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[ Syndicated from NMC.org ]

Leading education organization partners with HP to provide free, online professional development for busy STEMx educators to incorporate social media into teaching and learning.

San Antonio, TX (June 24) — Today, the New Media Consortium opened enrollment for its free, online mini-course “Applications of Social Media for STEMx Teaching,” which will take place in Facebook.  The NMC is the first known education organization to offer a course that takes place exclusively in a Facebook community page, which features albums containing slideshows of relevant learning resources and videos to help participants with a series of four activities.

The mini-course requires 9-12 hours of participants’ time over a four week period and is targeted to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and other 21st century discipline educators at the K-12 and undergraduate level. Learners will receive recognition for their enrollment and progress in the mini-course through a badging exchange developed by Credly.

This opportunity is offered through the HP Catalyst Academy, a federated network of mini-courses, led by world-class institutions, and designed for busy STEMx education professionals who are seeking professional development. The HP Catalyst Academy reflects an unprecedented global collaboration designed to accelerate STEMx education, and is a partnership between HP’s Office of Sustainability and Social Innovation, the NMC, and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®).

“The NMC is excited to be part of the HP Catalyst Academy and work closely with HP and ISTE,” said Dr. Larry Johnson, NMC CEO. “The professional development opportunities are designed to be completely practical and forward-thinking. They really have the capacity to transform STEMx teaching and learning as we know it.”

In the NMC’s first HP Catalyst Academy mini-course, educators will gain a better understanding of how social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, can be leveraged for teaching and learning. Participants will specifically learn how to integrate social media into STEMx curriculum to:

• Engage students in insightful discussions
• Build thriving STEMx-focused online communities
• Help students discover new areas for informal STEMx learning

Leading this mini-course are Samantha Adams Becker, NMC Senior Director of Communications and Dr. Holly Ludgate, NMC Senior Director of Program Development. Becker brings her expertise in digital communications and educational social media, and Ludgate offers years of experience in online instructional design for teacher training.

“We are incredibly excited for this opportunity to curate and share content with STEMx educators from around the world about the benefits of social media,” said Ludgate. “This mini-course embodies the essence of social media and open content by giving access to any interested educators wanting free professional develop in this emerging field.”

“Leading this mini-course in Facebook enables us to demonstrate to educators how they can leverage social media platforms in cutting edge ways to build thriving communities and incite meaningful discussions,“ Becker shared.

Enrollment opens today and lasts until the mini-course begins on July 10, 2013. In addition to “Applications of Social Media for STEMx Teaching,” the HP Catalyst Academy is offering a catalog of mini-courses that encompass timely subjects such as challenge-based learning, app design, computational thinking, and remote laboratories.

> Enroll in “Applications of Social Media for STEMx Teaching”
> Visit the HP Catalyst Academy

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About the HP Catalyst Academy
The HP Catalyst Academy is a fresh approach to accelerate professional learning among STEMx (science, technology, engineering, math and all the other 21st century high-tech disciplines) educators, providing personalized and powerful mini-courses that inspire and transform teaching practices. This exciting development comes from the HP Catalyst Initiative, which focuses on improving the quality of STEMx education — a major priority around the world. The demand for highly qualified STEMx teachers is increasing, yet traditional models of professional development do not adequately meet the demand. The HP Catalyst Academy’s free, online mini-courses are specifically designed for STEMx teachers and faculty serving students in grades 6 through 16 (secondary and undergraduate tertiary). For more information, visit catalyst-academy.org.