Online courses are taught by online instructors who are experts in their field. Discussion forums and email allow you to interact directly with other students and your instructor. You are provided with links and resources and forums for your lessons.

Course length is either 6 or 8 weeks depending on the subject matter. Each week you will have assigned readings, and resource links. A useful weekly assignment or project, that you can take back for practical use in your classroom, is also part of the course.

Yes. To see a demo of what a course will look like, click on Course Demo title in the left-navigation of this page.

Normally, courses are offered monthly, contingent upon enrollment. The deadline for course enrollment will be the second Wednesday of each month and each course will begin approximately on the third Wednesday of each month.

The cost of a course varies. Go to the Online Courses page to see the tuition prices.

Yes, you can communicate with your instructor and other students in the bulletin board area by posting a topic or in the chat areas. You can also post questions directly to your instructor through email or through the Q&A in your online classroom.

After completing registration and enrollment, you will receive a URL course link, a username, and a password by e-mail. To access your account, follow the instructions in your email.

There are no quizzes or tests, but there are varying numbers of assignments and an end-of-course cumulative project. Grades for most classes are PASS/NO PASS. All course requirements, assignments and the end-of-course project must be completed in order to earn a passing grade.

The courses are complete. Some courses have free downloadable learning guides. When textbooks are required, you will be given a list of the material(s) needed and resources on how to obtain those materials.

Access to a Computer - For Internet based courses, your computer system can significantly affect the quality of the course. If you have a faster system with more features, then you may enjoy the experience more.

PC

• Pentium processor or better (Pentium II or better recommended)
• 64 MB RAM
• Monitor with 256-color display and 8 MB Video Card (resolution at least 800x600)
• Sound Card
• Speakers
• Windows 95/98SE or Windows NT/2000/XP (Windows 98 or better preferred)
• Internet Explorer 5 or higher, Netscape 4.8 or higher, Firefox 1.0 or higher, Mozilla 1.7.5 or higer (with cookies enabled)
• Windows Media Player 7
• 56K Internet Connection or better (broadband, high-speed service preferred)

Apple:

• Power PC CPU or better
• 16MB RAM (64 recommended with 24 allocated to browser)
• Monitor with 256-color display
• Macintosh System 7.61 or better
• 56K Internet Connection or better (broadband, high-speed service preferred)
• Any Version 4 web browser or better

TO DOWNLOAD A WEB BROWSER:

• To download the free Internet Explorer browser, click here: Internet Explorer
• To download the free Netscape browser, click here: Netscape
• To download the free Firefox browser, click here: Firefox
• To download the free Mozilla browser suite, click here: Mozilla Browser Suite

Note for AOL users: You'll need America Online Version 4.0 or higher

Yes. Transferable professional development elective credit, noncredit, or Professional Development (PD) unit's can be earned. Please see the individual course or courses that you are interested in for details.

To learn more about school policies, return to the home page and click on About Us.

To register online, click the Register link at the top left of the page. You must register an online account before you can enroll in any courses. To enroll in the courses, find the course that you want to take in the Online Courses page, and then click the Enroll button next to the course that is listed.

Currently, we do not offer financial aid.

• If you withdraw from a course prior to its start date, you will receive a full refund.
• Once the class has started, it is no longer possible to receive a full refund. This is because the district's edCenter and edPal has spent time and money in setting up your records, establishing your logins, and placing you in the appropriate course.
• However it is possible to withdraw from the course and receive a partial refund, provided you notify edPal of your withdraw/reimbursement request no later than the 14th day after the course start date.
• If your request has been accepted, a refund will be processed for the amount paid minus a $50 (Administration Fee).
• No refunds will be issued after the 14th day of a class
• All withdrawal/refund requests must be sent in writing by email to support@edpal.com.

After successfully completing your course, you will receive a certificate of completion within three to four weeks after the course has finished. If you applied for professional development elective credits from Chapman University, about four to six weeks after course completion, you will receive an email confirming your credits have been awarded. In addition, Chapman University will send an unofficial grade report to you by postal mail. If you need an official transcript, the form is available at http://www.chapman.edu/ExEd/k-12/forms/transcriptReq.asp.

You may apply for credits only after you have enrolled in a course. You should apply for credits within 6 months of the completion of the course. To apply for credits, sign in to the edCenter and go to the area of the screen that says "My Courses." On the right-side of the screen, you should see a button or link that says "Apply Credits." When you click on that link, it will take you to the page where you can apply for professional development elective credits using a credit card.

Credits are processed around the 15th of each month. It usually takes about a week to 10 days after the credits have been submitted to Chapman University before we receive approval. You will be notified by email when your credits have been awarded. You will also receive an "unofficial" grade report in the postal mail that tells how to order a transcript, if needed.

If you forget or misplace your ID or password, click on the forgotten password link on this website. If this does not work, email support@edpal.com.

If you have questions or concerns about enrollment, registration, about the professional development elective credit or PD's received, or other questions, you can talk with your school contact person about them. Return to the home page and click on Contact Us.

For help with any technical problems, please send an e-mail to support@edpal.com.

Distance learning allows for flexibility -- you can work on your course any time of the day or night, without traveling to class, work at your own pace, do your assignments and participate in class discussions from anywhere. All you need are good organizational and time management skills and a willingness to learn in an exciting interactive environment!

The Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Program is an initiative to provide formative assessment and individualized support based on assessment information for beginning teachers. BTSA is co-administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC).