The first of its kind, Pass It On is built on an Initial Teacher Training Software Site Licence (ITTSSL) for Promethean's award-winning interactive whiteboard software, and a rounded support package that enables student teachers to develop skills as they train.
Through the Pass It On scheme, participating institutions will receive a comprehensive orientation session led by Promethean's expert Teaching and Learning Consultants. These sessions will ensure both HEI staff and the new cohort of trainee teachers gain a fundamental understanding of interactive software and associated technologies.
To help student teachers put these skills into practice, Pass It On provides trainees with access to Promethean's Activprimary or Activstudio - which are compatible with any brand of interactive whiteboard - via an ITTSSL. This licence agreement enables trainees to use the software in lectures, to prepare lessons at home and to teach while on school placements. Importantly, by providing students with maximum exposure to interactive software during training, Pass It On will help make interactive delivery an inherent part of trainees' teaching pedagogy.
To supplement the initial Promethean training session, student teachers have access to free online training through www.prometheanlearning.com, and, as a Pass It On participant, are eligible for discounted advanced training courses. Additional support is also available through Promethean Planet, Promethean's online teaching community, which features thousands of free lesson resources, as well as expert advice from leading educationalists worldwide.
The benefits of Pass It On extend beyond graduation. At a reduced cost, graduates can purchase a full, lifetime licence for Activprimary or Activstudio software. This means graduates can transfer their skills to any school, and share their best practice knowledge with fellow practitioners.
"Effective training is critical in ensuring interactive technologies can be used to their full potential", said Margaret Allen, Head of European Education Market Development at Promethean. "While interactive whiteboard training is being tackled at qualified teacher level, until now, opportunities within initial teacher training have been limited.
"Addressing the development of interactive whiteboard skills while students are still training is a logical solution, and will ensure the teachers of tomorrow graduate as confident and experienced users of interactive technologies. This in turn will have significant benefits for learners, and will be instrumental in raising the standard of ICT skills within education as a whole."
While Pass It On represents the first formal teacher training scheme from Promethean, the collaborative learning solutions provider has long supported HEIs in incorporating the use of interactive technologies into initial teacher training courses.
Just one example is the University of Strathclyde. To ensure trainee teachers graduated as effective and confident users of interactive technologies, PDGE Primary course leaders looked to implement an integrated training programme that would make collaborative learning solutions readily available to students throughout their course.
Using Promethean's Activtablet - a wireless interactive graphic slate that enables users to prepare flipcharts independently of an interactive whiteboard - and Promethean's award winning Activprimary software, trainee teachers at Strathclyde have continual access to collaborative learning technologies, meaning they can develop skills as they train. Lynda Keith, Course Director at the University of Strathclyde said: "In the first half of the course, students are able to familiarise themselves with the software, and are then tasked with creating their own teaching resources."
Lynda continues: "Throughout the course, we encourage students to share their resources and best practice, as this will ultimately lead to time saving when they are in the classroom. Never before have students been given the opportunity to experiment and prepare with the software on this scale - and its only possible because we've been able to make the technology available away from the interactive whiteboard."
The Pass It On scheme is available to all HEIs throughout the UK for just £300 per institution. To find out more about the scheme:
www.prometheanworld.com/uk/passiton
Tel: 01254 298598
