This course is designed to train you to become a Thinkfinity Trainer.

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to train others to integrate Thinkfinity resources into the curriculum to enhance student learning.

The course is asynchronous, so there is no scheduled meeting time. Participants do, however, have deadlines for turning in assignments.

There will be two graduate credits available upon successful completion of the course if you are interested in earning university credit (optional). University credits will be issued by the North Dakota State University. The fee for those seeking university credit is $100 payable to NDSU. NOTE: If you are not seeking university credits, the course is FREE!

Learning Environment: 
Online Facilitated Course – delivered via Blackboard

Audience:
This session is intended for educators who are interested in training others to locate and integrate Thinkfinity resources, but who have little or no experience with the Thinkfinity resources themselves.  Due to the fast-paced nature of this session, educators are encouraged to have a high comfort level with using the Internet.  Specific audiences may include technology integration specialists, staff developers, teacher leaders, and pre-service faculty and students. 

Training Requirements

Eligible applicants must have experience in the use of technology resources in the classroom, as well as experience in providing professional development for other teachers. Trainer candidates must show solid commitment to training other teachers, and must agree to report on their training activities using TIMS, Thinkfinity’s tracking system. Trainer candidates will commit to training a minimum of ten teachers within 90 days of the completion of the online course.

Pre-requisites:
None.

Session Description:
This comprehensive online training session guides educators, who have little to no prior experience with Thinkfinity through acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to become a Thinkfinity Trainer. This includes the following components: Thinkfinity’s content and resources, navigation and searching strategies, integration to enhance student learning, and tools and resources available for Thinkfinity trainers, best practice training strategies, and development of a customized training plan.

Objectives:
After completing this hands-on session educators will be able to:

§  Train end users to:

o    Provide an overview of the Thinkfinity program, including professional development and rollout, to education colleagues

o    Locate free educational resources including interactive student tools, high quality lessons, and panel-reviewed Web sites

o    Differentiate between types of online resources available through Thinkfinity and recognize their flexibility for use to support student learning, regardless of individual technical skills and technology availability

o    Think critically about strategies for using various Thinkfinity resources to increase student learning

o    Create a customized integration plan to engage learners and maximize student achievement, using Thinkfinity’s Integration Framework

§  Navigate to a variety of training resources through the Trainer Toolbox

§  Complete the four-step process necessary for all Thinkfinity training sessions, using TIMS -- Thinkfinity’s powerful professional development management system

§  Critically think about a variety of resources available for customizing training sessions for end users

§  Effectively apply a variety of exemplary training strategies

§  Create and implement a customized “Thinkfinity Training Plans” developed during the session

Required Materials:
Thinkfinity will provide all materials for this training session.

Responsibilities:
Please note that this session is intended for educators who are interested in training others to locate and integrate Thinkfinity resources. Each Thinkfinity trainer candidate will commit to deliver at least one Thinkfinity Training and train at least 10 teachers within 90 days of completion of the course. They could for example train other educators at their own school or district at an orientation day, an in-service day, a staff meeting, a department meeting, etc. 

Registration Information: