Briefing on Self-access Online Courses
on School Development and Selfevaluation (Part One)
7 October 2004 (Thursday)
Academic Community Hall, Hong Kong
Baptist University
Background
• Exploring various means including provision of
online resources to support school development
and self-evaluation work
• Strengthening online support through
commissioning an experienced UK-based
course developer to develop online courses on
school development and self-evaluation
• In 2003/04 s.y., jointly organised a free trial of
online courses – positive feedback from
participating schools which suggested
development of similar courses for HK schools
Modes of learning adopted by
participating schools
• Forming study groups, members of which took different
courses and did sharing
• School representative (contact person for free trial) took
a no. of courses and did sharing in school
• Principal took a no. of courses and then recommended
courses for staff
• Principal adopted and adapted some course materials
for in-house staff development
Feedback from participating schools
 Learners could schedule their online learning in
accordance with their own progress, work
schedule and needs
 Clear course structure
 A range of choices providing rich course
contents and resource/reference materials
 Due emphasis on theory and practice
 ALL in English
 Too much content
 Lack use of multi media
Objectives of online courses
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bring in a global perspective on school
development and self-evaluation
enhance participants' knowledge and skills for
conducting self-evaluation on the effectiveness
of learning and teaching in school
cater for the professional development needs
of incumbent or prospective external school
reviewers
familiarise participants with the key processes
in the Enhanced School Development and
Accountability Framework
Target participants
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School principals as school leaders and
incumbent/prospective external school
reviewers
Other school leaders responsible for
school development and self-evaluation
work
EMB officers involved in quality assurance
and related work
Design
Courses run on FOT's e-learning
management system which enables
a user to:
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have total control over his/her learning;
have a clear idea about the structure of
each course;
practise what has been learnt by doing
course activities and tasks;
reflect on his/her learning;
have access to reference and resource
materials that enrich his/her
understanding of the topic being covered;
and
share his/her views with other online
learners through the Discussion Board.
Outline
The courses are composed of two parts. Part
One comprises a selection of 17 courses
currently run by the course developer which
can be grouped into the following three
categories:
(1) Supporting an understanding of 'brain friendly'
learning
(2) Supporting teachers in the classroom
(3) Supporting school leadership, management
and governance
Outline
(1) Supporting an
understanding of 'brain
friendly' learning:
• Multiple intelligences
• Emotions and learning
• Learning styles
• The emotionally
intelligent school
(2) Supporting teachers in
the classroom:
• Supporting the very able
child
• Managing behaviour
positively
• Understanding English
as an additional
language and
bilingualism
Outline
(3) Supporting school
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leadership, management
and governance:
School self-evaluation for
school leaders: classroom
monitoring
Managing school finance –
effectiveness and efficiency
Effective recruitment – getting
the right people in
Developing policies –
achieving consistency and
focusing on learning
• Leading the high performance
school
• School self-evaluation for
board members
• School self-evaluation for
primary subject leaders:
classroom monitoring
• School self-evaluation for
secondary subject leaders:
classroom monitoring
• Creating a supportive working
environment
• An introduction to coaching –
supporting all staff
Duration
Upon the launch of each part of the courses, users can
have access for a one-year period.
Access period for Part One
8 October 2004 – 7 October 2005
Access period for Part Two
This part is being developed. Details about the exact
launch date and structure will be announced shortly.
Procedures for
registration and setting
up user accounts
1.
a.
b.
Setting up a school account
The Principal can authorise a
person in the school (the School
Online Administrator) to use the
username and password provided
by EMB to create an account for
the school.
The School Online
Administrator (SOA) will go to
the course website at
www.emb.org.hk/sdaonline, and
click on “Schools – Join Now”
on the pull-down menu under
“Take me to the courses”. 。
Schools – Join Now
c. The SOA will enter the
username and
password provided by
EMB, and then
complete the required
details about the
school – school name,
address, name of SOA,
official school email
address, telephone
number, etc. 。
d. SOA will create a school username
and password. This information will
be confirmed by email.
e. SOA will give the school username
and password to the designated
school user*, and outline to him/her
the procedures below.
(* Given that each school is
provided with one single user
account, school head could engage a
no. of his/her staff members in
working collaboratively on a
selection of courses through
shared use of the designated
school user account. Subject to the
decision of the school management,
the designated school user can be the
SOA himself or herself.)
Setting up a school
user account
f.
The designated school
user will then go to the
course website, and
click on “First-time
Users – Register” on
the pull-down menu.
First-time Users - Register
g. The designated
school user will
enter the school
username and
password.
h.
The designated school
user will then complete some
required details – name,
official email address, etc.,
and create an individual
username and password.
This information will be
confirmed by email to the
user’s official email address.
3. Accessing the
courses
i.
Upon completion of the
above procedures, the
designated school user will
be able to access the online
courses. To do this, he/she
will go to the course website,
and click on “Existing
Users – Login” on the pulldown menu.
Existing Users - Login
j.
The designated school user
will enter his/her individual
username and password to
access the courses. Anytime
he/she subsequently wants
to access the courses,
he/she enters his/her
individual username and
password at the “Login”
button.
k.
The school may wish to have
several users working on a
selection of courses
collaboratively. Users
working this way will share
the individual username and
password of the designated
school user, and always use
that same username and
password for access to the
courses.
Suggested learning mode
• School Principal as lead learner encourages
teachers involved in school development
planning and self-evaluation work to form a
study group. Through shared use of the
designated school user account, they take
courses that serve their development needs in
different study periods. Participants are
encouraged to do in-house sharing as a means
to facilitate professional exchange among
colleagues.
Key messages
• Online courses are NOT compulsory; they serve as
online resource support
• Emphasis on reflective learning and practice with no
assessment components
• School users take a selection of courses in a way that
serves their own needs, suits their work schedule
and progress
• School users practise what they have learnt to support
their school development
• Next stage of online course development shaped by the
level of school users’ participation and feedback