Are you a teacher seeking to enhance your professional development? Look no further! With a plethora of online resources for continuing teacher education, you will find peace.
In this article, we’ll analyze the top 10 platforms that cater to educators like you, offering a wide range of tools, courses, and materials to support your growth. From well-known giants to specialized niche sites, these online help provide endless opportunities to enrich your knowledge and skills.
Key Takeaways
- Online platforms like Coursera, Alison, ClassDojo, KQED, Edutopia, PBS Learning Media, TeachThought, Udemy, TED Talks, and Skillshare offer helpful resources for teachers to improve their skills.
- These platforms provide courses, multimedia materials, innovative strategies, and thought-provoking content to improve teaching abilities and engage students.
- Teachers can analyze different subjects, schooling techniques, classro`om management tools, and technology integration through these resources.
10. Expand Your Teaching Skills
Coursera remains a powerhouse in online education, connecting teachers with courses from universities globally. Its strength lies in a diverse curriculum that spans from education strategies to integrating technology in the classroom. Teachers seeking accredited courses for professional development will find Coursera’s comprehensive offerings invaluable.
Coursera offers thousands of courses for free, but if you want a certificate of completion, you will need to pay for the entire course, which usually starts at $29.99, or subscribe to a Coursera plan.
9. Enrich Your Knowledge
Alison offers free online courses on a wide range of subjects, including educational psychology, school management, and early childhood education. It’s a great starting point for educators looking to expand their knowledge base without the commitment of hefty fees.
The majority of Alison’s online course reviews are very positive. Most users claim that Alison’s courses were useful and provided them with a set of new skills, and should be considered as micro-courses.
8. Promote Positive Behavior and Engage Parents
ClassDojo is more than just a management tool; it’s a bridge between classrooms and homes. Educators can use this platform to encourage positive behavior in their students and engage parents with regular updates on their child’s progress and classroom happenings.
It is an online classroom management platform and app where teachers can record and track student behavior, facilitate classroom activities, curate student portfolios, and engage in school-to-home communication.
7. Bring Learning to Life
KQED provides educators with rich content and tools to integrate public media into their teaching. Its offerings are perfect for those looking to include more multimedia elements in their lessons, making complex subjects accessible and engaging through documentaries, podcasts, and interactive tools.
But what does KQED actually stand for? A lot of people wonder about that. The short answer? K is the call letter used by West Coast stations — and Q.E.D is an acronym for the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, used at the end of arguments to mean “thus it has been demonstrated.”
6. Discover Inspiring Teaching Practices
Edutopia is a website published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF). Founded in 1991 by filmmaker George Lucas and venture capitalist Steve Arnold, the foundation “celebrates and encourages innovation” in K–12 schools.
It focuses on innovative educational practices and how to implement them. From project-based learning to social and emotional learning, the site offers practical strategies and inspiration to teachers looking to innovate their schooling methods.
5. Enrich Classroom Instruction
PBS LearningMedia is a library of more than 30,000 resources that are designed to supplement classroom instruction, aligned to state and national curriculum standards, and created in close collaboration with educators.
PBS LearningMedia uses its vast array of educational videos, interactive games, and in-depth lesson plans to enhance classroom teaching. The resources span all grade levels and subjects, enriched with the quality content PBS is known for.
4. Gain Insight and Innovate Your Teaching
TeachThought was founded in 2012 as a blog dedicated to thought leadership and the development of learning models and frameworks to create transparency for new possibilities in education and learning for a modern circumstance.
TeachThought specializes in promoting innovation in education through its blog posts, podcasts, and professional development services. It helps educators reflect on their teaching and learn new approaches to student-centered learning.
3. Development with Udemy
Udemy offers a vast array of courses in various subjects, including education. Its strength lies in the personal development it offers through practical courses tailored to enhancing specific skills or learning new tools and technologies.
Udemy is not an accredited institution. Certificates demonstrate skills and accomplishments, but they cannot be used for formal accreditation.
2. Be an Expert with TED Talks
TED Talks is one of the amazing Online Resources for Continuing Teacher Education. It offers teachers access to thought-provoking presentations by some of the world’s most inspired thinkers. These talks can be a great source of inspiration and a way to introduce new ideas into the classroom.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design — three broad subject areas that are collectively shaping our world. But a TED conference is broader still, showcasing important research and ideas from all disciplines and exploring how they connect.
1. The First of our Online Resources for Continuing Teacher Education List
Skillshare is number one on our Online Resources for Continuing Teacher Education list. It features courses primarily focused on creative skills but also includes classes on more technical aspects of teaching, such as using digital tools effectively in education. Its project-based approach helps teachers learn by doing, which they can then translate into their education methods.
The monthly membership is free to try for one month. After the trial, a monthly membership is $32 per month, and the annual Premium membership is $168 for the year (which breaks down to roughly $14 per month). With thousands of courses to choose from (and a free trial) there’s no real downside to testing out the platform to see if it’s right for you.
Is Skillshare better than YouTube?
Yes! Skillshare is a better online learning platform because the content it curates goes through a rigorous vetting process to ensure its value. Learning basic concepts from YouTube is a great way to prepare for a class.
So if you ask if can you trust Skillshare don’t worry. It is worth it if you’re into endless learning.
Here’s why:
- Unlimited Class Access:
- Take any class Skillshare has to offer.
- Full Course Library:
- Get your hands on every course, tutorial, and workshop available.
FAQs
Can I earn certificates or credentials from these platforms?
Yes, many platforms offer certificates or micro-credentials that you can add to your professional portfolio.
Are these aids suitable for all grades and subjects?
Yes, these resources cover various grade levels and subjects, so you can find materials and strategies that are relevant to your teaching.
Do I need to pay to access these Online Resources for Continuing Teacher Education?
Some platforms offer free courses and resources, while others may require a fee for full access or premium features. Check the pricing details on each platform’s website.
Can I use these resources on my schedule?
Yes, most resources are self-paced, allowing you to learn at your convenience and fit professional development into your busy schedule. However, some courses may have specific start and end dates.
Conclusion
The internet has lots of Online Resources for Continuing Teacher Education that can help teachers get better at their job and learn new things. The are a lot of benefits to this job. Some websites, like Coursera and Alison, offer many different courses. Other websites, like ClassDojo and KQED, focus on specific things like managing a classroom and using multimedia.
Teachers can find new strategies on Edutopia, learn from comprehensive courses on PBS Learning Media, and get reflective teaching insights from TeachThought. They can also get inspired and learn new skills from TED Talks and Skillshare.
By using these online resources, teachers can keep improving their teaching methods and stay updated in the always-changing field of education. This way, they can create a better learning environment for their students and help them succeed in school.
