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PBS TeacherLine® Earns CODiE Award for Best Online Instruction Solution from the Software & Information Industry Association

Top industry honor given to PBS TeacherLine for providing high-quality
online professional development to teachers

ARLINGTON, Va. (April 18, 2007) – PBS TeacherLine was recognized by industry competitors, experts and journalists as an exceptional instructional offering at the 22nd Annual CODiE awards gala in San Francisco yesterday. Since PBS TeacherLine was launched nationwide in mid-2004, more than 20,000 educators have completed the online professional development courses.

PBS TeacherLine received a 2007 CODiE Award from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) for Best Online Instruction Solution. This award category honors the most outstanding educational Web site designed to provide instructional support for preK-12 students, teachers and administrators. The online teacher professional development offering was also a finalist in the Best Professional Development Solution.

Established in 1986 by SIIA, the CODiE Awards program remains the standard bearer for celebrating outstanding achievement and vision in the software, digital content and education technology industries. Award nominees are judged by journalists and industry peers and voted on by association members.

PBS TeacherLine has quickly become the premier provider of affordable, high-quality online professional development for K-12 teachers through its unique combination of facilitated, online courses, a supportive learning environment and exemplary Internet-based resources. PBS TeacherLine is dedicated to improving teacher quality and to increasing student achievement. More than 100 courses in math, science, reading, instructional strategies and instructional technology are offered. The courses are content-rich and incorporate high-quality video—including content from national PBS programming—leading articles, interactive lessons and online facilitated discussions with peers that help translate learning into practice. Teachers can earn continuing education units, professional development points or graduate credits while learning practical, research-based instructional strategies to improve student learning. 

Recently, the Florida Department of Education, Nevada Commission on Educational Technology and the Arkansas Department of Education selected PBS TeacherLine to help them meet their respective statewide professional development initiatives.  The goals include increasing the number of teachers that meet state and federal “highly qualified” teacher requirements, raising student test scores, and building a cadre of master digital educators who can train their peers in best practices for classroom technology integration.

PBS TeacherLine® Earns 21st Century Best Practice Award
from the U.S. Distance Learning Association

Prestigious industry award given to PBS TeacherLine for its excellence in the distance learning field, its innovative solutions and its instructional success

ARLINGTON, Va. (May 8, 2007) – The United States Distance Learning Association honored PBS TeacherLine with a 2007 Distance Learning Award Monday evening in Kansas City, Mo. PBS TeacherLine earned the 21st Century Best Practice Award, which recognizes pioneering organizations in the field of distance learning that have challenged existing practice by developing new and innovative solutions for distance learning instruction and employee distance learning training programs.

Studies have documented the link between teacher quality and its impact on student achievement. Schools and districts need effective professional development to create and retain a national corps of highly qualified teachers—particularly in America's high-need, at-risk schools.

To address this challenge, PBS TeacherLine has emerged as the leader in providing online professional development courses to preK-12 teachers nationwide. PBS TeacherLine offers more than 100 online courses in math, science, reading, instructional strategies and instructional technology to help teachers gain professional recognition and gain the knowledge and skills needed to improve student learning. The courses incorporate research-based design elements of effective teacher professional development, model teaching and learning strategies, build professional learning communities, and provide learner/facilitator satisfaction.

“We are truly honored to be recognized by the distance learning community for offering educators an innovative approach to professional development and adapting to the evolving distance learning field,” said Rob Lippincott, senior vice president of education for PBS. “While we have an expanse of online, facilitated courses nationwide, we are committed to developing new models for online learning that support local and site-based teacher professional development to meet districts’ and teachers’ specific needs.”

Founded in 1987, the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) supports distance learning research, development and praxis across the complete arena of education, training and communications in pre K-12, higher education, continuing education, corporate training, military and government training, home schooling and telemedicine learning communities. The USDLA created the annual Distance Learning Awards to acknowledge major accomplishments in distance learning and to highlight distance learning instructors, programs, and professionals who have achieved and demonstrated extraordinary achievements through the use of online, videoconferencing, and satellite/video delivery technologies.

In the last year alone, PBS TeacherLine served more than 10,000 teachers. Recently, PBS TeacherLine was recognized by its peers in the education industry, receiving a 2007 CODiE Award for the Best Online Instruction Solution from the Software & Information Industry Association.

According to Jeannie Dyke, PBS TeacherLine alumna and reading specialist at SY Jackson Elementary School in Albuquerque, N.M., “PBS TeacherLine courses give me the collaborative support and intellectual motivation to continue to refine and improve my delivery of the curricular standards.”