Educational Technology: professional development

July 22, 2014
Today as I was browsing through Coursera looking for some new upcoming courses I came across a bunch of important courses for teachers. These courses are free and you can take them right from the comfort of your coach. You can also check out this link for the complete list of newly released courses. The courses are provided by different institutions and universities and span different periods of times. Some of these courses offer verified certificate.

Here are some interesting courses that stood out to me from this list:

1-Supporting Children with Difficulties in Reading and Writing
This course is for teachers to learn why some children have so much difficulty with reading and writing and to learn more about best practice in teaching literacy to all, in light of recent scientific discoveries.

2- Copyright for Educators and Librarians
This course is a professional development opportunity designed to provide a basic introduction to US copyright law and to empower teachers and librarians at all grade levels. Course participants will discover that the law is designed to help educators and librarians.
3- Performance Assessment in Virtual Classrooms
Performance and Assessment in the Virtual Classroom explores the myths and challenges of assessing performance virtually. Topics include effective measures of assessing students, compliance issues, feedback models for students, online gradebook functions, and data analysis.
4- What Future for Education
Everyone has experienced education as a learner: these experiences shape how we view and value education, and how we think it should develop in the future. In this course we critically examine a range of ideas around education: including learning, teaching and schooling. Our aim is to consider what our preferred future for education might look like.
5- Learning How to Learn
Whether you are an outstanding or a struggling student, "Learning How to Learn" will give you powerful mental tools that will help you learn more effectively in tough-to-master subjects. You will discover practical, immediately useful insights that will help you to more deeply master your studies.
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July11, 2014
Here is a useful visual from ASCD featuring 7 signs of professional learning. These are aggregated quips from some authoritative figures in the field of education. This visual is also available for free download from this link.

To be successful in professional development efforts we must plan backward, beginning with the student learning outcomes. ( Thomas R. Guskey,p. 10)
Just as surgeons see observations and coaching as vital to improving their craft, so should teachers. ( Emily Dolci Grimm, Trent Kaufman, and Dave Doty, p. 24)
We have to remember that teachers are professionals who use their classrooms as innovative laboratories and want to engage in authentic learning. (Kristen Swanson, p. 36)
Teachers have a great deal of knowledge about their practice and their students that is incredibly valuable to other teachers. (Rebecca Van Tassell,p.76)
When video recording is shared in a way that supports each educator's intrinsic desire to improve, it can be a powerful tool for rapid, significant improvement. (Jim Knight, p.18)
Educators must ensure that professional learning networks are more than a forum for sharing war stories or platform for promoting personal preferences about instruction. (Richard Dufour, p.30)
When professional development fails to deliver genuine, face-to-face interactions with other people, educators feel cheated. (John Settlage and Adam Johnst0n, p.67)