McREL Online Learning Communities
 

A professional learning community
Research says that professional development is most effective when it aims to create professional learning communities — places where teachers learn and work together to apply research to improving student achievement. By providing ongoing professional development and support for teachers, McREL can help you create professional learning communities in your school or district.

Practical, research-based learning
During two online sessions held every month of the school year, McREL translates research into practical guidance for teachers. During the first session, we introduce new research-based practices and show teachers how to apply them in their classrooms. During the follow-up session, we answer teachers' questions and show them how to integrate technology into the practices they are learning.

Ongoing, online, collegial learning & support
Quality professional development is not a one-time event, but rather an ongoing process through which teachers learn and reflect on new content. To support such ongoing learning, McREL hosts a customized Web site, which includes all materials from workshop sessions and a discussion forum, where teachers can share successes and challenges and get advice from McREL experts.

Guidance for leaders
At the beginning of the year, McREL provides a three-day orientation session to leaders from each participating school, during which we review goals for the year, overview content to be covered, and provide hands-on training with the video conferencing software.

Download the Online Learning Communities trifold brochure.

Praise for McREL's Online Learning Communities:

• It was just fantastic. We did it after school, all of our teachers in one room with a small camera on top of the computer. It created a lot of discussion in the school and the teachers got into trying the lessons in their classes.
  — Kelley Rogers, superintendent in North Mercer County, Missouri
  


• The concentrated focus on a specific strategy monthly, has formulated a deeper self-reflection amongst our staff as a whole. When discussing strategies as a staff, the collaborative sharing has greatly increased along with the willingness to take more risks in the technological arena and modify current best practices. As a result the quality of student production has increased.
  — Eric Steele, principal of Canton-Galva High School in Canton, Kansas
  


• I am convinced that [McREL's program] is what we need to be doing in the classroom.  The synergy that exists between the Online Learning Community and Classroom Instruction that Works creates a powerful tool for educators.
  — Brian Dzwonek, director of the 29-90 Distance Learning Consortium in Salem, South Dakota
  

View or download the OLC Technology Matrix for information about which technologies are used with each of the teaching strategies.

Watch a short video about McREL's Online Learning Communities on the YouTube Web site.

• Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (workshop)
• McREL's Technology Solutions (MTS)