Online Learning: An Educators Guide to Professional Growth

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Online Learning An Educators Guide to
Professional Growth

• Presentation by Beth Eisenhart

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Todays Goals

• Find out about online learning
• Learn how online learning can help you grow
  professionally
• Find out if youre ready for online learning
• Preview Gaston Countys online courses
• Learn how to use the Blackboard course
  management system
• Find out about the online courses offered by
  Learn NC

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Online Learning at Gaston County Schools

• What? Online reading and technology professional
  development courses
• Who? Developed by GCS teachers for GCS teachers
• When? Developed and piloted during spring 2004
  offered for credit beginning fall 2004
• How? Developed in conjunction with Learn NC
• Why? To provide a convenient means of
  professional development for busy teachers

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About Our Online Courses

• Asynchronous
• Not self-paced
• Delivered with Blackboard software
• Available from any computer with Internet access
• Free to GCS employees

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Visit the GCS Online Professional Development
website!

• Description and prerequisite skills of each
  course
• Summer and fall 2005 schedule of offerings
• Testimonials
• About online learning

www.gaston.k12.nc.us/resources/teachers/online
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Are YOU ready for online learning?

• Online learning requires self-discipline and
  self-motivation!
• Are you confident when using a computer?
• Take a self-assessment quiz!
• Go to www.gaston.k12.nc.us/resources/teachers/onli
  ne
• Click on About Online Learning
• Click on a quiz link

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Preview the GCS Online Professional Development
Courses

• K-2 Phonemic Awareness
• 3-5 Integrating Cognition and Interpretation
  into Your Daily Instruction
• K-12 Reading in the Content Area Using Graphic
  Organizers
• K-12 The Internet as an Instructional Tool

http//classroom.learnnc.org
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Click the Login button.
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Username Gaston.User(example
Gaston.User12) Password password
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Each of the GCS online courses are listed under
Courses in which you are enrolled. To preview
a course, click on the course name.
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Online Courses Offered by Learn NC

• All areas of professional development
• Offered all year
• Some free, some 50 per credit hour
• www.learnnc.org

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Under Teaching and Learning click on the
Online Courses button.
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Course Descriptions

• Click on the title of each course for a complete
  description and information pertaining to
  registration, duration, and cost.

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Other Internet Sources of Online Professional
Development

• Annenburg/CPB Learner.org
• ASCD
• Gaston College/Ed2Go
• NCWIN
• PBS TeacherLine
• SREB
• STAR-Online
• Tapped In
• University of Phoenix

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Want to learn more? Visit these websites

• Is Online Professional Development for You?
  http//www.enc.org/features/focus/archive/urban/do
  cument.shtm?inputFOC-002941-index
• Even Better than Face to Face? http//www.enc.org/
  features/focus/archive/pd/document.shtm?inputFOC-
  002597-index,00.shtm
• Meeting the Need for High Quality Teachers
  E-Learning Solutions http//www.nationaledtechplan
  .org/documents/Kleiman-MeetingtheNeed.pdf
• Virtual Schools-a 21st Century Strategy for
  Teacher Professional Development
  http//www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A3525.cfm