During lock-down thousands of teachers took advantage of a wide-range of online courses, seminars and webinars. A new word entered our shared vocabulary Zoom! Some were no more than online lectures with questions and answers at the end as the online world mimicked the worst examples of face to face CPD. Others were more innovative, using technology to collaborate, discuss, ponder and reflect as well as gain new understanding.
In computing, being directly attached to the medium that you are being trained on is a massive plus. I wrote five new courses and worked with computing coordinators from a range of schools on their computing understanding, skills, and ability to assess.
Freed from the need to travel great distances I wove online support around the participants’ needs frequently working in the evenings or straight after school once year six had returned.
I attached multiple webcams so that I could show teachers how to connect physical computing devices like the Crumble or draw on my whiteboard to illustrate examples.
We used Google tools to collaborate with groups of delegates. For example, delegates examined lessons described in detail to look for formative assessment opportunities. Adding comments to Google doc that are viewable by other delegates. Learning from each other without the distractions that can reduce the effectiveness of face to face learning.
Teachers really liked that I sent them a recording of the session for their personal use after the session.
Training that I would have carried out in a single day or afternoon we spread out over a longer period of time. I found that teachers often came back with much better questions and ideas and an increased sense of ownership of the process when training was split up like this.
I would like to continue like this and am looking for primary schools that would like a computing improvement partner who
- Works around the times that works best for you and your school
- Splits CPD and support up into manageable chunks
- Records sessions so that teachers can reflect and revisit learning opportunities
- Works online to remove the risks to adults of contact
- Is genuinely interested in your school making progress
- Is happy to postpone sessions if staff need to shield
- Is happy to work online with all staff at no extra cost
With this in mind, I have prepared a short document to help you make your school online CPD ready. You may not need computing help but it will help you work effectively with other CPD providers.
If you would like computing support then email me at phil.bagge@hants.gov.uk
Or send a direct message on twitter to @baggiepr
I look forward to working with you
Phil Bagge 2nd September 2020