Florida Virtual Curriculum Marketplace Available for Teachers
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Florida Virtual Curriculum Marketplace Available for Teachers
~ Free online resource to provide educators a single point of access for finding and using standards-aligned digital content ~TALLAHASSEE —As part of the Florida Department of Education’s Strategic Plan to move to digital instruction, the Department announced today the opening of the Florida Virtual Curriculum Marketplace (FVCM), a new approach to help teachers navigate the crowded digital curriculum landscape. The marketplace provides a single point of entry for Florida teachers to search for content that is educationally proven and aligned to Florida’s Next Generation Common Core State Standards.
A majority of Florida teachers use digital content daily, but are challenged by the difficulty of finding appropriate and easy-to-use content on the Internet. Teachers not only have access to district and school-licensed digital content from multiple sources, but also to a wide variety of public and free sources of digital content. For teachers to better use all of the available digital content, they need an easy and intuitive way to cut through the clutter.
“As Florida moves to the digital age in education, it is vital that our educators have a vetted source that can be trusted to provide quality instructional content,” said Public Schools Chancellor Dr. Frances Haithcock. “Florida’s Virtual Curriculum Marketplace will become a valuable resource to school districts and teachers as they transition to the new Next Generation Common Core State Standards. Districts and teachers will no longer have to choose to purchase one textbook for instruction but will be able to purchase the most highly-rated content to teach each standard.”
The Curriculum Marketplace will allow users to network and comment on available content, improve shared lessons, share free materials, and provide the most up-to-date materials daily. Teacher ease of use is the guiding principle behind the FVCM. The marketplace supports single sign-on, so teachers and students can use a single password and log in to access multiple sources of content. The teacher interface is intuitive and requires minimal training, and teachers see search results in a consistent and easy-to-use format.
Every Florida educator has access at no cost to the FVCM and its free, user-generated and district-licensed resources. Teachers will also be able to find, buy and use fee-based content quickly and easily with their students. Content found through the marketplace works with a school or district’s existing Learning Management System, or districts may use the marketplace platform to access their district-licensed digital resources, find additional resources, and use built-in tools to assign and track student progress.
Informational training sessions will be offered throughout the summer to give Florida teachers early access to FVCM, and to enable them to start their instructional planning before the new school year starts.
To learn more about the marketplace, and to see a short informational video, visit www.learning.com/floridavcm.