PROJECT POD A collaborative research project to support professional online development Based upon a program implemented in State of Oregon where teachers are being trained through online classes available anywhere anytime.

Stages of Project This project will develop online training available through Blackboard with a focus on use of Internet and online resources. By doing the classes online, the teachers will gain a wealth of online skills along with learning many other technology skills.

Stage 1 of Project Proposal was written to develop and pilot online training for teachers focusing on use of Internet and online resources – this was finished by end of June 2001.

Stage 2 Summer 490NET class - A forum and a survey was constructed and made available online for teacher input regarding technology training. Teachers were asked about good / bad technology training experiences, areas of concentration of training needed, and for ideas to improve technology training.

Step 2 - continued www.voy.com was used to set up a free forum. www.zoomerang.com was used to setup and host, and evaluate the survey. Zoomerang lets you create your own surveys, use or edit their survey templates, lets you post surveys for up to ten days at a time, allows up to 50 participants to answer the survey, and does the evaluation of the surveys for you for free.

Step 2 - continued Purposes of survey and forum are two fold: First to gather research to assist in developing the class to meet the teachers’ needs and to overcome previous training problems. Second, to get teachers thinking about the Internet and online resources along with skills they should be learning.

Step 2 - continues About 55 emails were sent out; only eight people responded in time to be included in evaluations. Low response my be accredited to: It is summer and many people do not think school. I focused on the new district I will be in, many of the teachers may not know how to use a forum, the Internet, or know who I am well enough to participate in the survey or forum. I assumed teachers check their school emails over the summer and found out that many do not.

What skills should be taught?

Review of written respones: http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/pmcnerne/490Pubs.htm URL to project above Review of all data available here You will want to continually check the URL above to see the progress of the class. Survey results on the class pilot will be posted and the forum will continue during the class. Eventually, there will be a link to the class so you can enter as a guest to review it in order to see if it is something you can comment on or may want to take when it is opened up to all teachers.

Quick Evaluation Problems using Internet / online resources Other Advertisements Pop-up advertisers Inappropriate information Reliable resources Other Training needs to be flexible Training needs to allow teacher to focus on their own areas of concentration Access to technologies after training is often a problem Address how to access reliable resources Address how to make students accountable on technology

Step 3 After evaluation of the survey and forum, a team of six teachers one LMC Director, one retire Technology Coordinator, one Technology Director, one technology teacher, one elementary teacher, and one junior high teacher, will make modifications to the proposed class design and build the class in the Blackboard shell already set up. http://coursesites.blackboard.com/ Course No: PGTechOPD1

Stage 3 - continued The class will be piloted to district 46 teachers in the fall of 2001. The class will be evaluated in January 2001 and modifications made. The class will be available to all teachers in Illinois after class modifications are made. Teachers will be encouraged to continue the forum, to answer surveys periodically during the class, and to make recommendations to improve the online classes.

Reflections Thank you! If I were to start a project like this again: I would not do the survey and forum over the summer. It is too hard to get participants. I would ask for a reply to all email to see if it was opened and read. I learned: About resources of Voy & Zoomerang Expanded web skills Teachers’ input on technology use and training so team can incorporate their needs into class design Thank you!