Online teaching tool aims to close education equity gap

A new online community for teachers to create and share lessons has been created by Education Perfect (EP).

EP Studio allows teachers to create a wide variety of resources using intuitive authoring tools.

The CEO of EP, Alex Burke, said the platform provides teachers with the opportunity to share their lessons with colleagues on a national, or even global, stage.

“EP is always free for teachers, as we understand that there is a need for openness and collaboration in education, especially to start closing the education equity gap,” he said.

Research based on a nationwide survey of more than 2100 primary and secondary teachers — representing more than 10% of schools in Australia — by Pivot Professional Learning and EP found strong evidence that the gap between advantage and disadvantage in Australian education widened during the shift to distance learning in April and May due to COVID-19.

“This has come at an ideal time when teachers around the world are under pressure with the recent school closures due to COVID-19,” Burke said.

“With EP Studio, the amount of open and free content for teachers will continue to grow, and create a high quality collection of lessons, helping to bridge the gap for disadvantaged schools.

“Not only can teachers from schools already in the EP ecosystem benefit, but all teachers can get free access to lessons they can take into their classrooms,” he explained.

To encourage the creation of further teacher resources and celebrate the launch of EP Studio, EP has announced a competition.

Both schools and teachers are set to benefit from the competition, with the judged winner having a $10,000 tech package awarded to their school, plus a $1000 voucher for the teacher.

Second prize is a $5000 tech package, plus $500 voucher and a $2500 tech package and $250 voucher for the third-placed entrant.

“EP Studio is going to give teachers the ideal forum for an exchange of ideas, and the contest is the best way to encourage participation from teachers in schools across Australia and New Zealand,” Burke said.

With multiple entries welcomed from participating teachers, this gives educators from across Australia and New Zealand the chance to share their expertise and the tools which have made their classes successful over the years. The competition closes 18 September, with winners announced shortly after.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Rido