Festive round up

My partner and I do not have any children. We seem to ​‘collect’ God Children — both official and unofficial. At the last count, I had five and my partner three. Some are still at school; some are at college or university. Many of my friends are teachers. What I’m trying to say is that I am aware of just how amazing you people out there working in the schools, colleges and universities and training providers have been. During 2020 I’ve tried to do-my-bit so to speak but anything I’ve done or the HOW2 company has done pails into insignificance when compared to what I’ve seen my friends and our college/training provider community doing. You’ve touched and affected lives for the better every day. It’s both humbling and incredible to witness. So I want to start by saying, on behalf of the young ​‘uns, the young adults and the not to young adults you teach — Thank you. You are amazing.

It was no mean feat getting to grips with Teams, or Zoom or whatever your platform of choice was and is. Some are still getting to grips with it. But, as a friend of mine, a teacher for over 30 years, pointed out as we strolled around a golf course in the Summer, the fact that you know how to use Teams is not the same as knowing how to teach with it. 

We’d started creating online HOW2s in October 2019, so when the lockdown came, the workflow structure was in place; all we needed to do was press the accelerator. As of December 2020, the Online Collection is a work-in-progress and has 30 HOW2s in it.

Perhaps more than anything COVID highlighted the need for community. Many of the teachers in the HOW2 community do not work at the same campus or even in the same college or state/county (country even). The Skills Exchange creates an instant community, joining everyone up it uses a traffic light system that enables busy communities of teachers, at a click of a button, to contact and ask for, or offer support to, each other. The recent upgrade to this functionality makes it (even) easier for teachers to find each other. 

We created a range of videos to support different teacher training scenarios. For example, to help someone new to HOW2s to get the most from the app, or to offer busy quality managers and coaches a range of over nine of ready-to-go whole-staff training days.

As 2020 drew to a close our HOW2 community told us that for December/January training they wanted something really focussed, something that would see teachers working together and socialising in curricular and cross-curricular groups. So we created a day around just 6 HOW2s — all aimed at helping teachers get to grips with blended learning. 

Contact us if you’d like us to run a bespoke instructional coaching programme for your teaching and learning coaches. Or to discuss any aspect of professional learning and how HOW2s might support you in supporting your educators. 

Meantime, again, on behalf of all the youngsters, and young adults and not so young adults that you teach — thank you. 

Stay safe, wishing you a peaceful and restful festive season.

Ian