Teaching Channel

What it is

Teaching Channel sells online continuing education courses for teachers, along with a classroom video library and coaching platform for schools, districts and colleges of education. The course page sums up the main offer: "Access over 300 online, self-paced graduate-level continuing education courses designed specifically for educators", offered "year-round and fully online in partnership with regionally accredited universities", so teachers "earn degree eligible graduate-level credits while advancing your career."

The site says it has been "Trusted by educators and school districts for more than 25 years" and that it "designs professional learning that delivers meaningful, classroom-ready impact." The footer gives its address at 2805 Dodd Road, Suite 315, Eagan, MN 55121, and a phone number, 952-469-3454.

The main reader is a K-12 teacher who needs credits or hours for license renewal or a salary step. The second reader is a school or district leader looking for video-based professional learning for a whole staff.

Course formats

The courses menu sets out five ways to buy:

• Graduate-level, degree-eligible courses. "Accredited online graduate credit, letter graded and recorded on a transcript." The credit comes through the company's university partners, and a "University Partners & Transcripts" page explains how to request a transcript.
• Certificates. "Focused course certificates, earning a certificate of completion and university transcript."
• Non-credit courses. "Hours-only, graduate-level courses, earning a letter of completion." The site points these at teachers who want to renew a license or explore a topic without graduate credit.
• Advanced degree programs. "Transfer your graduate credit toward a master's degree as low as $8,500."
• Course bundles. Preset or custom bundles of 2, 3, 5 or 10 courses come at a saving over single courses.

The process runs in four steps on the course page: find a course, choose a course format, choose a term from the term calendar, then purchase and request a transcript.

What the courses cover

The catalog spans hundreds of topics. The home page features popular courses, each listed with its grade band and both prices:

• Raise the Bar: Positive Interventions for Students Who Challenge Us (grades K-8).
• Reading Instruction for Multilingual Learners (PK-8).
• Maximizing Learning for All through Differentiation (PK-12+).
• Trust, Humor, Praise, and Connection for Meaningful Relationships with Students (K-12+).
• Anxiety Awareness, a course on helping students who struggle with anxiety (K-12+).

Topic collections on the course page include educator wellness, social emotional learning, early childhood education and teacher favorites, and the site says its content is "built for practical, next-day application in the classroom." A separate course for new teachers offers "Personalized guidance to help new teachers thrive."

Courses are self-paced and online. The site describes the model as: "Earn credits to renew your license or advance your salary, enhance your skills and learn from your fellow teachers at your own pace, schedule and budget," with "our evaluators available to offer feedback and lend an ear every step of the way."

Who writes and grades the courses

The About page says the curriculum and instruction team "is comprised of over 100 experienced and practicing educators, each with a Master's Degree (or higher) and deep expertise in their fields," and that the team develops courses "drawing from seminal texts and resources." It adds that "Course evaluators provide specific feedback on each course module participants complete." There is also a page introducing the course writers.

Prices and savings

Every featured course is listed at the same two prices: 3 credits for $489, or non-credit for $150. Savings come in several forms:

• Groups. "Save up to $135 per course when you take courses with your peers," with group codes and a group leader program.
• Bundles. Built-in savings on 2 or more courses, with payments spread "over 12 months". The course page advertises bundles "Starting at $75 per month".
• Promotions. The site banner advertised a summer bundle sale saving up to $930 on bundles, and the site mentions seasonal promotions, year-round discounts for educators and a refer-a-friend program.

Purchase orders are accepted, which helps when a school pays. The home page also advertises a "100% Course Acceptance Guarantee", with details on a linked page.

The master's degree route

Teaching Channel partners with American College of Education (ACE) for advanced degrees. The page lists the master's programs at $8,500 "With Teaching Channel Discount" when transferring up to 9 Teaching Channel graduate-level course credits, against an average ACE cost of $10,000 without the discount and a national average cost of $54,000 for an M.Ed. degree, and claims savings of "up to 84% on Tuition Costs". For a teacher already taking credit courses for a salary step, that is a route to turn those credits into a degree.

State requirements and advisors

A state requirements section covers every state plus the District of Columbia and New York City, with courses "pre-matched to help you find the right options for license/certificate renewal, salary advancement, and continued growth as an educator." Teachers can contact a state-specific advisor for "personalized guidance on courses, graduate credit, renewal, salary advancement, and professional learning opportunities." Support also runs through chat, an FAQ and a contact page.

For schools and districts

The second product line is video. The Video Library Subscription offers "2,500+ exemplar classroom videos" so teachers can "learn new techniques from award-winning teachers", and is "Designed for higher education, districts, and school purchases." Districts get the Teaching Channel+ All-Access Subscription, schools get a Video Library & Coaching Platform, and higher education gets Teaching Channel+ for Higher Education with a digital textbook and student video accounts. These are sold through "Book a Demo", with case studies on the site. A free resource hub, K12 Hub, adds blogs, webinars, lesson plans, podcasts and downloadable classroom aids.

What teachers say

Casey W., a school clinician who took Anxiety Awareness, wrote that the course "provided a range of skills teachers and staff can utilize to support students struggling with anxiety." Brianna K. ranked Nutrition, Exercise, Wellness, and Sleep for Teachers among the strongest courses she had taken in a long time and said she created a lesson plan she hopes to co-teach with her school's health teacher. Amanda C. described Trust, Humor, Praise, and Connection as an "Extremely insightful course".

Who it suits

Teaching Channel suits US teachers who need graduate credit or hours for license renewal or a salary schedule and want self-paced online courses at a flat, published price. Teachers planning a master's degree can bank credits toward the ACE programs. Teachers taking courses with colleagues can use the group discount. Districts and colleges of education looking for a large library of classroom video have a separate subscription.

It suits less well a teacher who wants a live, scheduled class, since the courses are self-paced with evaluator feedback. It is a course catalog and video library, not a platform for a district to build and host its own courses.