Life Since the Teaching Award

by Baldev Singh

"What a few months it has been! Since the Teaching Awards Ceremony in October 2004 (which seems to have been a long time ago), life has been very busy and interesting. I have been invited to be part of some very exciting and innovative and ICT/e-learning projects both nationally and internationally as a result of winning the Award. All seminars have involved sharing experiences with other teachers on how best to embed ICT into the curriculum and address/debate on the challenges and opportunities ICT offers in the future development of e-learning and impact on raising achievement. My peers and fellow teaching fraternity have been very encouraging and I have never felt under pressure which sometimes comes from winning awards which single out people.

Being invited by the British Council to speak at the UK-India ICT conference in Delhi and Pune (14^th-17^th February 2005) was very exciting. Being an ambassador of the UK education system was a privilege, and I was flattered when I was invited to speak to 15 select CEO of Indian Software companies who were interested in the direction of e-learning in the UK education sector. (See the BBC News story here.)

Working for Teachers TV has allowed me to work with other teachers and share our experiences. My headteacher, David Carter, (John Cabot City Technology College) has been very supportive and found the money to have a stand at the BETT Show in January 2005. The Plato Award was displayed in the stand which attracted a lot of attention and questions about the Award from teachers visiting BETT. To my surprise, I made it to the front page of the official BETT Guide Book and was invited to speak on behalf of Serco Learning on how ICT has been used in a creative and innovative way in my school. (See the BBC News story here.)

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The E-Citizenship Course which I have been developing is growing from strength to strength and I have run several training sessions and hosted schools who are interested in using this model to deliver the Citizenship Curriculum.

My association with the British Council has grown stronger over the years, and I was invited to speak at an E-Twinning Conference in Manchester on the 28 March and present my views on how ICT can be used to effectively support and develop international projects, and in doing so allow children to experience what I refer to as the Borderless Classroom.

I was also invited to speak at an international ICT conference in Ankara (Turkey) on the 27-28 April 2005, where I talked about the importance of innovation in the classroom as one of the key factors for teacher job satisfaction (title of paper: E-Learning - Keeping it Real).

I have been asked to write two case studies on my experiences after the Award which has provided opportunities to reflect. One case study is a PDF file, 'A Journey of Discovery', on the Teacher World website and the other is 'Learning ICT skills with a global dimension' on Teachernet.

I had the privilege of being in the Hotseat in the Innovation Community on the National College for School Leadership website. It was an exciting opportunity to pose questions and exchange views with fellow teachers on a number of issues we face in the area of e-learning. It was very exciting to come home in the evening, log on and be part of this 24 hour virtual teaching community! It was great fun and is highly recommended.

My headteacher has given me the freedom to develop professionally in the field of e-learning as part of the business wing of the College (Cabot Ventures Consultancy) and be involved in future product development.

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My involvement with the Specialist Schools Trust has developed - I have completed writing a CPD module in the use of digital video in the classroom and to encourage teachers to unleash the creative potential of their students using this medium of communication. I have carried on exploring the ways in which digital video can be used to explore citizenship issues and have completed a video diary project on the Tsunami Disaster which has been published on the History Talking.com website.

Being a judge on the Education Awards run by BESA (British Educational Suppliers Association) has offered me a chance to review innovative work from teachers and companies around the country.

The invite to be a judge for this year's Teaching Awards has given me the opportunity to visit schools and see some fantastic teachers in the magical world of the classroom, where differences to young lives is made! It has been an amazing 6 years in teaching and the Award has been an icing on the cake, giving me experiences I will cherish for the future. There are not enough hours in the day!"

Baldev has also taken part in an Innovation Community Hotseat on Effective Practice with ICT - you can download a summary of the key points here.

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