For all the many downsides of lockdown, some teachers听found听a wealth of professional learning opportunities.听Almost overnight, a menu of webinars, Zoom courses and livestreamed educational events all appeared. But will these听digital platforms become the preferred form of professional learning in the long term?
There are without doubt some drawbacks to online professional learning. Many teachers certainly worried that we might miss the face-to-face connections which听are so valuable in the learning process.听Ours is听a profession built on relationships.听Without the interactions, connections and conversations in person, will digital professional learning allow the same level of collegiality and support as face-to-face courses?
Ultimately, we believe that the access听to inspirational, educational speakers which online professional learning provides听far outweighs the negatives.
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With ScotEd, an online educational conference taking place , we鈥檙e听confident of showing that online professional learning is the way forward. Under听the theme of 鈥済reat teaching for Scotland鈥, educators from all across the country will share practice and pedagogical knowledge which could make a huge impact in the classroom.
By taking the event online, we听hope to break down some of the barriers which can make it difficult to take part in face-to-face courses.听The event is free, and we have a听range of educators which might听have been very difficult to coordinate in person.听Bruce Robertson, author of The Teaching Delusion and headteacher of Berwickshire High School, will deliver the keynote speech. He will be joined by听Jamie Thom, Blair Minchin, Amanda Corrigan,听Nuzhat Uthmani, Kate Jones, Robin Macpherson and James Cook.听All sessions will be recorded so they can听be watched later and shared with staff in school.
So will this be the future of professional听learning? There are definitely challenges in ensuring that online sessions allow interaction and opportunities to genuinely support staff. But online听taster sessions means respected authors, headteachers and university lecturers -听with their own work commitments and often impossibly busy schedules -听are all able to present on the same day and share their wealth of experience and wisdom.
There may not听be a goodie听bag to take home or sundry freebies waiting to be snaffled, but听these digital connections may inspire you听to try a new approach, or at least do some fresh professional reading and听engage with colleagues. That鈥檚 got to be听more valuable than a听free pen or notepad.
Fiona Leadbeater and Darren Leslie are secondary teachers in Scotland who are organising the听 on 19 September. Updates can be found on Twitter听
