How to Start an Online Learning Program
Introduction
Pre-conference
Welcome and Introductions
• Each panelist will provide a brief introduction
• Each participant
▫
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▫
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Name
School or Organization and role
Status of your online program
What was something interesting that happened to
you on your way to this conference
Pre-conference
Overview of Session
• This session is organized around a document,
Starting an Online School: First and Second
Level Issues which was part of a presentation at
the 2002 Virtual High School Symposium by
Steven Kalmon and John Watson
• There will be four expert panels to discuss the
various issues identified in the topic.
• The intent is for this to be a very interactive
session with plenty of opportunities for you to
ask questions.
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
Rank the following states from earliest to latest of
first offering online courses through their state
led program:
A.
Illinois
C. Georgia
Pre-conference
B. Idaho
D. Maine
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$100 Question
iNACOL Stands for:
A.
Innovative Name
for Available College
Online Labs
B. International
Association for K-12
Online Learning
C. I Named A Creative
Oval Language
D. Igloos Need All
Cold Open Lounges
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$200 Question
LMS Stands for:
A.
Language Mediated
System
B. Level Managed
Situations
C. Learning
D. Igloos Need All
Management System
Cold Open Lounges
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$300 Question
Which one is NOT a delivery model:
A.
Asynchronous
C. Fully Online
Pre-conference
B. Blended
D. C-Section
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$500 Question
LO stands for:
A.
Learning Object
C. Lights Out
Pre-conference
B. Likely Outcome
D. Lively Oregano
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$1,000 Question
State virtual schools are most common in what region
of the country:
A. West
B. Midwest
C. Southeast
D. Northeast
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$2,000 Question
SME stands for:
A.
Scientific Method
Evaluation
C. Subject Matter
Expert
Pre-conference
B. Statistical Mean
Equalizer
D. Southern Methodist
Educator
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$4,000 Question
ID stands for:
A. Instructional Designer B. IDentification
C. Inventory Database
Pre-conference
D. Intelligent Data
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$8,000 Question
OER stands for:
A. Official Evaluation
Reference
B. Optical Elliptical
Reflection
C. Open Evaluation
Report
D. Open Educational
Resources
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$16,000 Question
A course enrollment is generally considered:
A. One student enrolled B. One student enrolled
in an online course
in one semester course
C. One student enrolled D. It all depends on
one year long course
your online program
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$32,000 Question
According to Keeping Pace, which of the following
items is NOT identified as an important element in
determining a course completion rate:
A. Length of no-fault
drop period
B. Grade required for
successful completion
C. Level of teacher
involvement
D. Course extension
policy
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$64,000 Question
Which is NOT a name for a regional educational
agency:
A. BOCES
B. LEA
C. ROE
D. CESA
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$125,000 Question
A CEEB Code or College Entrance Examination Board School
ID is used by:
A. NCAA to identify
B. Used when taking the
schools requesting
online version of the
courses be approved
ACT or SAT
for collegiate eligibility
C. Required to take
an AP Exam
Pre-conference
D. Is used to receive
college credit for
dual credit courses
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$250,000 Question
While supplemental programs typically report
completion rate, full-time programs typically report:
A. Retention rate
B. Promotion Rate
C. Instructional
Success
D. Satisfaction Rate
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$500,000 Question
In very general terms, a core course is:
A. A graduation
requirement
B. The most important
courses offered
C. A four year college D. Courses used to
prep course taught
determine completion
by a qualified instructor rate
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$1,000,000 Question
CC stands for:
A. Core Class
B. Creative Commons
C. Classic Course
D. Comprehensive
Course
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
Rank the following cities from earliest to latest
that have been host sites for VSS:
A.
Denver
C. Austin
Pre-conference
B. Phoenix
D. Louisville
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$100 Question
SREB stands for:
A.
Slightly Right of
Excellent Battles
C. Southern Regional
Education Board
Pre-conference
B. Something Rings
Everyone’s Buttons
D. Simple Reasons
Everyone Buys
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$200 Question
SIS Stands for:
A.
SISter
C. Silly Internet
System
Pre-conference
B. Student Information
System
D. Simple Implemtation
Setup
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$300 Question
AUP standards for:
A.
A Universal
Procedure
C. An Unacceptable
Provision
Pre-conference
B. Acceptable Use
Policy
D. Athletic Use
Prohibited
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$500 Question
EMO stands for:
A. Elementary
Middle Organization
B. Education
Management Organization
C. Everything
Measures Originality
D. Enhanced
Mean Optimization
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$1,000 Question
LOR stands for:
A.
Learning Object
Repository
C. Learning Original
Research
Pre-conference
B. Left or Right
D. Levels of Requests
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$2,000 Question
CMS doesn’t stand for:
A.
Cobra Middle Snake B. Course Management
System
C. Content Management D. Compact Muon
System
Solenoid
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$4,000 Question
Which of the following acronyms is NOT used as a way
of describing educational funding based on student
attendance and/or participation:
A.
FTE
B. ADM
C. ESP
D. ADA
Pre-conference
Who Wants to Start an Online Program?
$8,000 Question
According to data from Project Tomorrow, the #1
reason middle school students take online courses is:
A.
Class not offered
at school
C. Get extra help in
a subject
Pre-conference
B. Complete HS
requirements
D. Work at my own
pace
First and Second Level Decisions
• First Level Decisions define what type of program you
are creating
▫
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▫
▫
The nature of your organization
Target audience
Funding
Collaboration with stakeholders
• Often some of these decisions are imposed upon you
▫ Legislation or state policy
▫ Board decisions
• Even though some of this might be imposed, it is
important to be able to clearly state this information
• Second Level Decisions are implementation decisions
and will be the topics of the majority of this session
Pre-conference
Example: Illinois Virtual High School
• Nature of Organization
▫ State-wide supplemental program
▫ Created by policy action of Illinois State Board of
Education, but no formal legislation
▫ Mission – focus on providing opportunities to those
traditionally underserved
▫ Beliefs:
 Importance of teacher in online learning experience
 Local schools are partners / non-competitive
• Target audience: 9-12
• Funding: state allocation, federal grants, and fees
• Collaboration with stakeholders: active steering committee
Pre-conference
Questions & Answers
• Funding is a big question: How can we support
students while keeping costs within ADA limits?
Participant questions?
Pre-conference
How to Start an Online Learning Program
Basic Infrastructure
- Lisa Gillis
- Cindy Lohan
Pre-conference
- Allison Powell
- Matthew Wicks
Policy and Regulations
#1 - Determine the political and
regulatory landscape!!!
• Does your state allow for any type of online
learning?
▫ Keeping Pace Report
#2 – Understand the different types of
programs
1. State-virtual schools –created by legislation or statelevel agency and administered by state agency –
funded by appropriations or grant
 Examples: Idaho Digital Learning Academy, Kentucky
Virtual High School, Michigan Virtual School
Pre-conference
Policy and Regulations – Different
Types of Programs
2. State-led online initiatives – offer resources and
tools, but no centralized student base
▫ Examples include: Massachusetts Online Network
for Education (MassONE)
3. Full time online programs – cyberschools –
▫ Insight, Connections Academy, K12, etc.
4. Single District programs – for students who
reside within the district
5. Multi-district programs – state-led, consortium
or network
Pre-conference
Policy and Regulations – Key
Questions to ask
• Is online education allowed in my state?
• If yes, what type is allowed?
• Is there an enrollment cap in place?
▫ Wisconsin, Arkansas, etc
• How are online programs/schools funded?
▫ Apportionment, Attendance, Grants
• What are the requirements for students to be
funded?
• Does the money follow the child?
• What type of program do you want?
▫ Charter school, Independent Study, District based
Pre-conference
Policy and Regulations – Key
Questions to Ask
• If not allowed, what needs to be done?
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Legislative action
Amendment to the Education Code
Creation or amendment of local board policy
Designation of district program
Pre-conference
Policy and Regulations – Types of
Regulatory Bodies
• Federal policies (Title 1, NCLB, etc)
• State policies (Department of Education)
▫ Application requirements
▫ Is a non-profit required?
▫ Statues for establishing a non-profit – “armslength”
▫ What about an MOU with authorizer?
• Local policies
▫ Reporting requirements
▫ Compliance reports
Pre-conference
Learning Management Systems
Scalability
Total Cost
Integration with other systems (SIS, Content, etc)
Extra Tools- ex. Collaboration
Data, Reporting
Reliability
Customization
Pre-conference
Administrative Systems
• Student Information Systems
• Registration
• Content Management Systems – Curriculum
Development
• Technical Support
• Email
• Communication – IM, Skype, Phone
• Synchronous Tools – Elluminate, WebEx, etc.
Pre-conference
Quality Assurance & Evaluation
• iNACOL has three voluntary national standards
of quality
▫ iNACOL National Standards of Quality for Online
Courses (published September, 2007)
▫ iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online
Teaching (published February, 2008)
▫ iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online
Programs (published October, 2009)
• Program Evaluation
▫ Internal Evaluation
▫ External Evaluation
Pre-conference
Questions & Answers
• We have a very small program? What are some
strategies for growing and structuring our staff
so that we can keep up with the growth of the
program?
• We have a small district program with students
physically at our school, but not in a structured
class. We have a 1-to-1 initiative and are looking
at using Elluminate? What recommendations do
you have for us as we grow?
Participant questions?
Pre-conference
How to Start an Online Learning Program
Curriculum
- Bruce Friend
- Dave Haglund
Pre-conference
- Jonathan Morrison
- Terri Rowenhorst
Learning Continuum in RUSD
Virtual
Learning
Environment
Pre-conference
Blended
Learning
Environment
Traditional
Classroom
Environment
RUSD-RVS Course Types
Graduation
Requirements
Web Enabled
Courses
Advanced
Placement
Content
Management
System
Strategic
Intervention /
Support
Pre-conference
Credit
Recovery
RUSD–RVS Curriculum Development
Needs Assessment
Content Standards
Assessment Data
Student Requests
Course Creation
Publishers/Vendors
Partners
Internal Resources
Course Distribution
Virtual Learning Environments
Pre-conference
Traditional Classrooms
Content Decision Point
How/where do we acquire online courses?
• What are the options?
• Pros and Cons of the various options?
• Influencing factors?
Answers vary based on goals and structure of your
program
Let’s share our experiences!
Pre-conference
Content Decision Point
What are the options for acquiring
courses?
1. Develop your own
2. License
3. Purchase
Influencing factors
include:
• Time
Pre-conference
• Personnel
• $$$
• Instructional plans?
• Courses to be offered?
• What do you already have
access to?
Content Decision Point
Pros and Cons of the options
1. Develop your own
2. License
3. Purchase
Other options?
Free and open source materials to assist
your efforts
Pre-conference
“At the heart of the movement toward Open Educational Resources is the
simple and powerful idea that the world’s knowledge is a public good and
that technology in general and the Worldwide Web in particular provide an
extraordinary opportunity for everyone to share, use, and re-use
knowledge.”
 Teaching, learning and research
resources,
 In the public domain or,
 Released under a license that permits
free use or re-purposing by others.
For examples, see CreativeCommons.org
 OERs include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks,
 Streaming videos, audio, text, software, tools, or techniques
 Used to support access to knowledge.
Pre-conference
Why OER?
To benefit society by increasing
access to quality educational
resources at little or no cost to
anyone seeking to learn.
 To share and leverage scarce
educational resources
 To create more transparency
among learning institutions
 To provide different means of
access and reuse, depending on
the source of the content.
Pre-conference
So, if OER is GOOD, and its FREE,
why isn’t everyone using it?
Pre-conference
OER Check List
What you are looking for in OER . . .
 curricular
 complete
 quality
 easy to use
 teaching tool
Pre-conference
Unique Among OERs
• Curricular
content for both
secondary and
post-secondary
• Complete course
foundations with
a flexible
learning object
structure
• Sustaining
membership to
maintain and
grow the
repository
Pre-conference
NROC Library 2009
College
Course Foundations
Advanced Placement
Course Foundations
High School
Course Foundations
US History I
US History II
American Government
Religions of the World
Psychology
Elementary Algebra
Introductory Calculus I
Introductory Calculus II
General Calculus I
General Calculus II
Calculo General I (Spanish)
Calculo General II (Spanish)
Statistics for the Social Sciences
Introductory Physics I (algebra-based)
Introductory Physics II (algebra-based)
General Physics I (calculus-based)
General Physics II (calculus-based)
Non-Majors Biology
Environmental Science
AP Biology
AP Environmental Science
AP Physics B I
AP Physics B II
AP Physics C I
AP Physics C II
AP US History I
AP US History II
AP US Government and Politics
AP Calculus AB I
AP Calculus AB II
AP Calculus BC I
AP Calculus BC II
College Prep Physics I
College Prep Physics II
Algebra 1a
Algebra 1b
Curso de Algebra 1A (Spanish)
Curso de Algebra 1B (Spanish)
Pre-conference
Coming in 2010
Algebra 1 (NEW)
Developmental Mathematics Series
High School American Government
Spanish Statistics for the Social Sciences
The Challenge of OER
“ . . . sustainability problems plague open educational
resources . . . the inherent contradiction in the idea of
sustaining and upgrading a product that is given
away.”
The Promise of Open Educational Resources, Marshall S. Smith and Catherine M.
Casserly, Change, September/October 2006
Pre-conference
Forms
• High
School Code Request Form
(CEEB Code Application)
- The College Board / ETS - Code Control
- codecontrol@ets.org
•
High School Information Form
- NCAA Eligibility Center
- Requires CEEB Code
Pre-conference
Contacts
• NCAA Eligibility Center
-https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/index.html
- Nicholas Sproull
- Assistant Director of High School Review
- Mark Hicks
- Associate Director of High School Review
- Lisa Mills
- Director of High School Review
Pre-conference
Breakout Session
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Conference Day 2
1:45 – 2:45 pm
NCAA Eligibility Center 101 - Nicholas Sproull
with Lisa Mills, Mark Hicks, & Jonathan Morrison
This session is designed to provide the online community with an overview of
the NCAA initial-eligibility process & the means by which prospective studentathletes become academically eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics
in their freshmen year as well as the process that takes place for
schools/programs to register their courses with the NCAA Eligibility Center
along with current trends & issues with the eligibility process will be discussed.
Question and answer time included.
Pre-conference
Questions & Answers
• What are the economic and quality considerations related
to having one’s own teachers develop courseware?
• What are best practices for fully online vs. hybrid
models?
• How does a school approve the content to go into an
online format (i.e. a clearing house for review of content
and also appropriate technology)?
Participant questions?
Pre-conference
How to Start an Online Learning Program
Teachers
- Cindy Lohan
- Connie Radtke
- Trina Trimm
Pre-conference
Going Virtual! Research Series
http://edtech.boisestate.edu/goingvirtual/goingvirtual.htm
Pre-conference
Going Virtual! Research Series
Who is teaching online?
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Experienced teachers, new to online
99% Credentialed teachers
73% Six+ years teaching experience
55% Master’s degree+
24% Special endorsement
Only 2% have never taught prior to online
93% in online teaching less than 5 years
http://edtech.boisestate.edu/goingvirtual/goingvirtual.htm
Pre-conference
How to Start an Online Learning Program
Teacher Recruitment
Pre-conference
“Get the RIGHT people on the BUS”
WHO
• Minimum Requirements
• Flexibility
• Students First
• Meets your goals
HOW
• Interview strategies
• Software/Programs
Pre-conference
Teacher Recruitment
Choices and Challenges
• Full-time, Part-Time or Extended-Time
• Employees or Independent Contractors
▫ Compensation
▫ Workload
▫ School Year or Year Round
• Certifications and Qualifications
Pre-conference
Research – Teacher Preparation
Unique Needs and Challenges of Online Teachers
First Year Online Teaching Experience
▫ Isolation
▫ Technology
▫ Time Management
http://edtech.boisestate.edu/goingvirtual/goingvirtual.htm
Pre-conference
How to Start an Online Learning Program
Teacher Preparation
Pre-conference
Getting Onboard
• Online Training
• Formal Onboarding
▫ Grade first assign
▫ First Call
• Shadowing
Pre-conference
Teacher Preparation
BEFORE Teaching Online
• 30 hours of training, (DPI Guidelines posted July 2009)
• Online Facilitation: Taming the World of Online Learning
As Begin to Teach Online
• Just in Time (teacher training)
• Mentors
Pre-conference
How to Start an Online Learning Program
Teacher Support
Pre-conference
LAYERS of Support
FORMAL
• Training
• PD
• Mentoring
INFORMAL
• Who are you going to call?
• Just in time
Pre-conference
Teacher Support
• Mentors
• Ongoing Training
▫ Staff Meetings
▫ Additional modules, webinars etc.
• Evaluation/Professional Growth Process
• Accountability and Evaluations
Pre-conference
Research – Teacher Support
What are your unique needs and challenges as a
K-12 online teacher?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Time management (71)
Student responsibility (61)
Learning New Technologies (54)
Communication (54)
Parental Support (53)
Isolation (46)
Workload (42)
Teacher/student ratio (34)
Special needs (23)
• PD issues (22)
• Administrative support (14)
• Curriculum issues (12)
• Best practice (12)
• Compensation (11)
• Accurate assessment (8)
• Credibility (7)
• Copyright/plagiarism (7)
• Organizational skills (5)
http://edtech.boisestate.edu/goingvirtual/goingvirtual.htm
Pre-conference
Resources – Lisa Dawley, Ph.D.
• Going Virtual Research Series
• http://edtech.boisestate.edu/goingvirtual/goingvirtual.htm
Pre-conference
Questions & Answers
• What is a good ratio of students to teachers?
• What guidelines should be part of a teacher professional
development for teachers new to online instruction?
• What are best practices for fully online programs vs.
hybrid models?
• I am interested in creating an online professional
development program for my state. What
recommendation do you have for me?
• I am interested in adult online program development
more along the lines of continuing education. Do you
have any recommendations as far as resources go?
Participant questions?
Pre-conference
How to Start an Online Learning Program
Students
- Dave Haglund
- Heather O’Mara
- Trina Trimm
Pre-conference
Hope Online:
Community-driven student
recruitment, support and access
• Hope Online Learning Academy Co-Op is a k –
12 public charter school available to all Colorado
students.
• 3,000 students attend community-based
Learning Centers.
• Over 50 Learning Centers are located across the
state to foster learning within the communities
they serve.
• www.HopeOnline.org
Pre-conference
RUSD-RVS: Student Recruitment
Riverside
Virtual
School
Concurrent
RUSD
Pre-conference
Partner
Districts
Full-time
Southern
California
RUSD Enrollment in Virtual Classes
2006-07
286
2005-06
36
Pre-conference
2007-08
585
2008-09
1,551
RUSD-RVS: Student Support
Academic
Support
•Office Hours
•Tutorials (onsite & online)
•Wet Lab Sessions
•Recorded Sessions
Technical
Support
•Online (FAQ-DBs-IM-Wimba)
•Telephone
•Drop-in Computer Labs
•Site-based Help Desk Support
Pre-conference
RUSD-RVS: Access
Smart
Riverside
Loaner
Equipment
Digital
Inclusion
Access
School
Labs
Pre-conference
Community
Libraries
Questions & Answers
• What are the meta-cognitive skills that students need to
develop in order to be successful online learners?
• How do you help a student transfer their “school skills” to
an online learning environment?
• What is the optimal frequency and type of social activities
for full-time virtual students?
• How do I meet the needs of Special Education students,
especially if they are remote from our location?
• How do I create the most successful environment for at-risk
students using online as a “last resort” and gifted students
all in one program?
• How do I successfully market a program in a state that isn’t
supportive of online learning?
Participant questions?
Pre-conference
How to Start an Online Learning Program
Closing
Pre-conference