Faculty Can Learn Online, Too

Brad Rathgeber

When we began our work online, we saw it as an opportunity to expand opportunities for students.   Instead, we learned early on that it was possible to use this new medium for faculty, too.

We quickly found five major benefits to doing so:
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1. Offering flexible timing.  Everyone who works in schools is incredibly busy! We can’t just drop everything and go to conferences when our 9th grade English class needs us, or attend webinars at the same time we need to have an urgent parent meeting. That gets frustrating, because educators are also immensely curious and want to continue developing their craft. Working in an online space provided educators with flexible opportunities to engage when they are able. It’s no surprise that our data shows that most work done in PD courses is done in the evenings and on Sundays!
2. Training on the job. Typical PD involves going to a conference and then trying to bring back an idea or two to implement.  Online PD is different--it happens over a longer time frame while the educator  is doing their regular job.  This allows online PD to be job-embedded, giving educators a chance to simultaneously employ skills they’re learning online, often while they’re getting real-time feedback from their online instructors.  That’s powerful.
3. Connecting schools. In independent schools, culture is king.  That can translate to a reliance on the way we’ve always done it at our school.  By connecting schools across the country and around the world, we’ve found that we can break down this barrier and help educators see the multiple ways of “doing school.”
4. Breaking down misperceptions of online learning.  When we teach faculty online, they learn that online learning can work… something many faculty are skeptical of, creating a willingness to experiment more in the platform.
5. Lowering costs.  PD can be expensive, especially when travel is involved.  Online professional development allowed us to bring deeper and richer experiences to educators at a lower cost.

As we started to get involved in PD, we learned how many great partners support the independent school community. They wanted to build the skills necessary to bring great content and learning experiences online. So we partnered with them. Over the years, we’ve built courses with NBOA, NCGS, the Independent Curriculum Group, Folio, the IBSC, NAIS, and many state and regional associations.  We’ve even helped bring schools’ PD programs online.

The connections we make with independent school educators every year have grown into a rich and rewarding web of relationships. We’ll continue to expand our professional development offerings over the next number of years because we’re committed to supporting the worldwide community of  independent schools.

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Courses That Start June 10, 2019
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Courses That Start July 15, 2019
Beyond
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Introduction to Girls' Schools
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