VHS to Offer New Courses in Online Learning for K-12 Teachers

Feb. 6, 2012 - PRLog -- Maynard, MA– Virtual High School Global Consortium (http://www.govhs.org), the pioneer of K-12 online learning and course design for teachers, today announced the expansion of their award-winning professional development program for K-12 teachers. Answering the call for introductory courses that quickly enable teachers to incorporate new strategies into their classrooms, Virtual High School (VHS) is now offering four condensed online learning modules.

“There aren’t a lot of opportunities today for teachers to learn the fundamentals of online and blended learning,” said Liz Pape, President & CEO of VHS. “These courses enable instructors to learn the basics quickly and really master new techniques they can apply immediately in their classrooms.”
   
VHS’s new online professional development modules are three week courses offering 10 hours of coursework. Designed to be taken alone or in a series, the classes begin on March 7 with Introduction to Blended Learning. In three short weeks, teachers explore the value of creating technology-rich learning environments and investigate various blending learning concepts. They also learn about their own role in the process and strategies creating effective blended learning opportunities. Other courses offered include the following.

•   Open Educational Resources in the K-12 Classroom – Introduces teachers to the world of Open Educational Resources that will help them enrich and expand learning opportunities for their students.
•   Introduction to Technology-Infused Teaching and Learning - Investigates the challenges and benefits of teaching digital-age students and promising practices for creating technology-rich teaching environments.
•   Walk Throughs: Looking for Learning in 21st Century Classrooms – Designed for teacher-leaders and school administrators, this module covers the what, why, and how of using walk throughs to assess technology-infused classrooms.

These courses are available to all K-12 teachers worldwide. The cost for staff of existing VHS member schools is $139 per course and for non-members, $99 per course. Teachers can earn 10 PDPs (1 CEU) for completing the course. To register or for more information, go to http://govhs.org/Pages/ProfDev-Home.

About Virtual High School (VHS)
Virtual High School is the pioneer of online course design and instruction for teachers and online education for high school students. Virtual High School partners with schools to provide rigorous, student-centered online courses that help expand rather than replace existing curriculum options. The VHS collaborative includes 676 member schools and more than 15,000 enrolled students from 30 U.S. states and 43 countries.  The recipient of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 2005, 2007 and 2008 awards for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices and the Stockholm Challenge 2001 Award for exemplary use of technology in education, VHS was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.goVHS.org or call (978) 897-1900.

Press Contact: Carol Arnold, Arnold Communications, carol@arnoldcomm.com, (877) 718-4604 x2.

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The pioneer of K-12 online learning and course design for teachers, Virtual High School (VHS) is a non-profit collaborative of high schools, middle schools, teachers and students.