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www.teachwire.net | 67 hole in your own arithmetic skills, platforms informed by machine learning can be a godsend. "Edtech in general has been doing quite well, but this recent period has escalated things to significant levels," says Rahim Hirji, UK manager of Quizlet. Why? We're suddenly looking at remote learning afresh, and not just students but ourselves too. "Let's say you're trying to up-skill in the basics of human biology to support your students," says Rahim. "On the platform there are 400 million sets [of revision questions], so you might search 'parts of the body'. And what makes it really easy and useful is others have created the sets for you. A teacher can skill up quickly on certain topics; there's a plethora of content available." It's free to access too, making it a great tool to slot in with other learning methods. Raid scientific institutions If time and access allow, a visit to a bombastic science show, engineering exhibit or tech event is a fantastic way to kickstart your enthusiasm for – and understanding of – explorations in the field of STEM. But even once our national museums and archives are once again accessible, there is a cost- and time-effective alternative to paying a visit in person. "We have a huge number of STEMresources for teachers, which are currently being usedmore than ever before," says SusanRaikes, director of learning at the ScienceMuseum Group, whichhas institutions inLondon,Manchester, York, CountyDurhamandBradford. "Specifically for teacher training we have the ScienceMuseum GroupAcademy (learning. sciencemuseumgroup.org . uk/academy), plus other learning and teaching resources (learning.sciencemuseumgroup. org.uk/learning-resources ). Our Transforming Practice blog reflects onhowbest to engage people of all ages and backgrounds with science subjects – an increasingly pressing issue in current times." Call in the experts A visit from a STEM-based expert is a great way to ensure you and colleagues share training sessions. You'll find a directory of providers at stem.org . uk/enrichment, and also – thanks to the legacy of lockdown – plenty of new virtual assistance from organisations that have expanded their resources for teachers. "My programme usually involves going into schools and libraries to offer our workshops", says Daryl Stenvoll-Wells of the Linnean Society of London. STEM SPEC I AL l Find virtual workshops plus webinars and informal 'teachmeets' hosted by the Association for Science Education at ase.org.uk l The Royal School of Chemistry has made professional development courses for teachers free until August. Visit rsc.org/ cpd/teachers EVEN MORE CPD "It's looking likely that this won't be possible for the remainder of this school year and possibly autumn term, so I'm currently creating a series of video tutorials on how to keep a nature journal, in conjunction with several experts in botany education, biology education, and nature-inspired art and illustration. I'll also be planning some individual consultations to help teachers plan projects around the existing resources they have available." TP