BANGOR – Twenty teachers across the state are getting an opportunity to learn to create their own online learning communities thanks to a Verizon Foundation grant of about $60,000 presented to the Mitchell Institute in Portland.

On Thursday and Friday, June 8 and 9, the Maine Department of Education plans to hold training sessions over the state’s video conferencing system on a course development software program called Moodle.

Using Moodle, teachers can post video- and audio-taped lectures, as well as assignments and links to various Web resources. Educators can also conduct live student discussion groups. Tests could even be given online and automatically graded.

“It’s more than a Web site,” said Steve Vose of the Maine Department of Education. “It’s one-stop shopping for everything you need. This software simplifies all of the educational tools and puts them in one spot for teachers.”

Moodle is designed to help educators build online classes to support what they are doing in the classroom. The idea is to supplement video conferencing classes, organize completely online educational environments, and provide additional programming through a variety of organizations, said Vose.

“The Maine State Museum currently is working to design a virtual field trip centered on Native American studies and as word of the project grows we expect that more and more organizations will want to join the learning community and reach out to students across the state,” he said. Down the road, other interactive virtual field trips could include such places as the Bronx Zoo or the Kennedy Space Center, he added.

Hal Casey, computer technology instructor at the Hancock County Technical Center in Ellsworth, is one of the few teachers in the state who already is using Moodle.

While many of the features in the program are available individually, “Moodle puts it all together,” Casey said recently. He particularly likes the software “because it puts students in charge of their education.” Students can access assignments from home if they’ve missed a class and they can review lectures at their own pace.

More Maine teachers need to be skilled in the new technology, according to Vose.

“Currently a large number of online courses and programs are being pulled into Maine high schools from locations outside the state,” he said. “Every school year more teachers from outside are used to educate our students. In order for this trend to stop, it is critical that we provide our teachers with the tools and training necessary to compete in this new educational arena.”

Vose said he hopes teachers here will be able to swap online programs or offer them to schools inside and outside the state.

Additional online and face-to-face training will be available during the school year, he said.

For more information call Steve Vose at 624-6779 or by e-mail at steve.vose@maine.gov.