Professional Development
~ at your fingertips ~
"What is the purpose of professional development? What are its benefits?"
'The purpose of professional development (PD) is to improve knowledge and skills in order to facilitate individual, school-wide, and district-wide improvements for the purpose of increasing student achievement. Completing PD helps build confidence and credibility, allows us to showcase our achievements, and equips us with tools to cope positively with change.'
As such, there are a variety of professional development opportunities available that allow you to enhance your digital learning skills. CEU credits can be awarded in most of these courses. (WCPSS - Unless otherwise indicated, please register for these courses using your work email address.)
The Apple Teacher Learning Center contains lessons to help you master key features and apps on the iPad. Discover more than 60 lessons designed to help you learn new skills, earn your badges, and take your learning further.
(use personal email)
Google Certification
Become a Google Certified Educator - Resources can be found:
"During the 30-minute session, one of our Educator Innovation Leads will explain how Flipgrid works, help you create your free Flipgrid account and start collecting videos from your students."
Friday Institute provides free courses that allow educators to improve their practice.
Khan Academy is a robust resource with videos on many academic topics. The Khan for Educators Teachers Toolbox has step-by-step guidance, how-to videos and tips on how to implement Khan Academy in your classroom.
"A large library of video-based PD courses and tutorials" about technology topics and tools. (Make sure you log into Wake ID to access site.) Click 'Library' to see all of the courses offered.
Our staff & students have access to Office 365 products. Now is a good time to learn about these tools and more in the Education Center. Learn about:
- tools such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Sway, OneNote, and MineCraft.
- pedagogy such as design learning, accessibility, 5Cs, and more.
(use personal email)
As stated on their website:
- NCCAT Online courses are self-paced modules. Depending on the course, participants can earn 5 or 10 contact hours.
- We recommend educators check with their school district to verify acceptance of contact hours from the NCCAT Online courses towards CEUs.
The University of Northern Iowa is offering a free "six week, six module workshop style course is designed to take you through the essential elements of programming and prepare you for introducing your students to Scratch version 3.0."
"A 1-hour certification course covering the basics of Screencastify and popular ways to use video with students, colleagues, and parents."
Seesaw offers "free, online training sessions and learn how to use Seesaw from the comfort of your couch. "
Karly Moura and Sean Fahey created this Educators Guide to Twitter. I always learn something new on Twitter!
"FREE personalized learning tutorials, hands-on activities, how-to videos and resources to build technology skills."
Access this course for FREE to learn how to design specifically for 3D printing in Tinkercad and test your knowledge in a quiz.
WakeLearns
Use WakeLearns (formerly eSchools) to locate and track your professional learning while you are employed by Wake County Public School System
How to Register:
- Please go to WakeLearns (via the WakeID Portal - https://wakeid.wcpss.net).
- Click on the Course Catalog tab and use the Section # in the search field.
- Register for the Course you need to complete.
- Once you have registered in WakeLearns, you will be automatically enrolled in the course.