393 new lesson plans and professional development offerings from Verizon Innovative Learning HQ, a free education portal that makes next-gen learning tools available to all K-12 educators nationwide, have been added to Open Space. 

With a free account, educators can infuse engaging STEM concepts in any subject area and grade level. For example, in the Design Thinking: The Five Chair Challenge lesson plan, students are introduced to the basics of the Design Thinking process and complete a hands-on prototyping activity. In Microplastics, What Can We Do About Them in Our Community?, learners use a free augmented reality app to explore oceans, discover factors that are having detrimental effects on marine ecosystems, then generate ideas of how to mitigate the effects of microplastics.

Also included in the Verizon Innovative Learning HQ collection are 44 professional development courses, all of which offer a micro-credential from Digital Promise upon completion. Two example courses include:

• Cultivating Digital Citizens, where users can explore ways of supporting teachers with lesson design, developing strategies, and modeling best practices to create responsible digital citizens and help cultivate a safe and responsible digital culture.
• Enhancing Learning with Augmented Reality, where users will explore the benefits of designing learning experiences with augmented reality with the idea of creating new immersive learning opportunities for students.

Open Space is a curation and collaboration tool from INFOhio that empowers educators to build community through groups, access curated collections, search for freely accessible instructional materials, and curate and share resources that promote innovative and collaborative learning. Have questions? INFOhio is always here to help. For questions, comments, and additional support, contact us at support.infohio.org.