Growth, Management and Professional Development of Teachers in an Online Program

1. #GMPD - twitter Growth, Management and Professional Development of Teachers in an Online Program By Wilf Gray eLearning Principal & Jeff Brown DeLC iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

2. Where in the World is KPR? http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

3. FAQ ‘s • 35,000 students > 100 schools, many small rural schools 7000 square kilometres Lakeshore to Shield iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

4. Opportunity: to grow program, engage students and develop teachers in Online learning The KPR online program online model • Part 1: Team Organization / Collaborative Planning • Part 2: Teacher Selection • Part 3: Professional Development • Part 4 : Reaching Forward iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

5. Part 1: Our Evolution of our Model Planning, Feedback, Adjustment, Planning …. iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

6. How we started Superintendent iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

7. Early success created many areas for growth… • Training and development of eLearning teachers • DeLC role expanded • School Guidance Counsellors best practices in using eLearning for student solutions • Enhance focus on student success and completion rates in eLearning • Reduce the need for students to “Google and go” iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

8. How we are organized today…. System Level School Level Guidance Counsellors IT Support Computer Ratio in schools Support Level iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

9. Key Areas of Growth System Level • Principals and Guidance Dept Heads direct access to elearning Leadership • Growth of Advisory team • Growth of Professional Development plan • Growth of course offering, Student Handbook and Student Orientation iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

10. Support Level • Always a data driven model for decision making • DeLC role refined • eLearning registrar role created • Communication for eLearning teachers, students and Guidance counsellors refined iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

11. School Level • Almost every school has an eLearning teacher that can support students directly in their school • Student Orientation is done F2F in every school • School elearning teams now starting to develop • Interventions for elearning students at risk iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

12. Part 2 : Teacher Selection iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

13. Background • Elearning courses selected based on student needs • Contract teaching sections/lines are allocated to elearning prior to school allocations • Staff eLearning teachers from schools ahead of Surplus Transfer process • Each year we release all eLearning teachers and open interviews to all secondary teachers • Created a "pool" of teachers to draw from as schools change iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

14. Selecting eLearning Teachers Online adobe connect interview process • Check and build teacher’s technology capability • Check the school’s technology infrastructure • Eliminates the travel distances for interviews (anytime, anywhere) iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

15. So what are we looking for…. • Teachers who connect with students • Comfortable with virtual engagement • Demonstration of solid teaching strategies using technology • Considered to be innovators within their own schools in student learning iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

16. Part 3 : Professional Development iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

17. Capacity Building • Virtual Staff Meetings • Mentorship • Augmenting School Infrastructure iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

18. Virtual/F2F Staff Meeting • Program Support Course design, Logistics • New Technology Training Maintain and support LMS (D2L) • Professional Development 21st Century Learning Paradigm shift iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

19. New Technology Training • Supporting student engagement through D2L • Class discussion areas for students on course topics including; assignments, exams, resources, etc • Organizational tips for using the LMS to better focus student learning • don’t overwhelm the students by showing them the entire course at once • Integration of Xpress Lab for online assessments; as an example • Emerging technologies – web 2.0 with courses iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

20. Professional Development • Collaborative development of expectations and future PD with elearning teachers • Book studies ie. Disrupting Class by “C.M. Christensen” • Assessment & Evaluation • Growing Success • This year developing ties to • School Effectiveness Framework (SEF) • Teaching & Learning Critical Pathway (TLCP) • Board and School Improvement Plans iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

21. eLearning Teacher Mentor Program • Elearning experience is the main factor in the program • New eteacher assigned experienced mentor with release time for both teachers • eLearning teachers have evolved into a team which has allowed for more creative problem solving within and sharing between program • A free flow of ideas and solutions for common challenges to all eLearning courses for meeting system goals iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

22. Augmenting School Infrastructure • Standard technology “suite” to elearning teachers; base for technology support • School computer to student ratio is adjusted to support students enrolled in elearning courses • Aligns with Board’s Instructional Technology Plan • Creates the opportunities for elearning teachers to transfer their new skills into their F2F classes iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

23. Part 4 : Reaching Forward iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

24. Reaching Forward & Student Supports • Student Orientation Program • Further Development of consistent practices • Organizations that support our Learning • Program Extensions iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

25. Student Orientation Program • Connecting students early and often with school supports, eLearning teachers (both within the school & in their course), other eLearning students and Board supports is key • This has significantly reduced our early drop rate within eLearning courses for our Board • One of our key roles has been to focus on student engagement and working to prevent the student from leaving the course • development of student orientation program to reduce technical challenges and improve student retention rates iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

26. Development of Consistent Practices that align with Schools • Common exam period for all elearning courses • Connections with Guidance Counsellors, Student Success teachers and in school elearning teachers • Failure analysis profiles of students courses • At risk student emails and phone calls with parents (use of texting, cell phones, websites beyond the LMS) • Student Handbook iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

27. Organizations that support our Learning • Elearning Ontario • Ontario Elearning Consortium • iNacol iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

28. Program Extensions • Blended learning pilot into grade 10 F2F classes • First Class Summit iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

29. iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

30. Thank you for your time Wilf_gray@kprdsb.ca Jeff_brown@kprdsb.ca iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

31. Our innovations • Electronic Staff meetings • Online interview • Specialty courses • Sharing of students • Student Orientation & Handbook • Growth • Imagine a staff meeting where everyone has completed the pre-work iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

32. Timelines with eLearning Program August /September • Confirm student orientation at all schools with DeLC • Ensure teacher release time for orientation at local site • Confirm enrolments of courses and spaces remaining – inform guidance counsellors and principals • Discuss with DeLC spaces for out of Board students • Meet with Elearning Team to plan F2F PD sessions with Elearning teachers and which staff meetings will be done via adobe connect • Direct secretaries at local schools to elearning secretary to confirm student registration, and shared students status within trillium for OnSIS • Establish eteacher mentors at the first elearning staff meeting iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

33. Oct / Nov meet with Guidance PORs to discuss next year’s elearning courses review enrolment, drop out and success rates start the planning for elearning courses as they will be promoted on the website, within the OeLC and Board Course Calendar for student start planning on which new elearning teachers will attend the OeLC conference in Jan/Feb Dec confirm next year’s elearning courses start planning for next year’s elearning budget Jan reports cards, exams, marks, next semester’s enrolment confirm student orientation at all schools with DeLC for Feb Ensure teacher release time for student orientation at local site Confirm enrolments of courses and spaces remaining – inform guidance counsellors and principals Discuss with DeLC spaces for out of Board students Feb start new semester; student orientation plan for posting of next year’s courses and which semester develop interview questions, DeLC for adobe connect room iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

34. March interviews for Next year’s elearning teachers select teachers and assign sections to schools secondary schools submit data for next year’s staffing confirm enrolment for computer allocation (4:1) ratio April staffing sections assigned to schools (elearning sections are additional sections to school’s totals) May review elearning courses and enrolment to determine correct assignments coordinate training with DeLC before end of the school year planning for next year’s student orientation June do any last minute changes or hiring confirm COS process with HR for elearning teachers confirm inventory and assign old inventory to school with highest number of student enrolment iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown

35. Sample Questions…. Tell me about the skills, knowledge and experiences that you posses that would make you the best candidate for the elearning position. It has been over two weeks and a student in your course has not logged in, submitted any assignments or sent an email to say they would not be online. How would you engage this student who has started to disengage from the course? The first four weeks of any new course are an important time for building classroom rapport and a collaborative learning environment. What strategies would you use to build the rapport and learning environment? How would you know if they were successful or not? Across Ontario, all senior elearning courses need to have written final exams as part of the course’s final assessment. How would you prepare students for this part of the assessment of your course? iNacol Presentation Nov 2010 - W. Gray & J. Brown