Getting started with Live Lessons

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Encounter Edu Live Lessons bring remote environments, live learning and world experts into your classroom. You can take part with your class, as an assembly, or as a school club activity. We also welcome home-schoolers and family participation.

Step 1: Registering and booking

To book a place on an Encounter Live Lesson, you will need to have registered on Encounter Edu. Then browse for any live lessons that are of interest to your class and click ‘FOR TEACHER’ to access the booking system, or ‘FOR STUDENTS’ to download a calendar reminder. To complete the live lesson booking, a short form will ask for further details.

Booking will mean:

  • You will receive reminders before the live broadcast.

  • You can pre-submit questions and shout-outs via the Live Lesson section of your user profile. Pre-submitted questions are answered before live questions.

Step 2: Prepare your students

Each broadcast has linked ‘Supporting Resources’ to help prepare your class. These can include full prep lessons, links to interesting content, activities to perform alongside the speaker, and resources on generating higher-order questions.

Step 3: Prepare your tech

No specialist technology is needed for Encounter Live. Live lessons use the YouTube Live platform. If you can view YouTube in your classroom, then you are all set. Most classes find it easier to take part if the live lesson is projected or shown on a large screen. If you are not sure about using YouTube in the classroom or are having difficulty, see the guidance on troubleshooting YouTube.

The live chat uses the Slido platform. See the guidance on taking part in live lesson chats for more information.

Step 4: Engage

On the day of a session, get set up in your classroom, showing the Live Lesson page, this is where the live lesson will be shown. You may need to refresh the page.

Step 5: Reflect

Some lessons include specific follow-up work, and are linked to units of work. These can help to deepen the learning. Each lesson has a linked Student Reflection sheet that helps young people reflect on what they have learned.