Where it all started St. Gabriel Cyber School 13 plus years Courses are online Students at home Limited face-to-face FirstClass (Moodle, D2L, Blackboard) Communication Course portal to other online resources

Where it all started St. Albert Storefront School 10 plus years Outreach program Students attend Storefront Print-based delivery Online resources and tools not extensively used

Where it all started iLearn Centres Fall 2007 Storefront and St. Gabriel One administration Opened iLearn Centres Three divisional high schools Students Greater accessibility to courses and programs Greater flexibility

The students we serve High school iLearn Centre Students Timetable Course availability Greater flexibility Preference Storefront iLearn Centre Students Upgrading Working Face-to-face staff support Can access courses and teacher supports online St. Gabriel Online Students Greatest flexibility Strong organizational skills Requires intrinsic motivation Parental support is often critical to student success

Current connections Asynchronous Blogs Wikis Synchronous Instant Message Skype (desktop conferencing) Video Conference Elive (interactive online whiteboard) Face-to-face staff support

Where might we be headed? Instructivism For the first time in history, educators must prepare students for a future they cannot predict. "This country's system of schooling was developed largely during the Industrial Age to prepare students for a workplace characterized by sitting in straight rows and performing repetitive tasks under close supervision," says Internet educator David Warlick. "It has to change" (Santos, 2000). The Industrial Age model of teaching, called instructivism, has instructional designers systematically identify what is to be taught, determine how it will be taught, and evaluate the instruction to determine if it is effective. A major problem with instructivism is that it does not take into account the complexity and ambiguity of our changing world. In order to equip students to function outside of the carefully controlled, predefined system of the classroom, educators must provide a variety of different experiences and allow students to create their own way of dealing with them.

Where might we be headed? Constructivism The nature of teaching in schools has often been characterized by a separation between knowing and doing. Knowledge, like a tool, is only fully understood through use, and through active use, people build an increasingly rich implicit understanding of the world in which they use the tool and of the tool itself (Brown et al.,1989) there is a distinction between a learning curriculum (the field of resources that learners make use of while participating in a community of practice) and a teaching curriculum (which limits learning by structuring the resources and controlling access to them) These perspectives about situated learning support the theory that knowledge is always under construction, and that it is a product of the process of doing rather than of explicit teaching. Most school activity remains within the sealed culture of the school itself, which bears little resemblance to outside authentic, dynamic cultures. Because of this, success within the school environment does not guarantee successful performance outside the school culture.

Where might we be headed? ‘Net Gen’ students are media active Home digital media use (computer, games, Internet) is approaching the amount of time spent watching TV. Net Gen kids look at computers the same way boomers look at TV. They want freedom of expression, to create, to customize, to scrutinize, and to personalize. Net Gen kids are the generation of collaboration and relationship building. The Net Gen want to be connected, they want rapid communication.

Where might we be headed? ‘Net Gen’ students are multitasking It is the norm for children and teenagers to be online while simultaneously watching TV, talking on the phone, or listening to the radio. Net Gens are able to squeeze 8.5 hours of electronic media into 6 chronological hours because of their penchant for multitasking. Do we have more students with ADD in the classroom or are they not paying attention due to boredom?

Where might we be headed? ‘Net Gen’ as students In 2007 only 71% of Alberta students completed high school in three years. Nearly half who dropped out said classes were not interesting or just plain boring. Net Gens are not content to sit quietly and listen to a teacher lecture, they want to talk back, to converse. Net Gens want choice in what they learn, when they learn, where they learn, and how. Net Gens want what they learn to be relevant to the real world, the one they live in.

Where might we be headed? David Merrill Demos Siftables

Now what? “Is it any surprise that teacher-broadcasters and TV broadcasters are both losing their audience? Kids who have grown up digital are abandoning one-way TV for the higher stimulus of interactive communication they find on the Internet. Sitting mutely in front of a TV set – or a teacher – doesn’t appeal to this generation. But unlike the entertainment world, the educational establishment doesn’t offer enough alternatives to the one-way broadcast.” Grown Up Digital Don Tapscott

More to think about (sometimes referred to as barriers) Staffing assignments Part-time teachers Teachers split between classroom and iLearn Centre Student migration from the classroom Number of students taking 1 or 2 courses Increase in support costs Student tracking in current EIE and SIS systems Divisional program and site based systems Management Funding Resources Competition

Now what? Implications for course design? Implications for course delivery? Implications for the classroom?

References ONLINE LEARNING ADVENTURES: EXTENDING STUDENT LEARNING by KATHLEEN M. SULLIVAN Educating the Net Generation Diana G. Oblinger and James L. Oblinger, Editors Grown Up Digital Don Tapscott Alberta High School Completion Rates David Merrill (Video) Siftable Smart Blocks he_smart_blocks.html

What does the future hold for teaching and learning?