Post date: May 13, 2016 3:16:18 PM
I am enrolled in a course called Effective Online Teaching (www.openteachertraining.com). Upon completion of the course, I will be certified to teach virtual school in Georgia. The course cost $49. Registration was fairly simple and as far as I can tell, the course sends you on quests and you earn various badges. Without completing the course, you won't even be considered for Virtual School positions.
I've been flipping my classroom for a few years and have a fairly detailed LMS set up for my students on My Haiku Class. I have videos, quizzes, links to outside resources, and PDFs on Haiku. I'm curious to see how this course compares to what I've already been doing. I'm curious to see how seamless (or not) the transition from blended classroom to fully virtual will be.
I'm kind of bummed, however, that we have to pay for this course. Everything in teaching seems to cost money - certification tests, Master's courses, professional learning opportunities, getting certified (Really Florida?!? $75 for EACH statement of eligibility for EACH sub-subject that I would like to be certified in...?!?). We are constantly being asked to pay for all of these things, but aren't paid that much to begin with. Where do they expect us to find this money?!? But that's another story for another day....