MCC Education Studies Dept. Awarded Grant

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Sally Mesarosh

Mesa Community College’s Education Studies Department has been awarded a grant from SimpleK12, an online teacher professional development community. The grant will provide one year's free access to SimpleK12 Teacher Learning Community online resources to MCC faculty, past and present MCC Education Studies students, and eligible educators from partner school sites.

This award complements MCC’s Teachers of Language Learners Learning Community (TL3C) Project and will help provide teacher preparation and professional development support for aspiring and practicing teachers.

The SimpleK12 online portal contains more than 500 hours of self-paced training on technology, more than 300 recorded webinars on technology for teachers and administrators, and access to thousands of global teachers with whom to collaborate and share teaching resources.

MCC Teacher Education Program Coordinator Julie Garner will serve as project lead and will coordinate enrollment and access to the Teacher Learning Community. Garner will work directly with the coordinators of MCC’s TL3C Project to incorporate the SimpleK12 Teacher Learning Community into the TL3C  Project pre-service and in-service programs.

MCC Education Studies Department Chair Nora Amavisca Reyes said, “The SimpleK12 Teacher Learning Community complements our TL3C Project’s focus on providing support for the success of P-20 teachers and learners in the 21st Century.  As educators face the challenge of implementing transformative changes that align with national and state initiatives, we must be prepared to provide the tools and resources necessary to ensure positive outcomes from which the individuals we serve and our broader communities can benefit.”

SimpleK12 has developed a special MCC member enrollment web page which will allow members of the MCC learning community to enroll in the Teacher Learning Community for free and access all of the learning resources, a value of $297/person.  If you are a current or former MCC Education Studies student or an eligible educator, you can request free membership by completing the online form athttp://tinyurl.com/simpleK12MCC.

For more information, please contact the Education Studies Department at 480-461-7904 or Julie Garner at julie.garner@mesacc.edu.