Dive Brief:

• Arkansas created the Virtual Arkansas program in response to statewide demand for online courses at the K-12 level, but it hired its teachers for their content area expertise and few had experience teaching in the online format.
• According to eSchool News, the state responded by sending teachers through Leading Edge Certification's Online and Blended Teacher certification, composed of eight modules including ones about online assessment, pedagogical strategies, and project-based learning options.
• Teachers are asked to research digital learning tools and test them before incorporating them into their classes, and they develop custom assessments and create collaborative presentations during the training, which teachers generally complete in four to eight weeks over the summer. 

Dive Insight:

A major challenge in the early shift to online education was teacher readiness. Many schools, including colleges and universities, started posting videos of teachers lecturing and writing on white boards, just as they do in face-to-face classes.

But online learning is a different platform and it requires different methods. Finding high-quality course materials is a struggle for teachers regardless of the teaching platform, but teachers who have relied on certain materials for in-person classes have to be encouraged to find new materials in the switch to online. They also need to develop new strategies, especially when it comes to student engagement.

It is unrealistic to ask teachers to do all that is necessary to make this shift on their own, however. More states and districts offering online courses to students might consider coordinated professional development programs like the one Arkansas has made a requirement for new teachers in its virtual school.