Originally I had planned to cover Oceans this week, but the topic has been changed to OPD for teachers so that you will have these resources handy over the summer. There is an emerging movement in education to provide online courses and professional development programs online, sometimes through major universities, sometimes through private corporations. Regardless, the movement is a powerful one as consumers look for easier access to educational opportunities on their own schedules with specific attention to their individualized needs.

This issue scratches the surface of the possibilities for online learning for educators. Whether you're looking for continuing education units for recertification, training in specific areas of curriculum, methods and technology, or a degree at the Masters or Doctorate level, online learning has options you owe it to yourself to consider. After all, if we're going to meet the needs of our students, we need to meet our own learning needs first! In addition to my digital dozen, I would also suggest taking a look at Brain Connection Online Courses <http://www.brainconnection.com/pdsplash/>, iEARN <http://www.iearn.org/professional/online.html>, and Virtual Field Trip Teacher Training <http://www.virtualblackboard.com/training.htm>.

Next week will be our final issue for this volume of the Innovative Teaching Newsletter with coverage of the newest, most exciting technologies for education. Thank you all for your continued interest and support!

• ASCD - http://www.ascd.org/framepdonline.html
  The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development offers interactive, multimedia courses on a variety of topics including Dimensions of Learning, Multiple Intelligences, Differentiating Instruction, Evaluating Software and Internet Resources and Designing Performance Assessments. Courses are self-paced to help meet the needs of your busy schedule (or relaxed summer vacation). Courses cost $34.95 each, and you have up to six months from the time you first register to complete a class.
• Connected University - http://cu.classroom.com
  Online professional development for educators, packaged at a flat rate wherein you can take as many classes as you would like in the course of a year. Topics include content area studies, administrative and technology coordinator training, and a number of offerings on instructional strategies from lesson plans to projects, and classes run typically from 3 to 6 weeks. There's the option of receiving graduate credits for your work, and new self-paced courses are being added to their catalog as we speak.
• From Now On Online Professional Development - http://fnopress.com/online.html
  Jamie McKenzie offers these online courses with the same high quality you have come to expect from his FNO newsletter. Choose from titles such as Crunching Numbers: Exploring the World with Data, Writing: from Start to Finish, Searching for the Grail: Learning How to Find Quality Information and Power Learning Problem-Based Learning: A River in Trouble? Site licenses begin at $50 for 50 or fewer users and go up to $700 for more than 2000 users.
• Heritage Institute - http://www.hol.edu/index2.cfm
  The Heritage Institute offers graduate-level online courses for teachers, with such offerings as Museums In The Classroom: A Performance Assessment Model, Voices From The Oregon Trail: The Western Migration From Pioneer Journals and Student Research Projects: How to Achieve Excellence. You have a full year to complete any course and the strands offered here are well developed. It is $355 for 400 level grad credits and $380 for 500 level grad credits through Antioch University.
• Indiana University - http://education.indiana.edu/~disted/index.html
  IU offers fully accredited Master's level coursework delivered over the Internet with topics covering the range of elementary and secondary curricula. Graduate-level credit is offered that will help meet the recertification requirements in school districts across the country and around the world. Credits can also be applied to a Master's degree program. For other excellent university-based programs, check out the University of Pennsylvania <http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/pub/index.shtml>, the University of Texas <http://www.telecampus.utsystem.edu/>, Pepperdine University <http://gsep.pepperdine.edu/programs/MAET/omet/> and the University of Phoenix <http://www.uofphx.quinstreet.com/html/index.jsp>.
• National Teachers Enhancement Network - http://btc.montana.edu/nten/
  NTEN offers professional development opportunities through Montana State University and a grant from the National Science Foundation. There is a one grad credit tuition-free online courses for elementary science kit users and Summer 2002 math and science offerings including Integrating Mathematics and Science through Modeling, Terrestrial Ecology of Plains and Prairies and Construction of Curriculum. Tuition is typically $540 and does not include textbook costs.
• Teacher Universe - http://www.riverdeep.com/pro_development/index.jhtml
  Riverdeep presents this online professional development program for educators that offers self-paced, instructor-led and train-the-trainer course formats. The Assess Online tool helps you to find a custom tailored list of course offerings that meet your needs instructionally and technologically. Pricing was not readily evident on the site and I had difficulty reaching their customer service by phone over the weekend. Their toll free number is available on the website and they are supposed to be available daily from 5 Am to 5 PM PST.
• Teacherline - http://teacherline.pbs.org/teacherline/
  PBS offers its own online professional development service for teachers, with media-rich online modules based on ISTE NETS*T and state technology standards. You can earn course completion certificates, continuing education hours and grade credits (where available) and your commitment is usually 15 - 20 hours of work. Current catalog offerings include Advanced Topics in Curriculum Mapping, Children's Authors on the Web: Online Sites that Motivate Students to Write and Count On It!: Number Sense for Grades K-5.
• Teachers Training with Technology - http://education.ti.com/t3/onlinecourses/onlinecourses.html
  Texas Instruments offers this online program to help teachers learn how to integrate technology into their instruction. The current course offering is Algebra Using the TI-83 Plus. It contains 27 self-paced learning modules written by experienced T3 Instructors. Each module has two to four lessons on integrating the TI-83 Plus into the Math classroom. The $225 registration fee includes 25 hours of Continuing Education Credits for those who successfully complete the course.
• T.H.E. Institute - http://www.thejournal.com/institute/
  The same folks who bring you T.H.E. Journal offer T.H.E.Institute, covering basic skills, technology integration, and administrative leadership titles for educators. Course titles include Web Design Made Easy, Using the WWW to teach Middle School Mathematics, Integrating Technology with Classroom Teaching and Learning: Designing a Mini-project. Basic skills courses are $79, Integration courses are $179 and Administration courses are $159 per module, $279 for two modules and a CEU certificate, or $1,200 for the complete series and certification of completion.
• University of Wisconsin - Stout - http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/
  Joan Vandervelde and team offer a growing collection of topnotch professional development opportunities for educators, including Teaching Writing with the 6-Traits, Problem Based Learning with WebQuests, Bullying in Schools, and Digital Photography Basics for the Classroom Teacher, and a number of other subjects. Earn graduate credits and meet career development goals for re-certification, advancement on the salary schedule, and portfolio documentation of professional growth. You may participate from your home or school computer. Tuition is the same for in-state and out-of-state students. Classes run from six to ten weeks and are instructor-led.
• WebEd - http://www.webed.com/
  WedEd offers self-paced online professional development recertification and graduate credit courses to K–12 teachers and administrators. Each course contains 10 lessons and costs $100 for 10 professional development credit hours. The K-12 catalog covers all disciplines plus administration, assessment, technology training, instructional strategies and special education. There's also a four course parent's autism series that are free to parents of children with autism.

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