UWM offering course on online teaching for K-12 teachers

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Education is offering a new “micro-credential” to help elementary and high school teachers improve their online teaching abilities.

Courses will be offered in two sessions: From July 13 to July 29, and from July 20 to Aug. 5 and will be a mix of online class meetings and independent work over a total of 25 hours each session.

The need for such a micro-credential has become apparent as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected public education and created challenges in elementary and high school classrooms, according to Simone Conceição, professor of administrative leadership.

The goals of the course are to help teachers overcome these challenges using innovations in online learning as a framework. Teachers will learn how to design lessons that promote online presence, digital communications, interactivity and community building.

Using the design thinking process, participants will define design challenges, create solutions, develop prototypes and test design solutions.

Instructors for the courses include Conceição, who has written a number of books about online learning; Candance Doerr-Stevens, assistant professor of teaching and learning, who teaches digital literacy; and Kirstin Gaura, information technology consultant for the School of Education.

For more information or questions about the program, go to
https://uwm.edu/education/academics/pillars-innovation-design-k-12-online-learning-environments/ or contact:
Dr. Simone Conceição
simonec@uwm.edu