Tom's+Sessions

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=**5 Questions to Consider**=

1. How can we begin to leverage the resources we currently use for online education to benefit all of us? 2. Can online teacher experts at the AIU and Allegheny County schools act as mentors for other teachers throughout the county? 3. How can we begin to develop viable Hybrid online Alternative Education programs within schools that meet student needs? 4. Should each school district develop their own online education program or share resources located in a common site? Can the AIU or a group of teachers/administrators develop a review process to certify the courses? 5. Can we develop a virtual professional development program that will assist in developing our faculties’ skills regarding online education?

=Day 1=

Session 1 Creating an Independent Learning Plan
The session focused on utilizing Gardner's research on entry points to assess and determine a framework for developing student learning paths. The presenters emphasized the importance of establishing a base for determining student mastery of subject material (i.e., if they complete these 5 assignments...they have passed the class). They emphasized that some students may only want to complete "foundation" type assignments in the subject area and that wasn't necessarily negative (i.e., student was hospitalized, serious depression, etc.) Lastly, they suggested using the following entry points when developing assignments so every learner's preference is considered.
 * 1) Foundation
 * 2) Logical
 * 3) Aesthetic
 * 4) Minute Narration (i.e., intro to topic)
 * 5) Experimental
 * Once the powerpoint is forwarded to me, I will post it.

Session 2 Class Disrupted--Bridging the Gap Between Traditional and Online Learning through Community Learning
Class Disrupted - bridging the gap between traditional and online learning through community learning - Mark Luetzelschwab

Session 3 Professional Development
Professional Development for the Virtual School Setting: Aligning, Designing, and Sharing--Katherine Hayden, Ed.D.

[|www.powayusd.com/online] http://vss2009.wikispaces.com/hayden

1. The key ideas I gathered from this presentation consist of the following:
 * Start small
 * add discovery streaming videos to help high-end learners
 * align technology plan with instruction and how teachers learn
 * Use Carnegie Mellon research on "How kids learn" to assist in developing a plan
 * The school's internet site is listed above and provides some nice rubrics regarding "How Kids Learn"
 * Online Professional development---Consider time---Don't start at the beginning of a school year....teachers will feel overwhelmed.

Session 4 -- 100% Participation and 100% Completion: A F2F Administrator's Success
The session focused on a small rural Idaho school that lacked resources to provide required courses for their students. In addition, the presenter discussed the issues surrounding high teacher turnover at his school and the impact it had on student learning.

2. Implementation Issues
 * 1) Main ideas
 * Assess current tech capacity in schools
 * Determine student needs
 * Develop policy regarding the students who will be permitted to enroll in online courses if the same course is offered in the regular school
 * Determine if internet access for students at home will prohibit student successSchools may need to reconsider operational hours.2
 * The most significant challange was proving the validity and rigor of online courses to parents and staff.
 * Staff resistance to change of any kind.
 * Staff fear of online takeover of schools.
 * Previous district technology philosophy
 * Direct any questions regarding the session to Ben Merrill--- ben.merrill@idahodigitallearning.org

idahodigitallearning.com

=DAY 2=

Session 1 What We Learned as a Private Virtual School: Marketing and Financial Challenges and Strategies---Dr. Kim Boyd, Gail Marten, and Georgia Taylor
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 * 1) Schools need to determine if they will create their own courses and curriculum or outsource the process
 * 2) Administrators and teachers need to contact parents and students to provide updates regarding a child's performance in class.
 * 3) Determine ways to promote the program (i.e., free internet ads, public television ads, newspaper articles, etc.)