Glenn Carter, a year four teacher and History Lead at Ingleby Mill School, first got into teaching through a voluntary placement. During this placement, he helped a child learn to read. Soon, Glenn discovered it was incredibly satisfying to connect with pupils and help them develop in this way.
Glenn never looked back. Now he works in a large school with 600 children who love to learn and are keen to engage. His mission has been to embed creativity into his teaching, and find new, exciting ways to inspire his class.
Why encourage creativity in schools?
Most educators believe edtech is a great way to improve engagement in classrooms. Student engagement and motivation has been the biggest challenge in recent years with changes in schools around the globe.
It’s essential to encourage classroom creativity, not just in students, but in teachers, too. As Glenn explains, if teachers are creative with the resources they have, they will engage their students more easily, and they will have a greater passion and motivation to learn.
What’s more, if students witness their teachers being creative with their resources and tools, they will feed off it. This behaviour will inspire them to be much more creative themselves.
Changing the way we teach
For Glenn, injecting this level of creativity into his teaching has been made so much easier since he’s had a Promethean ActivPanel in his classroom. As he explains, the ActivPanel has allowed him to get more interactive with his lessons, much more so than with a regular interactive whiteboard.
For him, the multi-point touch feature is invaluable. With this, he can get groups of students together, working on the ActivPanel at the same time. It means more students are kept stimulated during different activities and experiences. Fewer are left to watch, with the potential to disengage, daydream, or lose interest.
Creating ‘wow’ moments
There’s more to creative learning than engagement, though. With the ActivPanel, Instead of just looking at a picture, Glenn and his class can conjure up a 3D model of historical structures like the Colosseum. They can bring a life-size chariot right into the classroom.
The apps, resources and connectivity of the panel are phenomenal, Glenn confirms. The ActivPanel helps him create those truly special ‘wow’ moments. Those that really hook the children into the subject matter, and bring the lessons to life.
An experience, not just learning
The greatest testament to the ActivPanel is how much the children love learning with it. The pupils are fiercely protective of it, and tell everyone it’s the best panel in the school.
“I like it because it’s crystal clear, so we can see the board better,” agrees one pupil. “We can get up and use the board with the teacher, it’s the best!” says another.
As Glenn concludes, the ActivPanel allows him to be a much more “hands-on teacher”. It inspires him to be creative with his own lesson delivery and planning. He pushes himself to think of new ways to engage with the panel, discover new use apps to use, and bring in other peripherals.
For Glenn’s class at Ingleby Mill, going to school has become an experience — it’s more than just learning. To see how an ActivPanel could drive enhanced creative learning and better engagement in your classroom, request a demo.
Promethean’s interactive displays are built with real educators in mind to deliver immersive, interactive learning experiences.
