If you’re a PK-12 educator looking for free online professional development for teachers, you’ve landed in the right place.
Due to limited school budgets and time, teachers are seeking free online workshops, trainings, courses, and webinars to improve or expand their teaching skills plus professional knowledge.
Additionally, former teachers and educators on hiatus may want to continue accumulating annual continuing education hours in order to keep their teaching certifications up-to-date.
What’s more, if you don’t work for a school district or your district doesn’t provide enough quality professional development, the costs of teacher professional development training can start to put a real dent in your finances.
But we’ve got you covered.
Here you will find the best list of free online professional development for teachers, offering a range of topics, with and without certificates.
Keep in mind that many of the options for free online professional development for teachers do not provide continuing education credits also known as certificates.
However, some do.
Best Free Online Professional Development for Teachers
This list of free online professional development for teachers highlights websites that offer courses, webinars, and training for educators to learn new skills plus knowledge.
1. Common Sense Education
Common Sense offers free professional development events such as interactive workshops, chats, and webinars.
Teachers learn practical strategies for teaching with technology with the goal of supporting students in their digital lives.
2. Inspire Teaching
PK-12 teachers may choose from live trainings, on-demand courses, and webinars – all at no cost.
This organization includes a community forum where educators can exchange inspirational teaching practices and strategies with peers.
Participate anytime, anywhere – from a mobile device or laptop.
3. ASCD
Presented by skilled practitioners, ASCD offers free webinars, videos, and podcasts that focus on research-based practices.
4. Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM
This institute showcases free, bite-sized workshops each month. Each session includes a video and materials.
Specifically designed for educators, these workshops fill teachers with great ideas for their classrooms.
5. KET Education
KET provides K-12, self-paced online courses for teachers and administrators.
A certificate of completion is available.
6. Teach Me, Teacher Podcast
If your state permits self-study as a professional development option, this podcast is a good choice.
You will gain insight from teachers and administrators having honest conversations about their teaching plus learning experiences.
7. Canvas
Teachers partake in self-paced professional development online courses designed specifically for educators.
8. Edweb.net
Edweb offers a variety of free online professional development for teachers via webinars.
Continuing education certificates are provided upon completion.
This platform encourages teachers to engage in the learning process, share resources/ideas, and collaborate.
9. Learning for Justice
This website is a great resource of materials for K-12 teachers who want to shape their schools into equitable communities.
It offers free, on-demand webinars presented by seasoned educators and learning specialists.
Webinars may be shared with colleagues.
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10. TeachersFirst
TeachersFirst presents a series of free, virtual workshops for teacher professional learning.
The sessions are…
- interactive,
- based on research,
- full of practical ideas for the classroom, and
- available in two formats: live (with a certificate) and on-demand (without a certificate).
11. Truth for Teachers Podcast
Though this professional learning opportunity does not offer continuing education credits or certificates, it’s a great option for self-study.
Truth for Teachers is a highly-ranked K-12 podcast that shares advice, knowledge, and encouragement for the hearts and minds of educators.
The host offers a private Facebook group where participants can collaborate and engage in various education-related topics.
12. Learners Edge
Learners Edge offers valuable, on-demand webinars for busy teachers. The sessions are usually no longer than an hour.
Webinars cover a variety of topics including writing, mindfulness, reading, and mental health awareness.
Certificates are available upon completion.
13. Alison
Alison prides itself on providing free courses for educators that empower their lives and further their careers.
The platform offers a variety of online courses covering a range of topics which include special education, educational psychology, and early childhood development.
14. Waterford
Waterford is currently presenting a free webinar series about literacy.
Teachers learn about research-based classroom strategies to help them teach literacy more effectively.
15. Apple Teacher Program
The Apple Teacher Program is one of the most unique options when it comes to free online professional development for teachers.
It provides free, flexible professional learning resources for schools and districts in which staff can collaborate.
The Apple Teacher Learning Center, a component of the program, presents a self-paced, personalized online experience.
It gives teachers the tools necessary to build a solid foundation in using Apple products such as iPad, Mac, and iMovie in the classroom.
The tutorials within, accessible from anywhere, focus on lesson ideas, skill-building, and inspiration.
16. SciLearn
This website provides free professional development sessions that focus on strategies to support struggling learners.
Certificates for continuing education credit are available upon completion of a webinar.
17. Education Week
Education Week offers a collection of free plus paid on-demand webinars.
18. Facing History
If you want to add more tools to your teaching toolkit and engage with other educators online, this website is for you.
With both free and paid options, Facing History offers on-demand webinars, workshops, plus online courses on topics related to English language arts, humanities, social studies, teaching strategies, and civics, just to name a few.
The goal is to increase student learning by utilizing strategies that engage.
19. KQED Teach
This platform, with the objective of enhancing media literacy, offers K-12 educators free, self-paced online courses which include detailed videos and engaging activities.
Through these workshops, teachers gain confidence and learn the skills necessary to include media literacy in their teaching.
A certificate of completion is available after meeting certain requirements.
20. Emergent Tree Virtual Learning Academy
This organization provides free recorded webinars to teachers, administrators, and other professionals in the education field.
Topics relate to behavior management in school settings.
21. Share My Lesson
Share My Lesson is unique in that it is a community of teachers and other professionals in the education community who collaborate, contribute content and stay current on educational matters via an online medium.
There are a variety of free professional development webinars from which teachers may choose.
22. NASA STEM Engagement & Educator Professional Development Collaborative
This professional development collaborative offers free distance learning opportunities for K-12 educators and administrators.
Webinar topics focus on STEM.
23. SHAPE America
If you’re a K-12 physical education or health teacher, this website is for you.
Educators earn professional development hours via free, self-paced webinars that are on-demand making them flexible for busy schedules.
24. PBS Learning Media
This learning platform offers a variety of videos, materials, and resources to help teachers sharpen their instructional skills.
Topics relate to assessment, learning environment, planning, professional practice, and instruction.
Final Thoughts: Free Online Professional Development for Teachers
Now you’re set to meet your professional development goals with this list of free online professional development for teachers in hand.
Whether you want to take free courses, workshops, webinars, or live training, this collection of websites offers something to meet your professional needs.
If you teach grades K-5 and found this list of free online professional development for teachers helpful, you may be interested in … professional development options for elementary teachers.