Out and about: Getting ready to Glow
Across Scotland authorities have been getting ready to Glow. It’s a really exciting time for many local authorities and also for the Glow team as more and more users will start logging on to the live Glow environment. Early adopters of Glow have gone through a process of planning and are now poised, ready to put Glow in the hands of learners and teachers. Each local authority has a slightly different plan for rolling out Glow in its schools and an essential part of this plan is the Mentor training. There has been a hive of activity as the Glow team has been out and about carrying out training in South Lanarkshire, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Dundee.
Mentor training
During the two-day Mentor training in each authority we’ve had the invaluable opportunity to explore the possibilities for using Glow in different contexts. Mentors have been able to get their hands on Glow, learning to use the different tools as well as how to integrate them into learning and teaching. There has also been a lot of discussion about how Glow can be used as a vehicle to deliver Curriculum for Excellence, what their roles as Mentors might involve and what opportunities Glow might provide for them and others in their authority. An ideal opportunity to brainstorm, share ideas and get enthused!
Using Glow Groups
Many Glow Groups have been explored and created by Mentors during this training. It was time for them to consider how online groups of people can join up in Glow: sharing, collaborating and learning together. After an introduction to Glow Meet, Glow’s web conferencing tool, Mentors have been trying it out for themselves and thinking about how it could be used to support CPD or to provide pupils with access to an expert to enhance learning. These Glow Meetings can continue to happen regardless of location, allowing people from across Scotland to join together. Some have been using Glow’s web hosting tool and considering how this can help facilitate sharing of the wonderful website creations of their pupils. Glow can offer free web hosting and allow these websites to be shared in Glow and with the wider community. The key is that with all of these flexible tools integrated into Glow, each authority is able to use what is relevant to them.
What’s next?
As we embark on this new journey ahead and more and more people start to use Glow, we hope that the training has equipped Mentors with skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to take things forward in their own way. As people begin to log on and the activity starts to happen, Glow really will come alive.