Frontline Blog

Implementing professional learning programs to meet the needs of all teachers and staff has always been challenging. Over the past few months, a monumental shift has thrust many schools and districts into what feels like a tailspin: “We have to put together online personalized content using new resources and tools — as quickly as possible!”

Educators often look at a new technology and wonder how it will support ongoing improvement in teaching practice. Will it be cost effective and easy to use? Early attempts to harness video weren’t always successful because, frankly, videos were hard to share in a useful context. But today, advanced video tools (such as, well, your phone) make it possible to use this medium to benefit classroom instruction in a meaningful way. Using video to support ongoing improvement for teachers is easier than it has ever been.

The training of teachers has a long and storied history in America. While earlier efforts were a far cry from today's education programs — not to mention PLCs, online just-in-time learning and cycles of continuous improvement — efforts to help teachers grow in classroom practice predate the Declaration of Independence.

Micro-credentials are picking up steam in the professional learning world. From what you’ve heard, you might think of them as merely a series of badges learners can earn (more on that later). But there is far more to micro-credentials than that.

Continuous improvement - an idea that has taken root in other industries - is increasingly seen in K-12. Often, it refers to continuous school improvement and long-term growth in student achievement, engagement, attendance and the like.

There are so many reasons to use online learning as part of your professional development strategy. Classes available on-demand? Just click a button. The ability for hundreds of individual people, each engaging in unique learning that meets a wide variety of needs? Check. Cost-savings compared to in-person workshops? You bet.

Teacher engagement in professional learning is a topic we’ve talked about a fair amount at Frontline Education. How can school systems increase that engagement? And what does it look like to put teachers in control of their own PD? Providing relevant, just-in-time PD opportunities is part of the answer — and online professional development course libraries can provide a wealth of on-demand learning for teachers. But the district’s role doesn’t stop there. Studies have shown that ongoing district support is vital if such a program will be successful.  

Though many organizations have heard the term “learning management system” (LMS), only those in the educational space have heard the term "Professional Development Management System" (PDMS), and for good reason: the two do not perform the same functions or meet the same objectives. That matters to any educational organization considering which type of system they need.

You’ve probably heard a lot of terms around online learning like synchronous and asynchronous, on demand, blended, eLearning, and if you’re really paying attention, LMS and SCORM. It probably feels like a lot to learn for something that’s just an augmentation to face-to-face learning, right?