Superstar Teacher Toolbox
Superstar Teacher Toolbox
As digital technologies become more extensively integrated into education systems, teachers and school leaders must be central to this process as co-designers and decision makers. Educators need to not only feel supported but also empowered to use digital technologies for their teaching and professional development.
To support the effective integration of technology in teaching and learning, UNICEF’s Global Learning Innovation Hub has developed the Superstar Teacher Toolbox, a set of practical resources designed to empower all educators in the digital age.
The Superstar Teacher Toolbox currently includes two key tools: Digital Pedagogy and Mobile Messaging for Teaching-Learning. Another three tools are underway to provide educators with actionable tips and expert advice on meaningfully leveraging technology in their teaching. These tools offer solutions adaptable to both urban and remote educational settings, enabling educators to make technology enabled pedagogical decisions best suited to their students and themselves, no matter their context.
The Digital Pedagogy tool has been adapted into an online course and UNICEF is developing additional tools to enhance the Superstar Teacher Toolbox covering pedagogical approaches for shared devices, inclusive digital learning, understanding Artificial Intelligence and how AI can be used to support teachers.
Empowering educators with digital pedagogy
The use of digital tools in the classroom is only as powerful and effective as the teachers who use them. Equipping teachers with knowledge and skills to use effective digital pedagogies is essential.
The Digital Pedagogy tool provides educators with practical guidance on strategic planning, and meaningful use of digital tools in the classroom. It covers crucial aspects of both steps, including setting learning objectives, planning assessments, and fostering social learning in digital environments. This comprehensive guide helps teachers prioritize strategic and intentional teaching practices over the use of technology just for technology's sake. By equipping teachers with the knowledge and insights of digital pedagogy principles, the Digital Pedagogy tool supports teachers in creating rich and valuable learning experiences with appropriate technology. At the same time, this helps students develop a wider range of competencies such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving and active engagement in learning.
Online course
The Digital Pedagogy tool of the Superstar Teacher Toolbox is also available as an online course on the Learning Passport Digital Library platform, making it easily accessible to teachers worldwide. The course is structured into bite-sized, self-paced modules and takes about four hours to complete. Teachers who finish the course receive a certificate recognizing their completion of the digital pedagogy course. In addition, the Superstar Teacher Toolbox now also includes an online course on Mobile Messaging for Learning, available on the same platform.
Accessible on computer, tablets and mobile phones, the course is available as open-license content, enabling countries to host it on their own platforms. Individual teachers can also access the course on the Learning Passport platform for free by registering online. The Digital Pedagogy course complements the Blended Learning Handbook for Teachers, also developed by UNICEF, and is suitable for educators at all levels
Read more about the online course
Harnessing the power of mobile messaging
With mobile phones becoming ubiquitous and accessible, they have emerged as powerful tools for education, especially in remote or crisis-hit areas. The Mobile Messaging tool addresses the growing importance of mobile devices in education, particularly highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. It guides educators on using mobile messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and SMS to effectively support teaching and learning.
The Mobile Messaging tool offers strategies for leveraging mobile technologies to enhance learning, particularly in emergency situations or resource-constrained settings. It offers practical examples and expert tips centered on inclusive, ethical and pedagogically sound practices in using mobile messaging for education. This includes examples of engaging lessons that are age-appropriate, and ways to use mobile messaging platforms for teacher support, as well as parental and community engagement.
The tool puts emphasis on responsible use of mobile phones for teaching, including promoting privacy, respectful communication, and awareness of data security risks.
Addressing global education challenges
The Superstar Teacher Toolbox is a response to the global education crisis, with millions of children lacking access to quality education. By equipping teachers with the skills and tools they need to integrate technology into their teaching practices, UNICEF aims to bridge the digital divide and improve educational outcomes for ALL learners.
By leveraging the strategies and insights provided in the Toolbox, educators can create high-quality, engaging, interactive learning experiences for students in the digital age, ensuring that they are well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
These resources cater to teachers across diverse educational contexts, from early childhood education to K-12, and are designed to be user-friendly and highly practical, ensuring continuous learning even in challenging circumstances.
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Outcomes
Students
- Experience more engaging, inclusive and meaningful learning.
- Build collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Take a more active role in learning through learner-centred teaching approaches.
- Benefit from better continuity of learning in low-resource, remote and crisis settings.
- Learn in classrooms that are more responsive to different needs and contexts.
Teachers
- Receive practical guidance on how to use digital approaches to support learning.
- Strengthen skills in planning, assessment, inclusion, collaboration, feedback and learner engagement.
- Build confidence to use digital tools in ways that improve everyday classroom practice.
- Access flexible professional development through guidebooks, online courses and mobile-based formats.
- Are better supported to teach in low-resource and crisis-affected contexts.
Governments and education systems
- Strengthen pre-service and in-service teacher development with practical and adaptable tools.
- Support teacher empowerment as part of wider digital transformation in education.
- Use flexible approaches that can work in both regular and emergency settings.
- Generate evidence on what helps teachers translate digital education into better classroom practice.
- Advance scalable, context-sensitive models grounded in teachers’ real needs.