Arlington, Va. (June 28, 2010) – With the surge of open technology use among educational institutions, PBS TeacherLine^® (www.pbs.org/teacherline), the premier provider of online professional development services for preK-12 educators, has converted to Moodle for its online course management system. The conversion provides schools with more flexibility in licensing, customizing and delivering PBS TeacherLine’s online professional development courses to their teachers.

PBS TeacherLine offers more than 130 graduate-level courses in reading/language arts, math, science, instructional strategies, and instructional technology to educators through it’s national online service, local PBS station providers, or site licenses for its course content. The organization’s decision to use Moodle signifies another major milestone in the growth of open technologies in education.

The Obama Administration has stressed the importance of incorporating open source software and resources into government and education. The U.S. Department of Education outlined the benefits of open technologies in the National Educational Technology Plan unveiled in March. The Plan stated: “Open Educational Resources (OER) are an important element of an infrastructure for learning…The Department of Education has a role in stimulating the development and use of OER in ways that address pressing education issues.”

As open technologies have matured with more robust user support, schools and districts are increasingly implementing open source course management systems such as Moodle to meet the growing demand for e-learning opportunities for students and teachers. According to statistics from Moodle (Moodle.org), nearly 50,000 education sites have registered use of the course management system, up from less than 5,000 sites just five years ago. Open technologies allow education leaders to provide broader access to online learning for their students and staff, and to enjoy greater scope of use, interoperability, and customization over proprietary solutions.

“Open technologies are well aligned with the movement toward collaborative digital learning environments,” said Melinda George, senior director of PBS TeacherLine. “We decided to use Moodle to better serve schools and districts today and into the future as the educational system evolves. Now schools can enjoy greater flexibility in adapting and using our high-quality professional development content to meet their local needs.”

With course management systems in place, schools have the technological capability to deliver online and blended models of instruction to students and teachers. However, high costs and lack of time and resources often prevent schools from developing their own professional development courses for educators. It can cost more than $50,000 to create a graduate-level course.

PBS TeacherLine’s course licensing program enables schools, districts and education service agencies to expand their staff professional development programs cost-effectively. Now provided on the Moodle course management system, PBS TeacherLine’s licensed courses offer administrators more control over the course design, schedule, workloads, assignments, and facilitation. School leaders can modify the course content based on educators’ preferences, learning styles and needs to create customized professional development opportunities for their staff.

Using digital media, and technologies such as audio, video, interactives, and online discussions, PBS TeacherLine courses provide a highly engaging, collaborative learning environment for teachers’ to enhance their knowledge and skills. Teachers learn practical, research-based strategies that they can apply immediately to their classrooms to increase student achievement.

More Information

To learn more about PBS TeacherLine, go to www.pbs.org/teacherline.

About PBS TeacherLine

PBS TeacherLine is committed to helping teachers acquire the skills they need to prepare students for a successful future. PBS TeacherLine provides high-quality, affordable professional development through facilitated, online courses, collaborative learning communities, and exemplary Internet-based resources. Currently, more than 130 courses across multiple subject areas are offered. Teachers can earn continuing education units, professional development points, and graduate credits for course completion. The courses have been developed in conjunction with leading education organizations, including Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), Education Development Center (EDC), Concord Consortium, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and International Society for Technology Education. Created in 2000, PBS TeacherLine is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, which represents approximately 85 percent of the total program funding. The remaining 15 percent is funded through in-kind support from PBS and through program income.

About PBS

PBS, with its 356 member stations, offers all Americans – from every walk of life – the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches more than 124 million people on-air and online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; hear diverse viewpoints; and take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and Web site, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.

Contacts

PBS TeacherLine
Donovan Goode
703-739-5073
dwgoode at pbs dot org
www.pbs.org

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Kristen Plemon
608-839-9805
kristen at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com

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