Virtual Learning Consortium

Alaska Reading Playbook Digital Course

Audience:  Educators

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Learn about different areas of the Science of Reading

Course Description: Alaska's Reading Playbook is a comprehensive guide for educators working within Alaska's unique educational landscape. It blends decades of national research with practical examples and resources developed by educators across the state. This playbook covers key areas such as phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, and provides links to valuable resources to help you further expand your knowledge.

Also Available as Individual Focus Modules

Each focus module requires separate selection and enrollment; it takes approximately 3 hours to complete and supports professional learning and deeper knowledge of essential reading components.

Modules taken as individual units will not qualify for a CEU.

Available Modules:

• Phonological Awareness—The Foundation for Reading Skills
• Phonics—Sounds and Symbols
• Fluency—The Role of Accuracy, Rate and Expression
• Vocabulary—Find Meaning in the Words we Read
• Comprehension—Deriving Meaning from Text

Building Capacity in Educators to Enhance Student Learning: A Student-Focused Coaching Approach

Audience:

• Instructional Coaches
• Administrators
• Department Chairs
• School Leadership Teams
• Educators Facilitating Professional Learning

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Enhance your coaching skills and positively impact student learning.

Course Description:
This course is designed for any educator or administrator who aspires to learn more about and lead change in their school or organization. The Student-Focused Coaching book will be the primary resource used in this course, and course content includes reflection and extension activities that are applicable to any stakeholder group and relevant to any initiative/program (e.g., The Alaska Reads Act).

Key components include:

• Collaborative Problem-Solving Process
• Data-Driven Dialogues
• Partnership Approach when working with colleagues

Effective Online Teaching

Audience: Educators

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? This course equips educators with practical strategies to design engaging, inclusive, and effective online learning experiences.

Course Description: This course provides educators with a foundation in effective online teaching practices aligned with the National Standards for Quality Online Teaching. Participants explore a practical framework for delivering high-quality instruction in virtual, blended, and asynchronous learning environments. The course focuses on five essential areas of quality online teaching: Professional Responsibilities, Digital Citizenship, Engagement and Belonging, Learner-Centered Instruction, and Instructional Design. Educators will develop strategies to create inclusive learning communities, support student success, promote responsible technology use, and design engaging, student-centered online experiences.

Heggerty

Audience: Pre-K & K-5th Educators

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Deepen your understanding of phonological awareness instructional strategies.

Course Description:
This course supports educators in delivering effective lessons in phonological awareness using Heggerty curriculum. It covers the Early Pre-K, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Primary Heggerty manuals as well as the Bridge the Gap program for older students. This evidence-based program is aligned with the science of reading and is included on DEED’s approved list of interventions and supplemental programs.  

Instructional Leadership in Student-Focused Coaching

Audience: Educators and Leadership

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Strengthen your instructional leadership and coaching practices by learning how to connect evidence-based instruction with real classroom implementation to support sustained instructional improvement.

Course Description: This course is designed for individuals who serve, or aspire to serve, as instructional leaders with a primary responsibility for leading instruction. Participants explore how to bridge research- and evidence-based instructional practices with the realities of classroom instruction. The course also builds knowledge of instructional coaching, emphasizing how coaching practices strengthen leadership, model continuous learning, and support sustainable instructional improvement.

Keys to Beginning Reading (Keys to Literacy, Asynchronous)

Audience: K-5th Educators

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Earn your Alaska Reads Act K–3 Teacher or Alaska Reads Act K–3 Administrator endorsement by completing this self-paced course.

Course Description:
Approved by the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development to meet the requirements outlined in the Alaska Reads Act and tailored specifically for Alaska educators, Keys to Beginning Reading is a comprehensive 45-hour course developed by Joan Sedita, founder of Keys to Literacy. This practical course equips educators with essential background knowledge necessary for teaching all components of beginning reading instruction. The instructional practices are designed for seamless integration into classroom lessons and adaptable to complement any existing reading curriculum or published reading program. To add the K-3 AK Reads Act Reading Endorsement, participants must submit their course completion certificate to AK Teacher Certification.

Keys to Content Writing

Audience: 3-12 Grade Educators, Individual or group professional development

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Strengthen student writing across all content areas with practical, evidence-based strategies you can use immediately.

Course Description: Keys to Content Writing is a 12 hour professional development course for educators in grades 3–12 that integrates evidence-based writing instruction across content areas. Participants learn practical strategies to support learning to write and writing to learn through scaffolds, authentic writing tasks, and content-based instruction aligned to state literacy standards.

Ideal for self-paced learning, PLC collaboration, and staff professional learning.

Topics include:

• Writing Basics
• Quick Writes
• Sentences & Paragraphs
• The Writing Process and scaffolds
• Summary Writing
• Three Types of Writing - Informational, Opinions/Argumentative, Narrative
• Writing from Sources

Keys to Early Writing

Audience: K-2nd Educators, Individual or group PD

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Build foundational, standards-aligned knowledge and practical K–2 strategies for teaching beginning writing.

Course Description: Keys to Early Writing is a K–2 course that builds foundational knowledge for teaching beginning writing instruction. It provides developmentally appropriate strategies that integrate into any curriculum and align with state standards. The course bridges framework to practice through The Writing Rope.

Ideal for self-paced learning, PLC collaboration, and staff professional learning.

Topics include:

• Writing basics4
• Building a community of writers
• Writing process
• Writing craft & structures - narrative, informational, and opinion
• First Steps - drawing/labels/lists
• Syntax and sentence development
• Paragraph writing
• Writing from sources

mCLASS DIBELS 8 Calibration

Audience: K-5th Educators

CEU: No

Why take this course? This course is required annually prior to the administration of any mCLASS DIBELS 8 assessments or subtests.

Course Description:
This course calibrates scoring of the mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition assessment to ensure accuracy and reliability of test administration. Learners will review the teacher-administered measures and complete a scoring mastery check for each measure, then review the whole-class online assessment measures. The course includes eight self-paced modules and will take approximately 1–3 hours to complete, depending on learner needs. To successfully pass the course, learners must achieve a minimum score of 80% on the mastery checks. Learners have an unlimited number of attempts to complete each mastery check.

Phonics for Reading

Audience: 3rd-12th Educators

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Empower your teaching with effective phonics strategies to support older students who struggle to decode.

Course Description:
This course provides introductory training for the 2024 Phonics for Reading Intervention Program with Dr. Anita Archer. The program uses evidence-based strategies to help students in grade three and above strengthen word recognition, phonemic awareness, and decoding skills to improve reading fluency and comprehension. Phonics for Reading is an approved evidence-based intervention under the Alaska Reads Act for students identified through screening measures.

Science of Reading for Administrators, PCG

Audience: K-3 Administrators and Educators

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Earn your Alaska Reads Act K–3 Teacher or Alaska Reads Act K–3 Administrator endorsement by completing this self-paced course.

Course Description:
This 45-hour course provides school leaders with a strong foundation in the science of reading and the key components of effective literacy instruction. Participants will explore phonology, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, as well as strategies for supporting English Learners. The course emphasizes data-driven decision-making, classroom observations, and leadership practices that promote successful literacy initiatives in schools.

Also Available as Individual Focus Modules

Each focus module requires separate selection and enrollment; it takes approximately 7 hours to complete and supports professional learning and deeper knowledge of essential reading components.

Modules taken as individual units will not qualify for the Alaska Reads Act Endorsement.

CEUs are available for participants who complete two or more individual modules. 

Available Modules:

• Understanding the Science of Reading for Administrators
• Building Oral Language and Phonology for Administrators
• Exploring Phonics and Word Study for Administrators
• Creating Fluent Readers for Administrators
• Developing Vocabulary for Administrators
• Increasing Reading Comprehension for Administrators

Science of Teaching Reading for Leaders, NWEA

Audience: K-3 Leaders

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Earn your Alaska Reads Act K–3 Teacher or Alaska Reads Act K–3 Administrator endorsement by completing this self-paced course.

Course Description:
Deepen your literacy expertise with content focused professional learning that helps you understand how to support instructional change at your site in alignment with scientific evidence for effective reading instruction. You will learn how to translate learning into practical classroom applications, recognize features of explicit and systematic instructional routines as teachers implement their locally adopted curricular programs, and deliver practical tools and resources to sustain the work beyond the hours of the course.

The Key Vocabulary Routine

Audience: 4th -12th Educators

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Strengthen student vocabulary and comprehension with research-based, practical strategies for teaching academic language across all content areas in grades 4 –12.

Course Description: The Key Vocabulary Routine provides research-based instructional practices for teaching academic vocabulary in grades 4 –12 across all content areas. Teachers learn to use direct and indirect strategies embedded within existing curriculum materials to build word knowledge, deepen comprehension, and promote consistent instruction across grade levels. Routines include explicit vocabulary selection, semantic analysis, word-learning strategies, and student-friendly definitions that strengthen word consciousness and support transfer across subjects.

Ideal for self-paced learning, PLC collaboration, and staff professional learning.

Topics include:

• Vocabulary Basics
• What is Key Vocabulary Routine?
• Previewing Words
• Teaching Targeted Words In-Depth
  • Selecting Words
  • Teaching Suggestions
• Activities to Connect Words
• Word Learning Strategies: Use of Context and Word Parts
• Fostering Word Consciousness
• Putting It All Together

UFLI Foundations

Audience: K-5th Educators

CEU: Yes

Why take this course? Strengthen your literacy instruction with proven strategies.

Course Description:
This course offers a thorough exploration of the University of Florida Literacy Institute’s program called UFLI Foundations. It aims to provide educators with practical insights and resources to enhance literacy instruction. Participants will learn how to teach UFLI lessons, use tools and resources, administer progress monitoring, and differentiate instruction in the classroom. This evidence-based program is aligned with the science of reading and is included on DEED's approved list of interventions and supplemental programs.