Minister for Education and Employment Owen Bonnici and a representation of the academic staff of the Faculty for Education within the University of Malta, led by Dean Dr Colin Calleja, launched an outreach programme intended to support a very wide spectrum of learners, educators and parents.

The outreach programme includes a website: lovetoteach.info. This site, which is updated frequently, is built around four distinct sections: one for junior and senior students, another for parents, a section for educators and educational leaders, and the fourth for higher-education students, adults and their educators.

Minister Bonnici thanked all those involved. “I am very proud of all the hard work that has always been put in by our educators for the benefit of the students but I am especially pleased with how dedicated they have continued to be after the temporary closure of schools and educational institutions,” he said.

The Faculty of Education is considered today as one of the top 400 faculties of education in the world. The site also offers the vEDUti webinar series in which Professor Carmel Borg hosts prominent authors and thinkers. The first such interview was with Professor John Baldacchino from the University of Wisconsin.

The juniors and seniors section provides resources and interactive, as well as, authentic learning activities for young learners.

The parents’ section provides resources as well as podcasts and webinars for parents who have now also assumed the role of home schoolers and co-educators.

The educators’ section also provides resources and webinars for educators. The ‘Connect to Learning’ webinar series, which is part of this section, provides continuing professional development for educators that will equip them with ideas and skills to enhance their practices.

The series has already attracted many educational professionals and is proving to be a popular space for Maltese teachers and school leaders. Attendees who actively share ideas in these webinars will be rewarded with a certificate of participation issued by the Faculty of Education at the end of the series.

The last section offers updated resources developed by local and foreign authors and practitioners as well as support in the form of webinars and short courses to students, adults and their educators, particularly those dealing with this new online teaching and learning reality.

The academics involved in the design and maintenance of the site, the webinars and short courses include:

- Dr Colin Calleja, the Dean of the Faculty of Education
- Dr Michelle Attard Tonna, the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Education
- Dr Karen Mugliett
- Professor Christopher Bezzina
- Dr Philip Bonanno
- Dr James Calleja
- Dr Patrick Camilleri
- Dr Joseph Vancell
- Mr Mario Testa
- the Let Me Learn team