Source: Virtual High School
The Virtual High School (VHS, Inc.) today announced the newest Online Teaching Methodologies (OTM) graduates for its Online Judaic Studies Consortium (OJSC). The graduates are all face-to-face Jewish day school teachers who completed the graduate-level OTM teacher training course to learn best practices for online instruction and learning. Having passed the rigorous four-week course, graduates will now collaborate with their peers to help develop and deliver high-quality online Judaic studies courses to day school students across North America.
OTM focuses on teaching strategies for building community, encouraging discussions, and providing insightful feedback in an online classroom. The graduates experience online learning in the same manner and pace as their future students, including having to work collaboratively with one another and with their course instructors.
“The OJSC is honored to be a program of The Virtual High School, a three-time winner of the United States Distance Learning Association’s (USDLA) award for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices,” said Lisa Micley, Program Director of the OJSC. “The wisdom and expertise of VHS has led the way for us in creating our program. The VHS instructional design and delivery standards are the very model used by the National Education Association in their recommended standards for online learning. The OJSC welcomes these new graduates into our growing network of highly-qualified educators trained to deliver Judaic studies courses using best practices in online learning.”