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The owls are taking centre stage
How are the Meeting Owls are settling into their new homes?
A whopping 1,500 of you entered GovernorHub's competition to win 2 Owl Labs video-conferencing Meeting Owls in the autumn term.
We wanted to let you know how the winners have been getting on with the new tech, and whether they're making meetings more inclusive.
We caught up with Abbey Maycock, assistant headteacher at Bishop Ramsey Church Of England School in Ruislip and Andrew Maley, headteacher at Carr Mill Primary School in Merseyside.
Everyone recognised the potential that the Meeting Owl would have.
Andrew Maley, headteacher
How did you feel when you heard you'd won?
Abbey: Very pleased and interested to see how it would improve our virtual meetings.
Andrew: Excited! Anything that supports communication and access between schools and governors is an essential tool, and we'd heard so many great things about it.
What did your senior leaders and board members say?
Abbey: They were keen to try the Meeting Owl out at upcoming training events.
Andrew: Everyone recognised the potential that this would have. Discussions quickly moved from not just supporting governors in accessing meetings, but also how it could be used for recording minutes.
Meetings have been more engaging and it’s been much easier to understand how participants are feeling during discussions.
Abbey Maycock, assistant headteacher
Was the Meeting Owl easy to set up?
Abbey: Yes!
Andrew: Yes. Very easy and quick.
How's it been using the Meeting Owl in your meetings?
Abbey: The Owl has been used on several occasions - we've found meetings have been more engaging and far easier to ascertain how participants are feeling during discussions.
Andrew: We've used it in one meeting so far and it made a massive difference. The meeting ran a lot smoother than when using traditional online calls. We're now planning how to incorporate it into every day school life, and how to use it to support communication with our families.
We spoke to a trust CEO who named their Meeting Owl "Owlita" - have you named yours?
Abbey: It's still up for discussion, currently we call it "The Owl".
Andrew: Snowy! They sit pride of place in our meeting hub, ready to be called into action at any time!
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