Presented by: Dr. Kip Kristine Leland Online Learning: Overcoming Challenges; Exploring Possibilities

2 WHY EVEN CONSIDER ONLINE LEARNING? Research Shows that: Online Learning expands educational offerings Provides an alternative learning environment to address student needs Hard-to-staff subject areas Overcrowding Gives students access to courses that they might not be able to take in a traditional setting (AP for example) Flexible course schedules providing greater access Adaptable to different learning modalities Continuous engagement with the curriculum beyond the classroom Delivering content the way today’s students learn

CHOSING THE RIGHT ONLINE LEARNING TOOLS FOR YOUR ONLINE PROGRAM Content Management System? Fee for service Open source Housed Within District or ASP? Professional Development Content Outsourced Purchased Developed Internally Asynchronous, Synchronous or both? 3

COMPONENTS NECESSARY FOR A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE PROGRAM 4 Content Management System Content Teachers / Professional Development Policies and Procedures Sound Instructional Strategies Online Learning Models Students / Parents

5 Content Management Systems Fee Based Systems Blackboard Angel eClassroom Open Source software Moodle Allows collaboration and course delivery Asynchronous content delivery

6 Collaborative Environment Professional Development Virtual Faculty Meetings Teacher office hours Communication with students and parents Guest speaker series

7 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Online teaching is not the same as f2f teaching! What do teachers need? Online teachers should have a broad base of life experiences in addition to academic credentials. An online teacher must be able to compensate for the lack of physical presence in the virtual classroom by creating a supportive environment where all students feel comfortable participating Be accessible, establish a virtual presence A successful online teacher should feel comfortable communicating in writing Teachers should facilitative learning Establish an online Learning Community Know how to keep students engaged

8 ONLINE LEARNING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Acceptable Use Policy Student/Parent Contract Online Learning Policies spelled out and signed Intellectual Property and Copyright Internet Safety Plagiarism Cyber-bullying

9 BEST PRACTICES AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATIES Mix it up! Don’t use the CMS as a lecture/worksheet repository Developing engaging learning objects Make sure your content is 508 compliant Address all learning modalities Culturally responsive content Individualize instruction and teach to students’ strengths Respond to students in a timely manner, they need to know you are there!

10 TRADTIONAL AND ONLINE LEARNING MODELS Traditional classroom model Teacher meets with students daily face to face Independent study model Teacher meets students at regular intervals, but not daily, face to face and/or online Distance Learning model Teacher never meets students face to face Hybrid model Any combination of the above

Concerns If I build it, will they come? Funding IT and technical support Growing the program / Scalability Professional Development Attrition

Resources National Repository of Online Content (NROC) International Association of K12 Online Learning (iNACOL) Computer Using Educators eLearning Special Interest Group (CUE’s eL SIG) Teach the Teacher’s Collaborative Summer Online Learning Institute

Online Learning Institute July 7th-10th at the Thacher School in Ojai Residential Program Total Immersion Strands Administrator Educator Technologist Leave with enough information and resources to begin an online program at your site

14 Informational Websites