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Distance Learning

Professional Development

for Minnesota Adult Basic Education (ABE) professionals

  • 2022-23 Professional Development Opportunities
  • Get Up to Speed with Distance Learning

Cohort Courses

  • DL 101: Planning Your DL Program Strategy: Designed for teachers and administrators new to distance education, this intensive 8 month course combining face-to-face, online learning, and webinars allows you to build and implement a Distance Learning plan for your ABE site/program with support from experienced DL instructors and a cohort of your peers. The course begins in early November, with development of site plans in November-December, and monthly support webinars January-April. Approximately 25 CEUs. Facilitated by Adam Kieffer . For further information and an application form, click here.
  • Building an EdTech Strategy Tooklit (the BEST) is designed to help you develop a strategic approach to designing and implementing edtech-based routines with your learners. It will begin January 30, 2023. Over the course of the following 10-12 weeks, you will engage with a series of readings and activities that will walk you through the process of designingsustainableedtech routines based on evidence-based strategies that are centered around your learners' needs and your instructional context. Facilitated by Susan Wetenkamp-Brandt . For more information, click here.
  • HyFlex Community of Practice: Join Minnesota ABE colleagues for this series of informal meetings on Hyflex instruction this fall! Meetings will focus on sharing and building on our collective knowledge in this new instructional format that is growing in popularity.Open to all, no HyFlex experience necessary. This is an informal, facilitated group in which teachers share knowledge and experiences in teaching HyFlex classes. For more information, contact Cathy Grady .

        * October 27, 3-4 pm

        * November 17, 3-4 pm

        * December 15, 3-4 pm

Online Courses

  • Get to Know Google Classroom  is a self-paced, asynchronous course for adult education teachers who are new to using Google Classroom, a learning management system commonly used in Minnesota schools. This course introduces teachers to the platform and walks through the steps of setting up a class, inviting learners to join the class, creating assignments, and sharing and collaborating with other teachers. The Distance Learning Team extends our sincere thanks to adult education teacher Kris Klas of the Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning for sharing their original class and materials with us so that we can make them available to all adult educators in Minnesota. To join the course, go to Google Classroom , login with your Google Account, and enter class code: td3vjxb, or use the link above.
  • Distance and Blended Learning Basics for Minnesota Adult Education  has replaced DL Basics. This course was designed for education providers and practitioners teaching adult basic academic skills, ESOL, and literacy at a distance and/or through blended learning; it provides strategies and resources that are essential for both setting up and implementing distance education or teaching with a blended approach. The course includes six modules: Getting Started With Distance And Blended Learning; Outreach, Screening, & Orientation: Supporting Distance Learners From The Start;  Effective Distance & Blended Learning Instruction; Assessment; MN ABE Distance Education Policy and Procedures; and Teacher Verification Model (TVM) in Practice."
  • Northstar Digital Literacy Foundations  provides an introduction to the Northstar Digital Literacy standards  and how they can be integrated into any adult education course.  The Northstar standards are one of three required sets of content standards for adult education in Minnesota (along with the College and Career Readiness Standards and the ACES-TIF standards).  This course is intended for Minnesota Adult Education teachers, managers, program coordinators, and anyone in a role supporting learners or staff with digital literacy instruction (e.g., curriculum specialists, distance learning coordinators, technology integration specialists, digital navigators, volunteer tutors, etc.).  Participants will earn 5 CEUs upon completion

"Before the course I wasn't sure whether distance learning was something I could comfortably tackle. Now, though I have just been introduced to it, I feel that it is something I want to try. Why not, for crying out loud!"

- Satisfied participant

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Take a self-paced course through World Ed Online

World-Ed offers a series of three free online self-paced courses related to distance learning:Introduction to Blended Learning; Introduction to Mobile Learning, and Open Educational Resources. Go here to get started, and here to learn how to self-enroll in any of these courses:

  • MN Introduction to Blended Learning: This mini course introduces participants to essential and foundational information about blended learning. It includes key definitions, strategies, examples, and reflective activities primarily presented in multimedia format. The goal of the course is for teachers tunderstand the different forms of blended learning and how they might integrate them into their coursework.
  • MN Introduction to Mobile Learning: Welcome to the Introduction to Mobile Learning course. This multi-media mini course introduces participants to the basics of integrating mobile devices into their classroom, distance, or blended instruction. It includes key definitions, suggested strategies, examples, and reflective activities to help teachers incorporate what they have learned into their practice. The goal of the course is for teachers to understand the different ways adult learners and their teachers can use flip-phones, smartphones and tablets to enhance learning both in and out of the classroom.
  • MN Open Educational Resources: This mini course introduces participants to essential information about Open Educational Resources (OERs). It includes key definitions, examples and reflective activities presented primarily in multimedia format. The goal of the course is for teachers to understand the benefits of using OERs, know where to find them, and how to evaluate their effectiveness.