INDIANA — The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has partnered with philanthropic groups across the state to expand the Indiana Learning Lab. With this new partnership, educators will gain expanded resources to enhance their teaching and growth.
“Great teachers change lives, and supporting these educators with the guidance and resources they need to continue this transformative work is one of our top priorities,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “The Indiana Learning Lab, a vision started by education stakeholders at the local level, offers an example of how working together, we can maximize the impact. Through resources such as the Indiana Learning Lab, we can continue to improve access to effective professional and leadership development and in turn, increase support for Hoosier students.”
The Indiana Learning Lab is built to support educators with instructional resources, professional development opportunities, and other best practices. This includes live, on-demand workshops for educators, as well as live coaching from IDOE staff. As part of this resource, educators have access to expanded online communities focused on supporting literacy instruction, digital instruction, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) instruction. The platform also includes ready-to-use resources and lesson ideas.
The resource, founded as the Indiana eLearning Lab in 2020, was originally launched as an initiative to help educators and families navigate digital learning occurring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the new Indiana Learning Lab, educators will gain resources to support best practices in a variety of instructional modes.
The original eLearning Lab was developed by Five Star Technology Solutions and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). It was supported by the Indianapolis eLearning Fund and the 2022 College Football Playoff (CFP) Indianapolis Host Committee and the CFP Foundation, all of which are dedicated to supporting Indiana educators. The CFP National Championship will take place in Indianapolis in January 2022.
As part of the CFP National Championship, the CFP Foundation supports projects in the host city that make a positive impact on education for years to come. The Indianapolis Host Committee and the CFP Foundation made a $1.5 million total contribution to support education in Indiana, including the Indiana Learning Lab (formerly Indiana eLearning Lab) and Teach Indy, an effort to recruit and develop high-quality, diverse educators in Indianapolis.
The Indiana Learning Lab is also supported by IDOE with $3 million from Indiana’s federal COVID-19 education funds. The founding funding partners of the Indianapolis eLearning Fund, which awarded $1.6 million to SETDA and Five Star Technology Solutions to develop and launch the original eLearning Lab, include the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, the Cummins Foundation, EdChoice, Emmis Communications, Glick Philanthropies, The Heritage Group, The Indianapolis Foundation, The Indianapolis Foundation Library Fund, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indiana Charter School Network, the Institute for Quality Education, Lilly Endowment Inc., Lumina Foundation, The Mind Trust, The OneAmerica Foundation Inc., Salesforce, the Telamon Foundation, and United Way of Central Indiana. The Indianapolis eLearning Fund was overseen by the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation with the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee serving as fiscal agent for the Fund.
“The Lab offers educators and families across Indiana enriching content, opportunities for collaboration, professional development and technical assistance to address common challenges and help students thrive across learning environments,” said Claire Fiddian-Green, president and CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, who serves as an advisory member to the Indianapolis eLearning Fund and an executive member of the 2022 College Football Playoff Indianapolis Host Committee. “The many resources available address needs on a statewide scale, and provide support to assist with learning for Indiana students.”
To access the Indiana Learning Lab, educators can visit the Indiana Learning Lab website at www.inlearninglab.com and log in with their school email address or through IDOE’s Link Portal.
