STEP 1: Identify with whom you want to collaborate in our professional learning.
Our eWorkshops, mini eWorkshops, and Book Clubs are for professional learning communities of educators and were designed to provide meaningful opportunities for collaboration. Therefore, our professional learning should be taken with a minimum of 2 educators working together and a maximum of ~10. We recommend groups of 4-6 educators work together in an eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club. It is often beneficial for educators to collaborate in an eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club with other educators from their same school or district, but because of the online nature of our professional learning, educators may choose to collaborate with other educators near and far. We encourage potential participants to utilize our eWorkshops, mini eWorkshops, and Book Clubs as meaningful resources to support collaborative learning via professional learning communities. For anyone interested in facilitating an eWorkshop we have prepared a detailed guide here. In order to support the agency, leadership, and collaboration of all participants of the eWorkshop we ask that you read and follow the guidelines provided in the ICMEE facilitator guide.
Please also note that our professional learning is all password protected learning spaces for self-selected communities. The work that participants do in an eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, and Book Club is only visible to the other members of the learning community and members of the ICMEE Team.
STEP 2: Select the professional learning you would like to take.
We have many eWorkshops available that are described here. Additionally, we now offer mini eWorkshops and Book Clubs. Please review the available professional learning we offer and collaboratively select the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club that your group will find most beneficial to engage in.
STEP 3: Select the date for launching your professional learning. Be sure to give the ICMEE team a minimum of two weeks to assist you in launching into your eWorkshop.
Our professional learning can be launched at any time a group would like to begin an available eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club. Therefore, once a group is put together and an eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club has been selected, determining when to start is the next important step. The ICMEE team requires two weeks advanced notice to set up the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club for any interested group. Therefore, be sure to select a date that gives the ICMEE team at least two weeks advanced notice.
eWorkshops include six units and each unit takes approximately three hours of a participants’ time to complete. We recommend that groups complete eWorkshops over a 6, 12 or 18 week period. Currently 12 weeks appears to be an ideal length of time to take a eWorkshop. However, we have had many successful eWorkshops run in 6 weeks. Be sure that when you are selecting the time to start your eWorkshop you are planning for the entire eWorkshop to run during the school year. Participants need to have access to students, classrooms, data, etc. to meaningfully engage in eWorkshop learning.
Mini eWorkshops include 1, 2, or 3 units total and each unit takes approximately three hours of a participants’ time to complete. Be sure that when you are selecting the time to start your mini eWorkshop you are planning for the entire mini eWorkshop to run during the school year. Participants need to have access to students, classrooms, data, etc. to meaningfully engage in mini eWorkshop learning.
Book Clubs vary with time required for completion based on the length of the book. The ICMEE team will be happy to discuss recommended timelines for this professional learning choice. Contact us at icmee@unl.edu to learn more.
When you reach out to the ICMEE Team to start an eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club be prepared to share both the start date of the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club as well as the timeline you would like the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club to run on. Additionally, we encourage you to share with your professional learning colleagues an anticipated timeline to support active collaboration and engagement across the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club. Here is a sample of what that might look like for a 12 week plan for an eWorkshop.
Getting Started: September 24th (taking pre-surveys, getting enrolled, meet and greet, starting Unit 1 Explore)
Finish Unit 1 Explore: Oct 1st
Finish Unit 1 Share: Oct 8th
Finish Unit 2 Explore: Oct 15th
Finish Unit 2 Share: Oct. 22nd
Finish Unit 3 Explore: Oct. 29th
Finish Unit 3 Share: Nov. 5th
Finish Unit 4 Explore: Nov. 12th
Finish Unit 4 Share: Nov. 19th
Finish Unit 5 Explore: Nov. 26th
Finish Unit 5 Share: Dec. 3rd
Finish Unit 6 Explore: Dec. 10th
Finish Unit 6 Share and Complete Post-Surveys: Dec. 17th
STEP 4: To request an eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club use the Contact Us form below and submitthe following information to the ICMEE Team.
To Request an eWorkshop please submit:
- Name of desired eWorkshop(s), mini eWorkshop(s), or Book Club(s)
- If you would like multiple sections of one eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club to accommodate multiple groups taking the same professional learning within one school or district, please let us know how many sections you are interested in.
- eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club start date
- eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club end date
- School District and State
- If participants are in multiple school districts/states, please list the school district and state for the person organizing the professional learning.
After submitting this information to the ICMEE Team, you will hear from a member of the team with the information necessary to self-enroll into both our database and your requested eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club. We do not manage enrollments on our end, we send the necessary information and supports for interested participants to enroll themselves. We do support any troubles that may come up (please contact icmee@unl.edu), but the information we provide allows groups to flexibly get themselves started and manage their own work. This also means, that we only need to be in touch with the person or persons organizing the professional learning. The organizer is then an important communicator with the rest of the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club participants to share enrollment information. Please note we need participants to enroll first in our database with the information provided by the ICMEE Team. Via database enrollment, participants are given the necessary information to enroll in the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club space that has been created specifically for their group. Once participants are enrolled and ready to go, they will engage with the eWorkshop on Canvas.
STEP 5: Use the information from the ICMEE Team to self-enroll into both the ICMEE database and the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club on Canvas and begin to learn and collaborate!
Participation in ICMEE professional learning should be flexible, meaningful and enjoyable. If there is anything the ICMEE Team can do to assist you as you take the eWorkshop, mini eWorkshop, or Book Club please let us know!