Science professional development in your PJs
January 6, 2009
So one day you’re checking your mailbox at school and there is a letter from central office delineating your CEUs. You scan it and see that you’re in good shape except…yikes! Renewal is due at the end of this school year and you’re short some content area credits. What are you going to do? Never fear, NSTA’s Web Seminars are here.
Like everything else produced by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), these seminars are well worth the time — and of that they don’t take much. The seminars are offered on weekday evenings and typically last one-and-a-half hours. You can participate in them from home (in your PJs if you like), and they’re free to everyone! What could be better?
The seminar topics should appeal to a wide range of science teachers — from elementary to high school level. While NSTA hosts, coordinates, and provides reliable technical support for the seminars, they are taught by experts in the field, or produced by such big name organizations as NASA, NOAA, and the FDA to mention a few. If you can’t decide which seminar would be most useful, you can see the state standard correlations for each topic in order to help you select the best one. The seminars are presented using the Elluminate platform. The program allows you to hear and see the lecturer, their slides and diagrams, and chat with other seminar participants. Once you sign up for a seminar, NSTA will guide you through setting up and using the program both before and on the day of the seminar.
Still not enough time to take the seminar live? See one on the list that you missed? Well, luckily, the seminars are also archived so you can still view the ones you missed.
All in all, this is a very painless way to accrue content area CEUs. The seminars are interesting and relevant, not to mention quick and free. So, when that dreaded renewal notice comes, you’ll be prepared with a great way to catch up on some professional development. –REBECCAH HAINES
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