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Standards-Based Professional Development
In an effort to align with the National Staff Development Council's (NSDC) purpose, that of "ensuring that every educator every day engages in effective learning so that every student learns," Beacon Educator has designed its products and services with the end user in mind. The online array of Beacon products are tailored to the professional development needs of its customers. Our inventory of available course offerings is a fluid entity that is constantly monitored for rigor and relevance in order to meet the challenges of professional learning needs for today's digital-age educators. Staff members work to ensure that the information provided in our comprehensive course offering are timely, relevant and in keeping with the latest trends, data and innovations to meet the ever changing needs of today's educational arena.
 As the use of technology as a primary delivery method for professional development continues to grow exponentially, the concern about the effectiveness of this format for professional development delivery in meeting high quality standards outlined by national and state agencies is of paramount importance. Online professional learning is about more than dissemination of content in an electronic format that can be accessed anytime and from any location. Current and continuing research on the use of technology as a mechanism for delivery of professional development continues to emphasize the need for engagement, interaction and a sense of connectedness in order to meet the needs of the participants in the digital age. At Beacon, our constant upgrading of products and services ensures that we are meeting that challenge.
We also recognize that information without application is useless if the intent is to improve student performance and achievement. Therefore, Beacon design engineers constantly monitor the courses and include elements that attend to implementation and impact of the professional development in measurable and verifiable methods. Course logs and assignments are instrumental in assisting the end user in providing compelling evidence that the result of the electronic learning had impact to the user and to those students served by that individual.
 Our program design continues to recognize the "person" behind the computer screen. All courses include a course facilitator whose primary job is to be the "human touch" in the digital age, not only being the one responsible for reviewing course exercises and providing feedback, but also responsible for setting the tone of the course, and providing the "social interaction" so often responsible for retention of course participants, or for the repeated use of our products and services. At Beacon, the hallmark of our success is the ability to provide online professional development that aligns with standards for quality thereby ensuring impact to the consumer of our products and the students served by that educator.
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