New ACSA Online Learning Center has PD that fits your life
July 13, 2020
ACSA has launched a new learning management system that will allow for more online professional development opportunities, so school administrators can get the knowledge they need whenever they need it.

Visit ACSA's New Online Learning Center The ACSA Online Learning Center will be a one-stop place for webinars, on-demand courses, microlearning, and learning community discussion boards. The first ACSA PD offering to debut on this platform will be the 2020-21 Academies, some of which begin in August. “You can show up for an hour webinar, get what you need, and get out of there, or you can take multiple courses in an area that you need professional development in and have it accessible 24/7 on your time,” said Online Learning Executive Janaye Field, who joined ACSA in February. “In adult learning, we need to be flexible and that’s really what we’re trying to do since so many administrators are all over the place with their schedule.”  While many school administrators are already familiar with learning management systems used by students, the ACSA Online Learning Center will be geared toward adult learners. Field, who previously worked in continuous education for professionals in the nursing and accounting fields, said users will be able to search for relevant PD courses from an individualized dashboard that will recommend offerings based on their goals.  “We also have badging, leader boards and points, so the gamification piece will be in there,” Field said. “We want to make it fun for them.”  Although the need for sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many professional development offerings going online, ACSA has been wanting to expand into online learning for years as a result of member feedback.  “You’re seeing a generational shift into a lot of administrators who did a lot of their coursework online already, so it’s very normal for them,” Field said. ACSA looked at several LMS platforms before selecting Thought Industries, which had the most intuitive interface and most robust capabilities, including the ability to host webinars within the platform. All ACSA professional development content will eventually migrate to this platform, which will feature quality courses from ACSA’s Online Learning Partnerships with organizations such as CORE (Continuum on Reaching Excellence in Education), Leading Edge Flex (Riverside County Office of Education) and Stay The Course.  Field said some of the early offerings on the platform will be in social-emotional learning, coaching teachers remotely, cultural sensitivity training, and human resources. Content will be timely and can respond to changing member needs, especially during the COVID-19 era.  “It’s important to keep up on your skills and develop new ones as well because you are in a new time working remotely, and ACSA wants to be here to give you the resources you need,” Field said. “I truly believe in lifelong learning and online education allows for that easily, from your home, from your couch, your vacation — anywhere.”
On-demand courses among offerings on new platform
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