Keeping Squadrons Going with Coronavirus (Technology)

We have a core of regular cadets doing the virtual evenings - although we have shied away from doing anything academic - they can do that solo if they want to.

We are focusing on collaborative work on our (one) evening a week.

Plenty of options for cadets who want it for “Opt in” activities.

I think for some of them we are providing a small bit of routine, and a chance to talk to those they don’t go to school with but enjoy talking to.

I think it’s right to keep on in some form, But disagree that it’s about trying to keep people interested. We will loose cadets and staff that’s a given, we shouldn’t be worrying about how to keep them - what will be will be. Priorities have changed

When I’m sharing my screen on Teams I can’t see the chat window. Is there any way of changing things around so it’s visible? Most of our cadets seem to be more comfortable typing rather than verbally asking questions and I find I keep missing them.

If you share a window, rather than your desktop, then you can switch back to chat and cadets still see the shared window. E.g. share a PowerPoint show and switch back to Teams. That worked for me on the Windows app this evening, anyway.

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Where we have two cfav on each session, one does the chat whilst one does the delivery. It works well.

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Yeah, we’ve done that too but it can be useful to see what’s being said all the same.

I question daily how I managed to work at all for those years long ago when I only had one monitor.
Situations like these are a great example of when multiple monitors are ideal, however similar can be achieved with only one.

As Grounded has said you can share a particular window rather than the whole desktop and you could place that window alongside the teams window, adjusting the sizes to get the best balance between the chat column in teams and the working space in the window you want to share.

We’ve been using Teams to present the parade night and Google classroom for the cdts to down- and upload their work, or conduct quizzes.

We’re now being told we can’t use classroom.

Teams doesn’t have the functionality. So what do we do?

Onedrive to allow cadets to download, email to upload and MS Forms or Kahoot for quizzes

Christ what a faff

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Kahoot isn’t a great faff. Host a quiz, screenshare it, then everyone uses a pin to join it at home.

A directive has come down the CoC that everything must be done in Bader based Platforms

Despite that contravening ACTO014? Glad to see them ignoring the document they’ve told us all to abide by.

Paragraph 8, section e, note 3: “However, non-accredited platforms such as web-based quizzes which do not involve the entry of cadet data or involve any chat facilities may be used”.

To be fair, that would also rule out the various AC Recce quizzes I’ve seen on FB and and twitter!

We used Teams to meet and present, Kahoot for the quiz (We tried Kahoot for the first time last night - it worked pretty well, to be honest), Documents wise, Cadets will email the training account for marking, downloads are being placed in the Sqn downloads section of Cadet Portal.

Christ knows why HQAC are being so prescriptive and controlling re methodology, but absolutely clueless when it comes to what to actually do with these pretend (let’s be honest anything regarded as virtual is pretending) parades.
If people are doing something and it works, just let them get on with it.
Personally the idea of sitting in my dining room in the evening talking to a screen holds no fascination. I loathe it at work, but I at least get paid to do it.
This sort of technology has taken the fun out of work meetings a lot less travelling and actually meeting people, replaced by a computer monitor. You’ve also lost the nuances of body language and facial expressions, that you get actually sitting with people.

@Squadgy when are you thinking? Because the “full stop” on anything other than Teams “for the delivery of training” notice was put out pretty early until ACTO14 was able to be released, which then included the caveat/flexibility that @GrandMaster_Flush mentioned.

It’s not supposed to be “fun” it’s supposed to help save lives.

I find video calls more tiring than actual parade nights, socialising, work or whatever but it’s all we have at the moment and I’m glad it exists.

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So RAFAC on facebook has just advertised a quiz, obviously not hosted on a Bader platform. Yet asks cadets to input their email and sqn and create a personal password? Is t that going against the ACTO that they’re making us follow? One rule for us here and one rule for the ivory towers it seems…

Presumably that quiz has been approved by HQAC (which is an option in ACTO14)
It is being headed up by their media projects bod.

Have they, I can’t see any mention on the main RAFAC Facebook Account.

Our WSLT have been very clear in comms as late as yesterday that everything must be contained wholly within Bader for audit purposes

Ours have said the same, however that ignores the ACTO, so we’re challenging them on it until either they back down or the ACTO is more explicit.