The IEU’s Professional Officer Pat Devery says there’s something for everyone within the union’s online professional development offering.
“All of our courses are developed as a result of member requests and run by highly experienced and acclaimed presenters.”
Union members have taken full advantage of the IEU’s professional development offerings during Term 3, with participation rates already exceeding previous years.
With a number of courses still to run, as well as our suite of on demand courses, we anticipate logging more than 4500 individual engagements with our professional development program by the end of the 2020 school year.
What you missed
Workload issues in schools: Know your rights. Our annual Women’s Conference moved online this year, with members engaging in panel discussions. Participants unpacked work practices agreements; explored how to utilise work, health and safety laws; and reiterated the importance of collective action in the workplace.
Journey to a sustainable school. This course was led by the Volunteer Coordinator for Catholic Earthcare NSW, Sue Martin. More than 130 members explored how to guide their school on a successful journey to sustainability. With a re-elected Labor government in the ACT offering up to $200,000 of zero interest loans for schools to install solar panels, battery storage systems and hot water pumps, this session is a valuable resource for our ACT members. (Two hours, NESA registered, available on demand.)
The Music Advantage. Close to 200 participants joined the conversation with Dr Anita Collins as she discussed the extraordinary and often surprising benefits learning music can have for children, as described in her newly released book, The Music Advantage. (One hour, NESA registered, available on demand.)
Ace the Interview. A panel of four of our most experienced principals provided insights and answered questions from final year education students about to launch into the daunting task of applying for their first teaching roles. We ask you to encourage any pre-service teachers working in your school to join up and watch this invaluable session. (90 minutes, available on demand; see also “Ace the interview”).
What’s coming up
The Casual Teacher’s Toolkit, Monday 16 November, 6pm-8pm (NESA registered). Dave Vinegrad returns for a highly anticipated session on everything a casual teacher should know. Gain advice and resources on what to do from the moment the phone rings until the final bell for the day, including: essential skills; defusing confrontation; managing challenging behaviour; and what to do when no work has been left for the class! This workshop has something for everyone. Participants are invited to bring along and share their top classroom strategy for working as a casual or taking that dreaded “extra”.
Book Review Panel Discussion, The Music Advantage by Dr Anita Collins, Monday 23 November, 6pm-7pm (NESA registered). A panel of experienced teachers, including music teachers, language teachers, and special needs teachers, will discuss Anita Collins’s recent book, The Music Advantage, which explores the important role music plays in language acquisition and a child’s broader education. They will explore how teachers might apply insights from the book in the classroom. Anita has generously made herself available for this panel session, so if you missed her in the first session will have another chance (the first session is also available on demand).
Rising demand
Numbers have climbed sharply throughout 2020 as a large number of pre-2004 members look to finalising their PD hours for their first maintenance of accreditation cycle.
The IEU has more than 50 hours or NESA registered courses available on demand. All of our courses are developed as a result of member requests and run by highly experienced and acclaimed presenters.
To access the PD on demand, members need to create a profile on the IEU Zone (theieuzone.org.au). We suggest you use the same username and login as your other IEU login. Once you have created a profile you can view all PD courses on offer. In the coming months we will incorporate the IEU Zone into the main IEU website to provide a seamless user experience for members.
Increased bandwidth
As a result of rapidly rising participation in our on demand professional development, to broadcast our live PD sessions we have upgraded our bandwidth to 400 Mbps.
Sometimes when members report technical difficulties, these are with their own devices rather than universally experienced. We are constantly monitoring our technology and would appreciate feedback from regular PD participants.