Page 77 - Resources and Support for the Online Educator

CHAPTER 11 • Leveraging Technology for Teacher Efficiency and Effectivenes

through Colorado State University (fee required for credit). This high-quality
professional development training would not be easy to find locally.

BioEd Online (bioedonline.org) hosts free online science workshops and short
courses from the Baylor College of Medicine. Teachers, scientists, and science
educators provide the courses’ content. Teachers receive a certificate for contact
hours upon completion of each workshop or short course.
Concept to Classroom (thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class) is a free series of self-
paced, K–12 workshops on teaching and learning. Workshops include materials
and videos. The site also provides documentation materials, including a letter for
the superintendent, an extensive syllabus, and a post-course rubric for evaluation
to assist teachers in requesting continuing education units from their districts.
Library of Congress Online Modules (loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment) are
free, one-hour, self-directed, online learning modules that focus on copyright law
and using primary sources for K–12 teachers. At the conclusion of each module,
teachers receive certificates of completion that may qualify for professional devel-
opment hours.

TPS Teachers Network (tpsteachersnetwork.org) is a social media network of
teachers who use primary sources, primarily from the Library of Congress, in their
classrooms. Registration is free, and teachers share their strategies, tools, primary
sources, and lesson plans on the site.

edWeb (home.edweb.net) provides personalized professional development through
webinars and webinar podcasts. You can also join a community with interests
similar to yours.

Microsoft Educator Community (education.microsoft.com) connects teachers with
professional development opportunities as well as a network of educators who
use technology in their classrooms. Similar Personal Learning Network commu-
nities exist at Google for Education (edu.google.com/resources/communities) and
Edmodo (edmodo.com/topics).

266 Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Integrating Technology in the Classroom: Tools to Meet the Needs of Every Student 77