SARIC Online Professional Learning Sessions for P-12 Educators
Posted on April 2, 2020 by Amber Day
University of South Alabama Research and Inservice Center (SARIC) staff have been working remotely the past few weeks to support local P-12 educators and administrators in response to COVID-19 guidelines and recommendations.
SARIC is a grant project of the USA College of Education and Professional Studies funded by the Alabama State Department of Education. The center typically hosts in-person professional learning sessions for educators in Region 10 schools. SARIC recently held a series of free virtual learning sessions via Zoom and plans to host more throughout the coming weeks.
“Navigating this new landscape of online learning in the P-12 environment may be challenging, but the transition can be made easier with the support of others,” said Dr. Stephanie Hulon, director of SARIC. “The South Alabama Research and Inservice Center saw this need and wanted to provide a consistent supply of support for educators in our region as they navigate the process of moving daily classroom instruction online. We partnered with the USA College of Education and Professional Studies faculty as well as local expert educators from our districts to provide one-hour professional learning sessions focused on best practices, strategies, and technologies.”
SARIC has asked Region 10 educators to complete a survey to help the center analyze the need in training and future topics for the online sessions. Educators are encouraged to follow this web page for updates and new session information. You can also follow SARIC on Facebook or on Twitter.
SARIC was established by the Alabama legislature in 1984-85 as one of eleven regional
centers whose purpose is to provide professional learning to the P-12 educators in
designated public school systems in its geographic region. The center, which is housed
and supported by the USA College of Education and Professional Studies, serves more
than 7,500 educators in the following school districts: Baldwin County Schools, Chickasaw
City Schools, Clarke County Schools, Gulf Shores City Schools, Mobile County Schools,
Monroe County Schools, Saraland City Schools, Satsuma City Schools, Thomasville City
Schools, and Washington County Schools.
Free Online Zoom Sessions
Below is a list of recently scheduled Zoom sessions. Click here for the most updated list.
“Sharing Your Presentations and Instructions through Screencasting”
Featured Speaker: Dr. Joe Gaston, USA College of Education and Professional Studies Assistant Professor
of Educational Media and Technology
Overview: Dr. Gaston will share how K-12 educators can create screencast recordings using various,
web-based platforms.
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2020
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Registration Link: bit.ly/saricvirtual4
“Creating Interactive Digital P-12 Lessons”
Featured Speaker: Dr. Shenghua Zha, USA College of Education and Professional Studies Assistant Professor
of Instructional Design and Development, Educational Media, and Educational Technology
Overview: In this session, educators will discuss methods and tools to create interactive lessons
and engage students at different learning stages of an online lesson. By the end of
this session, participants will be able to identify four types of interactions occurring
in an online learning environment; describe interactions that are appropriate to take
place at each learning stage of a lesson, and discuss tools to promote effective interactions
in a lesson.
Date: Monday, April 6, 2020
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Registration Link: bit.ly/saricvirtual5
“Introduction to Google Classroom and Google Meet”
Featured Speaker: Allie Schultze, Google for Education Certified Trainer
Overview: Schultze will give an introductory session for P-12 educators on Google Classroom
and Google Meet.
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2020
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Registration Link: CLOSED
“Supporting Educators in Virtual Teaching and Learning”
Featured Speaker: Dr. Pamela Moore, USA College of Education and Professional Studies Assistant Professor
of Educational Media and Technology
Overview: Dr. Moore will share ideas, resources, and research based best practices for teaching
and learning online in the K-12 schools.
Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Registration Link: CLOSED
“Building Community in the Online Environment for School Leaders”
Featured Speakers: Dr. Benterah Morton, USA College of Education and Professional Studies Assistant
Professor of Educational Leadership and Administration, and Dr. Stan Stokley, Saraland
Elementary School Principal and USA Alumnus
Overview: Dr. Morton and Dr. Stokley will talk with K-12 administrators about building community
in the online environment. The two will share ideas, tools and resources in their
online session.
Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Registration Link: CLOSED