Online Courses Popular with Teachers

Since the start of our On-line Course Offerings in January of 2009, twenty-three educators and administrators have participated in a total of thirty-five on-line courses through our Greene ESC On-line Academy. Many of these participants have earned graduate credit to apply toward licensure or salary advancement.  Others have used the courses as year-long resources to support their work with students.  According to Donna Shoup, Greene ESC Professional Development Coordinator, the courses have been well received. These are some of the comments she has received:

“I have been very pleased with how convenient the courses are…to be able to schedule when you want to take your classes (any time—day or night) has proven to be very beneficial to me.”

“All in all it has been a lifesaver to be able to take courses online at such a low cost as well!!”

“The format of the courses allows me to meet my goals in a flexible way - both from the courses offered as well as the fact I can work on them when I have time.  This helps with a busy schedule.”

“I do feel it has helped to maintain my knowledge of what is currently going on in the state of Ohio classrooms…..as well as refresh my memory on a few “tried and true” topics.”

“Courses were very easy to access and navigate.  I liked the fact that when I stopped for the day, I could go back to where I had left off.”     

“I especially liked being able to go through the modules at my own pace and to review modules if I found the information particularly useful or interesting.”

“The course definitely increased my knowledge and helped me grow as an educator.  Besides lecture-style modules, there were several modules of teachers using the various strategies and techniques being discussed.  This was most helpful.”

Teachers and administrators report that they like the convenience of being able to work on these courses in the comfort of their own home at a pace that matches their personal schedule. 

The decision to offer on-line courses was based upon the desire to offer enriched and varied opportunities to area educators using cutting-edge instructional delivery.  Participants can choose among thirty-six different courses to customize a professional development plan to fit their specific needs.   Instruction consists of streaming videos including nationally known speakers and actual classroom examples, outlines, printable hand-outs, and on-line assessments.  Graduate credit is available for these courses from both Antioch McGregor University and Ashland University.  Both universities permit participants to combine the course completion hours from two or more courses to accumulate the number of hours they need for graduate credit.  This option supports an individualized approach to professional growth for each participant.

Those interested in this Professional Development option can access our on-line courses from the Greene ESC homepage in the dropdown menu entitled “For Educators.”    Click on “On-line Courses for Educators” to access a full-page explanation including a link to the “Course Registration Form.”  The Greene ESC plans to continue to offer these on-line opportunities throughout the school year and through the summer as well.