Teachers' work is confined to the walls of their classes. Being unprepared to share their innovative projects lessens their motivation and the scope of their influence. Providing them with an online platform to get used to sharing their good practices is the cornerstone of this innovation. It seeks to empower them by learning the ABCs of presenting to an online audience and showcasing their talent
The innovation is based on organising a monthly webinar dealing with innovative projects by teachers along with some special events to hone the educators' skills related to various pedagogical topics, though with a special focus on ICT. We also organise an annual conference and bring a trail of creative teachers to share their expertise in project-based learning. The impact that this innovation has is proved by the fact that attendees have built a strong collborative network with the presenters in getting advice on implementing innovative student-centered projects similar to those that have been shared by these presenters. There is also a number of attendees who became presenters themselves and contributed to our webinars as well as to other national and international webinars. The webinars have also constituted a further push fo teachers to involve their students in participating in the webinars as "junior speakers" which will no doubt develop many of their life skills.
Some of the main achievements of the movement is that the advisory panel expanded from 4 members to twelve. It also participated twice this year in national programmes for teachers. It will now move on to the next phase, which is training of trainers (TOT). We are planning to train a core group of 50 educators to become trainers for their colleagues in the 25 education board and equip them with the necessary skills and know-how to become national speakers as a first step and be well-prepared to plan for innovative projects worthy of presentation in international events.
You have to adapt it to the needs of your context. The first step is to gather a small advisory group of qualified teachers and teacher trainers who have an idea about what teachers in the different regions of the country are doing. Then, you will need to make a plan for the webinars and the way you will mentor the speakers. The U-innovate team will be glad to share how it proceeds in this respect
