Teacher professional development through WhatsApp-based Communities of Practice in challenging contexts

Watch a recording of this ELTRA webinar looking at using WhatsApp for professional development in challenging contexts.

About the webinar

This webinar describes the setting-up of WhatsApp group Communities of Practice (COPs) in rural areas of Côte d’Ivoire, where teachers typically have little access to professional development opportunities. We explain the rationale for the use of WhatsApp in the project and show how the project began with learning from the use of WhatsApp to support COPs in Rwanda, another challenging context. All these ideas informed the design of a workshop to initiate the COPs in Côte d’Ivoire. We describe the content and delivery of the workshop and explore the challenges and possibilities of working in this way. We also show how our findings are informing our current projects and teaching online during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recorded 25 November 2020

Watch a recording of this webinar below

Watch the recording with subtitles here

About the speakers

Susan Dawson is a Senior Tutor and Research Associate in the Manchester Institute of Education where she teaches on various undergraduate and MA Education programmes. Her main areas of interest are teacher professional development, inclusive practitioner research and Aristotelian perspectives on knowledge. She is currently working on a GCRF funded project on teacher professional development through practitioner research: https://tateproject.wordpress.com/

Gary Motteram is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the Manchester Institute of Education where he teaches on MAs in TESOL and Digital Technology in Education and the PGCert in Higher Education. His research interests lie in the area of language teacher education at a distance. He is currently working on a GCRF funded project on teacher professional development through practitioner research: https://tateproject.wordpress.com/

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Comments

Submitted by Udayraoji on Mon, 12/07/2020 - 07:28

Honorable Shri Gary Motteram and honorable Smt. Susan Dawson are both experienced educational experts. Teaching and learning process through mobile has become a revolutionary slogan especially in the world spread Corona Pandemic Times 2020. They both have stressed for the enhancement of educational technology especially for school children with special reference to underdeveloped regions of Africa [eg Rawanda]. This herculean task cannot be completed without a large scale public involvement from all corners of the world. The world governments should promote online teaching until a successfully tried medicine comes in the government hospitals as well as markets. We thank British Council for providing us opportunity of participation in recorded webinars.

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