Following a 2014 that saw major initiatives in digital learning the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching Digital Learning is focused on creating more online resources for educators.
The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching continues to respond to the state initiative of improving digital learning with the appointment of a Senior Digital Learning Specialist.
Dr. Jonathan D. Wade of Cullowhee has been selected to help expand the online possibilities NCCAT can offer in the post of Senior Digital Learning Specialist. Wade has already been a leader in several advances in digital learning at NCCAT. Many of which are scheduled to expand in 2015. A few of those efforts include:
• NCCAT Online was introduced in 2014. As an extension of our face-to-face programming and our current focus on Digital Learning and Early Grades Literacy, NCCAT has introduced series of self-contained mini-courses that are designed to be immediately helpful for teachers who are seeking new knowledge. These courses are hosted on the NCCAT Online Learning Portal and are open to any North Carolina public or public charter school teachers at no cost to the teacher or the school. More on this program at http://www.nccat.org/programs/nccat-online-0
• The build out of NCCAT online was a continuation of the NCCAT Data Literacy Initiative a cooperative effort with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to develop a program that would help teachers become more comfortable using data in a constructive way. The program has been well received. More than 50 school districts have been served to date, and the course is now available online through both NCCAT and DPI.
• More than 40 educators took part in the first EdCamp Western North Carolina in Cullowhee on Nov. 14. EdCamps, which are a worldwide phenomenon for self-directed technical learning, began in 2010. Wade was one of the driving forces behind bringing an EdCamp to Western North Carolina. “We are so grateful to the talented team of organizers who helped us facilitate EdCamp 2014. We are looking forward to another round in the Spring of 2015,” said Wade.
• In the Fall of 2014, NCCAT partnered with GoGo Labs, Inc. to provide North Carolina public school teachers with online training in quest based digital learning. Participating teachers learned to design, play, and share quests and badges as they create personalized learning for their students.
• NCCAT continues to host programs such as “Google Tools in Schools” and “Catching Up With Your Students in Technology: Digital Learning” that provide educators across North Carolina the chance to collaborate and develop techniques to improve digital learning instruction.
NCCAT will continue to work to give teachers the tools that they need in an environment that helps them meet the needs of students in the 21st Century.