Online Courses
The Learning Technology Center offers a variety of online and blended courses to help Illinois educators keep their skills sharp. Our courses focus on educational technology tools, trends, and best practices in flexible formats that can fit into any educator’s busy schedule.
Most online courses are self-paced, allowing you to complete the coursework all in one sitting or a bit at a time and pacing that works best for you. Some coursework may be offered in a facilitated format that can be supported with virtual or in-person interaction. Explore each course below for specific details.
Basic & Intermediate Courses
Get started on your learning journey with these basic online courses. Each self-paced course provides introductory insights into apps you use everyday, as well as tools you can use to expand your teaching toolkit.
Interested in diving deeper into these topics? Visit our new Online Courses platform for intermediate-level courses on Gmail templates, shared drives in Google Drive, conditional formatting in Google Sheets, and more →
ISTE U | Accessibility for All: Designing Materials for Any Learner
This ISTE-led course will teach educators how to curate, create, and implement diverse and varied types of instructional materials, helping them more effectively foster an inclusive learning environment that works for all students.
ISTE U | Artificial Intelligence Explorations and Their Practical Use in Schools
In this ISTE-led course, educators learn to identify the various types of artificial intelligence, hear about AI technologies on the horizon, and build some of their own tools to make AI concrete and accessible for
ISTE U | Introduction to Computational Thinking for Every Educator
This ISTE-led course unpacks how computational thinking can be integrated throughout subject areas and grade levels. Participants will increase their CT awareness, experiment with CT-integrated activities in their subject area, and create a plan to
Frequently Asked Questions
A. The typical course structure can vary depending on the course an educator selects. Shorter, courses are meant to be self-paced. Courses with more professional development credits may be synchronous or asynchronous and can require participants to participate more frequently.
A. This depends on the course you choose. Self-paced courses will usually allow you to join at any time while the course is active. Please click on the course badge above to view the dates when each course is active.
If you select a facilitated course, you will not be allowed to register after the start of the course. Registration will close a couple of days prior to the start of the online course, so be sure to register ahead of time. Registration close date information is available on the registration page for each online course. Check back often as new opportunities may be posted frequently throughout the year.
A. Yes, though this will depend on the demand for the course. The timeline for the repeating of the courses may vary depending on delivery method, length, facilitator availability, and/or demand.
A. Check the course information before registering. Shorter courses are usually self-paced. Longer courses may be synchronous or asynchronous. If you have questions, please check with the LTC Online Learning Coordinator, Matt Jacobson (mjacobson@ltcillinois.org).
A. Self-paced courses will require brief forced-choice, machine-graded quizzes to check for understanding. Upon successful completion of a self-paced course, an online form will unlock allowing you to request an online evaluation form via email. After completing and submitting that evaluation form, you’ll receive your PD Credit Evidence of Completion Form via email.
A. First, check your Spam or Junk Mail to see if the message was filtered out. You may wish to add “events@ltcillinois.org” to your Contacts or Trusted Senders list. If you are using a school email account, you may wish to request that “events@ltcillinois.org” be “whitelisted.”
If you have tried both of the solutions above and feel that you still have not received your evaluation form, please email Brian Bates at bbates@ltcillinois.org or the course facilitator for assistance.
A. First, the Illinois State Board of Education requires that a completed evaluation form be received before we can provide PD Credit Evidence of Completion. If you have submitted a completed evaluation, it can take up to two (2) business days for that PD Credit Form to arrive in your email.
As mentioned above, sometimes these can end up in your Spam or Junk mail. You may wish to add “events@ltcillinois.org” to your Contacts or Trusted Senders list. If you are using a school email account, you may wish to request that “events@ltcillinois.org” be “whitelisted.”
If you have tried both of the solutions above and feel that you still have not received your evaluation form, please email Brian Bates at bbates@ltcillinois.org or the course facilitator for assistance.
A. The time to complete a course will vary based on the individual course. The number of Professional Development Hours (PD Hours) are listed for each course. You can expect to spend approximately that amount of time on the course.
A. The Learning Technology Center of Illinois is an Approved Provider of Professional Development (https://www.isbe.net/Documents/prof-dev-provider-list.pdf) for Illinois educators beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. (RCDTS Code: Pending) Pre-service teachers and out-of-state educators are welcome to join our online courses if desired. Check your specific state or institution requirements regarding professional learning credit for our learning experiences.
A. Graduate credit for LTC online courses is not available at this time.
A. If you are having problems with registration, please email Matt Jacobson at mjacobson@ltcillinois.org.
A. Start by visiting https://canvas.ltcillinois.org/login/canvas?newlogin=true
Enter the same email address you used when registering for the course(s) and click the “Request Password” button. You will receive an email with a request to update your password and then be prompted to log in. This can sometimes take up to an hour or more – it may not be immediate.
Most courses will not allow users to log in prior to their start date.
A. Sometimes password reset requests can end up in your Spam or Junk mail. You may wish to add “events@ltcillinois.org” and “notifications@instructure.com” to your Contacts or Trusted Senders list. If you are using a school email account, you may wish to request that “events@ltcillinois.org” and “notifications@instructure.com” be “whitelisted” in your school’s email domain.
If you have tried both of the solutions above and feel that you still have not received your evaluation form, please email Matt Jacobson at mjacobson@ltcillinois.org or the course facilitator for assistance.
A. After you register, an LTC Canvas account will be created for you. You should receive an invitation to create your own password within 24 hours.
A. A free or school-related Canvas account won’t work for our online courses. We’ll need to create a separate account just for the LTC’s Canvas installation.
A. First, please make sure you are using the Canvas Student app and not the Canvas Teacher app on your mobile device. Next, please make sure that you are logged out of your work or school account and log in to the Canvas Student mobile app with your LTC Canvas account.
If you are still having trouble, try logging into LTC’s Canvas instance through a browser at https://canvas.ltcillinois.org. Canvas tends to work best in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
Due to the wide variability in mobile devices, the LTC generally does not provide support for tablets or smartphones. If you must use a mobile device for an LTC online course, please see the Canvas Mobile Users Guide for your specific device at https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Mobile-Users/gh-p/mobile
A. Each online course has a specific start date and end date. Please be sure to check the end date for your particular course and make sure all work is submitted within Canvas by that date.
A. We understand that life gets busy and sometimes there are obstacles that can’t be overcome. To receive professional development credit you must complete the requirements listed in each course. Partial credit will not be given. Do not hesitate to contact the course facilitator if you fall behind and need assistance.
A. Office hours in the traditional sense will not be available for the LTC online courses. Instructor contact information will be listed on the “About Your Facilitator” page of every online course. Please reach out to Matt Jacobson (mjacobson@ltcillinois.org) via email with specific questions.
A. Yes! If you have questions regarding a course, or specific assignments, please reach out to your individual instructor for clarification. See the “About Your Facilitator” page of each course, or contact the LTC for support at https://ltcillinois.org/connect/.
A. Yes! The LTC is hard at work identifying timely topics and developing content for new online and blended courses.
A. Please reach out to Matt Jacobson (mjacobson@ltcillinois.org) via email with specific questions.