Visit the VESi website for CMU program information and contact information. Interested students can also contact Jerri Carter for information regarding VESi.

Virtual Education Software Company (VESi) of Spokane, Washington, was founded in 1991. VESi provides affordable, user- friendly computer-based instruction to K-12 educators. Courses are also tablet compatible, making it easy for students to recertify anytime, anywhere with reliable, stable online access. Currently, VESi courses offered by CMU are for 2-3 hours of graduate credit. VESi provides course materials and faculty.

CMU Graduate Credit

Students who wish to receive graduate credit for VESi course(s) must complete an application/registration obtained through the CGES Admissions office. NOTE: Students may not apply VESi credit hours towards their graduate degree program.

Continuing Education Credit (CEC)

Students who wish to receive a continuing education certificate upon completion of the course must complete an application obtained through the CGES Admissions office. Continuing Education Certification (CEC) numbers and Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are detailed in the chart and in "VESi Course Descriptions" listed below.

VESi Fees

2 graduate credits - $765 ([$290 x 2] + $40 fees + $145 VESi fees)
3 graduate credits - $1075 ([$290 x 3] + $60 fees + $145 VESi fees)
3 Continuing Education units - $295 ($150 student tuition & fees & $145 VESi fees)
4.5 Continuing Education units - $370 ($225 student tuition & fees & $145 VESi fees)

 

VESi Courses Through CMU

 

VESi Course	Course Title	CMU Graduate Credit	Continuing Educ. Cert. (CEC) #	Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
ED602	Inclusion: Working with special needs students in mainstream classrooms (may substitute for ED516)	2 credits	CEC117	3 CEUs
ED610	Attention Deficit Disorder: Information & Interventions for Effective Teaching	2 credits	CEC101	3 CEUs
ED611	Autism & Asperger’s: Disorder: Information & Effective Intervention Strategies	2 credits	CEC103	3 CEUs
ED612	Child Abuse: Working with Abused & Neglected Children	2 credits	CEC105	3 CEUs
ED613	Drugs & Alcohol  in Schools: Understanding Substance Use & Abuse	2 credits	CEC106	3 CEUs
ED615	Talented & Gifted: Working with High Achievers	2 credits	CEC113	3 CEUs
ED616	Traumatized Child: The Effects of Stress, Trauma & Violence on Student Learning	2 credits	CEC114	3 CEUs
ED618	Educational Assessment: Assessing Student Learning in the Classroom	2 credits	CEC116	3 CEUs
ED620	Advanced Classroom Management: Children as Change Agents	3 credits	CEC100	4.5 CEUs
ED621	Understanding  Aggression: Coping with Aggressive Behavior in the Classroom	3 credits	CEC102	4.5 CEUs
ED622	Behavior is Language: Strategies for Managing Disruptive Behavior	3 credits	CEC104	4.5 CEUs
ED623	Learning Disabilities: Practical Information for the Classroom Teacher (May substitute for ED516 but not for TAC students)	3 credits	CEC111	4.5 CEUs
ED624	Violence in Schools: Identification, Prevention & Intervention Strategies	2 credits	CEC115	3 CEUs
ED625	Teaching Diversity: Influences & Issues in the Classroom (May substitute for ED516)	2 credits	CEC118	3 CEUs
ED627	Harassment, Bullying & Cyber-Intimidation in Schools	3 credits	CEC119	4.5 CEUs
ED630	Teaching Math Conceptually	2 credits	CEC130	3 CEUs
ED631	Understanding and Implementing the Common Core Standards	3 credits	CEC140	4.5 CEUs

VESi Course Descriptions

ED602 Inclusion: Working with Special Needs Students in Mainstream Classrooms. 

2 hours. This course helps teachers understand concepts and terms related to educating students in inclusive classrooms. The course also helps teachers learn about the continuum of placements that school systems can use in providing special education services to students with disabilities. The course helps you understand the federal definition of students entitled to special education services, as well as procedures you can use in determining whether these students can be educated in the regular classroom. The course also identifies and describes the roles and responsibilities of special and general educators in providing special education services to students educated in inclusive classrooms. [CEC117 for 3 CEUs]

ED610 Attention Deficit Disorder: Information & Interventions for Effective Teaching. 

2 hours. This course will help you achieve a better understanding of ADD and intervention strategies to facilitate positive student change. Taught by Mick R. Jackson MS/ED, this course covers the history of the disorder, accepted methods to assess and identify students with the disorder, and various methods, medications, and strategies that are currently used to treat the disorder. And for situations where a student needs services beyond what you can provide in the classroom, you will learn about the referral process for getting help for the student. Reference materials include a list of resources for both teacher and parents who would like more help or information about ADD or ADHD. [CEC101 for 3 CEUs]

ED611 Autism & Asperger's Disorder: Information & Effective Intervention Strategies. 

2 hours. This course describes Autism and Asperger's Disorder, including characteristics of these disorders, associated learning styles, communication weaknesses, and various intervention strategies. The course helps you make sense out of why individuals with Autism spectrum disorders act the way they do, and what you can do to enhance more appropriate behavior. This course also lists resources for educators, related service personnel, and parents who want more help or information on Autism and Asperger's Disorder. [CEC103 for 3 CEUs]

ED612 Child Abuse: Working with Abused and Neglected Children. 

2 hours. Welcome to Child Abuse: Working with Abused and Neglected Children, and interactive computer-based instruction (CBI) course designed to help you identify and effectively teach students affected by child abuse and/or neglect. This course teaches you to recognize the signs of physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect in students. It also discusses the specific factors that exist in families who abuse or neglect their children. A major emphasis in this course is on helping the participant understand the special learning needs of the abused or neglected child and how to meet those needs in the regular classroom. Working with parents and community agencies is also emphasized.

This course meets the child abuse and neglect educational requirement in most states. It is the responsibility of the student to verify the course content with your specific state professional licensing agency to ensure proper credit. [CEC105 for 3 CEUs]

ED613 Drugs & Alcohol in Schools: Understanding Substance Use & Abuse. 

2 hours. Take this course to gain a more comprehensive understanding of alcohol, drugs, and their influences in your classroom. This course provides a contextual framework for understanding what students may be experiencing either through their own substance use or from the substance use of persons close to them. This course provides a basic historical perspective of substance use along with the biological, psychological, and social factors that comprise the disease of addiction. Upon course completion, you will better understand the complex dynamics that contribute to this biological and social phenomenon. [CEC106 for 3 CEUs]

ED615 Talented and Gifted: Working with High Achievers. 

2 hours. Talented and Gifted Education provides information on the history of the exceptional in relation to education, current law, and accepted methods for referral, assessment, and identification of these students. The course also covers major program models and methods of differentiating instruction to meet the rate and level of learning of those students identified. The course gives you an understanding of ways to meet the affective needs of the gifted and talented student in the regular classroom. This course also lists resources for teachers and parents who would like more information about the talented and gifted. [CEC113 for 3 CEUs]

ED616 Traumatized Child: The Effects of Stress, Trauma, and Violence on Student Learning. 

2 hours. This course is designed to help classroom teachers, school counselors, and other educational personnel gain strategies to reach and teach students who have been affected by stress, trauma, and/or violence. Participants will learn the signs and symptoms of stress and trauma. Participants will explore how stress, violence, and trauma affect a student's learning, cognitive brain development, and social-emotional development. The short and long term consequences of being exposed to stress, trauma, or violence, as well as the social and family causes, will be reviewed. Participants will learn the dynamics of domestic violence and community violence. The educator's role in the intervention and prevention of violence will be discussed. [CEC114 for 3 CEUs]

ED618 Educational Assessment: Assessing Student Learning in the Classroom. 

2 hours. This course is designed to further develop the conceptual and technical skills required by teachers to help them identify their educational goals, and implement meaningful instructional strategies for effective learning by students with special needs. The focus of this course will therefore be on assessment for instructional programming. The course will outline procedures for designing or selecting, administering and interpreting, a variety of informal assessment measures typically used in schools. The presentation of assessment information in an acceptable format to parents and teachers will also be addressed.
[CEC116 for 3 CEUs]

ED620 Advanced Classroom Management: Children as Change Agents. 

3 hours. This course is geared primarily for professionals (e.g. regular or special educators, instructional assistants, school psychologist, counselors) serving children and youths presenting behavior problems in the school or community. This course focuses on cognitive and cognitive-behavioral interventions (often lumped together under the rubric "social skills") with an emphasis on teaching students how to change and manage their own behavior. Since previous knowledge and understanding of traditional behavioral (operant) concepts and strategies is required, it is strongly recommended that you take an introductory

behavior management course to learn the basic terms and concepts of behavior management prior to taking this "advanced" course. [CEC100 for 4.5 CEUs]

ED621 Understanding Aggression: Coping with Aggressive Behavior in the Classroom. 

3 hours. Understanding Aggression includes topics on violence, aggression in the classroom, youth gangs, aggression in sports and on television, how drugs and alcohol play a role in aggression and violence, and "hot spots" that tent to breed aggression and violence.  The course helps school personnel become more aware of the causes of aggression and ways to evaluate aggression and intervene before the aggression turns to violence in the schools. The course also speaks about aggression in our communities through driving, dating, sports, television, music and how these issues are dealt with in modern society. [CEC102 for 4.5 CEUs]

ED622 Behavior Is Language: Strategies for Managing Disruptive Behavior. 

3 hours. This course is designed to give you a new perspective on student behavior and effective tools to facilitate positive student change. This course provides a developmental framework to help you understand what students are trying to tell you through the "language" of their behavior. You will learn behavioral techniques and intervention strategies that remediate disruptive, behaviors reduce power struggles while increasing classroom control, reduce your workload, and help prevent burnout. After successfully completing this course, you (and your students) will be better equipped to find and implement creative, effective solutions to behavioral problems. [CEC104 for 4.5 CEUs]

ED623 Learning Disabilities: Practical Information for Classroom Teachers. 

3 hours. This course describes diverse theoretical approaches to handling learning disabilities in the classroom. This course lays the foundation for sensitive, appropriate assessment and evaluation of students. In addition, this course covers program planning and implementation, stresses the importance of a close, positive partnership with parents or alternative caregivers, and explores methods for ensuring that the home-school axis is effective and meaningful. You will also learn about major trends and unresolved issues in the field of learning disabilities. [CEC111 for 4.5 CEUs]

ED624 Violence in Schools: Identification, Prevention, and Intervention Strategies. 

2 hours This course is designed to give you a better understanding of school violence and increase your intervention strategies. This course provides an overview of violence and the motivational purposes behind aggression. The correlation and impact of the media, community and family upon violence is investigated. You will learn identification and intervention approaches to working with out-of-control behaviors. In addition, you will receive information about the national resources available for both parents and teachers. Upon successful completion of this course, you will have a better understanding of violence and the motivations behind the use of violence, as well as specific strategies to minimize the occurrence of violence in a school and community. [CEC115 for 3 CEUs]

ED625 Teaching Diversity. 

2 hours. Designed to give the learner the knowledge, tools and dispositions to effectively facilitate a diverse classroom, this course teaches how to understand and identify differences in approaches to learning and performance, including different learning styles and ways in which students demonstrate learning. An emphasis in this course is on understanding how students' learning is influenced by individual experiences, talents, disabilities, gender, language, culture, family, and community values. The learner is challenged to apply knowledge of the richness of contributions from our diverse society to the teaching field.  [CEC118 for 3 CEUs]

ED627 Harassment, Bullying, and Cyber-Intimidation in Schools. 

3 hours. This course will discuss definitions and the personal, social, and legal ramifications associated with sexual harassment, bullying, and cyber-intimidation. The course will address what we know about these troubling areas. We will then explore preventive strategies as well as how school staff can address these issues when they occur. A clear understanding of what constitutes harassment and the harmful effects of harassment on people and institutions is essential to providing a safe and inclusive school environment for all. [CEC119 for 4.5 CEUs]

ED630 Teaching Math Conceptually: A New Paradigm. 

2 hours. The course is designed to explain and connect the major concepts, procedures, and reasoning processes of mathematics. Current research and trends in math education will be discussed to outline a teaching methodology that is conceptual, contextual, and constructive. [CEC130 for 3 CEUs]

ED 631 Understanding and Implementing Common Core Standards. 

3 hours. In this course you will learn a number of factors that contributed to the overall design of the Common Core Standards as well as practical pedagogical approaches that will support practitioners working toward deeper implementation. We will reflect on the instructional “shifts” emphasized throughout the Common Core Standards and contextualize the shifts based on the diverse population of students course participants serve.

Understanding & Implementing Common Core Standards will also provide connections to a variety of instructional considerations that will support implementation regardless of educational context. Practitioners will be provided opportunities to reflect on current practice and the degree to which they align with the Common Core Standards as well as with colleagues across a wide range of settings implementing these standards. [CEC140 for 4.5 CEUs].