Information and Help

Hi, and welcome to our online professional development for distance learning. Who would have ever thought we would be in this position where we need to start training for online distance learning? But here we are. So welcome to our self-paced course, created by our EdTech team, our instructional and academic coaches, some incredible teachers and administrators who have all come together to build this unit for you. I hope it will provide you the resources that you need so that you feel comfortable, should we have to in the fall, go back to distance learning, and you'll be ready to go with your class. I can't thank you enough for how hard you've worked to transition at distance learning. And I sure hope we're all back together in the fall. Thank you for participating, and I can't wait to see you all again.

This is a self-paced online course; you may work through the modules at your own pace, in the order you choose. Each module has a variety of resources for you to review. If you are familiar with the content and ideas, this may not take you very long. If you’re less familiar, you may want to spend a bit more time. You are NOT expected to read or watch or listen to every single resource; choose the ones that seem most valuable or more interesting to you. Each module has a Padlet discussion board, and scheduled times for live discussion with colleagues and a facilitator, through Zoom. These are optional, if you would like to take advantage of the opportunity to collaborate. Finally, each module has a few options for a short assignment. Choose one that seems useful to you. When you have completed all six modules, you’ll compile your completed assignments into one document or slide deck or Google Site, and send the link to your principal.

In delivering this course in this way, we are attempting to model some known best practices for online learning. We have relied on asynchronous (or flex-time) resources to do most of the instruction, with some synchronous (or real-time) sessions to build community and collaboration. We have provided a structure for your learning, but given you the flexibility to complete the work on your own schedule. And we kept Universal Design for Learning in mind; consequently you will see multiple options for engagement, representation, and expression throughout the modules.

This short course can only scratch the surface of what research has found about developing and delivering online courses. While we can introduce these to you, nothing can substitute for your own instructional expertise and experience. If we do end up having to teach online again at some point next year, the resources here can at least give you a head start. If you’d like to learn more about any of these topics, please feel free to contact any of the instructional or academic coaches, the EdTech ToSAs, your administrators, or any of the district coordinators. Thank you.