Enhance digital teaching platform expanding new content and functions
A new release of the Enhance Digital Teaching Platform from the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) has just gone live adding further training, resources and functions to equip teachers and trainers to support their learners whatever the circumstances.
The platform hosts two popular CPD offers that have seen a major surge in uptake over recent months – bite-size training for using educational technology (EdTech) mapped to the ETF’s national EdTech competency framework, the Digital Teaching Professional Framework; and Essential Digital Skills training mapped to the new national standards.
With high-quality remote learning delivery still needed to supplement the return to classroom delivery, additional EdTech training is being added to the platform to support remote delivery. A suite of six new ‘Connected and Effective: Working from Home’ modules and four additional ‘Digital Assessment’ modules were released recently. These are accompanied by a guide to support online student induction, with other guides imminent on how to ensure engagement and performance, as well as how to monitor and measure progress and quality of learning outcomes for remote learning delivery.
In the new release, there are new functions to help teachers and trainers to share their practices and cultivate discussion about teaching approaches. The platform features an ‘Awarded Practices’ area where reflections and resources submitted by practitioners as part of their process to gain two-star and three-star digital badges are showcased, allowing sharing. Now practitioners can like and bookmark reflections and resources and follow those who are contributors. Users can also follow any of their peers by clicking the button on their public profile, just as on social media.
This is all part of a next phase of development of the platform, as indicated by Vikki Liogier, National Head of EdTech and Digital Skills in a recent article for the AoC publication ‘Creating a post-Covid-19 EdTech strategy with no-one left behind’:
“The learning space created by the posting of reflections on the EnhanceDTP offers new learning perspectives and communication channels. Shared reflections can be read by peers, spark a debate, promote critical thinking and impact on teachers’ individual learning processes. This can lead to the co-construction of knowledge and practice (Mercer et al., 2017). This is best achieved by a teacher using an ‘interactive dialogic pedagogy’ where digital technology provides valuable support to improve classroom practice.”
A further feature just released, in line with recent legislation, is the Accessibility Statement for the Enhance Digital Teaching Platform. This has been written in such a way as to provide a positive guide for those users who need additional support to understand what the platform can deliver now and where further improvements are in progress. The aim is to help users to personalise their experience. The Accessibility Statement and the supporting work was completed working with accessibility expert, Alistair McNaught.
To enjoy these new features, visit the Enhance website.
