In the past year, a greater interest in online learning has brought forth a flurry of discussion on what schools should offer their students and teachers in terms of training and course development suited for an online medium. The 2007 Speak Up Survey conducted by Project Tomorrow polled students, teachers, parents, and school leaders across the country, asking questions about technology in schools that included a focus on online learning. Not surprisingly, high school students take online classes for the purposes of acquiring college credit, electing classes not offered at their schools, and taking courses at their own pace. In the survey, the main reason middle school and upper elementary students took an online course to get extra help in their studies. Mathematics topped the list of subjects middle and upper elementary students reported in seeking out supplemental coursework online. (NSDL Site to See: For some great math manipulatives, try the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. The site is easy to navigate through and has materials for all grade levels, as well as versions in Spanish.)

26% of the teachers surveyed preferred online training as their most preferred method of professional development, a dramatic increase from the previous year, as teachers become more acquainted with online learning. To learn more about how your school can participate in the annual Speak Up survey, receiving national and local data reports, go to Project Tomorrow. The 2008 survey will be released mid-October. (NSDL Site to See: To participate in 90-minute, free online professional development, register for one of the NSDL Web Seminars in partnership with the National Science Teachers’ Association, NSTA).

Other exemplary online professional development programs for course credit: NSTA Online Short Courses—the next one starting Tuesday, September 30th on energy. This is a 5-week course. Another excellent teacher professional development offering is WGBH Teachers’ Domain: courses on multimedia resources for the classroom. Using the materials found within Teachers’ Domain, teachers take an in-depth view of materials from PBS programs such as NOVA, ZOOM, and Frontline around specific topics to develop curricular units and activities around them.