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Beyond the Buttons:
Purpose-Led Professional Learning
Digital transformation is not about mastering hardware; it’s about professional growth. To move from simply having EdTech to practicing PedTech, staff must feel confident that technology is a powerful enabler for their specific pedagogical goals, rather than just an additional task.
Successful transformation requires shifting from one-off "tech training" to continuous, job-embedded professional learning that focuses on why we use a tool to enhance learning, rather than just how to click the buttons.
Phase 1 - Identifying Skills and Attitudes
Phase 1 - Identifying Skills and Attitudes
Before implementing new tools, you must understand your starting point. Professional development should be targeted to actual needs rather than a "one-size-fits-all" approach.
Key Considerations:
Audit Skills and Attitudes:
Use surveys to gauge not just what staff can do, but how they feel about using technology. See this page for further support on surveying staff.Identify Barriers:
Recognise that some staff will be hesitant; listen to their concerns rather than expecting everyone to move at the same pace.Connect to Current Challenges:
Identify the biggest pedagogical challenges your teachers face right now and explore how technology might solve them.
Phase 2 - Planning for Sustainable Learning
Phase 2 - Planning for Sustainable Learning
Professional Development must be planned as a continuous journey, integrated into the school’s long-term roadmap.
Key Considerations:
Job-Embedded Learning:
Move toward coaching models, like LEO Academy Trust’s "Growing Great People," where every staff member has a personal learning goal supported by a coach.
Build Internal Capacity:
Train your own "Champions" so that support is available on-demand within the building.
This could be Google Educators, Apple Distinguished Educators or Microsoft Certified Educators.
Resource Accessibility:
Create a "Digital Package" – a central hub of short videos and guides explaining the pedagogical purpose of each tool.
Phase 3 - Implementing with Impact
Phase 3 - Implementing with Impact
Purpose Led Implementation (WHY)
Before a new tool is introduced to the classroom, staff must understand the fundamental impact it is intended to have on student lives. Implementation fails when it begins with the "What" (hardware) rather than the educational intent.
Frame the Problem:
Identify a specific pedagogical challenge, such as personalising feedback or supporting students with SEND, and present technology as the solution.
Avoid Substitution:
Explicitly move beyond using technology to simply replace paper-based tasks (e.g., a tablet instead of a worksheet) and focus on how it enables learning that was previously impossible.
Targeted Tool Training
(HOW)
Once the purpose is clear, staff require practical, bite-sized training on the specific tools identified in your Digital Package.
Bite-Sized Learning: Use short "how-to" screen recordings or guides available on-demand so staff can access support at the exact point of need.
Certification Pathways: Encourage staff to work toward recognised credentials like Google Certified Educators, Microsoft Certified Educators (MCE), or Apple Teachers to validate their skills and build professional confidence.
Collaborative Growth
(Peer to peer and Coaching)
Teachers listen to other teachers more than they listen to external experts. Scaling the pilot requires a culture of shared expertise.
Identify Champions:
Empower "Cloud Champions" or "Digital Leads" in different departments to model effective practice for their colleagues in a non-threatening way.
Safe Failure:
Create a "safe space" culture where staff feel they have the freedom to experiment, make mistakes, and reflect without judgement.
Observation Tips
Observation Tips
As a leader, at this point, the rapid pace of digital transformation often means your classroom teachers will quickly overtake you in their technical fluency—and that is perfectly okay; even a sign of success!
While it can feel daunting to conduct learning walks or observations when your staff appear to be the "experts" in the room, remember that your role is not to master the software, but to master the pedagogy; therefore, when visiting classrooms, focus your lens on how the technology is serving the learning rather than the specific technology features or tools.
Look for Impact, not icons
Look for Impact, not icons
You don’t need to know how to build a Google Form to see if the data it generates is helping the teacher pivot their teaching to support a struggling group.
Focus on the Gift of time
Focus on the Gift of time
Observe whether the teacher is using the time gained via digital efficiencies they've mastered to spend more high-value, face-to-face time with students who need it most.
Value the craft
Value the craft
Use your leadership experience to identify where a teacher's "PedTech" skills are removing barriers to learning that traditional methods couldn't reach and help relfect on that also
Pre observation: The why
Before entering the classroom, the observer and teacher should have a 2-minute "Check-in" to discuss:
What is the specific learning challenge today?
e.g., scaffolding for SEND, increasing engagement in retrieval practice, or improving feedback speed
Which tool has been chosen to solve it?
e.g., Google Classroom, Mote, Canva, or iPad Accessibility featuresWhat does "success" look like for the students?
During the Observation: Evidence of PedTech
Accessibility & Inclusion - Are digital tools (e.g., immersive reader, voice-to-text, or screen masking) being used to remove barriers for specific students without drawing attention to them?
Agency & Autonomy - Are students making choices about how they demonstrate their learning? (e.g., choosing between a video response, a typed essay, or a digital poster).
Feedback & Assessment - Is the teacher using technology to provide "live" feedback? Are they using data from a digital tool (like a Quiz or Form) to pivot the lesson in real-time?
Post-Observation: The "Three-Question Feedback"
The Impact Question:
"When the students used [Tool X], did it allow them to think more deeply or work more independently than they would have on paper?"
The 'Gift of Time' Question:
"Did the use of [Tool X] free you up to spend more 1:1 time with the 'focus group' or students who were struggling?"
The Next Step Question:
"Now that you’ve mastered the mechanics of this tool, how could we use it next week to further reduce your marking workload?"
Peer to Peer Support
We are developing communities of practice that provide peer-to-peer support for the effective use of technology for enhancing teaching and learning in schools and colleges across England.
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