The Academy helps educators overcome common teaching and learning challenges
June 16, 2025
As teachers across Canada are having to do more with less and bear more responsibilities in and outside of the classroom, they need vetted and curriculum-aligned resources so they can build their lesson plans to accommodate individualized education needs of students. When trusted resources are readily available, teachers can focus on helping students succeed by making learning more engaging and effective. Enter Nelson’s online learning platform, Edwin.
After extensive consultation with educators in the last six months, Nelson, Canada’s leading education content provider, today launched the Edwin Academy where teachers can not only access classroom resources, but also training and just-in-time support. The Academy is designed to empower educators, curriculum leads and administrators with the tools they need to succeed when they use Edwin. It helps educators with common teaching and learning challenges, whether they’re integrating Edwin into lessons, supporting teachers in schools, or scaling professional learning across a district. While resources are available to all Edwin users, the Edwin Academy is available to all teachers.
Additionally, parents can now access the same engaging educational resources to be used at home to complement and support their children’s learning journey.
“We recognize that today’s classrooms are more dynamic and complex than ever before. Teachers are navigating evolving student needs and a fast-changing educational landscape. That’s where Edwin can support educators with a reliable, centralized space where they can find trusted support and practical tools that save time,” said Claire Varley, Vice President of Marketing and Classroom Success at Nelson. “Educators and Edwin users have been telling us they want one central place to look for resources and tips to help them navigate more complex classrooms. With Edwin Academy, teachers have a one-stop shop to get help, assets and support 24/7. For example, they can access inclusive teaching tips for multi-leveled classrooms with practical strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners; access education technology strategies for low tech classrooms; ideas for bringing variety and engagement to science lessons; and time-saving tips to plan and teach Grade 9 Geography efficiently.”
According to Laura Masellis of the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), “As a Literacy Resource Teacher in Curriculum Leadership & Innovation at the TCDSB, my role is to support educators across our board. I see the launch of Edwin Academy as a powerful step forward. It allows us to provide teachers with immediate access to high-quality, curriculum-aligned resources that are both relevant and reflective of classroom needs. With Edwin Academy’s on-demand, expert-led learning, teachers gain practical, just-in-time support, reducing the need for one-on-one training and allowing for greater autonomy and confidence in their instructional planning. This tool enhances our ability to maintain curriculum fidelity while equipping educators with the tools they need to deliver effective, engaging literary instruction. Edwin Academy supports consistency and sustainability in professional learning, helping us focus on impact in the classroom.”
A centralized resource hub, Edwin Academy contains the following:
- Free Monthly Live Lessons
- These monthly live lessons for teachers and students include skill-building workshops, subject-specific walkthroughs, and sessions aligned with key instructional practices. In 2024/2025, Nelson hosted Truth and Reconciliation: Then, Now, Tomorrow; Let’s Code for Hour of Code; Building Equitable and Inclusive Classrooms (during Black History Month); The impact of ecological footprints on global environmental challenges (for Earth Month); among others.
- In the 2024-2025 school year, Nelson has seen a 593 per cent increase in Live Lesson attendance by teachers. So far, almost a thousand teachers with 23,600 students attended these live lessons in the 2024/2025 school year.
- Some upcoming lessons in June and July include Plan Along for National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 17) and Practical Strategies for Complex Classrooms
- Downloadable Resources
- This includes sample lesson plans for English/Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and other topics, real-world examples and resources for strategy supports
- On-demand Learning
- This includes quick tips and how-to videos for a wide range of subjects as well as recordings of teacher professional development (PD) sessions.
- Educators and parents can access these resources any time.
- The most requested topics are support for effective math and literacy instruction, and strategies to support mutli-leveled learners to address classroom complexity.
- Resources for Parents
- Help Articles and Support
“As a TCDSB resource teacher working closely with educators and having given input on the Edwin Academy development, I’ve seen firsthand how it empowers teachers to transform their classrooms. Its intuitive platform, curriculum-aligned content, and real-time support not only enhance student engagement but also give teachers the confidence and tools to innovate in their practice,” said Carmela La Rosa, K-12 Digital Learning Integration Resource Teacher, TCDSB.
Some quick facts about Edwin:
- In a national survey conducted in January 2024, teachers reported saving almost one hour per week in lesson planning, finding resources and creating assessments by using Edwin, an equivalent of one prep period per week or one full week a year. They gave an A or A+ to Edwin’s subject content, classroom success and support
- The most popular Edwin content accessed in the 2024/2025 include:
- Black Legacy and Leadership
- Toward Reconciliation
- Digital Citizenship
- The most accessed subject by educators: Mathematics; the most access resources include the following:
- Common Factors and Multiples
- Exponents
- Algebraic Expressions
- Fractions
- As of the 2024/2025 school year, more than 500,000 teachers have used Edwin in Canada.
- According to a national survey conducted by Nelson in 2021, 98 per cent of students reported improved school experience while using Edwin
- There’s a 45 per cent increase in active users in Edwin in the 2024/2025 school year compared to last school year.
- Edwin has seen a 50 per cent and 52 per cent growth in Ontario and Alberta respectively compared to the last school year.
- At the end of September 2024, Nelson had already seen an 89 per cent increase in the number of teachers trained on Edwin at the end of the first week of school this year compared to last year.
For more information on Edwin Academy, visit https://www.edwin.app/edwin-academy.
About Edwin
Edwin, the company’s digital learning platform, is a rich library of online resources that supports core disciplines, other subjects and contemporary topics. Teachers can build culturally relevant, engaging and differentiated learning plans to support classroom equity. Multiple modes of content including text, audio and video enable students to learn and collaborate in ways that are right for them. With all subjects’ resources, interactive tools and notes in one place, the easy-to-use platform can relieve the time pressures felt by teachers.
Edwin also goes beyond traditional classroom materials with learning tools to let students explore, create and collaborate. One major difference between Edwin and traditional textbooks or eBooks is users never get just one grade of content; it provides access to multiple grades to cover a wide range of student needs. For more information: visit https://www.edwin.app/.
About Nelson
For over a century, Nelson has worked in partnership with Canadian educators to develop quality resources that are tied to curricula and that meet provincial learning expectations. As Canada’s largest education content provider, Nelson dedicates its business efforts to the creation of quality, innovative solutions that empower learning success by supporting the needs of every student and educator. For more information, visit nelson.com.
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Anita Wong/Cindy Watson
StrategicAmpersand
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