In my role as Assistant Principal (Acting) and Head of the English Department at Orewa College in Auckland, New Zealand, I’m regularly tasked with leading Professional Learning initiatives. Being at a school where every student is equipped with technology naturally steers me towards incorporating creative digital tools like Clips and iMovie into our professional development programs.
Many educators understand that professional learning can be a complex undertaking. Our school, while fantastic, is a diverse community of over 120 teachers, each with their own unique expertise and perspectives, often working within their specific curriculum areas. Finding common ground and relevant themes for professional learning that resonate across this diverse group can be challenging. However, I believe the key lies in offering a creative and engaging suite of tools, practices, and resources that can be adapted and applied across disciplines.
Recently, we dedicated a Teacher Only Day to professional learning and I was asked to lead a session focused on “Creating Engaging Resources.” This was an exciting opportunity for me to share my passion for digital creativity and its application in education.
The Slide Theory: Moving Beyond Traditional Presentations
My observation has been that, somewhere along the way, we may have inadvertently shifted from empowering students to create and innovate to a more passive mode of learning. I recall a time when student projects involved intricate scripting and filming, demonstrating a high level of engagement and creativity. However, I’ve noticed a tendency across various curriculum areas to lean heavily on slide presentations for teaching and, perhaps more concerningly, to accept the creation of slides as the ultimate demonstration of learning.
This reliance on slides can lead to a monotonous and uninspired learning environment. While this might be a generalization, many teachers in my professional learning sessions admitted to using slides extensively because students perceive them as “easy.” This confirmed my suspicion: we needed to explore ways to elevate the standard of resource creation beyond basic slide generation.
Key Elements for Effective Professional Learning and Development (PLD)
During my PLD sessions, my aim wasn’t to dismiss slide presentations entirely – they certainly have their place in education. Instead, we discussed the idea that limiting ourselves to one tool often cultivates only one skill. We agreed that this approach, beyond being potentially uninspiring, is inherently limiting in developing a broader range of competencies. As the discussion progressed, teachers began to recognize a common practice across their departments: tasking students with creating slides as a routine method to demonstrate understanding.
Imagine the impact of this repetition – four lessons a day, each culminating in slide creation. To make professional learning effective, I’ve learned that it’s crucial to start by acknowledging familiar practices and presenting them in a revitalized format, then building upon that foundation.
Leveraging Tools like Canva for Enhanced Resource Creation
We dedicated a significant portion of our session to exploring Canva. The irony of using a slide presentation to advocate against over-reliance on slides wasn’t lost on me! However, my goal was to demonstrate that we can utilize more dynamic tools to achieve greater creativity and engagement with minimal additional effort or specialized training. I firmly believe that more engaging and visually appealing teaching resources directly contribute to increased student engagement and motivation. From enhanced slides, the transition to infographics, interactive posters, podcasts, and even iMovie projects becomes a much smaller, more intuitive leap – often initiated by the students themselves.
To illustrate this point, I conducted a live demonstration, taking a cluttered, information-heavy slide and transforming it into a more visually appealing and digestible format using Canva. This practical exercise highlighted design principles and showcased the extensive features available within Canva, empowering teachers to enhance their resource creation.
The Spark of Creativity in Professional Development
Following the demonstration, we transitioned to a hands-on “playtime” session where teachers could take their existing resources and experiment with adapting and improving them using Canva. I recognize that this approach might not represent the most revolutionary form of professional learning. However, it was carefully considered within our current context. In New Zealand, we are currently navigating a curriculum refresh and preparing for the implementation of national literacy and numeracy assessments. During periods of significant change and increased workload, educators often revert to familiar, comfortable practices. Despite these pressures, in both PLD sessions, I observed a palpable sense of excitement and energy as teachers engaged with the creative process and gained confidence in using a new digital tool. If they leave the professional learning session equipped to create more engaging and visually appealing resources, I consider that a significant success.
Coaching with Clips: Embracing Multimedia in Education
Professional learning can sometimes feel like a slow, incremental process, with small steps forward occasionally followed by setbacks. However, we have access to a wealth of powerful tools, effective practices, and valuable resources. Our task is to creatively harness these assets, push our boundaries incrementally, and consistently iterate to refine our approaches. Our students deserve the benefit of our ongoing professional growth and commitment to best practices.
Call to Action
My call to action to fellow educators is to experiment with tools that empower voice recording and the integration of moving images into teaching resources. “Coaching with Clips” is a concept I’m currently exploring – encouraging the use of short video clips for instruction and feedback. What innovative tools, practices, and resources are you planning to incorporate into your next professional learning initiatives to enhance teacher and student engagement?
