Thursday, January 16, 2014
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Friday, January 3, 2014
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC's)
Sometimes the renewal of a teaching license can feel like a tedious task where you have to jump through hoops to get a sheet of paper. It’s frustrating when you try to be progressive in your classroom, yet feel that the methods of earning your own license are dated. I feel that educators don’t hate professional development, we just hate professional development that wastes our time and isn’t aligned with our interests. Yet it often feels that this type of professional development is where we are forced to turn to get recertified.
I believe that the state of Iowa should remain progressive in the area of education and allow educators to earn recertification through alternative methods. In particular, I suggest allowing educators to earn renewal credits through MOOC’s (massive open online courses) through host sites such as Coursera, edX, etc. I recently completed my first MOOC titled “Emerging Trends & Technologies in the Virtual K-12 Classroom” which is taught by a professor at the University of California, Irvine and hosted through Coursera. I found this class to be more relevant, rigorous, and aligned with my content than all other renewal credits I’ve earned in the past.
Coursera even has a category on teacher development. Through these MOOC's, you have the ability to earn college credit, verified certificates, and free completion certificates. Each of these options requires the student to complete the course with a specified %. In no way do I feel that allowing this type of option for the renewal of teaching licenses "waters down" our educators learning. Yet, I believe this option gives educators an avenue to renew their teaching license in a way that is affordable, relevant to their curriculum, interesting, and meaningful to them as individuals. It also further distances the state of Iowa as a leader in progressive education.
Fast Company recently listed their end of the year Top 13 Stories about Education in 2013. Their #1 story was about MOOC's.
Video
Coursera even has a category on teacher development. Through these MOOC's, you have the ability to earn college credit, verified certificates, and free completion certificates. Each of these options requires the student to complete the course with a specified %. In no way do I feel that allowing this type of option for the renewal of teaching licenses "waters down" our educators learning. Yet, I believe this option gives educators an avenue to renew their teaching license in a way that is affordable, relevant to their curriculum, interesting, and meaningful to them as individuals. It also further distances the state of Iowa as a leader in progressive education.
Fast Company recently listed their end of the year Top 13 Stories about Education in 2013. Their #1 story was about MOOC's.
Video
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