Implementing e-Learning Professional Development
Frequently Asked Questions
Facilitator Questions
What are the two roles of a facilitator?
Online Instructor – facilitates discussion board
Face-2-Face Insstructor – facilitates classroom session
Are these two different people?
They can be different facilitators. This may work well if you have a literacy specialist in your school building that can facilitate the classroom sessions with teachers, but is not yet comfortable with the online component. This provides a mentoring environment for the LS as he/she works closely with the online facilitator.
If your school does not have an embedded LS, you may hire a facilitator that can lead both the classroom and the online sessions of the course.
What if I do need to hire a facilitator?
Go to the e-Read Ohio Product Catalog webpage for more information on facilitators in your area, and suggested payment guidelines. You may contact a facilitator directly regarding your course.
Course Information Questions
How long are the courses? Is there a set time period?
Courses can last anywhere from 4 to 20 weeks depending on the amount of course content and the school schedule. There is flexibility in the deployment to meet the school and teachers’ schedule.
Are 30 participants the minimum? What if I have less?
You may split your course up and offer multiple sessions through the year until you reach your 30 limit. You may also partner with another school to reach 30 participants.
What if I have over 30 participants?
Contact ereadohiosupport@uakron.edu for pricing information regarding 30 or more participants.
Do you recommend a configuration of MS and HS participants? By content area, by grade level?
This is a decision the school leadership will need to make as they discuss goals and outcomes. e-Read Ohio does recommend that you include teachers in the course who you know will be successful, and will be leaders in a positive way for this first implementation.
Can my teachers get graduate credit?
Yes, e-Read courses have been approved for graduate workshop credit. Contact your SST to help facilitate this with your local universities.
If desired, credit is available from The University of Akron for $130 per credit hour or any of the universities in the Reading First Consortium, Cleveland State University or John Carroll University.
What time of year would you start a course?
This can be flexible to meet the needs of the school, although summer is not recommended because of the job-embedded nature of these courses.
How are teachers able to take these courses?
Various session planning options are considered as you work with e-Read Ohio to implement a course. A few options that other schools have use are to offer your teachers release time and bring in substitutes or to use team planning time to deliver the PD.
Can we try out the e-learning?
Yes, e-Read Ohio will give you a 2-week trial subscription to a course or courses you are interested in deploying in your school. Contact ereadohiosupport@uakron.edu for more information regarding a trial subscription.
