Learn at your own pace with one of our self-paced courses. All courses are for Professional Development Points (no stipend).
Interested in taking a self-paced course? All courses listed below are live now! Just search the title in Unified Talent to enroll.
These courses provide best practices for integrating technology effectively into your instruction. To read more about each course, select the arrow on the right.
Section 108347
3 hours to complete/0.2 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
In this course attendees will learn:
The benefits of creating digital materials
What should and should not be included in digital worksheets
How to determine the best application for designing an activity based on the desired outcome
How to effectively integrate videos into instruction
As we move towards giving more digital assignments to our students, discover how to create activities that work. In this course, explore the pedagogy behind why students should be given the opportunity to complete work digitally, and how to construct a digital activity that allows students to take full advantage of the creative and accessibility tools available in our digital platforms. Learn the questions to ask yourself before creating a lesson to decide if a Google application, Wixie, Lumio by Smart or Discovery Education will give your students the best experience and meet the outcomes you desire. This is a self-paced 3 hour course that includes video tutorials, assessments and Your Turn components.
Section 108347
4 hours to complete/0.27 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
In this course attendees will learn:
Engaging interactive lesson tools
Engaging Collaborative lesson tools
Engaging Real-world tools
Engaging Student Choice tools
Engagement can mean so many things in the classroom. In this session we offer a few ways teachers can boost engagement through four types of lessons activities. Instructional strategies such as ways to implement all student response and creating choice boards will be explored. Applications that offer virtual manipulatives, virtual field trip experiences, and cultural connections will also be investigated! You will learn about apps such as SLSO, Nearpod, Discovery Education, Wixie, Google Earth and more. This is a self-paced 2 hour course that includes video tutorials, Your Turn components and assessments.
Section 108350
6.5 hours to complete/0.4 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
Want to work smarter, not harder? No need to reinvent the wheel! This session will review the WHY behind incorporating digital activities. Then we will explore options for free, digital activities and templates that align to the AACPS curriculum. Learn how to customize what you find so they meet the needs of your unique students and how to distribute the activities through Brightspace. Time is given to practice within the applications to create relevant materials for your class! This is a self-paced 6.5 hour course that includes video tutorials, Your Turn components, and assessments.
Want to know more about a specific application that is available in AACPS? Then these courses are for you!
Section 108363
5 hours to complete/0.34 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
In this course attendees will learn: how to navigate and find resources in Discovery Education including: Multimedia instructional materials, Spotlight on Strategies lessons and lesson delivery modalities. They will also learn how to use the instructional tools in Discovery Education including: Studio to create boards for instruction and student projects as well as Quizzes and Video Quizzes to test students comprehension. Participants will also preview the student experience in DE so they can help their students navigate the platform independently.
Section 108357
2 hours to complete/0.13 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
Google Earth is an online globe that students and teachers can use to explore the world around them. They can virtually visit countries, and cultures too far away to realistically explore in-person. They can even explore the ocean, inside of a building and go back in time. If you have heard the term Virtual Field Trips and thought you’d like to give that a try, then Google Earth is for you! This is a self-paced 2 hour course that includes video tutorials, assessments and Your Turn components. Google made major revisions to Google Earth in the summer of 2023. Even if you have taken a course on Google earth before, you might want a refesher on the new layout and tools!
Section 108362
5 hours to complete/0.34 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
In this course participants will learn: - How to manage their account in Google Chrome - How to create and organize files in Google Drive including uploading existing files and converting Microsoft files - The basic features of Docs, Slides and Drawings - How to share files in Google Drive including sharing folders and using Shared Drives - Additional tips for getting and staying organized in Drive through advanced search techniques, the use or Workspaces and using Google Drive for Desktop.
Are you new to using Google Workspace for Education or feel like you know just enough to be dangerous? Do you spend way too much time lost or unsure if this is the best way to access something, or if you’re using the best tool for the task? In this course we will take you from Google novice to Google expert in all things Drive and the Big 3.
Section 108351
4.5 hours to complete/0.3 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
Google Forms is an awesome survey tool that can also be used to create self-graded assessments. Topics covered during this course will include:
Writing questions
Importing questions
Tips for form set-up
Making it a quiz
Skip logic and response validation
Getting responses
Sharing through Brightspace
Viewing responses
Generating a spreadsheet
Organizing the spreadsheet
Section 108353
2.5 hours to complete/0.17 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
In this course participants will learn:
How to create a Google Site.
How to add content to the site, making sure all is visible to viewers.
How to customize the look of their site.
How to publish their site for their intended audience.
Google Sites allows students and teachers to design beautiful websites independently or collaboratively with its easy drag and drop interface. Student portfolios, informational sites, blogs and more can be created and shared giving our students and teachers a powerful tool to showcase learning. This is a self-paced 2.5 hour course that includes video tutorials, interactives, Your Turn components and assessments.
Section 108354
4 hours to complete/0.27 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
In this course attendees will learn:
How to build from scratch in SLSO
How to upload and edit existing files including all supported file types
How to customize their settings to improve the experience in SLSO for them and their students
How to deliver a lesson to students
How to access and view results after a lesson has concluded
Lumio is SMART's online activity creation and delivery system. Teachers who know SMART Notebook will find it easy to transition to Lumio, but so will teachers who love Nearpod, Wixie, Kahoot and Discovery Education. With Lumio teachers can build instructional resources, games, interactives, and assessments that can be shared with students and accessed right on their Chromebooks. Students can work independently or collaboratively in Lumio and teachers can monitor the learning in real-time or after the lesson has ended. This is a self-paced 4 hour course that includes video tutorials and assessments.
SMART also includes the SMARTboard hardware and Notebook software available in classrooms and on teacher computers. Specific information about the boards and Notebook is covered in the self-paced course titled SMARTboard & Notebook Basics which is also available on Unified Talent for registration. It is not required that staff take both courses, or take them in any order; the content is designed to stand on its own.
Section 108355
6 hours to complete/0.4 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
In this course attendees will learn:
Why educators use Minecraft Education
how to install Minecraft Education on your device
the basics of gameplay
to import and export worlds and how to access the Library worlds
how to host a world
how to code in Minecraft Education
You will never find a more engaging education tool for students than Minecraft Education!
Section 108356
4 hours to complete/0.27 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
Nearpod is best described as PowerPoint on steroids. Instead of delivering your content in one platform, and including your engagement, interactives and checks for understanding in a separate platform, Nearpod does it all. In this course we will learn
The options for accessing ready-made Nearpod lessons and for creating your own lessons from scratch.
The options for sharing lessons with students, colleagues or even parents.
The options that teachers and students will have to engage with their lesson content during delivery.
Various ways to customize your lesson settings.
How to view reports to see student engagement and progress and assess student learning.
The course includes two My Turn components that ask you to apply what you have learned and turn in content. These submissions are required for course credit.
Section 108358
6 hours to complete/0.4 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
In this course attendees will learn:
The different SMARTboards in AACPS, the various features of each model and how to tell which model they have in their classroom
What is Notebook software and how to install it on a personal computer if they wish
How to use the tools on the Toolbar in SMART Notebook
How to use the Tabs in SMART Notebook
How to add and edit content on the page in SMART Notebook
How to import and export files into/out of SMART Notebook
How to use their SMART board with other applications like Microsoft files or their Chrome browser
The combination of a SMART board and Notebook software is an amazing instructional tool that allows both students and teachers to get hands-on with their content. The board allows drag and drop activities and digital ink that users can interact with without having to hide behind their computer screen. Notebook software allows teachers to create lessons, engaging interactives and formative assessments that students can work through whole class or small-group.
SMART also has an online platform that allows teachers to share lessons and interactives with students through the SMART Learning Suite Online. Specific information about the SLSO is covered in the self-paced course titled SMART Learning Suite Online which is also available on Unified Talent for registration. It is not required that staff take both courses, or take them in any order; the content is designed to stand on its own.
Section 108359
2 hours to complete/0.13 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
WeVideo is an entirely online video recording and editing platform. Editing options include everything from basic cropping and splicing videos, to adding effects, layering audio and even green-screen. And because it is entirely online, it works on our Chromebooks and any web-enabled home device. Throughout this course you will watch short tutorial videos designed to get you started wokring in Wevideo to create instructional videos. This is a self-paced 2 hour course that includes video tutorials, assessments, and Your Turn component.
Section 108361
2.5 hours to complete/0.17 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
WeVideo is an entirely online video recording and editing platform. WeVideo Classroom is a tool contained within our AACPS WeVideo accounts. It allows teachers to assign students a video project that can be completed and submitted by students entirely within the WeVideo Classroom environment. This is a self-paced 2.5 hour course that includes video tutorials and assessments.
Section 108360
3.5 hours to complete/0.23 APC renewal credits
Course Dates: January 21-June 6, 2025
Wixie is a publishing app that allows students to combine text, drawing, images, speech, and video to create one of a kind projects to demonstrate their learning. Students can create from scratch, or use one of the thousands of premade templates. All AACPS students PreK-12 have access to this incredibly flexible tool to showcase their imagination and learning, and teachers can easily view and provide feedback on their work. In this course participants will:
Learn to navigate the Wixie dashboard and canvas
Explore premade templates from Tech4Learning and AACPS
Create and modify templates
Create and modify rubrics
Assign to students in Wixie and Brightspace
Grade and provide feedback to students