With school closures and associated remote learning stemming from the pandemic creating an unprecedented need for professional learning opportunities for teachers and administrators, EdisonLearning, a longtime innovator in public education and leading provider of digital learning solutions, is now offering professional development courses that empower middle and high school teachers to effectively deliver virtual instruction.
“Our teachers were placed in the unenviable position of having to know how to use technology and online learning techniques from day one of the pandemic,” said Thom Jackson, President and CEO of EdisonLearning; “and surveys showed that more than half of all teachers in the United States said they did not feel prepared to facilitate virtual and online learning.”
To address the growing need for teachers to be prepared for virtual and online learning, EdisonLearning is launching the first of its Professional Learning Course offerings: Transitioning to Online Teaching (Grades 7-12) during the first week of February, 2022.
This course was developed by several of the nation’s leading experts on education technology and the transition to online instruction. Learning modules are built around a framework of Discover-Discuss-Demonstrate, to ensure that participants have the opportunity to engage with course concepts and link those concepts to practice in their classrooms.
Teachers will learn to:
- Utilize learner-centered instructional strategies, tools, and engaging experiences needed to encourage active learning and interaction.
- Understand course design considerations for a variety of learners and their families in a variety of situations.
- Demonstrate awareness and empathy for the online learner experience, both challenges and benefits.
- Apply techniques for building community in an online and blended learning environments.
- Create appropriate quantitative and qualitative assessment tools, which allow learners the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the content.
All of EdisonLearning’s Professional Learning Courses will be interactive cohorts with a minimum of 25 educators, facilitated by experienced online educators, and modeling how educators can implement a variety of research-based strategies to engage their own students in online and blended learning environments.
These Professional Learning Courses are designed to work with schools and districts that wish to put through a cohort of teachers and/or administrators. Participants may register individually, but it is expected that most educators will join the course as part of a cohort from within their school or district to encourage collaboration.
“Digital and blended learning was becoming more common in traditional schools even before the pandemic,” said Mr. Jackson. “The U.S. Department of Education highlighted the need for ‘a teaching force skilled in online and blended instruction’ in its 2017 National Education Technology Plan.”
“EdisonLearning is offering these Professional Learning Courses, because effective use of digital learning tools, to prepare America’s young people, is not a skill that we can expect teachers to pick up once they get into the classroom.” Mr. Jackson said.
About EdisonLearning
EdisonLearning brings together best practices in instruction, developed over three decades of supporting schools, with blended solutions designed by educators to meet students where they are and deliver the education they need and deserve. The company’s comprehensive content, resources and support include 150+ full eCourses in core and elective subjects, plus career and technical education and life skills; actionable learning analytics dashboards and blockchain-enabled micro-credentials; and instructional services teachers and advisors who provide personalized student support. The guiding purpose behind all of EdisonLearning’s work is to ensure equitable access and opportunity for each and every learner. Learn more at www.edisonlearning.com
