Empowering Educators: The Importance of Ongoing Tech Training

By the DigiAurora training team – ≈ 800 words

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Introduction

A new platform rolls out, IT sends a mass email—“Training this Friday, bring laptops!” Teachers sit through a two-hour demo, nod politely, then return to the familiar comfort of paper worksheets. Sound familiar? Technology succeeds only when the people using it feel confident. At DigiAurora we have distilled years of CPD delivery into a simple principle: training is a process, not an event. Here’s how ongoing professional development turns licences into learning.

1. The Confidence Gap

Research by the UK Education Endowment Foundation shows that when teachers rate their own tech confidence below 5/10, student outcomes stagnate regardless of how modern the tools are. Fear of failure leads to minimal use: screen sharing rather than interactive collaboration, static PDFs instead of dynamic Forms quizzes. Closing this gap requires more than a PowerPoint run-through.

2. Bite-Sized, Need-Driven Sessions

Teachers’ schedules are packed; expecting them to absorb an entire platform in one sitting is unrealistic. We design 30-minute micro-workshops each focused on a single outcome: setting Class Notebook, grading in Classroom, or creating breakout rooms in Teams. Staff leave with one new skill they can deploy tomorrow, which snowballs into broader adoption over time.

3. Build Champions, Not Dependence

Every school has early adopters—the art teacher who stays late experimenting with Canva or the librarian who automates overdue notices. We invite these champions to an advanced track, then pair them with less confident colleagues. Peer support beats external lectures because champions speak the same classroom language and understand local context.

4. Mix Modalities to Fit Real Life

• Live workshops for hands-on learning and immediate Q&A
• Video micro-tutorials (two-minute clips) teachers can replay during prep periods
• Drop-in surgeries every fortnight for troubleshooting real scenarios
• Online community: a Teams or Classroom channel where staff post wins and questions

This multimodal approach respects different learning styles and keeps momentum between formal sessions.

5. Measure, Celebrate, Iterate

We track adoption metrics—Teams chat volume, Google Classroom assignment counts, OneDrive file shares—then share progress dashboards in weekly staff bulletins. Celebrating small wins (“Year 7 published 200 collaborative Slides last week!”) motivates further experimentation. Feedback loops allow us to tweak future sessions: if Forms quizzes saw a spike, next module covers branching logic.

6. Real-World Impact

At Oakfield Primary our year-long CPD arc produced measurable gains:

• Homework submission rates rose from 72 % to 91 % after teachers mastered Assignment scheduling.
• Staff satisfaction with digital tools jumped two full points on an internal survey.
• The school cut printing costs by £4 k—money redirected to reading-corner Chromebooks.

7. Five Tips You Can Implement Next Term

1. Start small: Select one tool aligned to a curriculum priority (e.g. reading comprehension) rather than rolling out every feature at once.
2. Schedule micro-sessions: 20–30 minutes fits between lessons; momentum beats intensity.
3. Leverage champions: Identify and empower enthusiastic staff as peer trainers.
4. Provide on-demand resources: Short screencasts teachers can access during lesson prep.
5. Monitor & celebrate: Share tangible metrics and classroom success stories—positivity speeds adoption.

Our Training Promise

“We at DigiAurora don’t just drop software and walk away. We stay until every teacher can say, I used this tool in my lesson today and it worked.” Whether you choose Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or a blended stack, our CPD programmes are tailored to your timetable and pedagogy, ensuring technology enriches learning rather than distracting from it.

Conclusion

Great technology in untrained hands is like a grand piano in a locked room—full of potential but silent. Continuous, bite-sized CPD unlocks that potential, turning digital resources into everyday teaching allies. Invest in people first; the software will follow.

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