Practical upskilling to maximise your edtech investment
As the art of teaching progresses over time, professional learning and development is at the heart of that growth. It helps teachers align with the goals and visions of the school, ensuring that students receive the best outcomes from their education.
Teacher training should be a top priority for schools, but it can be time-consuming for teachers who are already under the pump. Collaborative group learning in the form of professional learning communities (PLCs) can be an efficient, effective way of boosting the skills of teachers, without taking too much time from busy schedules.
What is a professional learning community?
Professional learning communities involve groups of teachers that meet regularly, sharing expertise and working collaboratively for the overall improvement of student outcomes. They may discuss goals and/or investigate ways of implementing strategies to achieve these goals.
A strong PLC program will include an element of continual re-evaluation to ensure that the most effective methods are being used to achieve outcomes. PLCs will generally see benefits throughout the whole school, as teachers work together to ensure that best practice is being upheld.
PLC’s can foster a stronger sense of leadership and empowerment in teachers, as they are able to shape the way teaching takes place within their school.
Professional learning and edtech
When it comes to edtech, it is particularly important that staff are fully equipped with the skills needed to make the use out of the tools at their disposal. Our State of Technology in Education report highlighted the need for greater support for Australian teachers when it comes to learning the edtech they use every day.
In the report, we found that of those teachers that have access to technology, but choose not to use it in their lesson delivery:
- 29% said that they don’t have the proper skills needed, and
- 35% said that they don’t have the time to learn how to get the most from it.
One Queensland primary school teacher mentioned, “Trying to find time to upskill and do professional development is the most difficult thing to stay on top of the tech. Then trying to implement it (with purpose) can be difficult and sometimes left for six months – in which time you need to upskill again.”
Professional learning with Promethean
Promethean’s leading professional development offering ensures that users are fully equipped with the necessary skills to make the most of the ActivPanel, and its ActivInspire lesson delivery software. A range of complementary services that schools and teachers can take advantage of includes orientations and training sessions, conducted by experienced education consultants.
Schools can maximise this opportunity by selecting highly-motivated groups of teachers to take part in these. As teachers explore the capabilities of the ActivPanel, they can then pass knowledge on to colleagues through PLC sessions, effectively spreading knowledge throughout the school.
Want to take your edtech professional learning even further? Check out Learn Promethean. This valuable resource is host to a wide array of materials, including online training courses, articles, and videos designed to inspire teachers to make the most out of the ActivPanel.
