School Indoor Environmental Quality Online Course
Coming January 2009!
NEA and the NEA Health Information Network (HIN) are creating an IEQ online training course as part of NEA’s Online Academy, which aims to meet the professional needs of NEA members. The course will be available in January 2009 and will be free to NEA members and other members of the school community (parents, administrators, etc.) The course design incorporates important elements of core standards for professional development experiences providing teachers and education support professionals (ESPs) the opportunity to obtain continuing education and other professional development credit.
The interactive course will educate NEA members/staff and others on how to identify, prevent and resolve IEQ issues like mold/moisture problems, chemical exposure, asbestos, radon and more. It will cover the basics of IEQ (what are the factors that affect IEQ, how it effects performance and health, etc.), common contaminants, and how to organize around the issue as a local association. Users can visit the webpage to take the course, search for information on a specific topic and/or use a variety of tools and resources that will be offered to assist NEA members (and others) with successfully influencing the implementation of an IEQ management plan in their school/school district.
The course is divided into five modules:
Module 1: Welcome and Introduction to the Course
Module 2: Introduction to IEQ and Schools
Module 3: Factors that Affect IEQ
Module 4: Understanding Common Pollutant Sources in Schools
Module 5: Effective Organizing Strategies
Course highlights include:
- Pre- and post- knowledge based assessments for each module
- Built in activities and extra credit assignments
- A school walkthrough and simulations that demonstrate effective strategies to assist NEA members when trying diagnose and resolve IEQ problems
- Course content modeled after U.S. EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (TfS) guidance
- Discussion forum for educators and others to share ideas and network
- A professional development portal that will contain detailed information on how this course can help teachers and ESPs achieve their goals for professional growth and development. For more information on taking this course for credit click here!
If you have questions, please contact Jennie Young at [email protected] or 202-822-7481.