GLF schools lift the lid on the future of teaching

​​Teachers from across the south east of England became pupils for a day the other week as they attended a Google Apps for Education training day at Lime Tree Primary School in Merstham.

The event was organised by the Surrey-based GLF Schools multi-academy trust for its own educators as well as non-GLF schools who were interested in learning about the latest breakthroughs in collaborative teaching technology.

It drew teachers from early years up to sixth form level as the Google trainers and GLF’s own technology learning lead Ben Rouse demonstrated how to get the best out of the latest classroom technology.

“The day was a huge success,” said Mr Rouse. “These learning apps are superb teaching tool that can really help teachers, staff and children across all our schools to work together in a collaborative manner, so it was great to be able to offer the attendees a chance to get their hands on the technology and see how it works.

“The feedback we’ve had has been wonderful. People found them very easy and intuitive to use, and the more people were involved the easier it became. As a group, the GLF philosophy is all about collaborative learning and collaborative school management, so introducing these apps and demonstrating how they work was a great way to introduce that mindset into the classroom too.”

The event at Lime Tree – a GLF school which opened in September 2013 - was run by Appsevents, a global Google Training Partner, with help from Whizkids, who have worked particularly closely with the GLF group, with Google certified trainers on hand to talk people through how to get the best out of the technology on display.

It began with an opening address from GLF’s chief executive officer Jon Chaloner, who explained the similarities between GLF’s philosophy and the opportunities offered by the Apps on display, before teachers were given a chance to investigate them for themselves and ask questions.

“Google Apps for Education are definitely the way forward in teaching,” said Mr Rouse.

“They can be the glue to help staff, children and teachers across all of our schools to share knowledge and expertise for an enhanced learning experience. At the end of the day, teachers were really excited about what they’d seen and the opportunities it will give them to put into practice. It’s great that we had an opportunity to showcase what the Apps can do, and I look forward to seeing the results in the classrooms once it’s put into action.”