The Virtual Classroom Tour (or VCT, as the alternative is a bit of a mouthful!) was a complete mystery to me when I first encountered the concept.
I had visions of it being some sort of high tech Virtual Reality Environment of my classroom (will I need to admit it was my first thought?). But no, fortunately a VCT is a simple Powerpoint Presentation template. It’s a way of not just presenting your work, but packaging together all the resources and information you would need as a Teacher to recreate that activity in classroom.
As an ICT Advisor, I found it very difficult to share resources with the schools I was working with – and then as a Teacher I realised why? It’s because when I saw some resources on a site, I would download the spreadsheet, PowerPoint or whiteboard file, and not bother with the guidance notes (I didn’t think I’d have time to read those). The result? I simply didn’t get the full benefit of those resources.
Does that seem familiar to you?
The VCT has all the documents you need to re-create and adapt the activity for your classroom and have been created by teachers who are part of the Innovative Teachers Network*. At the Innovative Teachers Network site, you can access over 200 VCTs created by Teachers from across the UK and the rest of the world. This collection will continue to grow as more and more Teachers join the network. What will you find and could you contribute?
Take a look – see what you can find. Next week, I’ll tell you about my favourite VCTs in ‘Who are these Innovative Teachers?’
*If you are accessing the Innovative Teachers Network for the first time you will need to register, this is completely free and will you give access to huge variety of resources and information.
I and my colleague Dan have demonstrated VCTs to a whole staff meeting and have been pleased with the positive response. Teachers do appreciate the ease with which various different files can be integrated into the one format and some of our staff have been working on their own templates !