Flexible Learning Environments for Excellence (FLEX) is an initiative out of the Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) Office of Professional Learning (OPL) that is currently provided at no additional fee to our Berks County schools under the mandated services budget. FLEX is the BCIU’s solution for educators to access micro courses, coaching modules, and online content for asynchronous engagement. The content can also be used to complement in-person workshops and events. FLEX was born out of the necessity to provide professional learning in a different format due to the pandemic and the shortage of substitutes. In both cases, it was challenging to have participants attend sessions on-site at the BCIU.
FLEX is managed through a platform called Teachable. Teachable is a learning management system that helps users organize professional learning content and connect to resources, activities, and virtual conversations with peers to allow for ongoing learning. Currently, OPL maintains 82 learning opportunities through FLEX, with that number growing every month. Courses consist of 1, 3, or 6-hour sessions covering various topics such as instructional strategies, tech tools, STEELS (Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy, & Sustainability) standards, math and literacy practices, trauma awareness, support for English learners and gifted students, career awareness, artificial intelligence applications, and more.
FLEX has continued to grow since it originated in 2021. There are 3,814 educators with accounts in the system, and the BCIU has provided over 12,000 hours of professional learning through FLEX in the past twelve months. While FLEX started as an initiative to provide support and services to our county schools, OPL is now receiving inquiries from outside the Berks County region, presenting an entrepreneurial opportunity to bolster the internal budget.
You are encouraged to visit the FLEX program and explore the offerings through the BCIU website or the link below, then share this information with your colleagues countywide. https://berksiu.teachable.com/