SOPHIA.org

SOPHIA.org is a website which offers free educational tutorials,[1] free certification programs for teachers, as well as low-cost online college credit courses.[2]

History

SOPHIA.org was founded by Don Smithmier,[3] It launched in public beta in March 2011. By 2013 the site was being used by more than 70,000 students and teachers around the world.[4]

Student resources

SOPHIA.org has more than 34,000 free, short-form tutorials developed by over 6,000 teachers including 50 developed by Bill Nye The Science Guy[5][6] and tutorials developed by physicians at the Mayo Clinic. The tutorials are available in a variety of multimedia formats including screencasts, videos, slideshows and podcasts.[7]

In September 2012, SOPHIA introduced nine college-level online courses known as SOPHIA Pathways for College Credit (SPCC). Students complete courses on their own time and at their own pace. The courses have been recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service and have been approved by the Distance Education Accreditation Commission (DEAC) for Approved Quality Curriculum (AQC) status.

Educator resources

SOPHIA provides free tools and resources for teachers to create and share lessons, develop private classroom groups for student discussion, and monitor analytics and progress.[8][9]

SOPHIA also provides free professional development resources created in cooperation with Capella University’s School of Education faculty.[10] New Classrooms uses SOPHIA-created math content in its adaptive learning model[11]

Sophia.org also conducts surveys on educational topics[12] and hold contests.[13]

References
  1. Chris Mason (3 April 2014). Tutor in a Box: The Guide to the Best Free Education Resources on the Internet. Chris Mason. pp. 84–. ISBN 978-1-310-60507-9.
  2. MPR News - "Social media's role in education", Jan 31, 2011
  3. WCCO-TV 3/22/11 - "Mpls. Company Starts Sophia, A New Educational Website"
  4. McKay, Elspeth (31 March 2013). ePedagogy in Online Learning: New Developments in Web Mediated Human Computer Interaction: New Developments in Web Mediated Human Computer Interaction. IGI Global. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-1-4666-3650-7.
  5. "A Teacher's Challenge: Empowering Today's Digital Natives for Tomorrow". HuffPost. 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  6. T.H.E. Journal 10/1/2012 - "Bill Nye 'The Science Guy' Talks Flipped Classrooms". by Kanoe Namahoe
  7. "Rating tutorials at Sophia.org". Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, Apr 20, 2012. Katharine Grayson
  8. Amy Hutchison; Jamie Colwell (18 June 2015). Bridging Technology and Literacy: Developing Digital Reading and Writing Practices in Grades K-6. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-1-4422-3496-3.
  9. Gupteswar Rao. B. Empowering tools for today's educators: "Explore & Experience 21st Century Teaching Skills". Notion Press. pp. 161–. ISBN 978-93-83808-32-8.
  10. "'Social Teaching' Company Gets Buy-In From Capella Education". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2011-02-04. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  11. Mary T. Kolesinski; Evelyn Nelson-Weaver; Daryl Diamond (11 September 2013). Digital Solidarity in Education: Promoting Equity, Diversity, and Academic Excellence Through Innovative Instructional Programs. Routledge. pp. 70–. ISBN 978-1-135-11917-1.
  12. "Students do homework in class, lessons at night in flipped classroom". CW2 television, February 5, 2014, by Kim Posey
  13. "School senior featured in video". Bronx Times, March 11 2014, By Jaime Williams
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