Teachers are dynamic practitioners that will forever be learners. Just to renew their credentials; every one to two years, teachers must complete a certain amount of educational credits to renew their teaching license. It’s funny to think back to 10 years ago, teachers had to attend local workshops, college courses, and take classes by looking at a magazine or catalog to earn their credits. Now that the internet is here, we have options! Teachers have the luxury of taking classes or participating in online workshops from the comfort of their homes.

Online learning can be truly beneficial

Many teachers who choose to take online courses or classes do because it is much more convenient than commuting to an educational center two to four times a week. There is no commute, parking fees, and wasted travel. They don’t have to rearrange their schedule or miss out on classes they actually want to take because the learning center is too far away. All they need to do is find a comfortable spot in their home, coffee shop, or their classroom after school and start studying. Materials are available 24/7 and they can communicate with other educators on their own time (Professional Development Courses for Teachers).

Were you successful in your online course?

Many studies show that the current methods of educating teachers for online professional development are lacking (Darling & Linda, 2017). However, one study shows that when teachers who are taking classes online are treated like adults, they are more likely to succeed and earn grades and higher scores than they would if they were monitored in a face-to-face class but we know that just like online learning, real-life teachings require special methods and resources in order to be effective.

I’m a huge fan of Face to Face but like the convenience of online learning

According to Peterson and Bond, when pedagogy is taken into consideration and taught effectively there is no significant difference between face-to-face and online. We know that teacher preparation programs do well in a face-to-face learning environment with 1. instructional planning and 2. developing interpersonal skills for teaching. When thinking about K12 students they serve; the study has proven that face-to-face is a true advantage for lower-performing students.

References

Darling-Hammond, Linda|Hyler. “Effective Teacher Professional Development.” Learning Policy Institute, Learning Policy Institute. 1530 Page Mill Road Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA 94304. Tel: 650-332-9797; e-Mail: Info@Learningpolicyinstitute.org; Web Site: Https://Learningpolicyinstitute.org, 31 May 2017, eric.ed.gov/?id=ED606743.

Max Roser and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina (2016) - "Literacy". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/literacy'

Peterson, Cynthia & Bond, Nathan. (2004). Online Compared to Face-to-Face Teacher Preparation for Learning Standards-Based Planning Skills. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. 36. 345-360. 10.1080/15391523.2004.10782419.

Professional Development Courses for Teachers.” CE Credits Online, www.cecreditsonline.org/collections/courses.