{"id":465,"date":"2026-01-21T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T12:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/?p=465"},"modified":"2026-01-21T15:58:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:58:55","slug":"free-professional-development-from-ibm-skillsbuild-and-discovery-education-equips-high-school-educators-with-ai-cybersecurity-and-digital-literacy-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/21\/free-professional-development-from-ibm-skillsbuild-and-discovery-education-equips-high-school-educators-with-ai-cybersecurity-and-digital-literacy-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Professional Development from IBM\u00a0SkillsBuild\u00a0and Discovery Education Equips High School Educators With AI, Cybersecurity, and Digital Literacy Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Charlotte, NC (Wednesday,&nbsp;January&nbsp;21, 2026)&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2014&nbsp;High school&nbsp;educators&nbsp;now have access to free professional development&nbsp;credential courses focused&nbsp;on AI, cybersecurity, and digital literacy through&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/students-auth.skillsbuild.org\/?org=6298&amp;mgr=3674715REG&amp;lang=en&amp;isT=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IBM&nbsp;SkillsBuild<\/a>,&nbsp;IBM\u2019s free global technology education program. Through&nbsp;the IBM&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoveryeducation.com\/?utm_source=de_marketing&amp;utm_medium=press_release&amp;utm_campaign=2026_q1_cep_ibm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Discovery&nbsp;Education<\/a>&nbsp;collaboration, educators gain free access to practical, workforce-aligned learning experiences and industry-recognized credentials designed to support instruction in emerging technologies. Over the next two years, the initiative is expected to reach up to 100,000 high school educators through Discovery Education\u2019s professional learning network, with content structured to integrate seamlessly into existing professional development programs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Research from the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoveryeducation.com\/education-insights\/?utm_source=de_marketing&amp;utm_medium=press_release&amp;utm_campaign=2026_q1_cep_ibm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Education Insights Report 2025-2026<\/a>&nbsp;reveals&nbsp;that only about half (53%) of teachers are optimistic about AI\u2019s&nbsp;potential to support teaching and learning due to&nbsp;lack of clear guidance and professional development.&nbsp;Drawing on IBM\u2019s leadership in technology and workforce development, IBM&nbsp;SkillsBuild&nbsp;offers accessible learning pathways that combine interactive content, real-world applications, and credentials. These pathways enable educators to strengthen their understanding of AI and related technologies while building confidence in applying them in the classroom.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Through this collaboration, educators teaching grades 9-12 will gain access to:&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free, self-paced learning modules in AI, cybersecurity, and digital literacy, all intentionally designed to fit into busy schedules.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Industry\u2011recognized credentials from\u00a0Credly\u00a0and documentable professional development hours.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Classroom-ready lesson plans grounded in real\u2011world applications and aligned to educator needs across an array of disciplines.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cIBM&nbsp;SkillsBuild&nbsp;is central to&nbsp;IBM\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ibm.com\/2021-10-13-IBM-Commits-to-Skill-30-Million-People-Globally-by-2030\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commitment<\/a>&nbsp;to skill&nbsp;30 million people&nbsp;worldwide by 2030,\u201d said Lydia Logan, Vice President, Global Education and Workforce Development at IBM. \u201cEducators play a critical role in preparing students for&nbsp;the&nbsp;future of&nbsp;work. Through this collaboration with Discovery Education,&nbsp;we\u2019re&nbsp;helping teachers build practical, workforce-aligned skills in AI, cybersecurity, and digital literacy that can translate directly into classroom instruction and expanded opportunity for students.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The collaboration leverages Discovery Education\u2019s trusted reach and professional learning&nbsp;expertise&nbsp;to help scale access to IBM&nbsp;SkillsBuild&nbsp;across the K\u201312 ecosystem, expanding opportunities for educators to engage with high-quality, relevant professional development and credentials.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmerging technologies, such as AI,&nbsp;have&nbsp;the potential to support educators in delivering excellent instruction with&nbsp;long-lasting&nbsp;impact for students\u201d said Catherine Dunlop, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Discovery Education. &#8220;Educators need and want guidance,&nbsp;and&nbsp;that\u2019s&nbsp;why&nbsp;this collaboration&nbsp;offers&nbsp;educators&nbsp;industry\u2011recognized credentials and practical insights.&nbsp;Together&nbsp;with IBM,&nbsp;we are creating a&nbsp;powerful bridge for educators between&nbsp;transformative&nbsp;technologies and the daily realities of K-12 instruction.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To access&nbsp;the&nbsp;IBM&nbsp;SkillsBuild&nbsp;professional development content, please visit&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/students-auth.skillsbuild.org\/?org=6298&amp;mgr=3674715REG&amp;lang=en&amp;isT=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">skillsbuild.org<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">###&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Discovery&nbsp;Education&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<br \/>Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader&nbsp;whose&nbsp;state-of-the-art, PreK-12 digital solutions help educators engage all students and support academic achievement.&nbsp;Through award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, and innovative classroom tools that are effective, engaging, and easy to use, Discovery&nbsp;Education&nbsp;enables&nbsp;educators&nbsp;to&nbsp;deliver powerful learning experiences&nbsp;in 45% of U.S. K-12 schools and&nbsp;across&nbsp;100+&nbsp;countries and territories. Through partnerships with districts, states, and trusted organizations, Discovery Education empowers teachers with essential solutions that inspire curiosity, build confidence, and accelerate learning.&nbsp;Learn more at\u202fwww.discoveryeducation.com.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<br \/>Joseph Brown&nbsp;<br \/>IBM&nbsp;&nbsp;<br \/>Email:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:Joseph.Brown4@ibm.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joseph.Brown4@ibm.com<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Grace Maliska&nbsp;<br \/>Discovery Education&nbsp;<br \/>Email:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:gmaliska@discoveryed.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gmaliska@discoveryed.com<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoveryeducation.com\/details\/free-professional-development-from-ibm-skillsbuild-and-discovery-education-equips-high-school-educators-with-ai-cybersecurity-and-digital-literacy-skills\/\">Free Professional Development from IBM\u00a0SkillsBuild\u00a0and Discovery Education Equips High School Educators With AI, Cybersecurity, and Digital Literacy Skills<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoveryeducation.com\">Discovery Education<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Charlotte, NC (Wednesday,&nbsp;January&nbsp;21, 2026)&nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;High school&nbsp;educators&nbsp;now have access to free professional development&nbsp;credential courses focused&nbsp;on AI, cybersecurity, and digital literacy through&nbsp;IBM&nbsp;SkillsBuild,&nbsp;IBM\u2019s free global technology education program. Through&nbsp;the IBM&nbsp;and&nbsp;Discovery&nbsp;Education&nbsp;collaboration, educators gain free access to practical, workforce-aligned learning experiences and industry-recognized credentials designed to support instruction in emerging technologies. Over the next two years, the initiative is expected to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":466,"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions\/466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.professional-astrology.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}