NC-NET Academy
promoting quality teaching and learning in North Carolina
online professional development
for Career & Technical faculty
in the north carolina community college system
The NC-NET Academy offers both facilitated and self-paced courses to meet the needs of busy instructors.
Academy courses weave together readings, activities, and opportunities for participants to share stories from their classrooms and develop immediately-useful teaching resources. Enrollment is open to part-time or full-time community college instructors in North Carolina, with special emphasis on career and technical faculty.
Thank you so much for a great course! I have enjoyed each week and look forward to using many of these techniques in my courses.
I already have some good activities but this course has helped me improve them and will allow me to explain the ‘why’ of what we are doing in class. I am grateful for all of the new tools I have added to my toolbox in these six short weeks.
Jennifer Barfield
Southwestern Community College
I ABSOLUTELY feel that the discussions and experiences in the courses have had an impact on my wellness and teaching practices!
Reflecting on strategies like mindfulness, habit tracking, and intentional relationship-building has reinforced the importance of self-care and consistency, which will help me maintain balance and energy in my daily life. At the same time, exploring approaches to professional collaboration, growth mindset, and purposeful teaching has given me concrete ideas to engage students more effectively and create a supportive, energized classroom environment.
Perspectives on Thriving in Education
Chrisola ham
Halifax Community College
This course has definitely changed my views of myself as an instructor.
Enriching Courses by Crossing Content Boundaries (with Capstone Project)
Angela Pruitt
Rockingham Community College
Not having any formal training in curriculum design, I found this to be so helpful in many ways!
It has been very busy, but I have really enjoyed it. I learned so much from my peers and reading the great ideas they shared.
Tiffany Hemrick
Davidson-Davie Community College
Thank you so much for a great course! I have enjoyed each week and look forward to using many of these techniques in my courses.
I already have some good activities but this course has helped me improve them and will allow me to explain the ‘why’ of what we are doing in class. I am grateful for all of the new tools I have added to my toolbox in these six short weeks.
Jennifer Barfield
Southwestern Community College
I ABSOLUTELY feel that the discussions and experiences in the courses have had an impact on my wellness and teaching practices!
Reflecting on strategies like mindfulness, habit tracking, and intentional relationship-building has reinforced the importance of self-care and consistency, which will help me maintain balance and energy in my daily life. At the same time, exploring approaches to professional collaboration, growth mindset, and purposeful teaching has given me concrete ideas to engage students more effectively and create a supportive, energized classroom environment.
Perspectives on Thriving in Education
Chrisola ham
Halifax Community College
This course has definitely changed my views of myself as an instructor.
Enriching Courses by Crossing Content Boundaries (with Capstone Project)
Angela Pruitt
Rockingham Community College
This course has definitely changed my views of myself as an instructor.
Enriching Courses by Crossing Content Boundaries (with Capstone Project)
Tiffany Hemrick
Davidson-Davie Community College
The tools you need
for inspired teaching
A treasure-trove of free courses and instructional resources
facilitated courses
Join colleagues from across the state in guided exploration of important teaching and learning topics. Reflect on your own teaching practices, try new strategies, and share your ideas! The asynchronous format includes scheduled weekly objectives and discussions. Course completers earn a professional development badge and stipend.
self-paced courses
Explore flexible learning opportunities designed for busy faculty. Self-enroll at any time and participate when it fits your schedule. Course completers earn a professional development badge.
Adjunct & New Faculty
New to teaching or teaching part-time with little time to think about professional development? We’re here to support you with essential tools for effective teaching.
contextual teaching
Bring the “a-ha!” moments to your students with resources for bridging the gap between classroom learning and workplace application. Learn how to develop your own contextual lessons using our template for scenario-based instructional design.
Real world math
Help students explore careers, think critically, and understand the relevance of math beyond the classroom using lessons created by North Carolina community college math and CTE faculty in partnership with local employers. Each lesson includes an introductory video featuring employees explaining a problem at their job site for students to solve.
bite-sized resources
Brilliant insights, tiny edition. Delivering valuable content in small, easily digestible pieces.
registration required
Spring 2026 facilitated courses
Start Teaching Today!
January 16 - february 20
Includes Facilitated Capstone Project
Designed for new and adjunct faculty with minimal background in education theory and application
Enrollment has closed.
Creative Thinking in the College Classroom
march 13 - april 20
Inspiring Innovation in Students and Faculty
Building greater engagement, enjoyment, and understanding through the development of creative and innovative thinking practices
Enrollment opens February 23.
Habits of Happy Teachers II
april 17 - may 25
Continuing the Educator Wellness Journey
Reflect and rejuvenate with exploration of intellectual, social, and occupational wellness strategies for educators
Enrollment opens March 30.
self-enrolled & self-paced
on-demand Courses
critical thinking in the 21st century
Our students have millions of resources for answering simple questions at their fingertips. But memorizing or searching the internet is not very intellectually stimulating and the knowledge gained is not likely to stick in any meaningful way. What if we took a page from the healthcare, criminal justice, or automotive syllabus and challenged our students with problem- or case-based learning? In this course you will learn how to teach critical thinking processes such as analysis, application, synthesis, and reflection and develop activities for students to practice using it.Phasellus in malesuada sapien. Suspendisse enim erat, pellentesque a facilisis eget, tincidunt ut justo.
employability: Teaching necessary Skills now!
It is common to hear industry leaders share their desire to find entry-level workers with strong soft skills, or what we commonly refer to as employability skills. Employers often say their biggest challenges include finding and hiring workers who have good communication skills, can show up on time, and can work effectively in teams. This course is designed to help instructors empower students by developing awareness of the importance of employability skills. The content emphasizes the value of developing good habits and behavior that shape an individual’s reputation as a skilled, competent, and responsible professional.
what do I need for the first day of class?
You’ve been hired for your professional experience and subject-matter expertise but have never taught. Now what? If you are unsure about where to begin, this is the course for you. You will have access to tips and tools that will help you launch your successful teaching career. The other courses in this strand will then help you take it to the next level.
how do I create a positive classroom environment to support adult learners?
Learning environments play a key role in establishing classroom climate. The physical and online classrooms need to optimize positive student interaction with the content, each other, and the instructor. In this time of both human and computer viruses, safety is a fundamental consideration. You will also want to consider how socio-emotional factors impact adult learning. How does providing frequent communication, setting clear expectations, and practicing inclusivity help you build a supportive, respectful climate? This course is designed to help you examine the total learning environment through your students’ eyes.
How Can I Enrich the Learning Experience? Making “A-ha!” Happen
Student engagement with the concepts they are learning provides more “a-ha!” moments (and content retention) than memorization plus testing or other low-engagement teaching methods. What you might not know is that it makes teaching more fun when you are the facilitator not just the content provider. Hands-on learning is a natural fit for career and technical education but hands-on is only part of the active learning toolbox. In this course you will be introduced to a range of student engagement strategies and will select 1-2 to integrate into your teaching practice.
How Do I Know What They Know? Incorporating Authentic Assessment Practices
While our students take myriad assessments over their educational career, they probably only remember the summative, high-stakes tests—like those for professional certification or licensure. But formative, low-stakes tests (and other assessments) provide useful snapshots along the way that can tell us what students understand right now and whether they are likely to be able to build on that knowledge in the future. In this course, you will learn how to develop assessments that create a natural feedback loop for your teaching practice, providing opportunities for concept clarification and student referral to additional resources.
TensorFlow Developer
Cloud Developer
Connecting Industry to Math Instruction
Math Concept: Functions
- Teacher Notes: 3D Modeling–Photogrammetry
- Desmos Activity: 3D Modeling– Photogrammetry
- Student Activity Sheet: 3D Modeling– Photogrammetry
- Data Sheet: 3D Modeling–Photogrammetry
- Teacher Notes: Clean Water Analysis
- Desmos Activity: Clean Water Analysis
- Student Activity Sheet: Clean Water Analysis
- Raw Data: Clean Water Analysis
- Teacher Notes: Cream Capacity Increase
- Desmos Activity: Cream Capacity Increase
- Student Activity Sheet: Cream Capacity Increase
- Excel Template: Cream Capacity Increase
- Teacher Notes: Crests and Sags
- Desmos Activity: Crests and Sags
- Teacher Notes: Egress Mobility
- Desmos Activity: Egress Mobility
- Student Activity Sheet: Egress Mobility
- Teacher Notes: Loads of Steel
- Desmos Activity: Loads of Steel
- Student Activity Sheet: Loads of Steel
- Excel Template: Loads of Steel
- Teacher Notes: Photogrammetry
- Desmos Activity: Photogrammetry
- Student Activity Sheet: Photogrammetry
- Teacher Notes: Quality Water Flow
- Desmos Activity: Quality Water Flow
- Student Activity Sheet: Quality Water Flow
- Teacher Notes: Road Drainage
- Desmos Activity: Road Drainage
- Student Activity Sheet: Road Drainage
- Excel Template: Road Drainage
- Teacher Notes: Steel Consequences
- Desmos Activity: Steel Consequences
- Student Activity Sheet: Steel Consequences
- Teacher Notes: Sustainability
- Desmos Activity: Sustainability
- Student Activity Sheet: Sustainability
- Teacher Notes: Threat Assessment
- Desmos Activity: Threat Assessment
- Student Activity Sheet: Threat Assessment
- Teacher Notes: Traffic Flow
- Desmos Activity: Traffic Flow
- Student Activity Sheet: Traffic Flow
Bite-sized Resources
of learners report improved job performance with us
of users say our content helped in their careers
we offer more than 100 industrial certification
Why Choose Us
King of the skill
Learn by doing at any level — whether your tech experience has peaked with email or you’re a senior IT engineer who’s been neck-deep in it since the Commodore 64.
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Our mind-blowingly library puts a treasure trove of tech skills at your fingertips.
The direct correlation to the advancement of my career is amazing.
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