Let’s explore the variety of powerful and useful software you need to have to make online learning successful for you. Amazing tools and apps for effective learning online are explored in this article.

Today online learning is everywhere. Humanity now has resources that give us the opportunity to distribute knowledge far beyond our imagination.

As students, we can’t be happier participating in this process since online education and blended learning create options for people who can’t join in the traditional education process.

But just like with traditional learning, you need to have proper tools to get to the stars in distance education. Let us introduce you to the ten best tools that can make virtual learning more effective and fun.

Star Dash Studios

Let’s start with an app that can make math cool for you!

This excellent tool can be downloaded on your phone through Google Play or AppStore, and you can train your math skills in a fun and interactive way with this app. Math often seems to be very boring for most of us, but we are absolutely sure that with this app, you will absolutely fall in love with numbers and will not be able to leave them just like that.

Google Classroom

Modern technologies help to achieve just flawless communication between students and teachers. And we are absolutely sure that there’s no better way to organize a learning process and make you, a student, feel that you are a part of the learning process and, what’s most important, the vital participant of it than with Google Classroom.

In this app, you get full access to all the aspects of your education can communicate with other students and classes through this system which has never been easier. The best thing is that you can connect to Google Classroom from everywhere and anywhere. You just need any gadget and the internet.

MasterClass

We love MasterClass because this online learning platform offers just an unlimited source of different classes on a variety of topics, from the evolution of seeds to the laws of mechanics.

What’s really cool for you as a student on MasterClass is that you can both learn what you need and explore new interesting hobbies in your free time there. MasterClass services are not that cheap and will cost $15 a month, but believe us: this money will be invested very well since you will get access to a huge library with educational videos created for you by the greatest minds of this time.

Snagit

Do you really need this screen capturer or any other online video recorder in your arsenal of learning tools? In our opinion, absolutely yes. Screen capturers are crucial for online or blended learning because the classes you take online can be legally recorded and reused for rewatching and a better understanding of the material.

We should warn you that even though you can legally record your own webinars and classes, you need to warn all the other parties of your classes that you plan to record a particular online session. You need to get the informed consent of all the parties to avoid any problems from occurring in the future.

Kahoot

This is another game-based learning app that makes education fun and interactive! This online learning platform was created for teachers and allows them to create game trivia in Kahoot.

As a student, you can play with your fellow students or friends in Kahoot: create quizzes, prepare for exams, or just in a fun and interactive form to deepen your knowledge in different subjects.

YouTube

Who can afford to ignore the most influential video hub in the world nowadays? It is an absolutely crucial platform for anyone who wants to learn anything online, and we think that YouTube was the reason people started noticing the benefits of online learning.

Of course, the best thing about it is that YouTube is free, and thousands of people share their knowledge just for the sake of sharing. You can’t become a rocket scientist through YouTube videos, but you can start learning about rockets through the clips!

Knoword

Knoword is an amazing platform for polishing your academic skills in all kinds of subjects! You can find here trivia about social studies, geography, science, art, language, etc.

All you need to do in Knoword is to click on the subject you are interested in, open any given unit and start answering different interesting questions. We love using Kahoot as a fun way to learn new things, and you can even play with your friends there. It is not just a learning platform, it is a fun quiz-based tool that helps people to stay interested in studying.

Microsoft Powerpoint

Distance learning has many tech benefits, and some types of regular homework here also can be replaced with digital alternatives. As for presentations, the classic for offline education, we, of course, have excellent ways of creating presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint.

PowerPoint has been popular for years and is very intuitive and easy to use.

Evernote

This one is excellent if you have problems with productivity. Plans and try-not-to-forget things can create absolute chaos in your head. That’s why you need useful programs like Evernote to help you to stay in touch with your day-to-day tasks.

In Evernote, you can create text, audio, and video notes, so you can be sure that you will not forget about your next class or exam with this little helper.

So there it is! The list of our favorite apps and tools that can make online education a wonderful experience.

The world is undergoing rapid change with the arrival of digital technology. The education industry is no stranger to this movement—being at the forefront of transformation with the adoption of new practices that allow teachers to better facilitate an active learning environment for their students.

While iPads and tablets uncover a new dimension of learning for students, valuable frameworks like the Early Years Learning Framework also effectively benefit from the integration of technology.

Here are the various ways technology transforms early childhood education:

1. Using Technology to Become More Collaborative

Teachers can mediate students’ learning and facilitate digital storytelling with apps like iMovie, Explain Everything, and Book Creator. Through those mediums, students will effectively be given the power to communicate their ideas via technology. In this way, teachers become knowledge brokers who filter information for students by guiding them through their learning process.

Teachers can mix learning styles for a more effective result. For instance, students who learn better through visual cues and other senses will be encouraged by rich multimedia elements that can be rendered using technology.

But the best part is that children are allowed to present their understanding of ideas in ways they feel comfortable with, while simultaneously working in collaboration with others.

2. Promotes the Reggio-Emilia approach

The Reggio-Emilia approach is a philosophy that values the child as a capable and competent individual who’s rich with knowledge and wonder. Essentially, it puts the child at the forefront of the learning process. With the new normal shaking up the way education is done, this approach believes in the child’s central authority over their own learning.

This setting promotes encouragement and interaction of others, endorses the explorative aspects of their creativity, and provokes innate curiosity – enabling the child’s ability to become smart and competent future leaders. Grounded on independence, this setting excels with the rapid shift towards technology since the digital age allows the student to explore multiple ways of paced learning through various doors.

3. Opens a New Door with Play-Based Learning

Geoguessr, Kahoot!, and Minecraft are just some of the game-based learning tools that are improving day-to-day teaching methods. With play based learning (you can learn more here), educators take the focus away from structure, and instead let children explore independently. 

For instance, Minecraft can be used to create a world for students and teachers alike to explore and discover new things with each other’s help. Children will enjoy the freedom to make their own choices, while also using this technology as a tool to enhance their creativity.

Kahoot! assists teachers in monitoring students’ progress across a topic by checking their topic understanding. According to Science Direct, 30% of students improved their test scores by up to 55% with competition-style games like Kahoot!

Geoguessr is another great example that can aid students by pinpointing their exact geographical locations, and then asking them to identify the location they are in. With these types of tools at hand, teachers can execute campaigns to provide fresh and dynamic modes of facilitating learning.

4. Disseminate Information Effectively Through Technology

The days of the whiteboard are almost gone, replaced by popular screen casting tools that allow teachers to show students vivid representations of what they are trying to teach.

These tools can help toddlers better understand ideas in a more comprehensive way. The ease of Internet accessibility and the plethora of software that assist the learning process grant teachers the ability to take on more sophisticated techniques in a dynamic learning environment.

For instance, Google Classroom is a cloud-based classroom that gives teachers the liberty to create, organise, and share educational materials with their students. With these tools, they can also develop digital literacy skills by allowing students to work individually or collaboratively in an online environment. 

Transitioning from whiteboards to technology is beneficial for both teachers and learners; it allows them to gain more flexibility and freedom when teaching, while also enhancing their skills in search of answers.

5. Emphasise Social Skills Through Technology

As toddlers are still developing their fine motor skills, they can use technology like touch screen devices as a tool to take turns and work collaboratively with others.  

This provides an avenue for them to communicate with other kids their age and develop new friendships—which is a critical point in their social trajectory and ability to interact with others.

6. Help Toddlers Learn Basic Academic Skills

One of the primary advantages of incorporating technology in regular classrooms, preschools, or after school programs in Owings Mills, MD, or elsewhere, is that it creates a safe and engaging environment for students to learn more effectively.

Technology offers a wide range of educational tools that help young learners develop essential academic skills such as counting, recognizing colors, distinguishing sounds, and matching shapes. These interactive platforms can turn learning into a fun and immersive experience, making it easier for students to grasp foundational concepts.

Moreover, technology allows for individualized learning, catering to each student’s unique pace and needs. If a child makes a mistake or needs additional practice, technology offers the flexibility to review and correct their work without slowing down or disrupting the progress of other students.

 This creates a more customized approach to learning, where students can focus on areas they find challenging, ultimately fostering a sense of confidence and mastery. With these advantages, technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing the educational experience and ensuring effective skill development.

7. Promotes at-home learning

Technology allows toddlers to gain information and sources online.  Whether they are learning about dinosaurs, learning how to spell, or trying to figure out how many seconds there are in an hour—toddlers can access educational content on most topics through apps or research.

While parents must also play a vital role in their child’s learning process, technology has made it easier than ever for toddlers to absorb and learn topics without the teacher’s immediate guidance.

Smartphones were once considered a distraction for students. But considering the COVID-19 pandemic, mobile applications have converted smartphones into personal virtual classrooms. A lot of organisations specialised in making apps, have been releasing tons of educational applications that make it convenient for students to be more engaged with school. Here are some of the best educational apps for students to make studying at home both interesting and fun:

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a free education programme that may be used by students and instructors alike. Khan Academy provides practice problems, video tutorials, and a personalised learning dashboard, allowing students to study at their own rate.  This learning software aids in the discovery of educational materials for most core subjects such as math, science, writing, reading and others. There are over 4,000 videos courses for you to choose from, whether to watch it from the website or by downloading them to later viewing.  Kindly check this particular Khan Academy review by professional instructor for thorough details and insights.

Google Classroom

A lot of schools have started to shift towards G Suite For Education, especially Google Classroom for a more convenient learning. This app does not only allow teachers to assign and mark the tasks that have been submitted, it also can be used to organise every resource on Google Drive. Apart from that, teachers are also able to communicate with students easily, whether it’s about giving information or simply inviting them to debate about a topic with their classmates.

Google classroom also features ‘Student Selector’ where it allows the teachers to randomly choose students from the list. This feature helps to encourage students to have a more complete classroom involvement, and at the same time increasing engagement between each other. This app is available to be accessed on all devices including laptop, smartphones or tablets.

Duolingo

If you are planning to make use of the time at home by learning other languages, then Duolingo is a great place to get started. The app offers over 100 language courses. The best part is that the app is completely free to use, and you won’t have to worry about any hidden costs or in-app purchases as they are optional. This app is both efficient and entertaining, making it more fun for you to learn new languages without having to pay a single cent for the classes.

Remind

Collaborative learning is an effective method for students to fill in their skills gap. Some students prefer learning with others rather than studying alone as that would boost their studying mood.  However, gathering a group of students under one roof to study together may not always be feasible especially during this pandemic. That is where the Remind app comes in handy. Remind can help students to remain in touch with their school community.

The app also allows students to receive frequent updates on any given school activities based on their own special class code.  Remind may also be used to contact an entire class, exchange images and materials, submit homework, and answer uncertainties with classmates.

Science360

This app has been developed by The National Science Foundation (NSF) themselves. It’s designed specifically for tablet to display complex scientific, engineer news photos and videos for kids. Every information that can be read on the app is genuine, high-quality, and updated once a week. The NSF also creates the content, which is acquired from scientists and institutions across the globe. Kids can enjoy 3D photos from every aspect thanks to the unique 360-degree perspective.

Photomath

Another great educational application for students is Photomath. Mathematics is known to be one of the perplexing topics for many children due to the complicated calculations, or that the notion is too abstract. But now anybody can learn how to answer complicated mathematical problems with the help of Photomath.

The way to use the app is straightforward. All you have to do is to snap a photo of the question, after that, the app will automatically study it and guide you on how to solve it with step-by-step video tutorials. You can also find multiple approaches on tackling the same issue, with active graphs, and animated instructions. The app features a scientific calculator, which can be used even with the absence of the internet.

The pandemic has got the whole world actively engaged in online learning to one degree or another.  

Online learning can be challenging for both learners and educators alike, as it demands more attention and self-discipline on the part of the learner than traditional in-person classes.  That being said, the ability to work remotely does provide greater flexibility for learners and educators.

Here are some excellent tips to excel in your academics through an online learning system:  

1. Put an end to distraction 

During online learning, every learner must pay full attention to the teacher. Due to social media and household chores, people may feel less able to concentrate and more inclined to get themselves distracted. This distraction must be confronted directly, which requires active communication with parents and students, to ensure students are working in a quiet environment free from as many distractions as possible. 

2. Effective online communication

Given that in-person interaction is minimal, there should be an established relationship between students and teachers. Communication is a two-way street though, so both parties should work to develop their social presence. Communicating with instructors leads to effective learning, as it provides an opportunity to ask for help and engage with the content of the course.  It is particularly important to give thought to how much of the online communication should be asynchronous versus how much should be synchronous.  For more information on this topic, take a look at this post in which I discuss The Best Combination of Asynchronous & Synchronous Communication. 

3. Actively participate in class 

More opportunities for active participation and discussion leads to greater levels of student satisfaction and better learning outcomes. Students will experience deeper learning and feel more satisfied by their learning experience.  

When the teacher asks a question or fellow students share content, for example, it can help to have a discussion board where students can post questions and engage with their classmates after the lesson.  This discussion board can be found on the assignment window or stream of Google Classroom or a dedicated space on Padlet could be created, for example.  The idea is simply to get students posting their questions about the assignments they are working on.  Evidence-based learning shows that a peer-to-peer learning environment leads to more profound and memorable learning experiences. 

4. Goal Setting & Schedules 

It is imperative that students have a clear schedule for their studies. This can be simply be a spreadsheet timetable with hyperlinks to all the students’ Zoom lessons, for example.  This helps students to manage their study time to remain more focused. 

5. Avoid tiredness and fatigue

Attending continuous classes via Zoom screen can make anyone feel tired. It is important that both teachers and students take regular breaks away from their screens to avoid “Zoom fatigue”!   Rest and physical exercise form a crucial part of the learning process. 

6. Stay Motivated

The world has changed significantly over the the past year and a half.  Self-isolation, social distancing and mask-wearing has naturally left many people feeling down.  Students can need help to keep themselves motivated, so rewards and praise for excellent progress or for completing assignments can go a long way. 

This was a guest post by Abroo Murtaza.

Abroo recommends See TEFL for online courses to teach English as a foreign language.

Following the National Curriculum in England, our English programme of study has four key elements:

• Writing
• Reading
• Spoken language
• Spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation (SPaG)

When we transitioned over to e-learning, during lockdown, we wanted to make sure to provide as many opportunities as possible to facilitate teaching and learning for each one of these areas.

We therefore fully embraced the best e-learning platforms we could find, to replicate children’s experiences in the classroom while they were working from home.  In fact, in some areas, we went beyond simply replicating children’s classroom experiences, and we were able to enhance children’s learning experience through the use of digital technologies.

Let’s take a look at some examples of how we have been doing this:

1. Quizlet to help children with their spellings.  Quizlet is a web application that enables users to easily make digital flashcards and has been particularly effective for memorising spellings as well as consolidating understanding of word definitions.

2. Screencasting software such as Loom to deliver read-aloud sessions for children.  Screencasting is where you narrate a video recording of your computer screen – a very handy skill to learn when teaching online!  The advantage of an app like Loom is that it also records a video of the teacher talking, and this appears on the side of the screencast, making the teacher’s explanation much more intuitive to follow. 

3. EdPuzzle has proven brilliant for supporting children’s reading and developing their comprehension skills.  Our teachers have been making interactive read-aloud videos for students, which are embedded with comprehension quizzes.

4. Flipgrid is an exciting platform video discussion platform that enables children to post short video responses to questions, thereby helping students to practise their speaking and listening skills   

5. Google Docs & Slides has provided many writing opportunities for our students.  The school’s Google suite of tools, in particular, has proven particularly useful for teachers to provide feedback on written assignments via the use of private comments.

6. Google Classroom has remained our core platform for handing out and collecting in assignments.  It also allows us to easily track students’ work submissions.

Digital Resources for use at Home:

Kindles 

While we use Kindles in the school, they can be brilliant devices to encourage and help students with their reading at home.  Firstly, unlike smartphones or tablet devices, they do not have a luminous screen, which means they cause less eye strain.  In fact, they employ a special type of display, commonly referred to as an “e-paper” display.  As devices specifically designed and built for reading, they also come without the many distractions associated with other digital technologies.

Secondly, the new Kindles help young readers tackle challenging vocabulary.  The built-in dictionary software, which turns itself on when the student long presses a word, quickly looks up the definition of the word.  This is generally something that teachers are doing automatically; when teachers are reading with or to students, attention is paid to new vocabulary – both a word’s meaning and its correct punctuation.  When students are reading alone therefore, the Kindle’s in-built dictionary and vocabulary builder can be a really useful set of tools.

Thirdly, every word looked up is automatically added to a ‘Vocabulary Builder’, which creates flashcards that students can use to learn the definitions and usage of words.

Finally, it is much easier to find a range of appropriate books from the Kindle store than hunting around bookshops!

Classroom Flipped

Classroom Flipped provides learners with easy access to the best resources on the Web, to help support their learning.  I originally designed this website to link all relevant, child-friendly resources to our International Primary Curriculum.

Bug Club 

Bug Club is a platform that contains hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books.  Each book is carefully levelled so that children can access books, which are appropriate for their reading level, before moving onto more challenging books as their reading skills improve.  It also comes with ‘Progress & Assess’ quizzes, which tests children on what they have read, while helping them to improve their reading fluency and comprehension skills.    

Concluding thoughts…

Our e-learning environment has facilitated an environment in which students are becoming more active creators instead of solely passive content recipients.  After all, students learn best in an environment that they “own”, which adjusts rapidly to meet their learning needs and interests.  As a team, we are continually learning how to effectively embed these learning technologies into our teaching practice.  Indeed, as we gradually return to normality, we are looking forward to taking what we have learnt during these peculiar times, to further enhance our teaching practice and develop students’ learning.

As part of our transition from e-learning to face-to-face classes, our teachers have embraced an educational approach known as ‘blended learning’.  This model combines the best of online educational platforms and online interaction (via Zoom, Google Meet or Hangouts, for example) with traditional, face-to-face teaching methods.  In other words, the blended learning model entails some elements of online instruction with the physical presence of both teacher and students.

In the process of transitioning to a blended learning environment, our teachers have done an amazing job delivering face-to-face lessons for the children in school whilst simultaneously, live streaming these lessons for children at home.  To make this possible, our teachers sign into Zoom or Google Meet, and the webcam then captures the introductory part of the lesson.  The children based at home are then able to take part in these lessons before signing out, to work on and submit their assignments via the Google Classroom.  The beauty of this model is that it enables all children, independent of distance, to take an active part in their learning.  The two groups (A and B) can also see and talk with one another via the video link.     

The power of our digital technologies used in school to both facilitate and further enhance students’ learning cannot be understated.  For students at home, in addition to the live streamed lessons, this group is provided with tutorial videos and other forms of content to consume at their own pace whilst communicating with peers and teachers using the online learning tools, principally Google Classroom and Hangout.  The ability for students to pause, rewind and fast-forward a tutorial video, for example, means that they are in a much better situation to assimilate new learning.  For students in school, they have further opportunities to apply and extend what they have learnt with additional assistance from the teacher.  

In order to make the lesson time itself more engaging while integrating formative assessment, our teaching teams use many of the latest web-based tools, including BrainPOP, Education City and, of course, the Google Apps for Education.  The school’s Google suite of tools, in particular, as well as other platforms such as Flipgrid, Padlet and NearPod, have proven to be fantastic tools for students themselves to become authors, teachers and collaborators, working together to teach content to one other.  As well as giving students opportunities to use these tools, teachers themselves regularly use these platforms as a medium in which to share information with students for them to learn at their own pace.  

That being said, as educational professionals, it is important for us not to lose sight of the fact that we should focus on pedagogy first and technology second – or to put it another way, pedagogy always trumps technology!  This is because, when integrating technology, it is less about the tools and more about what can be done with the tools handed to us.

I am proud to say that our blended learning approach has further facilitated an environment in which students are becoming more active creators instead of solely passive content recipients.  After all, students learn best in an environment that they “own”, which adjusts rapidly to meet their learning needs and interests.  As a team, we are continually learning how to effectively embed these learning technologies into our teaching practice.  Indeed, as we gradually return to normality, we are looking forward to taking what we have learnt during these peculiar times, to further enhance our teaching practice and develop students’ learning.

Since the crisis of COVID-19 took hold several weeks ago, our teachers have been embracing different learning platforms while honing their skills with innovative ways of teaching digitally.  In addition to Class Dojo, which is mainly used for announcements and communication with parents, and Google Classroom, which is mainly used for delivering assignments to students, teachers have been trialling other, engaging platforms.  

One of these new apps is the screencasting app, Loom.  For those who are not sure, screencasting is where you narrate a video recording of your computer screen – a very handy skill to learn when teaching online!  The advantage of an app like Loom is that it also records a video of the teacher talking, and this appears on the side of the screencast, making the teacher’s explanation much more intuitive to follow.  I have found the app to be particularly effective for the purpose of making ‘Read-Alouds’. 

Here’s a quick example I made for a Read-Aloud of the book, ‘Seeds of Change’:

Loom

The second app we have been using a lot of is the video conference platform, Zoom.  Participants can join a Zoom meeting without having the app installed or needing to sign into the app.  It is only necessary to sign up for an account if you wish to host a video conference.  We have been using this platform mainly for “meet & greet” sessions with students and parents.  After many days in quarantine, this platform can provide a brilliant way for teachers and students to touch base with one another.  Kahoot quizzes complement this platform well and could be used at the beginning of a lesson.  Likewise, Zoom works particularly well at the end of lessons, for example for a Q & A session after students have completed an online task.

As this app involves two-way communication, it’s really important to ensure that everyone is aware of key netiquette rules to follow (that are unique to video conferences) – I explain these netiquette rules for students in the tutorial video below:

Zoom

Shaping school culture begins with effective leadership, which then permeates and fosters positive change throughout the school.  This is because effective leadership influences everyone who works for a school, and everyone of these staff members is either directly or indirectly responsible for students’ learning. For a school leadership and culture to be successful therefore, it needs everyone on board, facilitating educational experiences that cater for students’ interests, innate desire for creativity, and a need for play.  Teaching staff, administration and support personnel must work collaboratively in order to create a learning experience that will bring significant value to students.

I’ve been reading Eric Sheninger’s book, Uncommon Learning, which has given me some great ideas on the topic of school culture, the role that leadership can play and where technology fits in.  According to Sheninger, there are several key ingredients to effective leadership that promote a positive school culture:

1.  Clear vision and communication – According to Leithwood & Riehl (What we know about successful school leadership, 2003), effective leaders help their schools develop or endorse visions that embody the best thinking about teaching and learning while inspiring others to reach for ambitious goals.  In the digital world, leaders can use a variety of communication channels to reach all possible stakeholders.  In addition to memos, meetings, newsletters, and email, messages can be amplified using social media tools such as Google Classroom, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

2.  Allowing for autonomy and ownership – Unprecedented learning opportunities can take place when school leadership gives up some control, allowing learners (teachers included!) to explore their own passions and interests, enabling them to take ownership of their learning, while helping the community to develop growth mindsets.   According to Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck (2007), learners with growth mindsets have been found to be more motivated to learn and exert effort and outperform those with fixed mindsets.  An excellent example of autonomy and ownership in classroom practice is Genius Hour. Genius Hour is most often associated with Google, where employees were able to spend up to 20 per cent of their time working on projects they were passionate about.  Motivated by curiosity and passion, the big idea for Google was that employees would be happier, more creative, and more productive, which benefitted the company in terms of morale and overall performance.  This concept can be transferred to the school system by allowing teachers and students time to explore their own curiosity, and then integrating this time into opportunities for meaningful teaching and learning.

3.  Collaboration – Empowering teachers to work and collaborate toward a common goal makes them aware of their responsibilities and the important role each one of them plays in the work (Hughes & Pickeral, 2013).  Again, this requires allocating time specifically for this purpose.  Well planned collaborative workshops can be a great way for teachers to share ideas about professional practice.

4.  Modelling – Initiating sustainable change requires educators to model the same expectations that they have of others.  This is true of teachers and leaders alike.  Setting a direction and helping people implement a change are imperative for the successful implementation of any initiative.  Eric Sheninger (2016) makes a very valuable point in his book ‘Uncommon Learning’, that we should move away from telling people what to do , and instead take them where they need to be.  Accoording to Sheninger, ‘if you want change, model it.  Modelling the way is one of the best things a leader can do to move others down a different path to initiate and sustain change.’

5.  Promote Risk Taking – The right culture encourages teachers to try new strategies and activities in the classroom.  In such an environment, teachers feel they have the autonomy and support to be as innovative as they want.  The same is true for students.  As Branden (1994) states in ‘The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem’, students who feel empowered are more confident and exhibit more self-esteem.  Confidence can increase a person’s ability to think and cope with basic challenges.  Self-esteem can increase feeling worthy and the ability to assert one’s needs and wants.

6.  Support – Time, professional learning, infrastructure, and resources are all areas of support that help to create a positive school culture.  Teachers need time for example, to innovate, try new things, and learn.  In particular, schools need to consider ways to free up teachers from meaningless meetings and instead use that time for professional development.  My own experience of this is through the delivery of workshops, which I always strive to make as fun and engaging as possible.  After all, what we feel we remember, which is why attaching emotion to learning is so impactful!  As professional development time with teachers can be short (usually, a training workshop lasts just one hour), I believe there are three key elements to making workshops for teachers successful:

– the core idea must be presented as simply as possible

– the training must allow for creative expression

– at least one new skill must have been acquired by the end of the session

In other words, fun & engaging PD workshop = easy to grasp + allows for creative expression + provides new skill(s)

Concluding thoughts…

Shared vision, effective communication, autonomy, collaboration, modelling, risk taking and support all contribute to a transformational school culture, which leads to greater levels of teacher satisfaction and student achievement.