Project Share is the Texas Education Agency (TEA)’s statewide initiative to offer a free online learning and resource network to all districts and open-enrollment charter schools. Since its launch in May 2010, more than 270,000 K–12 educators have received invitations through their districts to sign up for this “global online learning community.”

Once a district signs up for Project Share, its educators receive a welcome email that includes instructions for establishing a Project Share account. Project Share content is shared through the Epsilen Platform, which allows educators and students to build portfolios of academic and professional interests; network and collaborate with colleagues; share documents and develop lesson plans; and access numerous other professional development and classroom resources.

Educators can also access Project Share digital content through iTunes U in Apple’s iTunes store. Through this portal, educators and students will find resources from Project Share partners, including the Texas Reading First Initiative, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and many school districts.

Other Project Share sources include Texas PBS Resources and The New York Times Knowledge Network, which is a digital archive of articles, primary sources, videos, etc.

Professional development experiences through the Epsilen Platform enable educators to archive courses as well as have ongoing access to credit records and online follow-up support. Texas Tour 1.0 is the first professional development experience educators will be able to access; this guided tour helps teachers become familiar with Project Share.

Another great part of the Project Share program is the opportunity to build professional learning communities. Currently, academies are being developed to help teachers learn about the new end-of-course (EOC) assessments.

TEA is working to build more online professional development courses covering the English Language Proficiency Standards; College and Career Readiness Standards; and the science, math, English/language arts/reading, and career and technical education TEKS.