- Instructor: ies
Course Provider: VHS Learning
| 125USD | Flexible | 20 Hours | Self-paced | Certificate available |
This four-week professional development webinar series introduces teachers to best practices in online instruction and practical strategies that can be applied in their own online courses. This webinar series is intended for classroom-based educators making a transition to online or blended learning.
Courses are designed for middle and high school teachers or teachers teaching grades 7-12. Each week kicks off with a brief reading and examination of current practice. Following the reading and self-assessment, participants will attend a one-hour webinar hosted by an experienced online learning practitioner. The webinar will be followed by a two-day facilitated, online discussion where participants will contemplate how the information in the webinar applies to their own instructional practice. The week will end with a personal reflection about what has been learned and how the teacher plans to implement the suggested strategies.
This professional development series includes the following focus areas:
Week 1: Essentials of Online Teaching
Week 2: Facilitating Online Discussions
Week 3: Feedback and Assessment in the Online Classroom
Week 4: Teacher Presence and Classroom Community
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the webinar series, participants will be able to:
● Identify and incorporate effective best practices of effective online communication
● Identify common accommodations to support online learners
● Design effective online discussion prompts
● Identify effective strategies for online discussion facilitation
● Identify characteristics of effective feedback
● Explain the importance and characteristics of teacher presence in the online classroom
Course Commitment
● Fully Asynchronous
● 16 hours asynchronous study and 4×1 hours synchronous meetings
Schedule
Flexible Schedule / Self-paced
VHS Learning (VHS, Inc.) is a nonprofit organization providing supplemental online classes and blended learning opportunities to middle and high school students, and professional development to educators. We partner with schools and districts to create programs in their schools and work directly with parents and students that want to enroll in our classes individually.
VHS Learning began as “Virtual High School” in 1996 as part of a technology grant from the Department of Education. In 2001, VHS, Inc. was established as a nonprofit. The organization has set the standard for quality online education. VHS Learning prepares students for college, careers, and life through supportive, instructor-led online and blended classroom experiences.
VHS Learning is accredited by Middle States Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS), ACS Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and Cognia. We offer a catalog of 24 Advanced Placement® courses and all eligible VHS Learning courses are approved for initial eligibility by NCAA (VHS Learning is school code #221356).
Director
Xuan You
Xuan You is Director, Global Programs and Services. Xuan develops strategic international partnerships and manages a variety of high-profile projects to provide students and schools from more than 66 countries with collaborative and engaging learning opportunities. She works closely with administrators, teachers, and students from partner schools around the world in the U.S. and speaks and facilitates online education discussions at international education conferences.
Stacy Young
Stacy Young is the Associate Dean of Instruction at VHS Learning. She mentors and collaborates with the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) team members to support VHS Learning teachers in their professional development. Key responsibilities include oversight of professional development courses, traing and supervision of teachers, supervision of the Faculty Advisors, coordination of teaching assignments, and Curriculum and Instruction program development as a member of the C&I Leadership Team. Stacy was formerly the Director of the Massachusetts Personalized Learning Network with the Center for Collaborative Education, and she brings fifteen years of classroom expeirence to this role. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Masters of Science in Teaching and Learning from the University of Southern Maine.
Rick Weinland
In June 2020, as we completed three months of pandemic-induced remote teaching, we anticipated needing to start the following school year virtually as well. We were looking for a professional development experience that would help our teachers build a shared set of beliefs and strategies connected to distance learning, while not overwhelming them. We chose the four-part “Effective Instructional Strategies for Online Classrooms” webinar for our entire faculty, and the team at VHS helped tailor this course to our particular schedule and context. The presentations were informative, and the readings and online discussions were effective in generating good discussion. Thank you VHS!
Ole Bernard (OB) Sealey
We used VHS learning to help coordinate our distance learning plan. We had a series of teacher “champions” take the 4 week courses and another group of “advocates” follow the webinar series. These teachers grew as practitioners and were able to put student and teacher voice into our plan. Each champion presented a section of their course and essential agreements around best practices within our school context were established. VHS were extremely helpful and flexible and this PD was exceptional value for money. <p class="LC20lb DKV0Md"></p>
