about the initiative

Over the past two years, the U. S. Department of Education has brought together some of the nation's most effective teachers and practitioners to share the research-based practices and data analysis to make a difference in student achievement. During this time, these educators have shared their expertise through the U. S. Department of Education's Teacher-to-Teacher Workshops offered in various locations throughout the United States. These workshops were taped and made available nationwide over this website through a special contract with the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PAEC). Effective September 1, 2006, PAEC's FloridaLearns Academy will continue support for this website to enhance teaching and learning for the many educators in Florida and across the nation who are utilizing them for the urgent goal of highest student achievement so that no child will be left behind.

In order to more broadly share the information, these workshops have been taped and converted to online courses delivered using the video-streaming format. They are designed so teachers can experience on-demand professional development in specific content areas to increase their knowledge and skills for improving student achievement. To ensure access, all programs are closed captioned.

Each course is designed to be valuable for single teachers or groups of teachers. Each course is delivered in segments-usually about 15 minutes long-of video interspersed with reflective questions and small tasks that foster understanding. An entire program, including activities, is about 2 hours long.

By enrolling in these professional development courses, educators also have access to the electronic Professional Development System, or ePDC. This password-protected system provides a personal portfolio so that participants can track and manage their professional development activities. The portfolio is updated after a participant completes a Teacher-to-Teacher course and is used to track additional professional development activities.

To find out how to enroll, click on the "getting started" button which can be found at the bottom of this screen.