 There will be no shortage of
courses and providers for the new Professional Learning Program.Just a few months after Bill 80 established PLP requirements for Ontario’s 180,000 licensed teachers, dozens of respected Ontario educational institutions and organizations have already been approved as providers of Professional Learning Program courses. "Within a few months, we expect to have hundreds of courses approved for PLP credits," says Rick Chambers, the manager of the College’s new Professional Learning Program Unit. "In very short order, our members will be able to find approved quality professional learning courses available everywhere in the province in both languages. We’re happy to see a number of applications from providers who intend to offer courses online." One online provider that is already approved is a name familiar to most teachers — the Education Network of Ontario (ENO), which provides free Internet service for teachers all across the province 24 hours a day. With more than 100,000 subscribers, ENO is the province’s second-biggest Internet service provider. Another well-known course provider already approved is the Durham District School Board, which won the prestigious Carl Bertelsmann prize in 1996 over school boards from all around the world for its innovative system of school and professional development. Durham staff development co-ordinator Chris Ward says the board is applying for grants to support online learning and make their courses available to teachers Ontario—wide and internationally. "We plan to have three courses online in each of the PLP core subject areas by spring," she says. She says that more than 900 teachers — including some from other boards — have already successfully completed Durham summer institutes that she hopes will be eligible for PLP credits. The summer institutes represent more than 2,200 days of professional learning. As for the requirement that PLP courses include an assessment, she says it requires no change because Durham has always had assessments built in to their courses. The full lists of approved providers and courses — updated regularly — are available at www.oct.ca > Professional Learning Program. B l u e P a g e s A r t i c l e s |
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