The Aʻo Kumu program provides educators with professional development opportunities to acquire 21st century teaching skills with a focus on accessing, integrating and developing Hawaiian culture education-based learning resources.
Instructors who successfully complete the Aʻo Kumu program will have all the tools and skills needed to educate through distance learning, inspiring and motivating students through the creation of dynamic and interactive 21st century learning opportunities.
The sequence of the A‘o Kumu program follows a cultural framework symbolized by parts of a growing tree. They are:
Level 1: Ka Mole (the root) – The first course introduces educators to the capabilities of distance learning. It provides access to culture-based online curricula and resources aligned to state and national standards. Participants will learn fundamental distance learning skills while becoming part of an online professional learning community.
Level 2: Ke Kumu (the trunk) – The second course focuses on emerging 21st century technologies, and how they are effectively used both in online and face-to-face learning environments. All along, it is continuing to explore Hawaiian curricula and culture-based education. Participants apply what they learned to create and implement online resources that integrate Hawaiian culture with appropriate technologies.
Level 3: Ka Hua (the fruit) – The final course has participants build on their prior experiences while gaining skills in developing and facilitating an online learning activity for other educators. Participants use strategies and tools in distance learning to effectively share what they have learned from all the A‘o Kumu courses. They will also have the opportunity to explore and partner with other online instructors to teach distance learning courses to high school and adult learners.
Program requirements are access to a computer with reliable Internet access and to currently be an instructor, or directly or indirectly instruct students.
Registration for courses is done through the Hawaiʻi Department of Education Professional Development Credit System. Non-Hawaiʻi Department of Education teachers may participate on a space-available basis. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.org for more information.