The goal of e-Read Ohio is to create an online professional development system for teachers in grades Pre K-12. This initiative was originally funded by No Child Left Behind through Reading First when the Reading First-Ohio Center for Professional Development and Technical Assistance in Effective Reading Instruction was formed.
The Reading First Ohio Center, a consortium that includes The University of Akron, Cleveland State University and John Carroll University, was created to help K-3 teachers acquire the knowledge and skills they need for effective reading instruction. The University of Akron’s charge was to create online scientifically-based professional development for teachers in grades K-3.
Now expanded through funds from the Ohio Department of Education’s Literacy Educator Training: e-Learning (LETe) program, e-Read Ohio:
Provides effective and efficient high-quality online professional development in the area of literacy for Ohio’s teachers, selects and trains online instructors across the state, and builds Ohio’s learning objects repository for professional development.
How Does e-Read Ohio Work?
A Regional Literacy Consultant (RLC) trained by the Ohio Department of Education meets with a school district to determine professional development needs based on measurements and school data. Once the RLC and the district have selected the necessary courses, the RLC trains school-based literacy consultants (SLCs) on the corresponding e-read Ohio modules, for example, Fluency or Assess-Plan-Teach. SLCs then deliver the face-to-face sessions of the professional development to the teachers and coach individually in classrooms.
Teachers take online courses and participate in discussion boards. An eRead Ohio instructor (eROI) leads the online discussion and monitors the teachers’ overall progress in the course.
