Variety in Online Learning Modules: Examples and Models

1. Variety in Online Learning Modules: Examples and Models Week 4 Introduction to Web-Based Mentoring and Distance Education

2. Table of Contents • Professional Development in the 21st Century • Tools for Building Online Professional Development • Models of Online Learning

3. Week 4: Variety in Online Learning Modules Discussion Questions: • As you view the Online Professional Development models, think about: • What are the strengths of the model? • What are the weaknesses of the model? • Does the model build and sustain an online community of learners? • Does the model align with the Maryland Teacher Professional Development Standards? • What ideas can you take from the model to help as you create your own professional development module plan?

4. Professional Development in the 21st Century “Never before has the pressure been so high to find ways to support successful teaching and learning through effective professional development. With the U.S. education community, driven by No Child Left Behind, focusing on standards, accountability, and pledges to see that every child is taught by a certified and qualified teacher, the National Staff Development Council has proposed an additional goal: That all teachers in all schools should experience high-quality professional learning by 2007.” - Judy Salpeter Professional Development: 21st Century Models Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

5. Professional Development in the 21st Century • The following slides are excerpts from the article Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter from Teaching and Learning Magazine, August 15, 2003. • In this article the author describes the changing face of professional development and how we can equip ourselves to meet the needs of teachers in the coming years. • Many of the points that this author brings up align with the Maryland Teacher Professional Development Standards that were introduced in Week 2. Think about how they align as you review the following slides (http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/instruction/prof_standards.htm) Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

6. Professional Development in the 21st Century • In its January 2003 report, No Dream Denied: A Pledge to America's Children, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future contends that, contrary to popular belief, the main challenge facing schools in their quest for qualified teachers is not recruiting, but retention. • The key to retaining good teachers, according to NCTAF, is…. EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT • "We have concluded that the nation cannot achieve quality teaching for every child unless those teachers can be kept in the classroom," say the report's authors. "The missing ingredient is finding a way for school systems to organize the work of qualified teachers so they can collaborate with their colleagues in developing strong learning communities that will sustain them as they become more accomplished teachers." Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

7. Professional Development in the 21st Century • What do successful professional development communities look like? • What role does technology play in supporting them? • To answer these questions several education leaders from forward-thinking, technology-savvy schools and organizations were interviewed. Here is what was learned… Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

8. Professional Development in the 21st Century Workshops That Focus on Real Needs... • Face-to-face presentations, some of them including hands-on lab sessions, are still at the core of most professional development programs involving technology. However, in recent years these professional development offerings have evolved in several key ways. • Professional development used to be all about the 'how to' of technology, but we've moved beyond that. The focus now is on instructional strategies and needs. • How do you use technology to improve student achievement? • What does it look like to teach a standards-based lesson infused with technology? Only when teachers see the impact on elevating student learning do they 'buy in' and integrate the technology-enhanced teaching strategies into their classroom practices. • Well-trained leaders are key to the success of any staff development effort. • It is easy to think of professional development as training for teachers. But in a growing number of states and districts attention has shifted to supporting and teaching principals and other school administrators. Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

9. Professional Development in the 21st Century PD Focus on Real Uses • This is not to say that schools have turned away from "how to" instruction altogether. If you look at course catalogs you will find plenty of sessions introducing teachers to new software programs or helping them brush up on their spreadsheet skills or video editing techniques. • These learning experiences are still in high demand, but there's a new twist: An increasing number of districts now offer such lessons in a "just in time“ manner and not as a full-blown PD initiative. Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

10. Professional Development in the 21st Century Learning Is Sustained and Collegial • Perhaps the biggest thing that has changed about professional development over the years is the recognition that it needs to be ongoing. In fact, federal No Child Left Behind funds earmarked for professional development come with a stipulation: they cannot be used for one-day or short-term learning experiences. • According to experts, another key element of sustained professional development is teamwork. In the Summer 2003 issue of the Journal of Staff Development, Stephanie Hirsh writes, • "To meet the NSDC goal of having all teachers experience high-quality professional learning by the year 2007, every teacher must be a part of a learning team-a team of teachers who meet almost every day about practical ways to improve teaching and learning." Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

11. Professional Development in the 21st Century Build Online Communities • Technology can be an important tool to help with collegiality and sustained learning. As the NCTAF authors of No Dream Denied put it, • "Technology is perhaps the most important-and most underutilized-tool for providing teachers access to the targeted professional development they need, when and how they need it. Online courses, informal support groups, and other network-supported resources open the door to professional development opportunities far beyond what any school or district might be able to offer.“ • In many school districts across the country, virtual course delivery systems are used for both online instruction and ongoing collaboration among teachers. • In one school district, for example, a number of face-to-face professional development activities are supplemented with follow-up discussions and lesson sharing using Blackboard (www.blackboard.com) Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

12. Professional Development in the 21st Century Models and Mentors • Steve Phelps, who oversees professional development at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco, offers the following advice to staff developers: • "Work with the strongest people first. Build their capacities. You only need about 20 percent to 25 percent of a faculty to make a change." Starting with the most energetic, enthusiastic, early adopters and allowing them to inspire others is a popular strategy today. The eMINTS program, with participating schools selected through a competitive application process, is based on this approach. • A similar approach is taken in another school district, where specially selected "I-TEC" classrooms serve as models for other teachers and schools. Even in districts and states where no funding is available for model classrooms, many professional development programs rely heavily on identifying internal experts and leaders to serve as mentors to others. Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

13. Professional Development in the 21st Century Learning from Case Studies • Another collegial approach that focuses on mentorship and best practices is the type of "lesson study" used effectively for professional development in Japan. The lesson study process, popularized in this country by James W. Stigler and James Hiebert, involves extended observations of individual lessons by groups of educators who then meet to analyze the approaches and outcomes observed. • Lesson study and other sorts of best-practice observations benefit greatly from videotaping and viewing. Increasingly the video is digital and finding its way onto the World Wide Web. Source: Professional Development: 21st Century ModelsBy Judy Salpeter (http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492)

14. Models of Online Learning • There are a lot of “ready-made” online professional development courses available for teachers. • This week you will have the opportunity to view a variety of sample online professional development models. • As you view these models, think about: • What are the strengths of the model? • What are the weaknesses of the model? • Does the model build and sustain an online community of learners? • Does the model align with the Maryland Teacher Professional Development Standards? • What ideas can you take from the model to help as you create your own professional development module plan?

15. V. Models of Online Learning – JHU Center for Technology in Education • About the Approach:The Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education offers online professional courses to help teachers across the state of Maryland meet their professional development needs. CTE has developed an Online Learning Model that takes advantage of highly effective instructional strategies adapted to engage learners in a rich online environment. CTE's online courses integrate community building, high performance teaming, authentic project based activities, and performance assessments with a depth of research based content. • Link: (A Free tutorial) • http://cte.jhu.edu/elc_tutorial/

16. V. Models of Online Learning – PBS TeacherLine • About the Approach: PBS TeacherLine provides online professional development through facilitated courses, a supportive learning community, and exemplary professional resources. PBS TeacherLine delivers courses using Blackboard. • Link: (A free introduction course) • http://teacherline.pbs.org/teacherline/modules/learning_online.cfm

17. V. Models of Online Learning – TappedIn.org • About the Approach:Tapped In is a Web-based learning environment created by SRI International to transform teacher professional development (TPD) for professional development providers and educators. Tapped In enables providers to offer high-quality online professional development experiences and support to more teachers cost-effectively. Through Tapped In, educators can extend their professional growth beyond courses or workshops with the online tools, resources, colleagues, and support they need to implement effective, classroom-centered learning activities. • Link: (Click on Guest Login in the left hand column) • http://tappedin.org/tappedin/

18. V. Models of Online Learning – iearn.org • About the Approach:The goal of the online course is for participants to select and integrate one of the standards-based collaborative projects.The course is asynchronous. This means participants work in their own time from home or school to complete weekly assignments. Each course is designed so that by the end of nine weeks you will have outlined how you will use a standards based iEARN project in your classroom. You will be selecting one of the iEARN projects offered this year. At the end of the course you will have began work with your students in on one of these collaborative projects. Each course begins with an online orientation followed by eight weeks of subject- specific course work. • Link: • http://www.iearn.org/professional/online.htm

19. V. Models of Online Learning – Center for Exceptional Children • About the Approach: CEC offers self-paced courses available anytime from any computer with Internet access. • Link: (Click on Free Course! DE 102: Succeeding as a Distance Learning Student) • http://www.cec.sped.org/pd/webcourses/

20. V. Models of Online Learning – The Institute • About the Approach: T.H.E. (Technological Horizons in Education) is a publishing and services company based in Tustin, Calif. T.H.E. Institute is T.H.E' s professional development division. Established in 1996, T.H.E. Institute offers a complete range of professional development services - anytime, anywhere and in any delivery medium. T.H.E Institute offers online professional development courses on Integrating Technology into the Classroom. They use their own platform that includes the syllabus, resources, and discussion. • Link: (View the sample) • http://www.thejournal.com/institute/

21. V. Models of Online Learning –More Existing Models • There are a myriad of other online professional development models that you can view. • Click here for Tapping into Existing Online Professional Development Courses. You will see some of the models we viewed in this presentation plus many more. • As you viewed these models, did you think about: • What are the strengths of the model? • What are the weaknesses of the model? • Does the model build and sustain an online community of learners? • Does the model align with the Maryland Teacher Professional Development Standards? • What ideas can you take from the model to help as you create your own professional development module plan?

22. Resources “Professional Development: 21st Century Models” By Judy Salpetehttp://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492&pgno=7 CTE’s Electronic Learning Community Tutorial http://cte.jhu.edu/elc_tutorial/ PBS TeacherLine http://teacherline.pbs.org/teacherline/modules/learning_online.cfm Tapped In http://tappedin.org Iearn http://www.iearn.org/professional/online.htm Council for Exceptional Children http://www.cec.sped.org/pd/webcourses/ Technological Horizons in Education http://www.thejournal.com/institute/