FAQ → Buyers’ Guide
Thank you for taking the time to find out about subscription to teachinghow2s.com
We consider ourselves, first and foremost, teachers. We’re here to be a guide and mentor to you as you learn about the HOW2s. Our commitment to you is honesty and transparency.
HOW2s improve learning through better teaching
We’ve provided educators like those that work at Activate Learning with a private online space to learn together since 2011. Nearly a decade before online learning and teaching became a necessity, we launched the How2 web app and created step-by-step visual guides to improve learning through better teaching. In the pandemic, whether your teachers teach online, in the classroom or a combination of both, our 160+ teaching techniques have you covered. Depicted visually, they are easy for a new or more experienced teacher to adapt to any subject and any setting.
We have subscribers in the UK, Saudi Arabia, Canada and the USA. Our customers are FE colleges, universities, teacher training organisations, apprenticeship providers, community colleges and schools — in fact, any organisation that is interested in improving the quality of learning through better teaching.
I can’t imagine what we’d have to invest to get the same level of support to the same number of teachers on the same number of occasions as we do when we implement HOW2.
Activate Learning is a large organisation, made up of seven Further Education colleges with college campuses spread across the United Kingdom. Using HOW2s has enabled us to achieve a high level of consistency in our terminology and practice of teaching and learning. The greatest benefit to our organisation is the sheer range of tools available to the teachers from within the HOW2 web app. We have a large staff group ranging from new teachers to those who are very experienced, but within the HOW2s there are always ideas and challenges for every member of staff.
All our Faculty Managers are trained in using HOW2s to promote the development of practice within their teams and through the Skills Exchange staff are able to connect with colleagues right across the organisation, discuss their development and share their experiences using a common taxonomy.
You may want to consider whether the HOW2s CPD web app is the way that you want to support the TLA in your organisation. To help you weigh up the pros and cons, we’ve put together a table which compares the main options open to you.
There’s a lot to think about. It’s subjective, but these are the things we’ve discussed over the years with our customers.
| Attribute | HOW2s | External trainer | Conference | In‑house trainer | Books |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personalised to each teacher | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Easy to learn and apply | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Quick to deliver | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Instant support for both online and classroom TLA during Covid-19 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Minimal CPD research time | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Constantly accessible 24/7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Limited teacher disruption | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Aids professional collaboration | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Suitable for coaching, whole-staff training, twilight, self-study | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Instant evidence for inspections | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Consistency of training quality | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Instant solutions post observation | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Themes for learning walks | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Share best practice across whole organisation | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Provides a common language for all to use and understand | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Easy to evidence impact | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Solutions in one central area | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Takes seconds to find solutions for learners’ barriers to progress | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Transparency - easy to see who is regularly using the resource | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Many educators supported by a few coaches | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Provides a silver bullet without being driven | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Away day buzz and a good lunch | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Future content and feature updates included in subscription | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Sustainable | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Use at scale (across regions/countries) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Brings in new ideas relevant to individual teachers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
Contact us if we’ve missed anything!
In this comprehensive guide, we are going to tackle the most relevant questions Senior Leaders have about subscribing to the HOW2s today.
You’ll find these questions listed in the right-hand column.
We’re providing the information so that you can make an informed decision for your teachers, managers and ultimately for your students. Even if you don’t subscribe, we want each step of this process to be a great experience. We feel this is the only way to conduct ourselves as a business in our modern age.
