AV1 Academy

Teaching with AV1

AV1 acts as the student’s presence in the classroom. Their ability to see, hear and speak through the AV1 means, as a teacher, you shouldn’t need to alter your teaching style too much. This guide should support you in welcoming AV1 into the classroom and help you towards the best experience for the class and the user.

Practicalities of having AV1 at school

Initially, we suggest only using AV1 in a handful of lessons, to give the teachers and students a chance to get used to AV1. You could start with the lesson plan we provide below, then choose some of the child’s favourite subjects.

In Primary settings it is likely that AV1 will remain in the same classroom throughout the day. So you can leave AV1 on the desk on standby to allow the child to join as and when they are able to.

AV1 Buddies

In secondary schools, it might be that AV1 has to move classes throughout the day, so you could assign AV1 buddies who are responsible for ensuring AV1 makes it to their next class. This could be a close friend of the child using AV1, or someone that shares their timetable.

We held an introductory lesson to classmates so they could familiarise themselves with AV1, and from this, two of the users’ friends were appointed ‘AV1 buddies’, responsible for transporting it from class to class.

Gregg Morrison
Headteacher at Preston School, a primary school in Somerset
Julie Young of Somerset Council holding an AV1 telepresence robot

The school day

Start the day by putting AV1 out on its desk and turning it on, ready for its first lesson. We suggest placing it near the front for teacher led classes, and ensuring it is moved to stay included with any group activities.

  • AV1 should enjoy break times too. Feel free to bring AV1 to the playground to join in the fun. Remember, AV1 is covered by an accidental damage warranty!
  • If AV1 has had a busy morning and is low on battery, we recommend topping it up to charge at lunch. Remember AV1 can also be used whilst it is plugged in charging.
  • At the end of the day, press and hold the button on the back to turn AV1 off and leave it to charge overnight. It is safe to do so, and it ensures a full battery for the next school day.
Timetable lanyards

An AV1 timetable lanyard could be placed around the AV1’s neck so the AV1 buddies and other classmates always knows where it needs to be.

As his class teacher, I took responsibility for the AV1, ensuring it was charged at the end of the day and ready to be used each morning. Some of our students were entrusted with the AV1 during breaks and they would go around the playground chatting with our pupil and other peers and staff. We always had a good laugh!

Mihaela Chowdhury
Teacher at Hornbeam Academy
Julie Young of Somerset Council holding an AV1 telepresence robot

Resources available