Between 2013 and 2016 teacher numbers in primary schools across the UK fell by 6,000, and classroom support staff reduced by a massive 10,000. Conversely pupil numbers have grown by 15% since 2010.
Dan Lintell, a newly qualified teacher was quoted in a recent article in The Guardian, “You’re meant to spend no more than an hour preparing for each lesson, but if you’re going to do a half-decent job, you need two hours. If you have 25 hours of lessons a week, that’s already 50 hours. And then you’ve got marking and other things on top.”
The simple fact is, teachers are stretched to their limits and over-stressed. As a result, just under 40,000 teachers left the profession in 2016 (about 9% of the workforce), according to government figures, and not enough of them are being replaced. There is currently a a shortfall of 30,000 classroom teachers, particularly at secondary level where 20% of teacher training vacancies are unfilled.
Clevertouch product expert Sue Cook says, “As a former teacher, I’ve seen the problem first hand and know how time-consuming it can be to plan several lessons each day, make them engaging, deliver a digital transformation experience – and do it all again day after day!”
The reason teachers love their Clevertouch is because it makes the task of creating and planning lessons so much faster and simpler than the typical tools teachers are using such as Powerpoint, and other legacy software.
“What once took over an hour to research, embed, import and design into a presentation format now takes just minutes,” says Sue. “If you don’t believe us come along an see us at BETT for a one on one demonstration.”
The Plus and V Series interactive touchscreens can help to maximise engagement with students, whilst reducing lesson planning time and the assessment progress, which is what all teachers strive to achieve.
Here’s a rundown of some Clevertouch’s best time-saving software for teachers:
- Clevertouch is dual platform
This means a class can be engaged with lesson content on android, while the teacher is using windows to create accompanying material. - Digital whiteboard
You don’t need a camera to capture content from class brainstorming sessions. Students can create their own content on an infinite working wall, which can be saved and shared with the class for revision/homework. - Cleverstore
The Clevertouch Cleverstore is full of vetted, ad free, educational apps and games that don’t cost users a penny. The apps don’t need to be installed by IT or permission by a network manager. Teachers can open the Cleverstore, search according to key stage, subject, language and click for immediate activities that support learning. - Lynx
Lynx software is similar to PowerPoint but optimised for education. It simplifies lesson planning, reducing the time teachers spend preparing slides and freeing up more time to concentrate on teaching and learning. It includes interactive tools for maths and geometry, panoramic video, embed YouTube videos instead of flipping between software to achieve the same end. - Snowflake
A massive resource of ready-made lesson activities, teachers can download Snowflake content for free and use the online portal to share and download ready-made lessons from the teacher community. - Clevershare
Clevershare turns any tablet into a visualiser letting teachers share students’ work with the entire class. Teachers can control the screen remotely from their smartphone or tablet, enabling them to move away from the front of class (chalk and talk) mode of delivery and sit with small groups etc.
See Clevertouch in action with comments from teachers here.
1 DfE: School workforce in England: November 2016
2 DfE: National pupil projections: July 2017
