Summary—and my opinions
Parents
Parents are an important factor in a student’s success with online courses. Only one of the sessions I attended stated that the parents are not expected to actively participate. The rest expect the parents to motivate/encourage students, as well as make sure the students are logging in and working in their classes. Some expect regular interaction with the teachers.
Students
Students say traditional classes are boring. I partially agree—nothing can be exciting all of the time. I think the problem is that schools are designed to provide a general education, and this education is paced according to the needs of the “middle” students—leaving the gifted and talented unchallenged/underchallenged, and the lower students lost and confused. I think this is what the students really mean when they say classes are “boring.” I can see how online classes would be more stimulating. Students are able spend as much or as little time as they need to learn individually, as opposed to a daily 40 minute classroom experience. Furthermore, the students are quite “connected,” and online classes would be appealing.
As all of the presenters stated, online classes are not for every student. The students who spoke to us stated that they (and their friends) thought the classes were easy, although the presenters stated that the classes are not easy at all. Online classes require responsibility as well as motivation, and the students need interaction with their teacher, according to one of the students.
Some things that might inadvertently help students succeed…
The fact that students choose to take an online course gives them some ownership. They receive a computer, and all the components necessary for their class, and this is “cool.” They can set their own time schedule, and they know they can contact their teacher (and they know how to contact their teacher) if they need help. They do not have the distractions that happen in traditional classes, and there are no face to face classmates who can bully or tease them. There is some freedom in the anonymity—if you said/wrote something embarrassing during a group discussion, you don’t have to face the others all day.
Mary Rich, one of the students who spoke to us, made a point I hadn’t considered. When discussion distractions at school, she said, “There are distractions at home, too, but they are YOUR distractions and you know how to handle them.”
Teachers
“A good classroom teacher is not necessarily a good online teacher.” This was repeated throughout the sessions.
Teachers need a great deal of initial and ongoing training and support, and need a mentor for guidance. They also need a mentor or a trustworthy group with whom they can “vent” confidentially and to combat/conquer frustration.
There is a “time factor” that will have to be considered, not only with training teachers, but with managing their online classes. The symposium attendees who were not teachers generally thought that online classes/teachers actually save time, but those who teach online stated that, initially, it takes more time, and eventually becomes about the same amount of time as a teacher would spend in a traditional class. Most classes contain at least ten, but not more than twenty, students. One group allows a veteran online teacher to accept more students.
Starting a Virtual School
I received some excellent information, and even a worksheet to help plan a virtual school.
Plan, plan, plan!
Creating policy is very important—have all of your ducks in a row and you will avoid many problems.
All presenters stated that you need to find a partner to help financially. It is important to determine at the beginning which partner will be responsible for providing each aspect of the virtual school. Again, planning—know exactly “who” is responsible for “what.”
A man from Colorado told us that they were creating their own curriculum materials, because the cost of purchasing curriculum is prohibitive. He and his team are quite computer-savvy, and have access to many community/business resources we do not have. At this time, I do not feel I have the ability or knowledge to create an online course that would have the “bells and whistles” of a prepackaged curriculum. The little bits of these courses that I saw were truly fabulous. According to the presenters, there are all kinds of prepackaged programs, and some of the least expensive are basically correspondence courses. “You get what you pay for” was the phrase they used, and said it definitely applied to prepackaged curriculum programs. They suggested that whatever program is chosen, it should be one that can be altered to meet state standards, and can be updated.
All presenters suggested that starting small was the best way to begin; it’s better to be successful with something small, than have something large that is just OK. A successful experience will fuel progressively large ventures.
“Yes, but…” or “Yes, and…”
During this symposium, I think Chic Thompson has managed to change our way of thinking. Instead of thinking a negative “Yes, but…,” we are thinking “Yes, and…” and seeking the positive. Turn things around—look at “What would we never do?” Sometimes, changing your viewpoint makes all the difference.
_______________________________________________________________________
I went to this symposium because I wanted to see what other people are doing with online education, and how they are doing it. I wanted to learn what others did “wrong”(in hopes that we could avoid it), as well as what they did “right.” As a teacher, I wanted to see the quality of the curriculum available, and I wanted to discover what I would need to do to become an online teacher. (The only thing I’d still like to do is view the Language Arts courses from various programs.)
I left the symposium feeling that a virtual school is something that we CAN create, and it will be successful. The “road” to that virtual school is going to be difficult, with many decisions and a ton of planning…and it will be a great learning experience for everyone. And… I am willing to be one of the teachers,… but I have to test drive the curriculum first!
Marcia
Showing posts with label Dallas Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dallas Conference. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Links from the Dallas Conference
Link to information about What A Great Idea and Chic Thompson
http://www.whatagreatidea.com/
Companies that specialize in virtual school products:
--Pearson digital learning http://www.pearsondigital.com/
--Virtual School K12 Programs http://www.educators.k12.com/
--ecollege virtual Sage, online curriculum publishers http://www.virtualsage.org/
Virtual Schools that presented
--Minnesota Virtual Academy, Kim Ross Superintendent Houston, MN
--IQ Academies at Wisconsin, Lisa McClure lmcclure@kcdistancelearning.com See Marketing Ideas Sheet. Very useful. (In Janel's file) #1
--Michigan Virtual University Online Experience Guidelines (useful framework- In Janel's files) #2
Presentation Links
--Starting a Virtual School Program for Your District- The Virtual Campus Rapid City, SD: www.rcas.org/thevirtualcampus
--Virtual Veterans Top ten lists (interesting stuff- in Janel's file) #3
--Nacols research trends and statistics sheet with links to a lot of research (in Janel's file) #4
--Nacol's paper Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills (in Janel's file) #5
--How to Start A Virtual School PreConference Packet (in Janel's file) #7
--Keeping Pace with K12 Online Learning State Level policy and practice book (in Janel's file) #8
--Quality School Checklist from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (in Janel's file #9)
Next year's conference is in Louisville Kentucky. http://www.nacol.com/ November 4-6.2007
http://www.whatagreatidea.com/
Companies that specialize in virtual school products:
--Pearson digital learning http://www.pearsondigital.com/
--Virtual School K12 Programs http://www.educators.k12.com/
--ecollege virtual Sage, online curriculum publishers http://www.virtualsage.org/
Virtual Schools that presented
--Minnesota Virtual Academy, Kim Ross Superintendent Houston, MN
--IQ Academies at Wisconsin, Lisa McClure lmcclure@kcdistancelearning.com See Marketing Ideas Sheet. Very useful. (In Janel's file) #1
--Michigan Virtual University Online Experience Guidelines (useful framework- In Janel's files) #2
Presentation Links
--Starting a Virtual School Program for Your District- The Virtual Campus Rapid City, SD: www.rcas.org/thevirtualcampus
--Virtual Veterans Top ten lists (interesting stuff- in Janel's file) #3
--Nacols research trends and statistics sheet with links to a lot of research (in Janel's file) #4
--Nacol's paper Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills (in Janel's file) #5
--How to Start A Virtual School PreConference Packet (in Janel's file) #7
--Keeping Pace with K12 Online Learning State Level policy and practice book (in Janel's file) #8
--Quality School Checklist from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (in Janel's file #9)
Next year's conference is in Louisville Kentucky. http://www.nacol.com/ November 4-6.2007
Critical Issues Relative to Charter Virtual School by Deb
Critical Issues Relative to Charter Virtual School
Submitted by deb Gerard
In considering what is most important, the following come to mind:
We need to nail down specifically what it is we are going to do-exactly what kind of school we are looking to develop (and it has to be more detailed than “charter virtual school”!)
Determine who our target students will be specifically.
What we will offer those targeted students.
If we determine to buy curriculum, we will need to make decisions on what curriculum and from where
Once we determine what we want specifically, we need to determine WHO and what we need to bring it about. That includes:
personnel and how we use them,
policy and what it needs to include,
student management and how and by whom that will be accomplished,
marketing and how it will be done and by whom and
how we will evaluate (DPI just told us that we must always make evaluation a part of the original plan for anything!).
The role of our current staff
How and through what medium(s) staff will be trained once we decide their role
There needs to be a specific timeline for this project over the course of the next few months as the next deadline for the grant is not all that far away!
We need to set the next meeting and soon!
Submitted by deb Gerard
In considering what is most important, the following come to mind:
We need to nail down specifically what it is we are going to do-exactly what kind of school we are looking to develop (and it has to be more detailed than “charter virtual school”!)
Determine who our target students will be specifically.
What we will offer those targeted students.
If we determine to buy curriculum, we will need to make decisions on what curriculum and from where
Once we determine what we want specifically, we need to determine WHO and what we need to bring it about. That includes:
personnel and how we use them,
policy and what it needs to include,
student management and how and by whom that will be accomplished,
marketing and how it will be done and by whom and
how we will evaluate (DPI just told us that we must always make evaluation a part of the original plan for anything!).
The role of our current staff
How and through what medium(s) staff will be trained once we decide their role
There needs to be a specific timeline for this project over the course of the next few months as the next deadline for the grant is not all that far away!
We need to set the next meeting and soon!
New London Collaboration
Joe Pomrening principal at New Londaon high school contacted us to see if we would be interested in collaborating on some of the curriculum. They are writing a planning grant for a charter school that has a virtual school as one of its components. He indicated that a collaboration with Keil or Appleton is $100,000 for each of two years. His phone number is 920-982-8420 x1001. He attended the Dallas virtual school symposium as well.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Janel's Overall List of Ten Important Concepts from the conference
1. Policies- we need to research policies like mad. There are many things to consider in the set up of our policies and how they will effect the outcome and viability adn effectiveness of our school.
2. Curriculum options- We have to decide if we are going to buy courses and provide our own teachers, have our teachers develop the curriculum adn teach it and sell our curriculum to others, have our teachers teach in a consortium and "exchange" seats (Wisconsin e-network, private companies), purchase on an individual course basis per student like virtual school
3. Community building is important. ways to use the technology and "new space" to create a school community of interactive learners, community, teachers and parents. Therewere some really good ideas of how to accomplish this.
4. Marketing ideas. Marketing the school is very important. Getting training inthis and being able tobrainstorm and network is key. Ideas of getting your name, mission and WHAT IT IS YOU DO out there.
5. Quality Measurementand program evaluation Online progam perceiver by Appleton Virtual School is a great way to measure program effectiveness and monitor what is going on. This shouldbe builtin.
6. Chic Thompson Ways to brainstorm and develop yes and habits. The power of opposite thinking when solving a problem. Turning it into opportunity. What would we never do?
7. Resources Use SREB resources. Lots there.. Also our worthiest competitors will be out best allies.
8. Concentrate on LEARNING not the medium of instruction
9. Student Management System- the current "traditional" (skyward) system will not work. It needs to have many moreoptions and tracking communication piece. This is key so make sure to research both it and the adminstration of it well.
10. Teacher and Student Preparation All teachers and mentors should have to take an online course first. All studnets should have an orientation course so they know how the system works and to troubleshoot technology problems (add-ins, speed, etc) before they are in an actual class.
2. Curriculum options- We have to decide if we are going to buy courses and provide our own teachers, have our teachers develop the curriculum adn teach it and sell our curriculum to others, have our teachers teach in a consortium and "exchange" seats (Wisconsin e-network, private companies), purchase on an individual course basis per student like virtual school
3. Community building is important. ways to use the technology and "new space" to create a school community of interactive learners, community, teachers and parents. Therewere some really good ideas of how to accomplish this.
4. Marketing ideas. Marketing the school is very important. Getting training inthis and being able tobrainstorm and network is key. Ideas of getting your name, mission and WHAT IT IS YOU DO out there.
5. Quality Measurementand program evaluation Online progam perceiver by Appleton Virtual School is a great way to measure program effectiveness and monitor what is going on. This shouldbe builtin.
6. Chic Thompson Ways to brainstorm and develop yes and habits. The power of opposite thinking when solving a problem. Turning it into opportunity. What would we never do?
7. Resources Use SREB resources. Lots there.. Also our worthiest competitors will be out best allies.
8. Concentrate on LEARNING not the medium of instruction
9. Student Management System- the current "traditional" (skyward) system will not work. It needs to have many moreoptions and tracking communication piece. This is key so make sure to research both it and the adminstration of it well.
10. Teacher and Student Preparation All teachers and mentors should have to take an online course first. All studnets should have an orientation course so they know how the system works and to troubleshoot technology problems (add-ins, speed, etc) before they are in an actual class.
Break Out 2 Tues-Collaboration by Deb
Focus on people not places in virtual world
Lots of self-organizers
Weekly collaboration meeting-always agenda and purpose
Comments from new teacher:
Connection is critical
Sharing of best practices
Consensus building-unified front (great idea!)
Broadens perspective
Confidence builder knowing you can talk together
Special Ed collaboration:
Not a lot of guidelines in place nationally
Part of SE job is assigned to VS-come together F2F weekly though also email
Sometimes more difficult to get things done and the collaboration helps here
Lots of discussions relative to policies
Principal involved in meetings
Operations
Pulled into the team and give input on what they believe policy should reflect
Weekly collaboration with adm
Sense in which “we are there for each other”
Collaboration has to be a required weekly thing-part of the job
Collaboration restores community
Marriage at a distance
Three legged stool-people/technology/processes all under the umbrella of purpose
SIT process:
Student Improvement Team-meet monthly collaboratively
Teachers email one week prior on student strengths/weaknesses
Can help all students because of brainstorming even though working on individual student
Can effect change quickly by calling attention to parent and providing tools and methods and very individualized
Part-time contracted teachers are assigned collaboration (well worthwhile)
Mentor for each new teacher
Teachers add informal collaborations with students (ie. 5AM 2 times a week) can build bonds even without sight
Informal parent collaboration: Can deal with issues but will need to address with administration
Analyzing student work: Talking about grading in the same way
Important to know how to do appropriate feedback/communication virtually
Handout: Rubric-apply this rubric to collaboration meetings
Much of the collaboration is NOT administration driven-can give guidance and support and wait to be invited in!
Key to collaboration is that it is safe and secure to express and agree/disagree
Lots of self-organizers
Weekly collaboration meeting-always agenda and purpose
Comments from new teacher:
Connection is critical
Sharing of best practices
Consensus building-unified front (great idea!)
Broadens perspective
Confidence builder knowing you can talk together
Special Ed collaboration:
Not a lot of guidelines in place nationally
Part of SE job is assigned to VS-come together F2F weekly though also email
Sometimes more difficult to get things done and the collaboration helps here
Lots of discussions relative to policies
Principal involved in meetings
Operations
Pulled into the team and give input on what they believe policy should reflect
Weekly collaboration with adm
Sense in which “we are there for each other”
Collaboration has to be a required weekly thing-part of the job
Collaboration restores community
Marriage at a distance
Three legged stool-people/technology/processes all under the umbrella of purpose
SIT process:
Student Improvement Team-meet monthly collaboratively
Teachers email one week prior on student strengths/weaknesses
Can help all students because of brainstorming even though working on individual student
Can effect change quickly by calling attention to parent and providing tools and methods and very individualized
Part-time contracted teachers are assigned collaboration (well worthwhile)
Mentor for each new teacher
Teachers add informal collaborations with students (ie. 5AM 2 times a week) can build bonds even without sight
Informal parent collaboration: Can deal with issues but will need to address with administration
Analyzing student work: Talking about grading in the same way
Important to know how to do appropriate feedback/communication virtually
Handout: Rubric-apply this rubric to collaboration meetings
Much of the collaboration is NOT administration driven-can give guidance and support and wait to be invited in!
Key to collaboration is that it is safe and secure to express and agree/disagree
Break Out 3: Data and by Deb
FLVS overview:
36,000 students enrolled-looks like a district now
School House concept within this district-now have 11 houses with 45 teachers each
35% from EEcon
Wisc is beginning to look like this within partnerships on a smaller basis
Driving factors:
Accountability-proving that we do what we say we do-every three months
Funding-only funded for students that is successful (d or above)-ongoing enrollment
Transparency-hierarchy
If students take this class after school day, state pays for it; if during school day, district pays for it(1/6 of cost/student)
Less than 500 students, can do data on spreadsheet
Ideal model is that the FTE is never received by the district-it goes directly to the state
Accountability:
Hierarchical approach
Accountability: state-district-school-class,
operations: students-parents-teachers-counselor-adm) makes this very transparent
The system:
Diff between leading data and laggard data
Leading-making sure you can impact students in front of you today
Laggard-when data still impacts the new students when designed to impact the students who WERE there
Can’t make decisions outside of data
Operational:
Rolling enrollment-no beginning or ending-serving as needed
Wait lists-a way to provide for all kids to get what they want and to start when they want-most are placed within a week or so, no longer than 3-4 weeks (if that long, will hire a new teacher)
Kids willing to wait max of 4 weeks but evidence shows that longer wait results in higher % of drop-outs
Kids have “weigh factors” (mission is to serve the ones at most need-impoverished, minority, medical, etc)
Student progress and communication:
Looking if students are on schedule or not and when they submitted work-after 3 weeks, no longer a student usually
Principal can access data as well as teachers to determine what is going on
Teacher dashboard-gives teacher all the class information
So much data provided and it is integrated daily to the other management systems
All contact is logged and all can be sort (common comments so all can see it)
28 days to decide if they are going to be a student of that course-if within, WD-no grade--if over, WD-F
Strategic:
Benchmarking data
Trends-Looking at big picture (year to year) data
Retention data
Accountability data
Students who are 65% complete in a course, there is an online survey to evaluate the course!!
36,000 students enrolled-looks like a district now
School House concept within this district-now have 11 houses with 45 teachers each
35% from EEcon
Wisc is beginning to look like this within partnerships on a smaller basis
Driving factors:
Accountability-proving that we do what we say we do-every three months
Funding-only funded for students that is successful (d or above)-ongoing enrollment
Transparency-hierarchy
If students take this class after school day, state pays for it; if during school day, district pays for it(1/6 of cost/student)
Less than 500 students, can do data on spreadsheet
Ideal model is that the FTE is never received by the district-it goes directly to the state
Accountability:
Hierarchical approach
Accountability: state-district-school-class,
operations: students-parents-teachers-counselor-adm) makes this very transparent
The system:
Diff between leading data and laggard data
Leading-making sure you can impact students in front of you today
Laggard-when data still impacts the new students when designed to impact the students who WERE there
Can’t make decisions outside of data
Operational:
Rolling enrollment-no beginning or ending-serving as needed
Wait lists-a way to provide for all kids to get what they want and to start when they want-most are placed within a week or so, no longer than 3-4 weeks (if that long, will hire a new teacher)
Kids willing to wait max of 4 weeks but evidence shows that longer wait results in higher % of drop-outs
Kids have “weigh factors” (mission is to serve the ones at most need-impoverished, minority, medical, etc)
Student progress and communication:
Looking if students are on schedule or not and when they submitted work-after 3 weeks, no longer a student usually
Principal can access data as well as teachers to determine what is going on
Teacher dashboard-gives teacher all the class information
So much data provided and it is integrated daily to the other management systems
All contact is logged and all can be sort (common comments so all can see it)
28 days to decide if they are going to be a student of that course-if within, WD-no grade--if over, WD-F
Strategic:
Benchmarking data
Trends-Looking at big picture (year to year) data
Retention data
Accountability data
Students who are 65% complete in a course, there is an online survey to evaluate the course!!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Tues Breakout 3- 5 Myths of the Mind by Janel
Myths
1. Your mind is that single voice in your head.
-concious internal talk is not all you are
-mind is much more conplex and most are unconscious resources
-learning starts by paying attention and then skill/knowledge becomes natural
-difficult to explain thought process of things that become natural
-awash with data, bt not necessarily to make it conscious
-Things you learn so well that are natural become your basic skills, fast to use, and almost invisible and INDIVISIBLE
-Conscious thought is for the HARD problems, it builds on all of our unconscious- what is already there.
2. Minds are like a computer
-old model- computers have processors andstograge and education makes this faster and stronger and fills the mind with seperate data
-new model- the mind is an association engine, expert minds identify different patterns and see things differently
3. Expert minds just know more than non-expert minds
-professors often know less facts than their students
-nonexperts do not have the associative and problem solving skills that experts do
-all human expertise seems divisible into 10-20 big ideas. same types of structure of knowledge with a lot of stuff tucked in underneath
-the structure of knowledge is subconscious
-experts have had a lot of practice
-most experts are VERY self critical
-get teacher and material experts be able to sncourage kids and guide them rather than frustrate them
4. Your mind works like other minds
-different minds learn best in different ways
-ALL minds can learn more than we expect
5. Talent makes things easier
-American peculiarity- if I were good at X, it would be great, because it would be EASY
-other cultures- mastery is a matter of work not talent
-practice and hard work make mastery
-obsession makes mastery
-mastery is about fluency-the unconcious process
Use flexibility and technology to make the vast amount of work required to make kids masters. HOW DO WE DO IT?
Talent allows you to do truly extraordinary things with enormous effort. Your staff has an incredible amount of unconsious mastery to utilize. Talent only gives you permission.
1. Your mind is that single voice in your head.
-concious internal talk is not all you are
-mind is much more conplex and most are unconscious resources
-learning starts by paying attention and then skill/knowledge becomes natural
-difficult to explain thought process of things that become natural
-awash with data, bt not necessarily to make it conscious
-Things you learn so well that are natural become your basic skills, fast to use, and almost invisible and INDIVISIBLE
-Conscious thought is for the HARD problems, it builds on all of our unconscious- what is already there.
2. Minds are like a computer
-old model- computers have processors andstograge and education makes this faster and stronger and fills the mind with seperate data
-new model- the mind is an association engine, expert minds identify different patterns and see things differently
3. Expert minds just know more than non-expert minds
-professors often know less facts than their students
-nonexperts do not have the associative and problem solving skills that experts do
-all human expertise seems divisible into 10-20 big ideas. same types of structure of knowledge with a lot of stuff tucked in underneath
-the structure of knowledge is subconscious
-experts have had a lot of practice
-most experts are VERY self critical
-get teacher and material experts be able to sncourage kids and guide them rather than frustrate them
4. Your mind works like other minds
-different minds learn best in different ways
-ALL minds can learn more than we expect
5. Talent makes things easier
-American peculiarity- if I were good at X, it would be great, because it would be EASY
-other cultures- mastery is a matter of work not talent
-practice and hard work make mastery
-obsession makes mastery
-mastery is about fluency-the unconcious process
Use flexibility and technology to make the vast amount of work required to make kids masters. HOW DO WE DO IT?
Talent allows you to do truly extraordinary things with enormous effort. Your staff has an incredible amount of unconsious mastery to utilize. Talent only gives you permission.
Tues BreakOut #2- Online Professional Development by Janel
Professional Development pitfalls
Quick fixes rather than systemic
Don’t utilize data
Happiness quotient
Insufficient time
Sit and get
Initiative overload
Pd as frill
Teachersonly
Expert dissemination
Barriers to Online Teaching
Online Textbooks
Banker Design
I'm Already a teachers
Practice Patience
Presence not predominance
quantity vs quality
Online Readiness Checklist
Quick fixes rather than systemic
Don’t utilize data
Happiness quotient
Insufficient time
Sit and get
Initiative overload
Pd as frill
Teachersonly
Expert dissemination
Barriers to Online Teaching
Online Textbooks
Banker Design
I'm Already a teachers
Practice Patience
Presence not predominance
quantity vs quality
Online Readiness Checklist
Monday notes 5 by Marcia
Monday
Session: Effective Methods for Training, Supporting, and Retaining Quality Online Instructors
Presenters: Lisa Watkins, Sandra Richards, Jamie Sachs--Georgia Virtual School (state funded)
According to presenters, Georgia Virtual School has the online program for what it does best—train, support, and retain teachers
To be successful, you must first determine what the term means.
Defining success:
Look at completion rates (“successful” completion rate = 70% score)
Compare standardized test scores
Compare instrucxtional techniques
Teacher evaluations
Student evaluations
Factors that Affect Success:
Teacher standards
Teacher training
Instructional techniques
Teacher evaluation
Student support
Georgia Virtual School has these online teacher standards:
National and State Standards
Organizational Standards
Georgia standards
Instructor manual
SREB Task Force Standard Development
Teacher training (ongoing)
Teacher forum
Application for online teaching positions through Georgia Virtual School is a rigorous process, and entrance into the training program does not guarantee employment.
Teacher Training
Based on set standards
Provides an opportunity for teachers to perform as online learners
Provides the opportunity for teachers to learn the pedagogy of online teaching and learning and the technology requirements for teaching online
Mirrors expectations set in virtual student classrooms
Veteran teachers develop the courses for Georgia Virtual School; Georgia DPI owns the content of the courses.
Georgia Virtual School hires teachers based on need—there are no full time teachers.
There are three semesters, and three pacing models (4 week semester, 16 week semester, 13 week semester). (Explanation was requested several times by several people, and we still did not understand this.)
Questions regarding funding—for example, does funding follow student?—were answered, “That gets worked out among theirselves(sic).”
Fall and SpringTeacher Training
“Desire to Learn” is their trsaining program
Content Requirements:
Well defined learning objectives
Clear and organized content
Varied assignments and assessments that address learning objectives
Instructor techniques
Address individual learning styles through:
Course content
Live chats—“Elluminate” program
Other communication methods
All available sources
Create a community of learners by:
Providing opportunities for collaboration and interaction
Providing timely and targeted feedback
Encouraging communication
Successful completion=mentoring
School provides access, Georgia Virtual School provides materials
______________________________________________
Whoever trains your teachers, be sure to--
model the teaching and dealing with problems
relate to standards set for teacher
have experienced mentors for each teacher
have new teachers shadow veteran online teachers (and teach a unit of the course)
Marcia
Session: Effective Methods for Training, Supporting, and Retaining Quality Online Instructors
Presenters: Lisa Watkins, Sandra Richards, Jamie Sachs--Georgia Virtual School (state funded)
According to presenters, Georgia Virtual School has the online program for what it does best—train, support, and retain teachers
To be successful, you must first determine what the term means.
Defining success:
Look at completion rates (“successful” completion rate = 70% score)
Compare standardized test scores
Compare instrucxtional techniques
Teacher evaluations
Student evaluations
Factors that Affect Success:
Teacher standards
Teacher training
Instructional techniques
Teacher evaluation
Student support
Georgia Virtual School has these online teacher standards:
National and State Standards
Organizational Standards
Georgia standards
Instructor manual
SREB Task Force Standard Development
Teacher training (ongoing)
Teacher forum
Application for online teaching positions through Georgia Virtual School is a rigorous process, and entrance into the training program does not guarantee employment.
Teacher Training
Based on set standards
Provides an opportunity for teachers to perform as online learners
Provides the opportunity for teachers to learn the pedagogy of online teaching and learning and the technology requirements for teaching online
Mirrors expectations set in virtual student classrooms
Veteran teachers develop the courses for Georgia Virtual School; Georgia DPI owns the content of the courses.
Georgia Virtual School hires teachers based on need—there are no full time teachers.
There are three semesters, and three pacing models (4 week semester, 16 week semester, 13 week semester). (Explanation was requested several times by several people, and we still did not understand this.)
Questions regarding funding—for example, does funding follow student?—were answered, “That gets worked out among theirselves(sic).”
Fall and SpringTeacher Training
“Desire to Learn” is their trsaining program
Content Requirements:
Well defined learning objectives
Clear and organized content
Varied assignments and assessments that address learning objectives
Instructor techniques
Address individual learning styles through:
Course content
Live chats—“Elluminate” program
Other communication methods
All available sources
Create a community of learners by:
Providing opportunities for collaboration and interaction
Providing timely and targeted feedback
Encouraging communication
Successful completion=mentoring
School provides access, Georgia Virtual School provides materials
______________________________________________
Whoever trains your teachers, be sure to--
model the teaching and dealing with problems
relate to standards set for teacher
have experienced mentors for each teacher
have new teachers shadow veteran online teachers (and teach a unit of the course)
Marcia
Monday Notes 4 by Marcia
Marcia’s notes…
Monday, November 6 3:00 PM
SESSION: Supporting the Online Instructor: Best Practices in Teacher-Training, Community-Building, and Professional Development Online
Presenters: Jo Wagner and Robin Winder, Florida Virtual School
Janna Vega and Jennifer Quintero, Idaho Digital Learning Academy
What do teachers need to be effective online teachers? It’s all about relationships and support.
This presentation states the professional development and support offered by Florida Virtual School and Idaho Digital Learning Academy
Basic Outline:
Florida Virtual School:
Annual Face to Face Conference
Ongoing Professional Development Online
Outstanding Performance Tool with Bonus Pay
Training and Mentoring
Idaho Digital Learning Academy:
Support Network
_________________________
Face to Face Faculty Conference—one week long
Train new teachers and assemble veteran faculty
Workshops
New technology and resources
Online teaching practices
Online instructional design
State standards
Up-to-date research of online education
Special topics, such as cyberbullying
Team Building! A sense of community…
Ø Teachers are paid for the week, and paid for travel.
Ongoing Professional Development Online
Online training for teachers
o Using Blackboard
o Instructional design
o Formatting and file size
o Creating assessments
o Structuring a course
o Screen design
Online Professional Development Course
o Required annually for all teachers
o Specific focus each year
§ Using digital media online
§ Creating a classroom community online
College credit is always available for the conference and online course
“Outstanding Performance” Measurement Tool
A rubric to measure and guide teacher performance and practice
Clear communication of expectations
Opportunity to earn “bonus pay” for outstanding performance
Students also rate teachers.
Semester classes are 18 weeks.
A score of 32 qualifies the teacher for “bonus pay”--$25 per student
Bonus pay is available each semester
Areas evaluated include:
Ø Quality of feedback
Ø Communication
Ø Teacher’s participation in professional development
Ø Administrative requirements (reports, student grades, up-to-date class schedule, etc.)
Ø Student evaluation of relationship with teacher
Student is charged $50 per semester.
A 9 week course pays the same as an 18 week course.
Teacher is paid for all students who stay after two weeks.
____________________
Support Network—Idaho
Support provided:
Online principals—assigned by subject area (principals take care of problem if student is cheating, for example)
Site coordinators—in student’s home school
Regional coordinators—coordinate individual schools
Technical support specialist—full time 8-5
Team leaders
Content specialists—experts on content
Content area teams—a sense of community
Provide teachers an arena to practice modifying content without doing any “real damage”
Facilitate regular, open communication within a subject area about current issues, “how to” questions, or future development ideas
· Content Area team leaders
o Mentor new teachers
o Act as communication hubs
o Facilitate the work and administration of the team
· Constant Communication
o Email
o Instant messaging
o Online Instructor Handbook/Workbook
o “How to” guides for technology use
_____________________________
FLVS
Training and Mentoring
Ø Establish and model relationships with students
Ø Support teacher development
Ø Institutional support
Ø Community building
Ø Mentoring—improves instructional performance, provide teacher support
Online Training courses—45 days long?
Ø New hire training course
Ø Graded and facilitated by the mentors
Ø Models effective feedback and communication
Ø Content area orientation
Timely Trainings
Ø Mentor corners
Ø Rapid reminder
Ø Monday Mentor Minutes
Ø Thirsty Thursdays
Ø Telephone
Ø Web conferences
All of these are communications aimed at correcting specific problems
Program Accountability
Ø Monthly checklists
Ø Contact logs
Ø Mentee surveys
Ø Teacher retention
Teacher teaching 135 credits is considered full time
Maximum 25 students in class
Majority of staff begin as adjuncts
Currently have 9000 teachers on waiting list
94% teacher retention
Lessons Learned
Ø Mentoring and training teachers is critical to success
Ø Set expectations very early regarding training commitment
Ø Build in accountability at all levels
Ø Simulate student learning via teacher training
Ø Use “just in time” information delivery to reduce frustration
Ø Allocate human and financial resources for mentoring program—this is critical
Ø Work in “chunks,” not chips
Ø Pace charts for students are given to parents
Wow!
Marcia
Monday, November 6 3:00 PM
SESSION: Supporting the Online Instructor: Best Practices in Teacher-Training, Community-Building, and Professional Development Online
Presenters: Jo Wagner and Robin Winder, Florida Virtual School
Janna Vega and Jennifer Quintero, Idaho Digital Learning Academy
What do teachers need to be effective online teachers? It’s all about relationships and support.
This presentation states the professional development and support offered by Florida Virtual School and Idaho Digital Learning Academy
Basic Outline:
Florida Virtual School:
Annual Face to Face Conference
Ongoing Professional Development Online
Outstanding Performance Tool with Bonus Pay
Training and Mentoring
Idaho Digital Learning Academy:
Support Network
_________________________
Face to Face Faculty Conference—one week long
Train new teachers and assemble veteran faculty
Workshops
New technology and resources
Online teaching practices
Online instructional design
State standards
Up-to-date research of online education
Special topics, such as cyberbullying
Team Building! A sense of community…
Ø Teachers are paid for the week, and paid for travel.
Ongoing Professional Development Online
Online training for teachers
o Using Blackboard
o Instructional design
o Formatting and file size
o Creating assessments
o Structuring a course
o Screen design
Online Professional Development Course
o Required annually for all teachers
o Specific focus each year
§ Using digital media online
§ Creating a classroom community online
College credit is always available for the conference and online course
“Outstanding Performance” Measurement Tool
A rubric to measure and guide teacher performance and practice
Clear communication of expectations
Opportunity to earn “bonus pay” for outstanding performance
Students also rate teachers.
Semester classes are 18 weeks.
A score of 32 qualifies the teacher for “bonus pay”--$25 per student
Bonus pay is available each semester
Areas evaluated include:
Ø Quality of feedback
Ø Communication
Ø Teacher’s participation in professional development
Ø Administrative requirements (reports, student grades, up-to-date class schedule, etc.)
Ø Student evaluation of relationship with teacher
Student is charged $50 per semester.
A 9 week course pays the same as an 18 week course.
Teacher is paid for all students who stay after two weeks.
____________________
Support Network—Idaho
Support provided:
Online principals—assigned by subject area (principals take care of problem if student is cheating, for example)
Site coordinators—in student’s home school
Regional coordinators—coordinate individual schools
Technical support specialist—full time 8-5
Team leaders
Content specialists—experts on content
Content area teams—a sense of community
Provide teachers an arena to practice modifying content without doing any “real damage”
Facilitate regular, open communication within a subject area about current issues, “how to” questions, or future development ideas
· Content Area team leaders
o Mentor new teachers
o Act as communication hubs
o Facilitate the work and administration of the team
· Constant Communication
o Email
o Instant messaging
o Online Instructor Handbook/Workbook
o “How to” guides for technology use
_____________________________
FLVS
Training and Mentoring
Ø Establish and model relationships with students
Ø Support teacher development
Ø Institutional support
Ø Community building
Ø Mentoring—improves instructional performance, provide teacher support
Online Training courses—45 days long?
Ø New hire training course
Ø Graded and facilitated by the mentors
Ø Models effective feedback and communication
Ø Content area orientation
Timely Trainings
Ø Mentor corners
Ø Rapid reminder
Ø Monday Mentor Minutes
Ø Thirsty Thursdays
Ø Telephone
Ø Web conferences
All of these are communications aimed at correcting specific problems
Program Accountability
Ø Monthly checklists
Ø Contact logs
Ø Mentee surveys
Ø Teacher retention
Teacher teaching 135 credits is considered full time
Maximum 25 students in class
Majority of staff begin as adjuncts
Currently have 9000 teachers on waiting list
94% teacher retention
Lessons Learned
Ø Mentoring and training teachers is critical to success
Ø Set expectations very early regarding training commitment
Ø Build in accountability at all levels
Ø Simulate student learning via teacher training
Ø Use “just in time” information delivery to reduce frustration
Ø Allocate human and financial resources for mentoring program—this is critical
Ø Work in “chunks,” not chips
Ø Pace charts for students are given to parents
Wow!
Marcia
Monday Notes 3 by Marcia
Marcia’s notes…
Monday, November 6 1:45
Session: Structured For Success: Online Lessons That Work For Every Learner
Presenters:
Dr. Steven Guttentag Connections Academy Sr. V.P. and founder
Patricia Hoge Connections Academy
Camissa French Arizona Connections Academy
This session was basically a sales pitch for Connections Academy.
Connections Academy has full time students in 11 states and is asynchronous, and uses print and online resources. Students use a textbook. One semester equals 90 hours, or .5 Carnegie Units (this was not explained, but it is what students earn for “completing” each semester class—I don’t know if the students must “ successfully complete” a class, or what score must be achieved to successfully complete a course.) The Connections Academy works with Glencoe, Pearson and other publishers. There was a reference to “Wisconsin Observance Days,” and it was not explained.
Basic information:
Parents are involved with their students and the teachers, and are expected to implement and motivate.
Connections Academy works on a five part model.
Lesson components of that model:
Getting Started—access prior knowledge, journaling, graphic organizers, predict, infer, draw conclusions
Instruction—movies (interactive), streaming movies, textbook, CA developed activities
Activity—interactive “itext,” workbook or web extension, projects, science lab
Review—studymate games, text quizzes, online quickchecks
Assignments (Assessments?)—dropbox essays, supportive website, discussion board, online quickcheck, online quiz, unit tests
Monday, November 6 1:45
Session: Structured For Success: Online Lessons That Work For Every Learner
Presenters:
Dr. Steven Guttentag Connections Academy Sr. V.P. and founder
Patricia Hoge Connections Academy
Camissa French Arizona Connections Academy
This session was basically a sales pitch for Connections Academy.
Connections Academy has full time students in 11 states and is asynchronous, and uses print and online resources. Students use a textbook. One semester equals 90 hours, or .5 Carnegie Units (this was not explained, but it is what students earn for “completing” each semester class—I don’t know if the students must “ successfully complete” a class, or what score must be achieved to successfully complete a course.) The Connections Academy works with Glencoe, Pearson and other publishers. There was a reference to “Wisconsin Observance Days,” and it was not explained.
Basic information:
Parents are involved with their students and the teachers, and are expected to implement and motivate.
Connections Academy works on a five part model.
Lesson components of that model:
Getting Started—access prior knowledge, journaling, graphic organizers, predict, infer, draw conclusions
Instruction—movies (interactive), streaming movies, textbook, CA developed activities
Activity—interactive “itext,” workbook or web extension, projects, science lab
Review—studymate games, text quizzes, online quickchecks
Assignments (Assessments?)—dropbox essays, supportive website, discussion board, online quickcheck, online quiz, unit tests
Monday Notes 2 by Marcia
Marcia’s notes…
MONDAY November 6 10:30
SESSION: How to Make Your Online Classroom a Success
Presenters from Florida Virtual School:
Jamie Nagle jangle@flvs.net
Anna Coppola acoppola@flvs.net
(My comments are written in italics in parentheses—Marcia.)
Basic Outline:
How do you make the connection with your students?
Use what you have
Use the technology
Use your colleagues
_____________________________
1. Use what you have
What did you do in the traditional school classroom that helped you make a connection with your students?
Communicate with your students!
Phone each student. Introduce yourself, your expectations, and rules. Ask student about his/her hobbies, sports, job, etc. (I think it would be wise to chart this information for future reference when communicating with student.)
Email students regarding assignments, or just to “check in” with them. Always make positive comment first.
Phone students, again with a positive message first.
Set deadlines and follow up. If student falls behind, make contact. Find out why student is behind, and help him/her get back on track. Flexibility works both ways—student may be having a bad week, and you need to work with him/her. Accidents, injuries, family problems can happen to anyone, including teachers.
Front Page—make it personal, and update it regularly. Students need to know you are a person, too. Example: Tell students what you did this week.
Let the students know that you are willing to do “this much” for them, and you need them to do “that much.”
2. Use the technology
What technologies do you have that can help you make a connection with your students?
Get a guest speaker—use conference calling (students can come in to hear), or program which students can call in to hear. Students want interaction, a chance to socialize—make sure they can ask questions of the speaker. (Guest speakers show students that their learning is real, and is useful/necessary in various occupations.)
“Elluminate” has a voice over feature, works in real time, and you and your students can interact.
Instant Messenger—students can easily contact teacher
Students can use podcasts to show what they’ve learned
MSN has voice over feature
Webcam
Do the things your students are already doing technologically!
3. Use your colleagues
“Don’t try to do it all alone, make a connection with your colleagues. (from slide)
“Sharepoint”—a discussion board for teachers. Share your best practices, help each other with problems.
One of the questions that regularly comes up is
“I’m teaching from home. How do you manage your time, classes, students, and/or content?”
Teachers need to be able to “vent” safely (confidentially).
How to learn more about your students:
Track them, perhaps on a spreadsheet.
Make notes on students. When you contact them, ask what they like, hobbies, etc., and write this information down. If they send you photos, post them on your announcements page.
Call parents—ask them what is neat about their child.
Create a “chat room” for your students. (This could be monitored by creating a blog with submissions posted only after reviewed by teacher.)
Journaling online
There are potential problems with this. Emotionally sensitive material (depressed, bullied) may be written, and a situation may need to be addressed by guidance counselor. (If a child is being abused, authorities must be contacted.) What about confidentiality (students must be able to feel they can trust you, and how will you regain that trust)?
The perfect answer:
“I was very concerned about you, so I contacted this person to make sure you were OK.”
MONDAY November 6 10:30
SESSION: How to Make Your Online Classroom a Success
Presenters from Florida Virtual School:
Jamie Nagle jangle@flvs.net
Anna Coppola acoppola@flvs.net
(My comments are written in italics in parentheses—Marcia.)
Basic Outline:
How do you make the connection with your students?
Use what you have
Use the technology
Use your colleagues
_____________________________
1. Use what you have
What did you do in the traditional school classroom that helped you make a connection with your students?
Communicate with your students!
Phone each student. Introduce yourself, your expectations, and rules. Ask student about his/her hobbies, sports, job, etc. (I think it would be wise to chart this information for future reference when communicating with student.)
Email students regarding assignments, or just to “check in” with them. Always make positive comment first.
Phone students, again with a positive message first.
Set deadlines and follow up. If student falls behind, make contact. Find out why student is behind, and help him/her get back on track. Flexibility works both ways—student may be having a bad week, and you need to work with him/her. Accidents, injuries, family problems can happen to anyone, including teachers.
Front Page—make it personal, and update it regularly. Students need to know you are a person, too. Example: Tell students what you did this week.
Let the students know that you are willing to do “this much” for them, and you need them to do “that much.”
2. Use the technology
What technologies do you have that can help you make a connection with your students?
Get a guest speaker—use conference calling (students can come in to hear), or program which students can call in to hear. Students want interaction, a chance to socialize—make sure they can ask questions of the speaker. (Guest speakers show students that their learning is real, and is useful/necessary in various occupations.)
“Elluminate” has a voice over feature, works in real time, and you and your students can interact.
Instant Messenger—students can easily contact teacher
Students can use podcasts to show what they’ve learned
MSN has voice over feature
Webcam
Do the things your students are already doing technologically!
3. Use your colleagues
“Don’t try to do it all alone, make a connection with your colleagues. (from slide)
“Sharepoint”—a discussion board for teachers. Share your best practices, help each other with problems.
One of the questions that regularly comes up is
“I’m teaching from home. How do you manage your time, classes, students, and/or content?”
Teachers need to be able to “vent” safely (confidentially).
How to learn more about your students:
Track them, perhaps on a spreadsheet.
Make notes on students. When you contact them, ask what they like, hobbies, etc., and write this information down. If they send you photos, post them on your announcements page.
Call parents—ask them what is neat about their child.
Create a “chat room” for your students. (This could be monitored by creating a blog with submissions posted only after reviewed by teacher.)
Journaling online
There are potential problems with this. Emotionally sensitive material (depressed, bullied) may be written, and a situation may need to be addressed by guidance counselor. (If a child is being abused, authorities must be contacted.) What about confidentiality (students must be able to feel they can trust you, and how will you regain that trust)?
The perfect answer:
“I was very concerned about you, so I contacted this person to make sure you were OK.”
Tues Lunch Speaker- Texas Virtual Students by Janel
Students described their online learning experience as fun and interesting.
1. Things they like: math multiple choice tests easy, figuring stuff out for yourself, liked the ebook, liked that it was self paced,
2. Things they did not like: no notes, no examples in math, teacher interaction is not as great in one case, not enough feedback, not able to see what is wrong on the tests, links were old in the ebook and did not work
3. What would you spend on technology for the traditional school- better computers (apples), better Internet service because its really slow- takes too long,
4. How does it prepare you for your future?- able to spend time on what you are interested in doing. Take core there and have time to explore your interests, self motivation.
5. Teachers are important. Important to know that the teacher is there for her.
6. Use instant messenger in classes. It would be useful.
7. My Space used for kids in the classes where they are grouped by class. They thought it would be a good way to get to know kids and be interactive.
8. Usually there are a lot of things open and going on when they are workingon the online classes.
9. Collaboration, any time anywhere 24/7. Conference rooms to pull people together. Model is different as people are collaborating. Need to determine how we use our spaces and set up our schedules. How will we reach our teachers and students
1. Things they like: math multiple choice tests easy, figuring stuff out for yourself, liked the ebook, liked that it was self paced,
2. Things they did not like: no notes, no examples in math, teacher interaction is not as great in one case, not enough feedback, not able to see what is wrong on the tests, links were old in the ebook and did not work
3. What would you spend on technology for the traditional school- better computers (apples), better Internet service because its really slow- takes too long,
4. How does it prepare you for your future?- able to spend time on what you are interested in doing. Take core there and have time to explore your interests, self motivation.
5. Teachers are important. Important to know that the teacher is there for her.
6. Use instant messenger in classes. It would be useful.
7. My Space used for kids in the classes where they are grouped by class. They thought it would be a good way to get to know kids and be interactive.
8. Usually there are a lot of things open and going on when they are workingon the online classes.
9. Collaboration, any time anywhere 24/7. Conference rooms to pull people together. Model is different as people are collaborating. Need to determine how we use our spaces and set up our schedules. How will we reach our teachers and students
Monday Notes by Marcia
Marcia’s notes…
NACOL VIRTUAL SCHOOL SYMPOSIUM NOVEMBER 5-7, 2006
Monday, November 6
Welcome and Opening—Susan Patrick President and CEO, North American Council for Online Learning
NACOL Mission: Education, Innovation, and Online Learning
Virtual school offers all students the best education with the best teachers –Susan Patrick
21st Century Assessments for today’s students.
Innovative changes in education—trend of the future.
PQ + CQ > IQ (Passion quotient + curiosity quotient is greater that IQ)
Currently there are147 virtual charter schools in 18 states, and
1/3 of high schools offer elearning.
Rationale: 4 key points favoring online education:
1. Online learning expands options and providing equal access. This levels the “playing field”—all students have access to a vast variety of courses, not just those in larger, financially proficient schools.
2. Online learning is rapidly growing.
3. It is effective.
4. It improves teaching
AP scores up to 10 points higher through online courses.
_________________________________________
Seymour (?)Papert—AI tells the story of the steamship.
A quicker way to cross the Atlantic was needed—the steamship was just too slow. In 1952, the rush was on to create a better, faster steamship—and it was created, and it was much faster than the old. However, the jet airplane was also created that year, making the newer, faster steamship obsolete.
Education could be compared to that story.
Are we trying to fix up the old, or should we jump into the new?
The old steamship is a systemic design, and can be improved to a point. The new technology, the jet plane, can go faster than ship, and thus would be the better choice to improve travel time across the Atlantic.
____________________________________________________
The brick and mortar schoolhouse was created during the Industrial Revolution. Schools were designed to educate students for work in menial jobs, with 25% going on to college.
Currently 26% go on to college.
That brick and mortar schoolhouse is still doing what it was designed to do!
Perhaps it’s time to quit trying to fix the old.
How many students graduate from high school? Overall average is 70%.
Breakdown:
78%white
52% Latino
56% black
Transformation, not integration is needed—regarding technology.
Allan Jordan—story
A student, who was struggling in class, goes to school door, almost goes in, but turns away. “Why?” asked Jordan. Student said he has to “power down” to go to school—at home online, he has many things going on, but in school, he has to operate on a bell system, antiquated ideas, etc.
Leadership is TIP: trust, integrity, passion
Oliver Wendell Holmes said that a mind stretched to new dimensions never returns to its old dimension. (paraphrased)
TOM CARROLL
President, National Commission on Teaching and America’s future.
Advocacy group for 21st century teaching and learning
Erate grants
10th anniversary of virtual high school in Hudson
In 1995-96, the Erate grant applications were mainly for CD-ROM content—and at that time, everyone thought that CD-ROM would be forever.
In 1998, the grant applications for Internet/web access surpassed those for CD-ROM
The last radical change in education was during the industrial age--graded learning, stand alone content, little boxes inside big boxes (school/classroom)—and we’ll call that Education 1.0
We now need Education 2.0 and3.0
We have the potential to transform education—the new teachers are the ones who grew up with the web/internet, etc.
Should we be the agent of change or target of change?
Obstacles
Data in No Dream Denied book
Accelerated the number of new teachers in the 90s, but also accelerated leavers
Many new teachers leave within the first three years, and after five years, 46% have left.
Teacher turnover is a serious problem.
Why are these new teachers leaving the teaching profession?
1. They feel they were not prepared for conditions/challenges of teaching.
2. They feel isolated—no support.
3. No opportunity for growth was visibly forthcoming—no advancement.
Teachers’ training has not changed, and the teaching “career” is the same—teach the same old thing, year after year, and then retire.
The Generation X, and the Millenials, those who are now in their 20’s, grew up very connected.
They seek collaborative relationships, need mentors, want career advancement—and they don’t find this in the education field.
TV reflects culture and its changes:
Then—“Dr. Kildare”—stand alone hero, individual saves the day
Today—“Gray’s Anatomy”—teamwork is important –teams save the day
Same parallel exists in Perry Mason vs. Law and Order
Key to success is collaborative team work
Superman vs. Pokeman
Flash Gordon vs. Star Trek and NASA (no astronaut went to the moon without teamwork)
The teams are diverse, women involved.
Currently, the teacher dropout rate is higher than student dropout rate.
Where are the advancements in education? We had the stand alone teacher of the50’s, now we have the stand alone teacher in 21st century. This creates three things to be worried about:
While that teacher may be a good teacher, he/she has no colleague to learn from, and so can only be as good as he/she can get alone.
Students are struggling when they have an ineffective teacher
Teacher teaching alone in a flat world cannot develop necessary skills unless we use 21st Century teaching.
Teaching 1.0—Teacher’s job is to stand and deliver content, then test to see if content is captured. All students are taught at the same level. This is what we have been doing for many years. It’s Teach and Test—if they get it, they get it, and if they don’t, they don’t.
T→S
Teaching 2.0--Teacher is the Learning Leader
The teacher is a coach, and manages resources. This learning is project based, community centered, the focus is on the learners’ needs, and the students become resources to each other.
T
S
↕ ↕
S ↔ P↔S
↕ ↕ ↕
S ↔ S
The problem with this is that the teacher should not be off to the side. The teacher should be learning along with the students, and in doing this, the teacher will be modeling learning, how to form a hypothesis, etc.
Thus, the diagram above would change to show the teacher within the circle as a learning leader, the students become learners, and all participate in a blended environment.
Teaching 3.0 Teacher’s job is to create meaning with students. The focus is on relationships—learners are in an environment without walls. The learners can be anywhere geographically, but still in the same class. The teacher is the learning leader, and keeps the learning structured and focused.
In the drawing for Teaching 2.0, the “walls”—the circle in the diagram, representing the school building, is removed. All continuously learn together, both from their leader, their resources, and each other.
Ideas are presented in the book The Teaching Gap
Prepare teachers by:
using “Teaching Academies” where teachers can develop team skills.
using “Learning Design Studios,” such as DaVinci—space designed for multiple purposes (including outdoors)
When you change the role of the teacher, you change the role of the school. The school becomes a hub in a larger environment.
For more information:
Website
topic
www.edutopia.org
Edutopia
www.designshare.com
Designing for the future
www.archfoundation.org
Great Schools by Design
www.school-works.org
School works
Due to time constraints and la ck of skill, I am not able to accurately recreate the drawings/diagrams on the slide presentation. The slides of this presentation by Tom Carroll can be seen on www.nctaf.org
NACOL VIRTUAL SCHOOL SYMPOSIUM NOVEMBER 5-7, 2006
Monday, November 6
Welcome and Opening—Susan Patrick President and CEO, North American Council for Online Learning
NACOL Mission: Education, Innovation, and Online Learning
Virtual school offers all students the best education with the best teachers –Susan Patrick
21st Century Assessments for today’s students.
Innovative changes in education—trend of the future.
PQ + CQ > IQ (Passion quotient + curiosity quotient is greater that IQ)
Currently there are147 virtual charter schools in 18 states, and
1/3 of high schools offer elearning.
Rationale: 4 key points favoring online education:
1. Online learning expands options and providing equal access. This levels the “playing field”—all students have access to a vast variety of courses, not just those in larger, financially proficient schools.
2. Online learning is rapidly growing.
3. It is effective.
4. It improves teaching
AP scores up to 10 points higher through online courses.
_________________________________________
Seymour (?)Papert—AI tells the story of the steamship.
A quicker way to cross the Atlantic was needed—the steamship was just too slow. In 1952, the rush was on to create a better, faster steamship—and it was created, and it was much faster than the old. However, the jet airplane was also created that year, making the newer, faster steamship obsolete.
Education could be compared to that story.
Are we trying to fix up the old, or should we jump into the new?
The old steamship is a systemic design, and can be improved to a point. The new technology, the jet plane, can go faster than ship, and thus would be the better choice to improve travel time across the Atlantic.
____________________________________________________
The brick and mortar schoolhouse was created during the Industrial Revolution. Schools were designed to educate students for work in menial jobs, with 25% going on to college.
Currently 26% go on to college.
That brick and mortar schoolhouse is still doing what it was designed to do!
Perhaps it’s time to quit trying to fix the old.
How many students graduate from high school? Overall average is 70%.
Breakdown:
78%white
52% Latino
56% black
Transformation, not integration is needed—regarding technology.
Allan Jordan—story
A student, who was struggling in class, goes to school door, almost goes in, but turns away. “Why?” asked Jordan. Student said he has to “power down” to go to school—at home online, he has many things going on, but in school, he has to operate on a bell system, antiquated ideas, etc.
Leadership is TIP: trust, integrity, passion
Oliver Wendell Holmes said that a mind stretched to new dimensions never returns to its old dimension. (paraphrased)
TOM CARROLL
President, National Commission on Teaching and America’s future.
Advocacy group for 21st century teaching and learning
Erate grants
10th anniversary of virtual high school in Hudson
In 1995-96, the Erate grant applications were mainly for CD-ROM content—and at that time, everyone thought that CD-ROM would be forever.
In 1998, the grant applications for Internet/web access surpassed those for CD-ROM
The last radical change in education was during the industrial age--graded learning, stand alone content, little boxes inside big boxes (school/classroom)—and we’ll call that Education 1.0
We now need Education 2.0 and3.0
We have the potential to transform education—the new teachers are the ones who grew up with the web/internet, etc.
Should we be the agent of change or target of change?
Obstacles
Data in No Dream Denied book
Accelerated the number of new teachers in the 90s, but also accelerated leavers
Many new teachers leave within the first three years, and after five years, 46% have left.
Teacher turnover is a serious problem.
Why are these new teachers leaving the teaching profession?
1. They feel they were not prepared for conditions/challenges of teaching.
2. They feel isolated—no support.
3. No opportunity for growth was visibly forthcoming—no advancement.
Teachers’ training has not changed, and the teaching “career” is the same—teach the same old thing, year after year, and then retire.
The Generation X, and the Millenials, those who are now in their 20’s, grew up very connected.
They seek collaborative relationships, need mentors, want career advancement—and they don’t find this in the education field.
TV reflects culture and its changes:
Then—“Dr. Kildare”—stand alone hero, individual saves the day
Today—“Gray’s Anatomy”—teamwork is important –teams save the day
Same parallel exists in Perry Mason vs. Law and Order
Key to success is collaborative team work
Superman vs. Pokeman
Flash Gordon vs. Star Trek and NASA (no astronaut went to the moon without teamwork)
The teams are diverse, women involved.
Currently, the teacher dropout rate is higher than student dropout rate.
Where are the advancements in education? We had the stand alone teacher of the50’s, now we have the stand alone teacher in 21st century. This creates three things to be worried about:
While that teacher may be a good teacher, he/she has no colleague to learn from, and so can only be as good as he/she can get alone.
Students are struggling when they have an ineffective teacher
Teacher teaching alone in a flat world cannot develop necessary skills unless we use 21st Century teaching.
Teaching 1.0—Teacher’s job is to stand and deliver content, then test to see if content is captured. All students are taught at the same level. This is what we have been doing for many years. It’s Teach and Test—if they get it, they get it, and if they don’t, they don’t.
T→S
Teaching 2.0--Teacher is the Learning Leader
The teacher is a coach, and manages resources. This learning is project based, community centered, the focus is on the learners’ needs, and the students become resources to each other.
T
S
↕ ↕
S ↔ P↔S
↕ ↕ ↕
S ↔ S
The problem with this is that the teacher should not be off to the side. The teacher should be learning along with the students, and in doing this, the teacher will be modeling learning, how to form a hypothesis, etc.
Thus, the diagram above would change to show the teacher within the circle as a learning leader, the students become learners, and all participate in a blended environment.
Teaching 3.0 Teacher’s job is to create meaning with students. The focus is on relationships—learners are in an environment without walls. The learners can be anywhere geographically, but still in the same class. The teacher is the learning leader, and keeps the learning structured and focused.
In the drawing for Teaching 2.0, the “walls”—the circle in the diagram, representing the school building, is removed. All continuously learn together, both from their leader, their resources, and each other.
Ideas are presented in the book The Teaching Gap
Prepare teachers by:
using “Teaching Academies” where teachers can develop team skills.
using “Learning Design Studios,” such as DaVinci—space designed for multiple purposes (including outdoors)
When you change the role of the teacher, you change the role of the school. The school becomes a hub in a larger environment.
For more information:
Website
topic
www.edutopia.org
Edutopia
www.designshare.com
Designing for the future
www.archfoundation.org
Great Schools by Design
www.school-works.org
School works
Due to time constraints and la ck of skill, I am not able to accurately recreate the drawings/diagrams on the slide presentation. The slides of this presentation by Tom Carroll can be seen on www.nctaf.org
Tuesday Luncheon by Marcia
Anita Givens--Sr. Director of Instructional Materials and Educational Technology, Texas Education Agency
New ideas need to get “sticky”
________________
Students
Two HS students from Plano West speak on their experiences with online courses.
Mary Rich
Eric Ng
Mary—senior--took economics class online—her comments:
Student must be motivated in order to succeed in completing an online course
Enjoyed class—was “easy” for her
Friends told her to take an online class, said it was “easy”
Little communication between teacher and student UNTIL she missed a deadline
Found out about online class from friends—class was NOT suggested or mentioned by counselor (this comment seemed to surprise some of the audience)
Eric—took Algebra II online
Nice teacher
Received a reminder of due dates
Received response to tests, etc., with feedback on what’s wrong and how to fix it
Experienced a “one on one” feel in online class
Says “it’s easier”
Friends took classes online to “get them out of the way”—meaning that they took required classes online, so they would have more time for special electives offered by their traditional school
What makes a good online teacher?
Prompt response to student questions (“24 hours would be nice”—Mary)
Teacher needs to “be there” for the student, and the student needs to know this
Email instructions, etc., in response to student problems
Tools?
Eric—math sites and links were readily available
Mary—group discussions, liked going outside the text
One word regarding online school?
Mary—Traditional school is boring. Online was more interesting. She could find answers on her own.
Eric—online class was fun, nice.
What did they like most about online courses? Least?
Eric—(liked most)tests were easy--(least) no notes—you had to guess
Mary---(liked most) I’m on my own, liked ebook, can go at your own pace—(least) little feedback, never saw test scores, links didn’t work
If money were no object, what kind of technology would you like to add?
Better computers—like Apple
Better Internet service—too slow
How does taking onlinecourses help you for the future?
Eric—you can get stuff out of the way so you can spend more time on entrepreneurship or sports marketing
Mary—you must motivate yourself to get it done
Other comments?
Mary—students need good online teachrs because then the students feel they want to learn.
A good teacher motivates and encourages.
Instant Messaging would be a good tool for eschool.
Teacher should initiate call to student.
Traditional vs. Online
Face-to-face = lecture—and only 5% of lecture is on the test
Online is more direct.
Face to face = distractions/disturbances in class can be a problem
Online—this doesn’t exist.
How would you use blog in class?
Mary—have used MySpace—could use blog for writing. Language arts
Eric—have people comment on how to solve a given equation
Mary—could use to help each other
What do you do online?
Mary—usually multitasking (but realizes she must focu)
Eric—has several programs open while listening to music
Mary—AP course online would be difficult, but it would really depend on the teacher and student. Courses should have a MySpace type place for each class—students can help each other, get to know each other.
Eric—would rather be at home than at school, because I can listen to music while I’m working at home
Mary—being in school makes me sleepy, the teacher doesn’t teach, it’s better at home where there are no distractions—well, the ones that are there are yours and you know how to deal with them.
New ideas need to get “sticky”
________________
Students
Two HS students from Plano West speak on their experiences with online courses.
Mary Rich
Eric Ng
Mary—senior--took economics class online—her comments:
Student must be motivated in order to succeed in completing an online course
Enjoyed class—was “easy” for her
Friends told her to take an online class, said it was “easy”
Little communication between teacher and student UNTIL she missed a deadline
Found out about online class from friends—class was NOT suggested or mentioned by counselor (this comment seemed to surprise some of the audience)
Eric—took Algebra II online
Nice teacher
Received a reminder of due dates
Received response to tests, etc., with feedback on what’s wrong and how to fix it
Experienced a “one on one” feel in online class
Says “it’s easier”
Friends took classes online to “get them out of the way”—meaning that they took required classes online, so they would have more time for special electives offered by their traditional school
What makes a good online teacher?
Prompt response to student questions (“24 hours would be nice”—Mary)
Teacher needs to “be there” for the student, and the student needs to know this
Email instructions, etc., in response to student problems
Tools?
Eric—math sites and links were readily available
Mary—group discussions, liked going outside the text
One word regarding online school?
Mary—Traditional school is boring. Online was more interesting. She could find answers on her own.
Eric—online class was fun, nice.
What did they like most about online courses? Least?
Eric—(liked most)tests were easy--(least) no notes—you had to guess
Mary---(liked most) I’m on my own, liked ebook, can go at your own pace—(least) little feedback, never saw test scores, links didn’t work
If money were no object, what kind of technology would you like to add?
Better computers—like Apple
Better Internet service—too slow
How does taking onlinecourses help you for the future?
Eric—you can get stuff out of the way so you can spend more time on entrepreneurship or sports marketing
Mary—you must motivate yourself to get it done
Other comments?
Mary—students need good online teachrs because then the students feel they want to learn.
A good teacher motivates and encourages.
Instant Messaging would be a good tool for eschool.
Teacher should initiate call to student.
Traditional vs. Online
Face-to-face = lecture—and only 5% of lecture is on the test
Online is more direct.
Face to face = distractions/disturbances in class can be a problem
Online—this doesn’t exist.
How would you use blog in class?
Mary—have used MySpace—could use blog for writing. Language arts
Eric—have people comment on how to solve a given equation
Mary—could use to help each other
What do you do online?
Mary—usually multitasking (but realizes she must focu)
Eric—has several programs open while listening to music
Mary—AP course online would be difficult, but it would really depend on the teacher and student. Courses should have a MySpace type place for each class—students can help each other, get to know each other.
Eric—would rather be at home than at school, because I can listen to music while I’m working at home
Mary—being in school makes me sleepy, the teacher doesn’t teach, it’s better at home where there are no distractions—well, the ones that are there are yours and you know how to deal with them.
Tuesday Session 4 by Marcia
Session: 21st Century Teaching and Learning Skills: How Can They Teach What They Don’t Know?
Essential Elements for Professional Development for Online Teachers
Susan Leavey, Virtual High School
This is basically an overview of Virtual High School (VHS) program.
What good is professional development for teachers?
Keeps teachers current
Collaboration opportunities
Gets teachers out of the classroom for more collegial options
Supportive environment
21st Century learners are
Critical thinkers
Problem solvers
Collaborators
Communicators
“Virtual High School does Professional Development very well.”
VHS PD is 10 weeks beginning in September.
PROfessional GRowth ESSentials
VHS program—how it works
School provides VHS with teacher, school can enroll 25 students free.
Teacher can design own course or use preexisting
Community, technology and pedagogy in all courses
Group activities and group projects are stressed.
Parents are NOT involved with teachers.
Large support network for teachers
PROfessional GRowth ESSentials
Phases:
Course design
content, goal setting
portfolio and evidence
additional evidence, reflection, portfolio
Students take ownership of academic capability
Essential Elements for Professional Development for Online Teachers
Susan Leavey, Virtual High School
This is basically an overview of Virtual High School (VHS) program.
What good is professional development for teachers?
Keeps teachers current
Collaboration opportunities
Gets teachers out of the classroom for more collegial options
Supportive environment
21st Century learners are
Critical thinkers
Problem solvers
Collaborators
Communicators
“Virtual High School does Professional Development very well.”
VHS PD is 10 weeks beginning in September.
PROfessional GRowth ESSentials
VHS program—how it works
School provides VHS with teacher, school can enroll 25 students free.
Teacher can design own course or use preexisting
Community, technology and pedagogy in all courses
Group activities and group projects are stressed.
Parents are NOT involved with teachers.
Large support network for teachers
PROfessional GRowth ESSentials
Phases:
Course design
content, goal setting
portfolio and evidence
additional evidence, reflection, portfolio
Students take ownership of academic capability
Tuesday Session 3 by Marcia
Supplementing Curriculum with Online Options
Sue Steiner, Program Director
Heidi Smith, Local Mentor/Teacher
Kiel eSchool
Info on Kiel eSchool
Kiel eSchool provides online options for students grades 7-12 on a fulltime or part-time basis, and half or full credit courses are available to meet graduation requirements.
Students apply through the guidance department
Content is mainly through Florida Virtual, but they use other vendors too, as well as some courses which were created by Kiel instructors.
Characteristics of Quality Online Courses
Good teachers
engaging content
present a highly interactive environment
aligned to standards
self paced
use of graphics and multimedia
tracking and remediation
allows resubmissions
incorporate real-life situations
builds community
timely and continuous feedback
Student/Teacher interaction
Good organization
Accommodate varied learning styles and intelligences
Learning pedagogy
Age appropriate content
Rubrics
Assessment and evaluation
How do you know students are doing their own work?
Authentic assessments
Oral quizzes
Proctored semester exams
Frequent communication
Threaded discussion
Highly qualified teachers
Course managements systems have many different features. Choose one that fits your needs http://www.edutools.com/
Another way to assess tools http://moodle.org/
OCEP—Online Course Evaluation Project identifies and evaluates existing online courses (through http://www.edutools.com/)
NROC—(National Repository of Online Courses) a library of online courses
www.montereyinstitute.org/nroc.html
Value of using Supplementary Content
Provides high quality diverse content which is beyond the means of the teacher
Addresses various learning styles
Provides multi-modal learning experiences
Saves teachers time in trying to develop it themselves—why reinvent the wheel?
Course Vendors
Kiel initially looked at approximately 75 different vendors
Received RFPs from 27
Piloted six of them the first year
Chose Florida Virtual School as primary content vendor http://www.flvs.net/
Also use several locally developed courses
Supplementary Vendors
United Streaming (licensed through FLVS)
BrainPOP (teacher access Package $150)
SAS inschool (50 users $250)
Get a Clue--for English classes (25 users $395)
Horizon Wimbda—voice boards used in Spanish course ($23 per license)
Geometer’s Sketchpad—now built into locally developed online geometry course
Web Conferencing (Online Meeting Space)
VOIP (Voice-over IP) consideration: does web conferencing use VOIP or do you neet the Internet and a separate phone?
Elluminate
WebEx
Horizon Wimbda
Skype (software that allows you to make free calls to anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world)
Learning Objects—mini lessons
Learning objects are based on the premise that they must provide learner with succinct relevant information, guidance in relation to key points and an opportunity to interact with the content
They can be completed in 5-10 minutes—delivery can be online, on CD-ROM, or adapted to a print based form.
Example: Merlot www.merlot.org/Home.po
Fox Valley Technical College http://www.wisc-online.com/
WiscNet Digital Districts Online http://www.digitaldistricts.org/
Wikis and Blogs
Wiki is software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser—a collection of works by many authors
Blog—a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links
Virtual Field Trips and Projects
A bibliography can be found at http://www.twice.cc/rbib.html
Advantages and Disadvantages
Price is high for high-quality content
CD/DVD supplement to textbooks
Media rich content varies significantly
Ability to customize
Additional Services
Support
Updates
Courses vs. modules
Upfront vs. ongoing costs
Cost per student, or one cost for course
Technology issues
Considerations
Philosophy and vision—Does the content and technology fit the design of your school/program?
Will the content fit on your course management system?
Does the content meet state standards?
Will your infrastructure support this?
Firewall issues
Java plug-ins
Software applications
· Who will host the course?
· Security issues
· Intellectual property rights
· Copyright issues
· ADA compliance
· Licensing agreements
o CMS and content
o per student, per class, per year
Teacher Training
· Orient to course management system
· Instructional design training
· Ongoing mentor (this is important!)
· Ongoing staff development
· Technical support/help desk
Learning Points Associates/NCREL
has online teacher facilitation course—6 week course with credit through Cardinal Stritch
has course for school administrators MOL I (3 weeks) and MOL II (3 weeks)
Student Considerations
Is orientation provided? (this is considered very important to student success)
Is there a teacher at the other end of the course? (essential!)
Quality directions
Technical support/help desk
Content
Does it fit in your existing course?
If it’s an entire course, how does it fit into your curriculum?
Will this contribute to student learning? (enrichment or remediation)
Use of video and audio
keeps students more engaged
bandwidth issues
Simulations
Drill and practice
Authentic assessments
START SMALL!
Start with just a few sources
Look for a resource that supports a large number of quality media-rich resources
Decide whether to buy, license, or build your own
Consider partnerships or consortia—better purchasing power
Sue Steiner, Program Director
Heidi Smith, Local Mentor/Teacher
Kiel eSchool
Info on Kiel eSchool
Kiel eSchool provides online options for students grades 7-12 on a fulltime or part-time basis, and half or full credit courses are available to meet graduation requirements.
Students apply through the guidance department
Content is mainly through Florida Virtual, but they use other vendors too, as well as some courses which were created by Kiel instructors.
Characteristics of Quality Online Courses
Good teachers
engaging content
present a highly interactive environment
aligned to standards
self paced
use of graphics and multimedia
tracking and remediation
allows resubmissions
incorporate real-life situations
builds community
timely and continuous feedback
Student/Teacher interaction
Good organization
Accommodate varied learning styles and intelligences
Learning pedagogy
Age appropriate content
Rubrics
Assessment and evaluation
How do you know students are doing their own work?
Authentic assessments
Oral quizzes
Proctored semester exams
Frequent communication
Threaded discussion
Highly qualified teachers
Course managements systems have many different features. Choose one that fits your needs http://www.edutools.com/
Another way to assess tools http://moodle.org/
OCEP—Online Course Evaluation Project identifies and evaluates existing online courses (through http://www.edutools.com/)
NROC—(National Repository of Online Courses) a library of online courses
www.montereyinstitute.org/nroc.html
Value of using Supplementary Content
Provides high quality diverse content which is beyond the means of the teacher
Addresses various learning styles
Provides multi-modal learning experiences
Saves teachers time in trying to develop it themselves—why reinvent the wheel?
Course Vendors
Kiel initially looked at approximately 75 different vendors
Received RFPs from 27
Piloted six of them the first year
Chose Florida Virtual School as primary content vendor http://www.flvs.net/
Also use several locally developed courses
Supplementary Vendors
United Streaming (licensed through FLVS)
BrainPOP (teacher access Package $150)
SAS inschool (50 users $250)
Get a Clue--for English classes (25 users $395)
Horizon Wimbda—voice boards used in Spanish course ($23 per license)
Geometer’s Sketchpad—now built into locally developed online geometry course
Web Conferencing (Online Meeting Space)
VOIP (Voice-over IP) consideration: does web conferencing use VOIP or do you neet the Internet and a separate phone?
Elluminate
WebEx
Horizon Wimbda
Skype (software that allows you to make free calls to anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world)
Learning Objects—mini lessons
Learning objects are based on the premise that they must provide learner with succinct relevant information, guidance in relation to key points and an opportunity to interact with the content
They can be completed in 5-10 minutes—delivery can be online, on CD-ROM, or adapted to a print based form.
Example: Merlot www.merlot.org/Home.po
Fox Valley Technical College http://www.wisc-online.com/
WiscNet Digital Districts Online http://www.digitaldistricts.org/
Wikis and Blogs
Wiki is software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser—a collection of works by many authors
Blog—a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links
Virtual Field Trips and Projects
A bibliography can be found at http://www.twice.cc/rbib.html
Advantages and Disadvantages
Price is high for high-quality content
CD/DVD supplement to textbooks
Media rich content varies significantly
Ability to customize
Additional Services
Support
Updates
Courses vs. modules
Upfront vs. ongoing costs
Cost per student, or one cost for course
Technology issues
Considerations
Philosophy and vision—Does the content and technology fit the design of your school/program?
Will the content fit on your course management system?
Does the content meet state standards?
Will your infrastructure support this?
Firewall issues
Java plug-ins
Software applications
· Who will host the course?
· Security issues
· Intellectual property rights
· Copyright issues
· ADA compliance
· Licensing agreements
o CMS and content
o per student, per class, per year
Teacher Training
· Orient to course management system
· Instructional design training
· Ongoing mentor (this is important!)
· Ongoing staff development
· Technical support/help desk
Learning Points Associates/NCREL
has online teacher facilitation course—6 week course with credit through Cardinal Stritch
has course for school administrators MOL I (3 weeks) and MOL II (3 weeks)
Student Considerations
Is orientation provided? (this is considered very important to student success)
Is there a teacher at the other end of the course? (essential!)
Quality directions
Technical support/help desk
Content
Does it fit in your existing course?
If it’s an entire course, how does it fit into your curriculum?
Will this contribute to student learning? (enrichment or remediation)
Use of video and audio
keeps students more engaged
bandwidth issues
Simulations
Drill and practice
Authentic assessments
START SMALL!
Start with just a few sources
Look for a resource that supports a large number of quality media-rich resources
Decide whether to buy, license, or build your own
Consider partnerships or consortia—better purchasing power
Tuesday Session 2 by Marcia
Tuesday, November 7
Tim Magner—Director, Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Dept. of Education
Federal initiatives and the importance of promoting student success in math and science areas.
Competitiveness Trends
The world is changing.
India and China—two fastest growing economies (China-manufacturing, India-services)
Many foreign students who graduate from universities in America go back to their home countries, giving those countries a competitive edge. Many of those foreign students go on to Masters and Doctorate degrees in math, science, engineering.Our need for engineers exceeds the number we graduate
Currently 47% of engineering graduates are Asian
Our ability to compete in the future is dependent on education—60% of new jobs require post secondary education
Problem: rate of change: Even if we could graduate every American student, that is only a small fraction of graduates possible in China/India/Russia- (due to vast populations)
So…we must educate our students VERY WELL—they will be competing 10:1
Math/science education must be improved. “Quality will determine competitiveness!”This training is crucial for the future.
IT (instructional technology) is driving force in US economy
President’s American Competitiveness Program-- train and keep our students here with high quality skills for 21st Century
National Math and Math Now—expand AP Incentive programs.Just taking an AP course helps students even if they don’t take exam.
Changes happening:Location independent for education (online courses)Multi-mediaInformation distribution is flattened---free and level acrossMany kinds of information delivery systems, with many ways to access and participateNew models of instructional design—in process Textbooks online or download
DATA INFO needs to include context, relevance, authority, suitability Need to personalize, add meaningOnline learning can do this.“Online can be both an opportunity within and without the public schools-can be a part of traditional process-requires creativity”
http://school2-0.org
He flashed through some in-depth slides rather quickly—since I could not write down all of that information, the slide show may be viewed at http://school2-0.org or email tim.magner@ed.gov These addresses at the end of my notes on this presentation.
Questions from audience:
Q: Shouldn’t state governments be interested in data regarding online courses?
A: Yes, they should be interested and collecting data.
Q: Learning objects should be the role of the Federal government, if national unity in education is desired.
A: The challenge for the federal government is not only promote technology, but how to procedurally implement technology.
What is the future of virtual schools? We need to broaden the concept of what school is. The challenge is to provide clear structure to help students choose/select appropriate online courses.
Flashed through some in-depth slides rather quickly—since I could not write down all of that information, the slide show may be viewed at http://school2-0.org or email tim.magner@ed.gov
Marcia
Tim Magner—Director, Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Dept. of Education
Federal initiatives and the importance of promoting student success in math and science areas.
Competitiveness Trends
The world is changing.
India and China—two fastest growing economies (China-manufacturing, India-services)
Many foreign students who graduate from universities in America go back to their home countries, giving those countries a competitive edge. Many of those foreign students go on to Masters and Doctorate degrees in math, science, engineering.Our need for engineers exceeds the number we graduate
Currently 47% of engineering graduates are Asian
Our ability to compete in the future is dependent on education—60% of new jobs require post secondary education
Problem: rate of change: Even if we could graduate every American student, that is only a small fraction of graduates possible in China/India/Russia- (due to vast populations)
So…we must educate our students VERY WELL—they will be competing 10:1
Math/science education must be improved. “Quality will determine competitiveness!”This training is crucial for the future.
IT (instructional technology) is driving force in US economy
President’s American Competitiveness Program-- train and keep our students here with high quality skills for 21st Century
National Math and Math Now—expand AP Incentive programs.Just taking an AP course helps students even if they don’t take exam.
Changes happening:Location independent for education (online courses)Multi-mediaInformation distribution is flattened---free and level acrossMany kinds of information delivery systems, with many ways to access and participateNew models of instructional design—in process Textbooks online or download
DATA INFO needs to include context, relevance, authority, suitability Need to personalize, add meaningOnline learning can do this.“Online can be both an opportunity within and without the public schools-can be a part of traditional process-requires creativity”
http://school2-0.org
He flashed through some in-depth slides rather quickly—since I could not write down all of that information, the slide show may be viewed at http://school2-0.org or email tim.magner@ed.gov These addresses at the end of my notes on this presentation.
Questions from audience:
Q: Shouldn’t state governments be interested in data regarding online courses?
A: Yes, they should be interested and collecting data.
Q: Learning objects should be the role of the Federal government, if national unity in education is desired.
A: The challenge for the federal government is not only promote technology, but how to procedurally implement technology.
What is the future of virtual schools? We need to broaden the concept of what school is. The challenge is to provide clear structure to help students choose/select appropriate online courses.
Flashed through some in-depth slides rather quickly—since I could not write down all of that information, the slide show may be viewed at http://school2-0.org or email tim.magner@ed.gov
Marcia
Tuesday Session 1 by Marcia
SESSION: Redesigning Education through Powerful Partnerships and Facilitation
Presenters:Lisa McClure iQ Academies at Wisconsin-KC Distance Learning
Kristine Diener iQ Academies at Wisconsin-SD of Waukesha (principal)
Ross White LEARN NC
www.go2iq.com
iQ Academies is a charter high school in its third year—currently has 9500semester enrollments—SDW hold charter
Mission: provide student focused achievement oriented curriculum in iQ Academies
They struggled with the matter of “time” (to meet goals, etc.) and chose a partner.
Difference between donor and partner?
Example of bacon and eggs breakfast: the chicken was a donor, but the pig was totally committed!
Why partner?
Collaborate
partnerships establish common goals
pool resources
jointly plan and implement
Searched for a business to partner with, and found KC Distance Learning
How responsibilities are divided in the partnership:
School District of Waukesha (SDW) provides:
KC Distance Learning provides:
Teachers
Computer, printer, internet access
Counselors
Online curriculum and text
Principal
Student services & tech support
Diploma
Marketing and recruiting
Administrative support
Data solutions, website, PR
iQ Academies
SDW
Principal
Teaching staff
Student counselor
Academic progress records
clerical
KC
Program manager
Student services manager
Outreach coordinator (build school community)
Clerical staff
Pace charts etc.
iQ students are 50% homeschool, 30% health/emotional issue, 10% disenfranchised, 10% “career kids”
750 fulltime students, 700 open enrolled students
WI charter contract is a five year document
A determining factor (in choosing KC) for Waukesha was in their core values:
1. create comprehensive high school progress that mirrors the quality program already offered at their three traditional high schools
2. offer high-quality standards-based content and state-of-the-art delivery
3. provide instruction via the internet by highly qualified Waukesha teachers
Virtual Education is NOT a cash cow!
___________________________________________
LEARN NC basically supports what is already being taught, and uses a facilitator at the site. The facilitator is “the adult in the room.” Students take courses onsite with facilitator, who is responsible for taking attendance, talking tostudents, keeping students on track, emailing instructors, grading student work, proctoring tests, and technical troubleshooting.
ross@learnnc.org
Presenters:Lisa McClure iQ Academies at Wisconsin-KC Distance Learning
Kristine Diener iQ Academies at Wisconsin-SD of Waukesha (principal)
Ross White LEARN NC
www.go2iq.com
iQ Academies is a charter high school in its third year—currently has 9500semester enrollments—SDW hold charter
Mission: provide student focused achievement oriented curriculum in iQ Academies
They struggled with the matter of “time” (to meet goals, etc.) and chose a partner.
Difference between donor and partner?
Example of bacon and eggs breakfast: the chicken was a donor, but the pig was totally committed!
Why partner?
Collaborate
partnerships establish common goals
pool resources
jointly plan and implement
Searched for a business to partner with, and found KC Distance Learning
How responsibilities are divided in the partnership:
School District of Waukesha (SDW) provides:
KC Distance Learning provides:
Teachers
Computer, printer, internet access
Counselors
Online curriculum and text
Principal
Student services & tech support
Diploma
Marketing and recruiting
Administrative support
Data solutions, website, PR
iQ Academies
SDW
Principal
Teaching staff
Student counselor
Academic progress records
clerical
KC
Program manager
Student services manager
Outreach coordinator (build school community)
Clerical staff
Pace charts etc.
iQ students are 50% homeschool, 30% health/emotional issue, 10% disenfranchised, 10% “career kids”
750 fulltime students, 700 open enrolled students
WI charter contract is a five year document
A determining factor (in choosing KC) for Waukesha was in their core values:
1. create comprehensive high school progress that mirrors the quality program already offered at their three traditional high schools
2. offer high-quality standards-based content and state-of-the-art delivery
3. provide instruction via the internet by highly qualified Waukesha teachers
Virtual Education is NOT a cash cow!
___________________________________________
LEARN NC basically supports what is already being taught, and uses a facilitator at the site. The facilitator is “the adult in the room.” Students take courses onsite with facilitator, who is responsible for taking attendance, talking tostudents, keeping students on track, emailing instructors, grading student work, proctoring tests, and technical troubleshooting.
ross@learnnc.org
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