goal
If you want change within your classroom practice, set some achievable goals for yourself and watch as you accomplish them on the free Strides app. This app allows you to see your progress and results visually, making it easy to see how much growth you’ve made. Keep your goals simple like “communicate with parents once a week”, “read out loud to class for at least 5 minutes each day”, “plan a week in advance” or “keep teacher talk time to a minimum”. Setting short, achievable goals will be much more beneficial in the long run! Start with one - any improvement is good!
Tip #4 – Set up assessment Image
Tip #4 – Set up assessment
Being organised from day one is a great way to start the year. Planning out assessments and setting up gradebooks helps you to understand what learning needs to be covered and when. Microsoft Excel is a go-to for this! There are many free templates available online - which allow you to add student names and results - that will then calculate percentages and averages for you. Prefilling these spreadsheets will have you organised and ready to input data, saving you so much time throughout the year. We really like the free template from Super Teacher Worksheets. Add the URL link to your ClassHive now to store it safely for future use (https://www.superteacherworksheets.com/excel-gradebook.html).
Tip #5 - Digital Note Taking Image
Tip #5 - Digital Note Taking
Taking notes of what you observe students doing socially or during learning time can be a great time saver when it comes to writing reports. Microsoft OneNote is the perfect digital note-taking app that can be used very easily in your teaching practice. Have your iPad ready with OneNote when you sit down with a reading group, when you notice how students are working during group work or when you see them using manipulatives for a mathematics task. Later, all you have to do is copy and paste these comments straight into reports, saving so much time during those stressful periods of the year.
Whatever goals you strive to set, the start of the year is a fantastic time to get some good habits in place. These habits will drive your classroom practice for the rest of the year so ensure you get them right early on to have a seamless and effective year of teaching!
0 Comments

2022 what a buzz!

12/8/2022

0 Comments

 
ClassHive_2022 What a Buzz!
It is hard to believe we are at the end of 2022! It has been an exciting year at ClassHive and time has flown. It has been really rewarding to see our vision realised. We have reduced teacher workloads and saved admin time by simplifying routine tasks such as managing digital subscriptions and the associated logins.
 
This year saw us move from pilot trials with a small number of schools - as we developed and refined the ClassHive tools - to general release. This milestone is an exciting one but isn’t without its challenges, particularly in this space. Teachers are busy, so busy that finding time to check out the new tools offered by the already-saturated edutech market is difficult. Making change to working practices that, while hectic, get the job done can be scary. Convincing decisions makers that the disruption of change is worth it is hard. Teachers seemed more time poor than ever in 2022 as they faced the growing number of things thrown at them with increasing teacher shortages; increasing student complexities in an increasingly complex world; changing curriculums; changing parent demands; and all at times with no end to the workload in sight.
 
I am really proud that we were able to provide some support to teachers through this demanding year with ClassHive and its time saving capabilities. The feedback from our users has been amazing and as I reflect on the impact we have had in this short time I would like to share some of the journey with you.


  • We were approved for the NSW Department of Education White-List meaning the ClassHive plug-in is approved for use in all NSW Public schools. We also underwent security audits with the education departments in other states and were successful in passing these checks.
 
  • We saved teachers between 15-30 minutes every time they had to log in a whole class. That means on average we saved each teacher between 12.5 and 25 hours per term – that’s between 50-100 hours a year or just over twelve 8-hour teaching days per year! Just with our auto-login facilities.[1]
 
  • We partnered with ClassCover, a leading provider in the space who work tirelessly every day to save time and make life easier for schools and their communities. We are looking forward to continuing this partnership and rolling out initiatives to support schools with some of the challenges they face daily.
 
  • We supported teachers, students and schools to access almost 200 digital education resources – increasing accessibility, frequency of use and availability of the crucial support these tools provide.
 
  • We helped teachers get more out of the digital tools they love with our simplified access increasing use by up to 30%.[2]​

We received some amazing feedback from teachers which, for me, is how you know you are being part of the solution. Hearing the impact you are having directly from the people you set out to support is the most rewarding part of working at ClassHive.
ClassHive feedback from teacher Sue about how ClassHive makes her life easier
feedback from teacher Angela about through using ClassHive she saves time and they get more out of their programs
Feedback from teacher Andrew about how ClassHive has reduced his workload

Check out more of the feedback here​

We also received feedback from parents whose children have brought ClassHive home:
Feedback from parent Jack about how ClassHive makes keeping track of logins and passwords less stressful
Feedback from parent Juanita about how ClassHive makes all learning apps so much easier
Feedback from Parent Chiara about how using ClassHive has made using technology so much easier
And perhaps my favourite feedback of all, is this amazing feedback from students – the hardest critics of all!
Feedback from student Harry about how ClassHive is the best thing that has ever happened to him
Feedback from student Noah about how ClassHive is so easy
Teachers really do work so hard and I am really excited to see the impact of the support we offer over a longer time period. Teaching isn’t getting easier but with the right tools, we can help lighten the load. I am really excited about what ClassHive will achieve in 2023!

[1] Based on teacher feedback of time saved and an average use of 1 whole class session per day
[2] Based on teacher feedback and comparison of Wingaru Kids data pre and post ClassHive adoption
0 Comments

ClassHive – A teacher's Perspective

8/29/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Getting a class full of students logged on to a digital platform can be mayhem. The chaos and time constraints make what could have been a great lesson a disaster! Every teacher knows just how long it can take to get 26 eight year old's logged on and ready to go. Before you know it, half the session is gone and you feel too deflated to do the important part - teach. It is frustrating, demotivating and some days enough to make you swear to never use digital tools again!

As teachers, our workloads can be overwhelming. Curriculum planning, creating a positive learning environment, dealing with the mental health of students, forming relationships, professional development… And I haven't even touched on the administration side of teaching yet! On top of that, teaching in the 21st century means loads of ICT and digital tools - which of course have many benefits but can definitely add to the headache of our jobs. Which is crazy because the benefits in terms of accessibility, differentiation and diversity of content alone make these tools so worthwhile.

ClassHive relieves some of this stress and anything that calms a classroom definitely gets my tick of approval. With just ONE login per student, they have access to all their digital tools. This means no more searching for Reading Eggs passwords. This means no more printing, cutting and laminating Mathletics usernames. This means no more copying URLs from the whiteboard to their device. With a QR code login to ClassHive, students can access all their digital tools at the click of a button.
Picture
Picture
ClassHive understands. They know that we are time poor. They know that we need things to be as simple as possible. And having the ClassHive team do all the heavy lifting of set up is what dreams are made of. All you need to do is send lists of your logins and you'll magically receive one QR code per student (and an easy-to-use teacher dashboard) in return. It's that easy. This is a solution with immediate impact that without a doubt saves time and makes teaching easier.
ClassHive is there to make things easier. It lets us get back to what's important - teaching! ClassHive is definitely a must-have for the classroom but don’t take my word for it – book in for a webinar and see it in action!
0 Comments

Why students need digital tools in the classroom

7/31/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Teaching today is dynamic. Long gone are the days of the same worksheet for every student or rote learning from the board. We now know there are a multitude of ways students learn and that our modern life as outgrown these traditional methods. With remote learning came a rise of technology use in the classroom and many teachers saw the deeper benefits of using digital tools. They saw how the classroom could be redefined to improve engagement and a sense of success amongst students. Below are some benefits of using digital tools in today's classrooms.
Prepares students for 21st century living

Prepares students for 21st century living

Digital literacy is very important in the modern world. We are surrounded by technology wherever we go. For students to thrive in modern life and the modern workplace, they need to have the skills to do so. Introducing beneficial technology in the classroom is essential to supporting this development.
Supports different learning types

Supports different learning types

Every classroom has a huge variety of learners - visual, auditory, kinesthetic, verbal etc. Using digital tools is another way to target some of these learning styles and to have success in learning.
Teaches students how to be responsible online

Teaches students how to be responsible online

We know there are risks to being online. But the earlier we teach students how to navigate these risks, the more capable they'll be dealing with them in the future. There are many lessons that can be taught early on by introducing technology in the safety of the classroom.
The ease of differentiation

The ease of differentiation

Personalised learning for each student can be easily achieved through digital tools. Nearly every educational app these days come with the option for differentiation. This means all students can achieve and feel a sense of success in their learning.
Constant feedback

Constant feedback

Giving feedback to a classroom of students is a big job, whether formal or informal. But many digital tools come with automatic feedback as students complete their tasks. This saves time for the teacher but also allows students to work on areas of weakness and make improvements in their learning.
Relevant content

Relevant content

Text books date. Information is constantly changing and expanding. Digital tools keep up with the fast paced nature of this. They can be easily updated to ensure students are accessing the most relevant information today.
Time saver

Time saver

Teachers are always looking for ways to save time in the classroom, to ensure they are getting the most out of the learning time they have available. Searching for worksheets, setting up small groups or printing resources, all take time but digital tools have the availability to streamline classroom practice and save time.
Fun

Fun

Children find digital tools engaging, exciting and fun. It's simple. Video, audio, imagery, colour - students find it fun! Students who have fun in their learning retain new information and have greater success in their learning.
Picture

Easily manageable

With ClassHive, digital tools are easily accessible and managed. With one QR code login for each student, they can access all their digital tools at the click of a button. This means no more searching for usernames and passwords. This means having a whole classroom of students logged in a matter of minutes. This means less stress and greater engagement. ClassHive makes managing digital tools in the classroom effortless.
0 Comments

5 ways to manage student digital accounts

7/4/2022

0 Comments

 
5 WAYS TO MANAGE STUDENT DIGITAL ACCOUNTS
​Digital learning tools are an essential part of learning in the contemporary classroom, bringing with them many benefits – diversity of materials, engaging content, differentiation and the list goes on. As teachers we all have our favourites and most students look forward to using any digital tool. But with all the benefits and fun comes the workload associated with managing accounts, passwords and access.

Here are 5 ways you can manage your classes accounts:


Photocopied login sheets for each student

A photocopied sheet for each child showing all their logins is a popular management strategy. 
A photocopied sheet for each child showing all their logins is a popular management strategy.
​Pros: This approach is very accessible. Photocopiers are readily available and the process is pretty straightforward – print, cut, collate and copy. It is also budget friendly.
 
Cons: Set up - print, cut, collate and copy – is time consuming and spending the afternoon in the copy room isn’t many people's idea of fun. With every misplaced sheet, the process needs to be started from scratch. On top of that, new students joining the class means more printing, cutting, collating and copying. And after all that time, you still have to navigate the challenges of students actually finding the digital tool and successfully logging in. 

Collection of credentials per platform

​Whether you keep your logins in a folder, a tray or on a key ring, storing credentials sorted by platform makes sense. After all, your class will regularly be logging in to the same resource at the same time. 
​Whether you keep your logins in a folder, a tray or on a key ring, storing credentials sorted by platform makes sense. After all, your class will regularly be logging in to the same resource at the same time.
​Pros: Access the whole class's login details in one place. There will also be fewer lost logins as the teacher stores them all.
 
Cons: Handing out all credentials at the start of a lesson can be time consuming. This strategy also doesn’t manage the chaos of the actual logging in – finding the right app, opening the login screen, entering the username and password correctly and keeping 26 kids on task. Before you know it half an hour has passed and that’s assuming no student loses their details between you handing it to them and the learning actually starting! This approach doesn’t make sending credentials home easy.

Credentials glued into student workbooks

​A staple in many classrooms; gluing login details into the cover of a workbook is very popular.
​A staple in many classrooms; gluing login details into the cover of a workbook is very popular.
​Pros: This method ensures credentials are kept together and, depending on how you store student workbooks, it can be a quick find for students. 
 
Cons: While the setup of this system can be completed by students by having them glue their credentials into their books, with multiple platform logins and different books, this can be a time consuming and stressful task. And we know that every class has at least one, but usually a couple of kids who find managing personal items, including books difficult. Missing books means having to replace login information - reprinting, cutting and gluing!

Credentials fixed to student desks

​A roll of contact, a pile of printed login cards and an hour or two in a student free classroom and you will have a beautifully arranged set of credentials on each student's desk. 
Credentials fixed to student desks
​Pros: Having credentials stuck to desks makes them super accessible and hard for students to lose – you won’t spend a lot of time searching for these credentials! 
 
Cons: Fixing credentials to a desk reduces flexibility in the seating plan and makes adjustments tricky which may not suit your class. Managing credentials this way also means that students need to be at their desks to enter their details which isn’t always practical with small group tasks and shared devices. Students picking at contact can also mean repairs that take time you just don’t have. This approach also comes with security concerns having credentials on display and does nothing to make the actual login process easier. 

ClassHive Account

​The newest solution in the classroom, ClassHive, keeps all your digital resources in one easy to access digital dashboard and doesn't require student usernames and passwords!
​The newest solution in the classroom, ClassHive, keeps all your digital resources in one easy to access digital dashboard and doesn't require student usernames and passwords!
​Pros: Complete with tools for both students and teachers, the list of pros is considerable. Credentials cannot be lost and are accessible on any device after a simple login using a QR code. The easy-to-use teacher dashboard means you can print student credentials quickly if you do want a hard copy; the one QR code allows for access to every digital tool your school has to offer. The auto-login function reduces the chaos of finding the right platform and the time it takes to get the class logged in.
 
Cons: With users reporting ClassHive saves up to 2 hours per week, it's hard to find any negatives!
0 Comments

Introducing ClassHive

6/26/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
When I started Wingaru Education I did so with teacher support in mind. The tools we have are designed to make it easier for teachers to include Aboriginal content and reduce workloads by bringing resources and know-how together. Over the years we can see we have helped. So have many edu-techs who are providing quality digital resources that support teachers with content, systems and tools all designed to make life easier and, importantly, save time. However, it is also very clear that busy workloads mean that many teachers do not have the time to utilise these tools because digital resources come with an admin workload. They require initial set up, annual roll over, and ongoing management of teacher and student accounts. Anyone who’s tried logging 25 six-years-olds into devices at the same time knows it’s not for the faint hearted.
Picture
Digital tools are an important part of today’s classrooms. We all have our favourites –  Wingaru Kids, Mathletics, Essential Assessment, Typing Tournament, Reading Eggs, Google Classroom, just to name a few – whatever your chosen resources, digital tools are an everyday part of learning. They support teachers to cater to a diverse range of learning styles; offer an extensive array of content otherwise not accessible; make transitioning between school and home learning easier; share knowledge in a way that makes knowledge more accessible than ever; and support students to develop important ICT skills, just to name a few benefits. But the reality is the workload associated with digital tools means some teachers miss out on the benefits.

Every school is different in its approach to digital tool management – some schools have dedicated teachers coordinating digital resources and others have multiple teachers each taking responsibility for a resource. Regardless of the approach the time dedicated is significant. Across the board, the amount of time spent by schools on administrative tasks is considered to be a burden and these necessary tasks are having a negative impact on education as teachers are stretched between increasing admin and teaching time.
Picture
The increasing workload of teachers and how we can help is a constant conversation at Wingaru. Teachers tell us they don’t have time to set up digital tools; they tell us that they don’t have time to facilitate access to the many quality resources available for their class – the coordination of passwords and logging in just takes too long; and they tell us they'd rather not spend their lunchtime typing in each child's login (and similar workarounds) just to have enough time to teach the computer-based lesson.
 
School administrators tell us they struggle with keeping track of subscriptions; managing set up demands and overseeing accounts; and each year, as staffing changes occur, they spend a considerable amount of time tracking down resources and making sure access is not disrupted.
 
What if I told you we can help with all of those barriers to digital tool use? That we can manage and coordinate all of your resources – from class set up to facilitating whole class logins so they take just a few minutes. That we can completely remove the need for teachers to print, cut and photocopy login credentials for all of their chosen tools. That we can offer the magic of automatic logins via a secure one-stop portal. That we can help teachers and students get more out of the resources they have access to by creating more time to use them?
Picture

Introducing ClassHive – a digital tool to simplify digital resource use.

​With tools for adminstrators, teachers and students, ClassHive simplifies digital resource management with a central location to oversee all subscriptions.

Picture

For Teachers

​Most students have access to 3-6 digital learning tools. Each one requiring management by classroom teachers. ClassHive provides the tools to manage all of these from one web-based portal. No more lost student login credentials – ClassHive provides a single access point for as many resources as you choose. Logging in the whole class to any resource takes just minutes. Teachers are also able to keep all of their digital teaching tools together with simple access via their ClassHive dashboard.

Picture

For Students

​By accessing their resources via ClassHive kids will no longer need to manage multiple login details or websites – all their online resources are accessed via the ClassHive app. The App is available from the Apple Store or Google Play with desktop access facilitated by a plugin.
 
Students log in to ClassHive with a simple QR code and from their dashboard have instant access to all their favourite learning tools with our automatic login feature.
 
ClassHive does not modify the learning experience in any way – it simply provides streamlined access so students can start learning faster. Students will use the same resources that have been carefully selected by their teacher.

Picture

For Administrators

By bringing all their digital tools together, schools can reduce the time spent managing accounts. Beyond having everything in one place, the ClassHive optional concierge services mean we do all the work for the annual rollover of your accounts, removing this workload from teachers and other school staff.
0 Comments

    Categories

    All

ClassHive acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to the Elders past, present, and emerging.

More

About Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
FAQs
Contact Us

Email: info@classhive.com.au
Phone: 02 8667 0738
​

    Join Our Newsletter

Submit



​ClassHive Pty Ltd -  ACN: 652 193 925 -  ABN: 76 652 193 925
  • More Information
    • How It Works
    • Testimonials
    • Blog
  • Platform Webinar
  • Sign Up
  • Teacher Login