SOPHIA Launches iPad® Training For Teachers

MINNEAPOLIS, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With more and more schools using iPads, tablets and 1:1 initiatives in the classroom, SOPHIA.org is offering a free certification program to train teachers to successfully integrate these devices into their teaching. SOPHIA, the open online education platform offering a unique Many Ways to Learn™ model with more than 30,000 free academic multimedia tutorials taught by over 6,000 teachers, developed the Tablet Certification program in collaboration with faculty from Capella University's School of Education.

"Technology has become a critical tool for teachers to more efficiently individualize instruction for each student, in and outside the classroom," said Allison Gage, Senior Vice President at SOPHIA. "We developed this program to help teachers more effectively use the devices while also keeping students engaged by meeting them where they are in this digital age."

To earn the certificate, teachers complete a series of tutorials on the following topics:

• "What is a Personal Device Classroom"
• "Building an Effective iPad Lesson"
• "Increasing Student Learning with Technology"
• "Personal Device Resources and Management"

The tutorials were developed by teachers who are experts at implementing and using this technology in their classrooms. The program features SOPHIA's Many Ways learning model where users can choose from a variety of different instructors and teaching styles. SOPHIA also offers the Many Ways model on each of its 200 learning pathways, which include a sequenced journey of tutorials with multiple lessons on each concept featuring screencasts, images, video, audio podcasts and text where students are quizzed along the way to determine mastery.  

Teachers may apply the Tablet Certificate toward their professional development by submitting their certificate to the appropriate person at their school. 

This is the second teacher certification program offered by SOPHIA. The organization introduced the Flipped Classroom Certificate in April 2012 and since then, 3,000 teachers have participated in the program. In the flipped classroom, students watch multimedia tutorials as homework and then use valuable class time to complete assignments when teachers are available to provide one-on-one assistance and delve deeper into a concept.

SOPHIA Offers Free Webinars for Teachers
SOPHIA regularly hosts webinars led by teachers who share their success using technology and the flipped classroom. Over 2,500 teachers have participated in these events, which focus on new and relevant teaching pedagogies that are part of the current paradigm shift happening in education.   

To learn more, visit www.sophia.org.

About SOPHIA
SOPHIA is a first-of-its-kind social education platform that offers students many ways to learn by making free, credible academic content available to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. The site offers more than 28,000 tutorials created by hundreds of teachers and experts taught in a variety of ways. The platform further enhances the learning process by offering quizzes, assessing learning preferences and providing learning paths that lead students from one topic to the next so students of all ages can learn the way they learn best. SOPHIA is owned by Capella Education Company. For more information, visit www.sophia.org.

iPad^® is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. ("Apple"). Apple does not sponsor or endorse the use of its products in connection with this program.

CONTACT:
Laura Telander Graf
+1-651-698-4006
[email protected]

SOURCE SOPHIA