Free Teacher Professional Development Opportunities

The following are taken from www.bigdealbook.com:

Adobe professional development workshops offer free, live online
product demonstrations, or view recorded online presentations and
seminars on how to implement digital communication skills and
eLearning solutions.
Suits: K–12 teachers, trainers, administrators
Costs: Free
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Web: http://www.adobe.com/education/resources/training/index.html

The Adobe Online Professional Development Resource Center offers
resources for schools and districts that want to use Adobe products for
online professional development. Resource support is available to create
and distribute on-demand professional development content,
incorporate live sessions with Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro and provide
guides for learners using Adobe Acrobat 9 PDF portfolio files. The free
PDF guides offer step-by-step help.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators, professional development staff
Costs: Free resource support; check online for Adobe product education
pricing
Web: http://www.adobe.com/education/resources/k12/resourcecenters/communication/communication_collaboration/


Annenberg Media uses media and telecommunications to advance
excellent teaching in American schools. Annenberg professional
development resources consist of instructional video-on-demand programs
with coordinated Web and print materials for K–12 professional
development. The VoD courses, searchable by discipline and grade, include
a Facilitator Guide and Teacher Talk email discussion list.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators, professional development staff
Costs: Free online; purchased on VHS/DVD by phone at 800-LEARNER
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Credits: Graduate credit available
Web: http://www.learner.org/

Tech & Learning and HP have teamed up to provide a free
professional development series called Fundamentals of K–12
Technology Programs. Each of the ten identified issues is a PDF
package that can be printed. The ten topics include Anytime, Anywhere
Learning, Technology Systems, Educational Technology Leadership, and
21st Century Learning and Assessment. Registration is free and includes
an option to receive free copies of Tech&Learning digital edition.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators, trainers, technology coordinators
Costs: Free
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Web: http://www.techlearning.com/article/15188

Here is a set of practices from The Knowledge Loom that support the
effective integration of technology into the curriculum. Good Models
of Teaching with Technology (GMOTT) is a free resource for assisting
teachers in preparing technology-enhanced units and lessons. The practices
are detailed in online spotlight selections or can be downloaded as an entire
book. Project samples are included along with a template that guides the
creation of customized units and lessons.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators
Costs: Free
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Web: http://knowledgeloom.org/gmott/index.jsp

Internet4Classrooms’ technology tutorials are easy to manage modules,
searchable by specific technology skill or selected as a complete module
set for a software application or technology integration project. Dozens of
available topics cover a wide range of technology tutorials, including
operating systems, Web page development, multimedia and WebQuests.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators
Costs: Free
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Web: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm

The Intel Teach Elements: Project-Based Approaches is a self-paced,
interactive course from the Intel Teach initiative. Explore project-based
approaches in your classroom that are free, just-in-time professional
development. The animated tutorials and interactive knowledge-checking
exercises help motivate and ensure deeper understanding of 21st century
learning concepts. Offline activities help teachers apply the concepts.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators
Costs: Free
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Web: http://www.intel.com/education/elements/

NCTM e-Workshops for fall cover a variety of math topics at different
levels, preK–12. Featured topics for fall include algebra, problem solving,
geometric thinking, math games and reasoning with data and probability.
Click the Fall 2009 schedule to register for specific titles. Each math topic is
a structured three-hour workshop or two 90-minute sessions consisting of
an initial workshop and a follow-up. One registration fee connects an entire
group to the session using one Internet connection, one phone line for the
live program with a projected or large-screen computer and speakerphone.
Participants get one electronic copy of the activities used in the e-Workshop
for classroom implementation.
Sample Session: Reasoning with Data and Probability – Grades 3 to 5
Participants: Grades 3–5; additional sessions for preK–2
Date: October 5, 2009; follow-up session, November 16, 2009
Suits: K–12 teachers
Costs: $179 fall registration
Locations and Dates: Vary; see online schedule
Credits: Credit available
Web: http://www.nctm.org/profdev/content.aspx?id=22846#reg

PBS TeacherLine offers more than 100 online professional
development courses in content areas, such as math, reading and technology
integration. Teacherline courses are developed through partnerships with
national leaders, such as the Concord Consortium, ISTE and McREL. The
newly updated Tech330 explores Web 2.0 tools (wikis, blogs and social
networking) within the context of collaborative classroom projects.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators, technology staff
Costs: Free trial for 30 days; Tech330, $199; check Web site or call
(800) 572-6386 for subscription pricing for all courses
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Credits: graduate credits available; 2 credits for Tech330
Web: http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/
Plus: The PBS TeacherLine Peer Connection offers more than 200
professional development modules for coaching, mentoring and
communities of practice.
Suits: K–12 coaches, trainers, administrators
Costs: Free trial for 30 days
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Web: http://www.pbs.org/peerconnection/

The Northeast & The Islands Regional Technology in Education
Consortium (NEIRTEC) has compiled papers, lessons, tools and guides
to support technology planning and integration. Of particular note is the
Collaborative Evaluation Led by Local Educators: A Practical, Print-and
Web-Based Guide. The detailed guide links to how-to Web resources for
each stage of evaluation.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators, technology integration team
Costs: Free
Web: http://www.neirtec.org/tools.htm

The Professional Development Focus of the Year series identifies
resources from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
journals, publications, Web sites, e-Workshops and sessions at the Annual
Meeting and Regional Conferences that relate to one of the key themes
from Principles and Standards of School Mathematics. The 2009 focus is
Equity: All Means All. Resources are categorized by Elementary, Middle
School and High School, and past Focus of the Year themes are archived.
Articles cover general classroom strategies, research and publications.
Enhanced articles include a professional development guide with discussion
questions, activities and extensions. Articles can be purchased and
downloaded directly from the Web site.
Web: http://www.nctm.org/profdev/content.aspx?id=10836

ProQuest’s Training & Support Center offers quick-start guides,
free-Web training sessions, recorded videos, PowerPoints, information on
setting up in-person training and more. Get video podcasts via Apple iTunes
and Adobe Flash. Click Web Class Lists | Dates for the free Web Training
Classes. Whether you select self-paced or on-site, the extensive list of
workshops makes it easy to find training to meet individual or staff needs.
Register for a free trial of ProQuest K–12 to explore the research tools.
Suits: K–12 teachers, administrators
Costs: Free
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime; see online schedule for Web
training classes
Web: http://www.proquestk12.com/trainingsupport.shtml

Thinkfinity offers several free professional development training
opportunities for individual educators to learn more about the Verizon
Foundation’s Thinkfinity resource. The following options are available:
• Self-guided overview
Audience: Educators, parents, after-school practitioners
Delivery: Online via FLASH (15 minutes)
• Educator Webinar
Audience: Educators
Delivery: Interactive Webinar (1 hour)
• Thinkfinity Literacy Network Offerings
Audience: Educators; literacy program administrators, staff and
volunteers; students of all ages; English language learners; parents and
caregivers; community members
Delivery: Online courses, self-paced and self-moderated (30 to 90 minutes
per course)
Suits: K–12 teachers, trainers, administrators, professional development
staff
Costs: Free
Locations and Dates: Online, anywhere/anytime
Web: http://www.thinkfinity.org/pd/request_training.aspx

Cloud Computing

I have been encouraging students and colleagues to migrate from Microsoft Office 2004 (ours is an Apple school) to Google Docs primarily because most already have Gmail accounts. However, I remain conflicted regarding which online service would best serve our needs. One thing is certain. As a small inner-city Catholic girls high school, we have better uses for our limited resources than upgrading our MS Office and Adobe software products every few years. Migration to free or very low cost online services becomes a higher priority as our locally installed software suites continue to age. While we can't completely rule out free locally installed substitutes such as Open Office, keeping things technically simple through use of web-based applications appeals to me. Complicating the issue is, of course, the question of trust. Will whatever service we adopt be reliable, safe and secure in the long run? On the other hand, are our aging servers and lack of a reliable backup system even less trustworthy?

There are an ever increasing number of viable options and even Microsoft has announced their 2010 planned entry into the market. Microsoft plans to offer reduced editions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. I've only started to look closely at Zoho.com's offerings and so far I'm impressed by both the depth and breadth. Consider a web-based suite of applications that includes:
--word processing ("Writer");
--spreadsheet ("Sheet");
--presentation ("Show");
--customer relations manager ("CRM");
--e-mail ("Mail");
--note taker ("Notebook");
--document management ("Docs");
--wiki ("Wiki");
--organizing tool ("Planner");
--instant messaging and group chat (Chat");
--web conferencing ("Meeting");
--project management ("Project")
--web applications creator ("Creator");
--database and reporting ("Reports");
--invoice ("Invoice"); and
--centralized public repository ("Share").

This could be the one but will they be around long enough? At least give it a look.

Intro to Technology Integration

Two-minute introductory integration video from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction-video.

Nine-minute overview integration video from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-overview-video.

Free technology for teachers: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/08/masher-great-video-creation-tool.html.

"I need my teachers to learn": http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/09/i-need-my-teachers-to-learn-great-new.html.