Time for TOOL
Your guide for getting started in TOOL
Welcome to TOOL
Teaching Online Open Learning - designed by the Georgia Department of Education Office of Curriculum and Instruction. TOOL is the professional learning platform created by Georgia Virtual Learning - Professional Learning for educators and administrators.
The skills and content offered in TOOL cover a variety of topics relevant to today’s educators and are essential for 21st century instruction. The TOOL content may be utilized and integrated into traditional, blended and online classrooms.
The Dashboard
The dashboard for TOOL is your communication hub. Several features are available to organize your professional learning. Participants should access the dashboard to:
Read announcements from TOOL administrators Track course progress View course enrollments Highlight achievements
My Profile
The “My Profile” tab allows participants to document important user information. Access “My Profile” to
Update User Settings
Change your email address and password
Update Contact Information
Update Professional Resume/Curriculum Vitae Information
Participants seeking opportunities for employment with Georgia Virtual School are required fill out the profile form fully. Please be sure to include any teacher certification documentation from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.
Participants may return to “My Profile” at anytime to update records as needed.
Find Courses
The “Find Courses” tab allows participants to search for courses and learning pathways offered in TOOL.
Participants may choose individual courses like Create a Blog microcourse or learning pathways like the Effective Online Teaching Course.
A course is unit of study specifically designed to focus on a single topic.
A learning pathway is a series of courses that are organized into wider scope of study.
To Find a Course...
To find a course or learning pathway, search by type or category. Then enroll by clicking “Take this course” or “Take this learning pathway.”
Participants seeking opportunities for employment with Georgia Virtual School are required to complete the Effective Online Teaching Course verified pathway.
Free & Verified Courses
TOOL offers open courses and learning pathways for participants to access anytime. These free courses and learning pathways are self-paced, independent professional learning. Free courses and learning pathways are indicated with an orange star icon.
For a nominal fee, participants can opt to have their work reviewed by experienced Innovative Teaching Specialists through Georgia Virtual Learning. Participants document their learning in their professional educator blog. Participants will submit a capstone portfolio of their work. Verifiers will review and provide feedback. Verified courses and learning pathways are indicated with a dollar sign icon.
The free course and/or learning pathway houses the content lessons. The verified course and/or learning pathways house the capstone portfolio submission process. Participants wishing to have their work reviewed should enroll in both.
Submitting a Capstone
Some courses offered in TOOL require verification of learning, like the Verified Effective Online Teaching Course. Participants enrolled should create a professional educator blog to house their learning artifacts and reflections. The blog is essentially the participant’s learning portfolio. Guidance for creating a professional educator blog can be accessed in the Create a Blog Microcourse.
Blog - A website that is updated regularly and written in a conversational style. A professional educator blog typically includes reflections and artifacts (links, images, video) that relate to professional learning or aspects of education. Educators should take care to ensure their blog is FERPA compliant.
Capstone - A capstone consists of selected items from your blog that are submitted for official review by Innovative Teaching Specialists at Georgia Virtual Learning.
How to submit a capstone:
When the participant is ready for his or her work to be reviewed, he or she should access the paid learning path of the course. A step-by-step process is shown below using the Verified Effective Online Teaching Course as an example.
** Note: The capstone only contains the requirements for verification. Content lessons are located in the free open course. Participants wishing to be verified should enroll in both the free and verified learning path.
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Capstone Submission View
Payment Process
Participants wishing to enroll in a verified course or learning pathway will be prompted to complete the payment process indicated below. Participants will receive a receipt in email.
Capstone FAQ
FAQ- Capstones and Verification
What should a participant type in the “answer” blank within a capstone?
Participants should enter a link to his or her blog. Blogs should be open to public and easily searchable. Blog posts should also be clearly labeled as to reflect the individual lesson titles noted in the lesson instructions. Note: Blogs should contain all content requirements, as well as the required reflection paragraph.
When should a participant submit a capstone?
Participants may submit a capstone anytime his/her work is complete. Participants may submit all lessons at once or individual lessons as they are completed. It is recommended that participants submit a capstone after each lesson.
Who reviews capstones?
A team of experienced teaching professionals called Innovative Teaching Specialist review capstones. Innovative Teaching Specialists enhance teacher training and professional development within Georgia Virtual School, across the State of Georgia, nationally and globally. The team’s responsibilities include serving as experts in online teaching, appraisers of TOOL coursework, evaluators of digital content, curators of digital resources, consultants for TOOL course development and scholars of web tools.
How are capstones evaluated?
Capstones are evaluated based on overall appearance (organization), completion of criteria (content), and reflection of the learning process.
How long will it take to receive feedback?
Capstones are reviewed daily and participants should expect to receive feedback within 1 week of submission. Feedback is sent to the email address on record in TOOL.
Contact Us
Email: verify@gavirtuaschool.org