Why Online Learning Works for Educators

Clip art from Microsoft Office archives

There are many advantages to educators for taking classes online.  First is the availability.  As online students, we may take classes from anywhere.  Being able to complete coursework from a university hundreds of miles away can be a huge benefit to educators living in remote areas, to those who have scheduled vacations during the semester, or for teachers with family or work commitments that interfere with attending class on campus. The variety of classes available online is a second advantage.  Taking classes online opens opportunities to take classes that will fulfill graduation requirements or to explore a new area of learning.  A third benefit is the cost savings derived from avoiding the expenses of transportation to campus.  Flexibility with time is one of the biggest advantages to taking classes online.  Time that would normally be spent in traveling to campus can be spent on actually completing the course requirements.  In addition, online students are able to complete work at a time that is convenient for them.  Night owls can work into the late hours of the night while the early birds can start working first thing in the morning.

Advantages of Online Learning

I began my first online learning experience in 1999.  I needed to add Business Education to my educator's license and East Carolina University offered the program.  Fortunately for me, they were pioneers in online learning so I did not have to spend my summers in Greenville in order to meet the required six semester hours of coursework a year for three years.  Overall the experience was great.  Most instructors were very understanding in their realization that since most students in the online program were also employed as teachers, time was a precious commodity.  Several courses offered immediate feedback on tests and quizzes.  One major disadvantage, however, was not being able to ask questions immediately.  We did not have the WebEx type of technology, so communication relied on the instructor answering his or her phone or replying to an email.  I had one professor who did not respond to emails until Friday, so I was guaranteed to work all weekend on my assignment if I had a question that prohibited my completion of the work without assistance.  

As the Licensure Specialist for Davidson County Schools, one of my responsibilities is to assist lateral entry teachers in obtaining their licenses.  Davidson County Community College teamed with our school system to create an 80 hour online lateral entry orientation course.  Lateral entry teachers must complete an orientation before they can even enter the classroom, so being able to take the course online is a major benefit to the lateral entry  teacher’s being eligible for employment as soon as possible.  In addition, many lateral entry teachers complete their yearly requirement of six semester hours of coursework by taking online courses from universities like the University of Phoenix because they prefer the option to complete a course in as little as three to six weeks.

Professional Development Opportunities

Another responsibility I have as the Licensure Specialist is to submit documentation to renew educator’s licenses.  Each year, many teachers realize they do not have enough renewal credits in technology and their licenses are getting ready to expire.  Davidson County requires 3 CEUs (30 contact hours) during the five year renewal cycle.  A teacher may take staff development classes to earn technology credit from Davidson County Schools’ Technology Department in face to face classes or with online classes.  In addition, the North Carolina Public Schools Professional Development Department offers several technology courses that meet the learning needs of educators throughout the state. The eBistro program offers a menu of training opportunities in topics ranging from basic technology skills (Hors d’ Oeuvres) to Virtual field trips and video production (Desserts).

Technology is not the only kind of professional development NC Public Schools offers its teachers.  Formative assessment training is offered online through NC Falcon’s website.  Training in the new evaluation process for teachers, assistant principals, and principals is also available.  NCWise Owl (NC Online Windows for Learning) links students to resources that are safe for student research.  LearnNC provides engaging lesson plans that have been contributed by teachers, as well as a number of valuable resources, including a link to the NC Standard Course of Study.

As educators, we should take advantage of online learning opportunities.  Lateral entry teachers can complete required coursework online while beginning their teaching careers.  Many teachers choose to earn their master’s degrees online.  Earning an educational master’s degree enables North Carolina educators to earn a ten percent salary increase.  Advanced degrees are also rewarded with salary increases.  We can make the best use of our time by taking online courses at the university level or to earn teacher renewal credits to keep our educator’s licenses current. In addition, using online technology will make us better informed educators because we will be able to learn by using cutting edge technology which we can implement in our 21^st century classrooms. 

References

Davidson County Schools.  Davidson County Schools Homepage.  Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Davidson County Schools:  http://www.davidson.k12.nc.us/education/district/district.php?sectionid=1.

DCCC.  Education & Service Technology: Lateral Entry for Teacher Certification.  Retrieved July 9, 2011 from Davidson County Community College: http://www.davidsonccc.edu/academics/ase-lateral-entry.htm.     

Distance Learning.  Professional Development Courses and Resources.  Retrieved July 9, 2011, from Public Schools of North Carolina: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/distancelearning/professional/index.html.       

eBistro. Technology Training A La Carte.  Retrieved July 9, 2011, from Public Schools of North Carolina:  http://ebistro.org/.

Emerging Academic Initiatives.  Distance Education Student Orientation.  Retrieved July 9, 2011, from East Carolina University:  http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/DEOrientation/index.cfm.

Financial and Business Services.  Salary Guides.  Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Public Schools of North Carolina:  http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/finance/salary/

LearnNC.  LearnNC: K-12 Teaching and Learning.  Retrieved July 10, 2011, from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:  http://www.learnnc.org/.

NC Falcon. North Carolina’s Formative Assessment Learning Community’s Online Network.  Retrieved July 9, 2011, from Public Schools of North Carolina: http://center.ncsu.edu/falcon/.

NC Wise Owl.  Spread Your Wings.  Retrieved July 10, 2011, from NC Wise Owl: http://www.ncwiseowl.org/default.htm.

Professional Development.  Training Materials:  NC Professional Educator Evaluation Systems.  Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Public Schools of North Carolina: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/training/.

Staff Development.  Staff Development Brochure.  Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Davidson County Schools:  http://www.davidson.k12.nc.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=28311&linkid=nav-menu-container-4-127031&PHPSESSID=2e20335de732cf801fa0acad75d5db14.

WebEx.  Web Conferencing and Collaboration Solutions.  Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Cisco:  http://www.webex.com/lpintl/us/sem/sem-together.html?CPM=KNC-sem&TrackID=1021381&semid=s8knUABxS_5578644626

You Tube.  University of Phoenix Video.  Retrieved July 10, 2011 from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mFMiTcFdNQ.