Providing Training for Educators in the Provision of Online and Remote Instruction

A variety of professional learning options are available at free or minimal costs for schools, districts, and teacher licensure programs:

• The Institute for Personalized Learning, a division of CESA 1, is offering a statewide catalog of courses to support learner-centered instructions, online and blended teaching, and support for teacher licensure programs. Access the statewide course information webpage for learning options.

• The DPI has created an Online and Blended Learning Grab and Go resource page to assist districts and higher education and licensing programs to support districts in any format of learning this school year. Resources will continually be updated.

• Institutes of higher education and licensure organizations will be provided information in early September about course access, program coaching, and planning to support pre-service and student teachers at no cost through the Institute for Personalized Learning and DPI staff.

• In addition, local CESA Instructional Technology staff are providing professional learning support on a variety of instructional technology, supports for online and blended learning, as well as virtual learning program planning in collaboration with the statewide resources, organized by the Institute for Personalized Learning, a division of CESA 1. For a list of CESA contacts, please see the chart on this page.

All Wisconsin public, tribal and private schools serving students in high school grades are eligible to leverage the Institute for Personalized Learning, a Division of CESA 1. Private schools will have to work with their local public schools to purchase.

For more information, contact:

• Brenda Vodgs, Director, The Institute for Personalized Learning - a division of CESA #1 
• Janice Mertes, Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

The DPI teleservice web page hosts the following content:

• a DPI e-learning module available for on-demand learning options
• a DPI FAQ
• a webinar schedule (coming soon) with recorded webinars done in collaboration with CESA 1 to support best practices and specific role practices, as well as support for student needs. CESA 1 will help with monthly office hours, a statewide focus group process, and provide support for pre-service and practicum students with these resources. 

For more information, contact:

• Janice Mertes, Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
• Sue Doyle, Director of Special Education and Pupil Services, CESA 1

UDL Forward! supports Wisconsin educators’ use of Universal Design for Learning core competencies and technology resources as a means to provide effective remote and in-person learning experiences. UDL Forward! provides four intersecting options:

1. UDL Blasts - engagement with UDL fundamentals and free technology tools for immediate use;
2. UDL Learning Design Coaching Labs: apply UDL to real-world learning scenarios with access to technical assistance for specific student needs, particularly those who have traditionally been underserved;
3. UDL Community of Practice (CoP): learn and share what’s working and troubleshoot solutions to challenges within a professional learning network; and,
4. A UDL Virtual Conference: October 20-23 (2-3 hours LIVE each day; conference content available 24 hours)

The UDL Forward! project newsletter, Guides on the Side, shares monthly themes with related resources, tips, and Wisconsin stories to help move UDL Forward in Wisconsin! Subscribe to the monthly Guides on the Side.

The new UDL Forward! web page has upcoming learning opportunities and details about our exciting October UDL Virtual Conference, Learning Design Labs, and the professional networking monthly discussions in the Community of Practice. 

The project is supported through regional CESA networks and CAST, the national technical assistance center for UDL.

Each event in the schedule will have a link to register in order to receive access information (registration links coming soon!)

UDL Forward! At-a-Glance

UDL Blasts

7:00 p.m.: September 14,  September 21, and September 28

Noon: September 16, and September 23 

7:00 a.m.: September 11, September 18, and September 25 

UDL Virtual Conference: a week-long conference Oct 20-23 (2-3 hours LIVE each day; conference content available 24 hours). Virtual Conference details: UDL Forward! Virtual Conference

Contact Jayne Bischoff with any questions.

The DPI will offer a series of connected webinars for K-2 literacy leaders to deepen knowledge of Wisconsin’s standards for reading foundational skills (part of Wisconsin’s Standards for English Language Arts), including understanding and application of explicit systematic phonics instruction in out-of-school environments. Webinars will be offered live, recorded, and archived.

Webinar Framework:

• introduce a topic and provide a research base
• relate the topic to Wisconsin’s standards
• share some ready-to-use low- or no-cost instructional ideas with an emphasis on strategies for out-of-school instruction and practice
• feature a story from a school or district about their experience related to focus topic

Webinar Schedule:

Each webinar will be from 4 - 5 PM, CST

1. September 28: Introduction to the Foundational Reading Skills Tool
2. October 13: Phonemic Awareness, Part 1
3. November 9: Phonemic Awareness, Part 2
4. January 25: Alphabetic Principle and Phonics
5. February 15: Shared Reading
6. March 9: Interactive Writing

Complete the form to register for the entire series. Registration is for the entire series; there is not a way to register for individual webinars.

Registration is limited to 250 participants.

Archived webinars will be available on the DPI Reading Foundational Skill web page.

For more information, visit: Webinar Series about Early Literacy: Instructional Strategies for Teaching Reading Foundational Skills

This project helps Wisconsin educators increase student and family autonomy in selecting and utilizing assistive technology (AT) tools to support access, engagement, and progress in virtual and distance learning. The project will help develop:

• a statewide Community of Practice (CoP) to support AT in virtual and distance learning 
• regular virtual CoP meetings on AT topics in virtual and distance learning
• provision of learning center subscriptions from the Assistive Technology Industry Association 
• virtual technical assistance to support the use of AT in virtual and distance learning 

Go to the DPI Assistive Technology web page to sign up to be a member of the stateside Assistive Technology Community of Practice and receive access to the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Learning Center Subscriptions, invitations to virtual CoP meetings, access to virtual technical assistance and coaching, and updates from a statewide Assistive Technology email list. Contact Molly Vierck for any questions.

Local Education Agencies may receive support in providing high-quality, standards-aligned instruction in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics in remote or hybrid learning scenarios through:

• A mid-year “step-back” webinar will be available the second week of January. During this webinar, participants will reflect on their academic recovery plan and rethink what is working and what are opportunities for change. The webinar will assist district leaders with thinking through the answers to these questions and guiding them to resources that will help them find solutions and support for their continued academic recovery work.
• Coaching and support to LEA cohorts will be available in the Spring of 2021 to progress monitor and adjust their ELA and mathematics academic recovery in preparation for the 2021-2022 school year. The coaching will assist in accelerating ELA and mathematics learning loss that may have occurred during the 2020-2021 school year. State and national resources will be used to inform ELA and mathematics instructional plans.

Complete this short survey to let DPI know which opportunities you are interested in.

Recorded trainings are available here.

CESA 1 will be providing information for accessing the CESA-level trainings when ready. Coaching and support will be provided to approximately 21 to 24 LEAs (which can include private schools) statewide.

For more considerations in making intentional choices about what engaging learning can look like in for alternate instruction - including home, community, distance learning, and modified school environments – visit out Learning in the Context of COVID-19: ELA, Literacy and Mathematics.

When instruction time is particularly limited, identifying and teaching Priority Instructional Content in ELA and Mathematics allows systems to ensure students simultaneously learn grade-level content and unfinished learning from prior grades.