KELOWNA, British Columbia (Sept. 18, 2018) – This back-to-school season, FreshGrade, the portfolio and assessment platform that deepens the conversation about learning, announces its Professional Learning Center. Designed to give teachers flexibility with their professional development (PD), the Center offers online webinars, modular courses, and customizable PD options to streamline educators’ FreshGrade’s practice.
The expansive toolbox of resources in the Professional Learning Center can be accessed at any time on any device and features a mass-enrollment option for easy implementation for principals and teachers. One of these resources is a collection of free webinars that cover topics such as an introduction to portfolios and using FreshGrade in an ESL/ELL classroom. Many webinars are led by teachers, whose personal-professional experience with FreshGrade connects them with other platform adopters. Some of the webinars are pre-recorded and some are live, but all are available to view in the Center even after they take place.
“As a lifelong learner, I’m interested in tools that make it easy to enhance my teaching,” said Dene Gainey, a teacher at Lake Eola Charter School in Orlando and host of several FreshGrade webinars. “The resources in the FreshGrade Professional Learning Center are invaluable for teachers. If everyone takes strides to understand education technology like this, there’s more acceptance and excitement around its use in schools.”
Another component of the Center, the free courses, are module-based and include a progress bar and certificate of completion. Within the courses, educators can collaborate with each other through the comment section to benefit through group activities. For an additional investment, schools and districts can tap into the customized PD offering. This training can be done virtually or in person and is tailored to the goals of the school or district.
“We really want to ensure that anyone can use FreshGrade and that all users understand what they’re using,” said Siobhan Nordstrom, a Professional Development Specialist at FreshGrade who also leads Professional Learning Center webinars. “The Professional Learning Center has opened many doors for teachers who felt left out at the first mention of ‘tech.’ Now everyone has the tools to engage in this facet of learning.”
The FreshGrade Professional Learning Center is now available online for back-to-school professional development. Teachers can visit learning.freshgrade.com to view a full list of resources and enroll.
About FreshGrade
Founded in 2011, FreshGrade was created by a dedicated team who saw a better way to help educators, parents, and students have deeper conversations about learning. Today, FreshGrade is used in over 120 countries worldwide.
Teachers can:
● Plan activities, capture evidence, give feedback, and track progression through standards and custom objectives.
● Create a richer understanding of student achievement and progression.
● Encourage students to reflect on and own their learning.
● Engage parents at every turn.
