Asynchronous Learning Modules for Educators

Overview

One of the biggest factors in determining the success of the implementation of an edtech tool is educator proficiency and comfort with the tool. Once a district has invested time and resources into piloting and selecting an edtech tool that best suits their needs, the next step is creating a strong rollout process – providing training, knowledge, and support that educators need to effectively implement the tool into their practice. A well-designed rollout will prepare users to incorporate a tool seamlessly into their lessons and utilize it effectively to impact teaching and learning.

Many districts offer in-person professional development to train educators on new tools and platforms, often provided by the edtech vendor and/or the district technology team. However, lack of time, competing priorities, and teachers’ varying technical skills are just a few of the challenges that districts encounter when setting up real-time PD offerings, all of which were exacerbated by the shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an attempt to address these challenges and offer a more flexible option for professional learning, Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) in Massachusetts created a series of “choose-your-own” asynchronous learning modules that provided educators the option to select which tools they wanted to learn more about, when and where they wanted to engage in training, and how fast they wanted to complete the module, based on their skill and comfort level.

CPS created approximately 30 asynchronous learning modules, offering self-paced training around edtech pedagogy and specific tools the district had invested in, such as Google Forms, FlipGrid, Padlet, and others. The modules were built in Google Slides, a platform that was easily accessible for CPS educators and served as an opportunity for the technology team to model use of an edtech tool so teachers could mirror it in their own instruction. The modules covered several elements, including teacher examples, tutorials, how-to guides, and final tasks, and were designed to take the average participant approximately two hours to complete. Once educators finished a module, they submitted a final task to demonstrate their mastery of the tool. The CPS edtech team then reviewed and verified the submission, and educators received PD credit for their time.

In creating these asynchronous learning modules, the CPS team focused on several key pieces that made the modules accessible, inclusive, and differentiated to meet the unique needs of the district’s educator population. These thoughtful considerations led to high engagement with the learning modules and overall positive feedback from the participating educators. Some of these elements were:

• Accessibility: The learning modules were all created in Google Slides, which allows anyone in the district to access the content. Instead of using a learning management system or another portal to host the modules, the CPS team chose a more universal platform (Google Suite) that everyone was already comfortable with and could easily access without creating a new account or downloading a new application. Short videos were embedded directly into slide decks, which helped users view the content directly in the slides and reduced the need to navigate between multiple tabs or browsers. All videos (both vendor-created and district-created) were hosted on YouTube and Google Drive, eliminating the need to download or utilize different streaming platforms for media, which may have been challenging for users on mobile devices or those using web-only browsers. Videos included several key elements, including: closed captioning, allowing users to watch the material without sound; a brief description, allowing for users to preview the material; and a written transcript, allowing users to read through the video’s content instead of watching it in real-time.

• Inclusion of Educator Voice: The learning modules included “teacher shares,” videos created by CPS teachers explaining how they used the edtech tool in their classroom or context. The CPS technology team encouraged teachers from different content areas and grade levels to share their experiences with the tool to offer various use cases for instruction. Including educator voice in professional development helps participants envision how they can adopt a tool in their own context, making the content more relatable and engaging.

• Authentic Tasks: Embedded within and at the end of each learning module are “tasks” for participants to perform, prompting them to practice using a specific function or demonstrate an application of the tool upon completion of the module. These tasks were designed to authentically reflect the utilization of the tool in a participant’s classroom or context; for example, for a learning module focused on Google Forms, a teacher may be asked to create a formative assessment using Google Forms that they can implement in their classroom that week. Participants are required to submit a “final task” at the end of each module in order to receive professional learning credit. The CPS team created a universal module submission form that participants completed by either uploading a screenshot or file of their final task; this form also asked participants to provide the district feedback on the learning experience.

• Learning Supports: Each module contained a link to an optional learning journal, a document in which participants could jot down their ideas and takeaways as they worked through the module. The journal also included module-specific prompts that encouraged participants to explore and reflect further as they learned more about implementing the tool. Several slides also contained a “virtual helpline” link that users could turn to if they got stuck, which first directed them to a video tutorial and the district’s EdTech Learning Resources website. If these resources did not help address the question, participants could get in touch with a CPS Instructional Technology Specialist for personalized support. Finally, the last slide of each module contained suggestions for similar learning modules that participants could explore, helping them navigate to related topics and continue their asynchronous learning journey.

• Technical Assistance: Throughout each learning module, tips and ideas on navigating through each section were shared to support users who may require additional technical assistance. The CPS team provided numerous screenshots with arrows to pinpoint where users should be focusing, step-by-step instructions on performing simple functions (e.g., take a screenshot, log into a platform), links to navigate to other slides within the deck, and visual tutorials on submitting final tasks. This scaffolded approach allows all users to fully interact with the materials, regardless of their technical skills, and differentiates instruction to adapt to a range of user proficiency with the edtech tool.

As one of the key drivers of successful edtech implementation, educators need to be proficient and comfortable with an edtech tool to integrate it effectively into their practice. Offering opportunities for educators to become familiar with tools is a crucial step of the training process, whether through real-time professional development or asynchronous learning modules, like the options created by CPS above. When designing professional learning materials, it is essential to create them through a lens of accessibility, inclusion, and differentiation to meet the needs of all educators, who, in turn, can effectively serve their diverse student population and community.

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More information on designing an edtech implementation plan and providing various training opportunities for educators can be found in the Massachusetts DESE EdTech Systems Guide, including a supplementary workbook, a throughline example, and external resources.