The Promethean Advocates are a select group of teachers who are recognised by Promethean as knowledgeable, enthusiastic education professionals with a strong understanding of Promethean solutions and education technology. Now in its fifth year as a formal programme, the first ever summer Advocate event was held on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd August and was used as an opportunity to welcome seven new Advocates to the group – bringing the total number of UKI teachers to 20.
Hosted at the Tower Hotel, London, the exclusive two-day event delivered an engaging programme of practical workshops and insightful presentations – including an Advocate TeachMeet and a live ClassFlow webinar presented by Promethean Teaching and Learning Consultant, Janice Prandstatter.
Designed to create a collaborative forum where Promethean can engage teachers with the latest Promethean solutions and gather feedback, the summer event focused on the new ActivPanel and the most recent release of cloud-based learning platform, ClassFlow. In doing so, Promethean is able to gain valuable feedback from practitioners who are experienced in using technology in the classroom – which will then be used to inform future research and development.
With the annual Advocate event usually held at Promethean’s Blackburn headquarters, the summer session in London enabled the Advocates to mix the formal business activities with an evening of fun and entertainment on a hosted ‘Jack the Ripper’ tour – giving the new members an informal networking opportunity with the long serving Advocates.
For the first time ever, the Advocate group has welcomed teachers who are about to enter their NQT year. Isobel Lester explains why she joined the group: “Our ICT lecturer was already part of the group and felt that as we enter our official teaching career out of university, it would be an excellent and supportive forum where we could develop our knowledge and skills initially – then go on to be at the forefront of our profession.
While Gemma Colebeck, another NQT shares what she gained from attending the event: “The event was extremely useful in terms of expanding our understanding of technology solutions, but we gained invaluable insights from being able to network and forge relations with experienced teachers from all over the UK and Ireland.”
Led by Janice, the Advocate Group is looking to grow even further this year and is actively looking for teachers to join throughout 2016: “We appreciate that time is precious for all teachers, so we ensure that the programme is as flexible as possible and can support that all important work life balance. However, the key to the success of the group to date has been enthusiastic teachers who are keen to input and actively participate as much as their schedule allows – so we’re looking for more teachers who share this ethos to grow the Advocate programme further.”
“We genuinely value our Advocates and look to involve everyone on a meaningful level. Many of our Advocates have been with us from the start, working with us on events like Bett as well as being involved with some really innovative product development. It’s a truly two-way partnership, and as a former classroom teacher, I love being able to work so closely with those who are still in the classroom.”
ABOUT PROMETHEAN ADVOCATES
Promethean Advocates have a passion for teaching. They display enthusiasm for sharing their experience, love for teaching and learning, and their use of technology in a variety of participation formats. Each Advocate brings their own personal interests, expertise and experiences to the group. As a result, expectations of Promethean Advocates are flexible and based on the understanding that contribution will vary from person to person.