edWeb.net just completed an analysis of their 2016 webinar viewership stats for 2016. The professional learning community hosted 260 PD webinars in 2016 that were viewed by 165,000 educators – an average of 635 educators per webinar. Thirty eight webinars (15 percent) were on early learning topics and had 45,000 (27 percent) of the viewers. Early learning webinars had an average of 1,160 viewers, almost twice the average of all webinars.
Fourteen of the top 25 webinars of the year were on early learning topics, presented by some of the most expert and engaging early childhood educators. All webinars have been archived, and can be viewed by clicking the links:
- From Chaos to Calm: Building a School Family where even the Most Difficult Children become Helpful and Caring presented by Becky A. Bailey, Ph.D., award-winning author and Founder of Loving Guidance, Inc.
- S/he Hit Me First: Learn Proactive Solutions to Teach Social Emotional Skills through Daily Conflict presented by Jill Molli, M.A., Educator, Keynote Speaker, Instructor for Conscious Discipline
- Jean: Brain Breaks to Help Students Move and Learn presented by Dr. Jean Feldman, teacher, consultant and celebrated author of more than 10 books on the topic of early
- Teaching Numeracy to Young Children: A Responsive and Differentiated Approach presented by Brian Mowry, M.A., Early Childhood Mathematics Consultant and Specialist
- Jump into Literacy, Math, & Science: Active Learning for Preschool Children presented by Rae Pica, Author, Keynote Speaker & Education Consultant
- Much More Than the ABC Song! Music That Naturally Supports Children’s Language and Literacy Skills presented by Devi Borton, M.A., Early Childhood Music Specialist, Outreach Mentor, and Teacher Trainer at Music
- Transition Activities that Build Young Brains, Manage Behavior presented by Ellen Booth Church, Adjunct Professor, Nova Southeastern University
(Next page: 7 more of the top early learning PD webinars of 2016)
- Supporting Motor Development for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers presented by Dr. Steve Sanders, Assistant Chair, College of Education’s Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of South Florida
- Literacy a la carte & Fun for Early Learners presented by Kim Adsit, 2002 Teacher of the Year and author
- Supporting Young Learners with Autism presented by Tricia Shelton, educator and author
- Building Fine Motor Skills: A Whole Child Approach presented by Marianne Gibbs, Ed.D., OTR
- Amazing Science Experiences on a Shoestring Budget presented by Steve Spangler, Early Childhood Science Specialist, Author and Keynote Speaker
- Essentials for Learning: Encouraging Dramatic Play and Creative Expression in Early Childhood presented by Dr. Ann Barbour, Professor Emerita, Early Childhood Education
- 52 Ways to Boost Young Children’s Brain Development presented by Jill Stamm, Ph.D., Co-founder of New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development
Lisa Schmucki, founder of edWeb.net commented, “We began launching professional learning communities for early learning educators just three years ago, and we’ve been stunned by how enthusiastic these educators are to participate in online professional learning. We’ve been so fortunate to work with sponsoring companies who’ve helped ensure that these are very valuable and collaborative experiences, including Frog Street Press, Gryphon House, Music Together, and Kaplan Early Learning.”
Educators are so appreciative of the opportunity to engage in free professional learning with their peers. Comments like, “O-M-G. I can’t thank you enough. We need this” are expressed by the hundreds of educators who join in edWeb’s early learning webinars each week.
Educators earn a CE certificate for attending a live webinar or viewing the recording on demand. They can participate anytime, anywhere which makes is convenient, and edWeb programs are all free thanks to the support of sponsors.
As we look ahead to 2017, and what we can do to help educators help their students, especially the youngest, it is so inspiring to know that these programs provide a free professional learning opportunity to make a bigger impact in students’ early education.
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