The answer is lots of places! While the K-12 area is bustling with websites, online training programs and loads of resources for teachers, these resources can also be applied to higher education teachers. In addition, resources just for higher education teachers is indeed catching up.
When I was a full-time faculty member, I was always the one in my department who kept up with the trends in education. Yes folks, I was the IT girl !!! (IT is for Information/Technology). Blogging didn't exist back then so I relied on good old-fashioned word of mouth. Nowadays, technology has made my life easier in that I can write an article to share thoughts with you!
Here's a short list of resources that I use to keep up with the latest happenings in the online teaching and higher education area. What I love about these resources is that they are ONLINE and are FREE. The most you'll need to do is register by entering your name and email to start receiving them.
Education News Websites
- Edweek (www.edweek.org)
Signing up for the free newsletter will give you 3 articles per month. Their newsletter, "Digital Directions" (www.edweek.org/dd/) contains articles that are informative and keep you on the pulse of what is happening in K-12 education mostly but also at the college level. I particularly like the articles on technology trends that affect online education.
- Edutopia (www.edutopia.org)
Although their focus is K-12 education, I find that the articles on blended learning, student engagement and social learning can most certainly be applied to higher education. There are just so many resources from Edutopia that it makes my list as a great resource.
- Online Learning Consortium (www.onlinelearningconsortium.org)
The OLC (formerly The Sloan Consortium) has a list of complimentary webinars that make great resources for online teachers. Check their schedule of webinars (http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/learn/webinars/) for upcoming topics. You'll need to register by submitting your name, email and school. They also have a paid certificate program in online teaching which might prove useful in your career.
- Inside Higher Ed (https://www.insidehighered.com/)
I love the articles in this resource because they are just for us - higher ed teachers! There are sections on admissions, community colleges, diversity and teaching and learning. Inside Higher Ed does a particular good job at presenting interesting research and surveys. They have a list of these in a separate section for surveys (https://www.insidehighered.com/surveys) that describes the study and gives link to presentations about them.
