Teacher Training Goes in Virtual Directions

Educators see an explosion in online-only offerings

By Stephen Sawchuk

Between the ringing bells and the standardized class periods, teachers have among the most structured of all careers. Their time for professional growth is equally prescribed, often being set by contracts, district policies, and even state law.

So imagine a teacher who finishes grading some papers, puts the children to bed, and at 9:30 p.m. logs on to an online module to learn new practices for differentiating instruction for his or her English-language-learner students.

That scene is swiftly becoming a reality, as more and more teachers tune out the distractions, turn on their PCs, and log on to Web-based training programs at times that...