Published in Issue 40 of Cambridge Outlook - Cambridge Outlook is CAIE's magazine for the 12,000+ Cambridge International Schools Read the specific article here
Tapping into Digital! Future Technology Innovation (FTI) is one of the first institutions worldwide to be authorised to deliver the Cambridge PDQ in Teaching with Digital Technologies as an online course
“The global pandemic highlighted that many schools were struggling to plan and execute a digital teaching strategy,” says FTI’s Programmes Design Lead, Laurence Ellis.
“The sudden transfer to online teaching left most educational institutions and teachers in the difficult situation of having to adapt as best they could in the circumstances, with very little or no time to plan."
“This PDQ helps teachers prepare for and practise teaching online, even where schools have returned to in-school teaching and learning. This ensures any mandatory or voluntary switch to teaching and learning online is as seamless as possible.”
FTI’s first cohort consists of school leaders from AISL Harrow Schools in the UK, China and other countries in the South East Asia region.
“Cambridge has a strict framework we adhere to when designing our courses,” says Laurence. “We provide 150 hours of learning divided up as 50 hours of guided active learning, 50 hours of individual/collaborative study and 50 hours of school-based learning.
“Wherever teachers are located, we can bring world-class guided learning to them – there are no barriers to any teacher accessing the best professional development. The guided learning and active-participation sessions are recorded, enabling teachers to re-watch and continue to learn on demand. Peer-to-peer learning and collaboration with colleagues from across the globe enables them to hear about ideas that have and haven’t worked in other areas.”
As well as providing the Cambridge PDQ directly to international school groups, FTI is now partnering with other Cambridge Professional Development Centres throughout the world, enabling these centres to offer the Teaching with Digital Technologies online programme to schools in their region, both as a fully online or hybrid model.
“Some teachers are more comfortable learning in their traditional classroom setting, so a hybrid model with some face-to-face guided learning/mentoring sessions from the local Cambridge Professional Development Centre can benefit them,” says Laurence.
“It enables the mentor to better observe teachers teaching students and to provide more informed feedback. Teachers whose first language is not English may also benefit from a more personal interaction with mentors, as it can be harder to communicate via speech online.”