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Issue
Contents
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K-12
Online Learning: A 2008 Follow-up of the survey of U.S. School District
Administrators
In 2007, the Sloan Consortium issued K-12 Online Learning: A Survey of
U.S. School District Administrators a report on the extent and
nature of online learning in K-12 schools. This report was welcomed by
professional organizations and the popular media interested in the use of
online technology for instruction in the public schools. It was based on a
national survey of school district administrators during the 2005-2006
academic year. It was one of the first studies to collect data on and
compare fully online and blended learning (part online and part traditional
face-to-face instruction) in K-12 schools. The new study replicates the
original study in order to substantiate its findings and to examine what if
any changes occurred in online learning in K-12 school districts. The
current study is based on a national survey of school district
administrators during the 2007-2008 academic year.
Click here
for the full report.
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The International Symposium on Emerging Technology
Applications for Online Learning - Registration is Open!
*Discounted pricing is available
before May 17th.*
The 2009 International Symposium on Emerging Technology
Applications for Online Learning will be held June 17-19, 2009 at the Hyatt
Regency San Francisco.
Program
Tracks include:
- Emerging Technologies for Administration, Infrastructure, and Support
Services
- Immersive Learning and Virtual Environments
- Inventive uses of media and tools
- Pedagogy and new learning environments
- The New Learning Communities
Pricing
Before May 17th:
Sloan-C
Members: $320
Non-Members:
$370
Additional discounts are available. Click here
to view them.
For more information about this
symposium, please visit http://www.emergingonlinelearningtechnology.org/.
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Share Your Views: Another Way to Participate in the Sloan-C
Community
Below are blog posts of interest collected from www.sloanconsortium.org. Feel
free to share your ideas by posting comments.
Quality Matters Course Design
Initiative - Lessons Learned
by Ron Legon
The Quality Matters Program, focused on improving the design of online and
hybrid courses through a 40 standard Rubric and a peer-to-peer course
review process, is in its sixth year of activity and its third as a
self-supporting non-profit initiative of MarylandOnline. QM has benefited
from the strong and sustained concern about quality in the distance
learning community, among both traditional institutions and the emerging for-profit
sector.
Click here to read the blog post.
Workload Management
by Shari McCurdy Smith
Workload Management. The name alone is daunting, much less the task. We
know we need to find a balance; yet, the demands of teaching online do not
offer much time to determine where things could be improved. As online
instructors, it is presumed we are pedagogical wizards, 24/7 reference
guides, futuristic soothsayers, and omnipresent overseers every single day,
every single moment. Or at least it feels that way.
Click here to read the blog post.
Web 2.0 Selection Criteria: Save
Time Choosing an Appropriate Tool
by Bethany Bovard
Finding the right type of Web 2.0 tool to support the educational goals and
learning objectives of your course can be challenging; making a selection
from among several seemingly similar tools can be even more difficult and
time-consuming. Over the years, I've developed my own selection criteria to
help me quickly come to decisions about the appropriateness of specific
tool. I hope you find the attached checklist as helpful as I have for
saving time and improving the tool selection process.
Click here to read the blog post.
Inclusive Design
by Nan Chico
Most of us are probably aware of "universal design" for course
materials, where we take students with disabilities into account as we
prepare our online courses (alt text for graphics, closed captions on
videos).
Click here to read the blog post.
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2009 Sloan-C College
Pass Professional Development Package
*A cost effective solution for
faculty training*
A 2009 College Pass Professional Development Package
provides:
- 150 seats per year in over 30 Sloan-C online workshops
which cover a variety of key online education topics
- A cost-effective and convenient way to improve quality in online
education while networking with new colleagues
- Supplements your on-campus efforts with access to a wide variety of topic
coverage from experts around the nation
Online workshops are 1 - 2 weeks long with convenient
synchronous and asynchronous delivery. Sloan-C's online workshops are based
on years of Sloan-C research and effective practices - anytime, anywhere
flexibility combined with an attention to quality and access to top experts
and new colleagues in the field. Now you can provide your institution
complete access to these workshops through the end of 2009 with the Sloan-C
College Pass Professional Development Package.
Register for a 2009 College Pass
Professional Development Package today at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/info/2009colpass or e-mail info@sloanconsortium.org.
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Sloan-C 2009 Institutional Membership
*Join the Sloan-C Community of
educators from around the world.*
Membership in the Sloan Consortium provides knowledge,
practice, community, and direction for educators.
A 2009 Institutional Membership includes:
- 10 $50 coupons toward the 15th Annual Conference on Online Learning
Networks in 2009 in Orlando, FL
- 20 $150 coupons toward over 30 Sloan-C online workshops for faculty,
staff, and administrators in online education
- Full access to Sloan-C effective practices, networking opportunities, and
many Sloan-C publications
Register for a 2009 Institutional
Membership today at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/membership.
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Critical Training
Opportunity Online - Are You Ready for Students with Disabilities?
With budgets shrinking and travel money disappearing,
finding training opportunities to allow your staff to access criticial
information for the development/improvement of your online classes and
programs becomes more difficult. In February, Disability Compliance in Career
and Online Learning (DCCOL) will bring a unique training opportunity to you
in a unique manner.
Building on the success of its two-day Boot Camp
offerings, DCCOL will present:
Accommodating
Students with Disabilities in Online Education:
Traditional
Institutions, Nontraditional Classrooms
February 17-March 6
http://www.dccol.net/index.html
The training is targeted to traditional institutions who
are delving into online educational opportunities through hybrid classes,
online-only classes and, in some cases, full degree offerings through
online learning. Such institutions typically have a disability services
unit that serves the ground campus and that is charged with assuring
institutional compliance with the legal responsibilities for equal access,
as engendered in Federal law. Too often, however, the disability services
unit has not recognized the very different nature of the services it will
be asked to provide for students in online classes, while distance learning
personnel tend to focus on technological access to the exclusion of the
equally critical programmatic access that must be in evidence to comply
with the law. Until these two units establish a close working relationship,
with a clear division of responsibilities and open lines of communication,
it is likely that the institution will fall short of both its educational
goals and its legal obligations. This training is focused on fostering the
necessary dialogue and prioritizing institutional response.
In addition to lessons and class discussion, each campus
team will have once-a-week direct contact with the instructor to assure
understanding and direct application to their individual circumstances.
Additionally, while the training requires a team approach with at least one
representative from disability services and one from distance learning,
additional institutional personnel can take part in class activities and
discussion at no additional cost.
For more information, visit: http://www.dccol.net/index.html.
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Learn From the Experts - The Sloan-C 2009 Workshop Series
Getting
Started in Second Life - Feb 4 - 13
Second Life is an extremely popular 3D virtual environment
that has many applications for education, from increasing social interactions
to deepening learning. In this workshop, you'll learn some of the basic
Second Life skills that will help you successfully enjoy your second life.
You'll also get a brief introduction to some of the educational possibilities
of Second Life.
Click here for details
and registration.
Using
the Community of Inquiry Framework to Design and Assess Online Courses - Feb 11
- 20
The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework developed by
Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000) provides a theoretical model of online
learning processes that has been used by many scholars and practitioners in
the field of online education. CoI is a constructivist process model,
assuming effective online learning requires the development of community.
Click here for details
and registration.
Delivering
Content, Fostering Student Interactivity, and Assessing Learning in Blended
Courses - Feb 16 - March 8
Effective blended teaching requires significant rethinking
and design. When designed effectively, blended courses can improve learning
and offer more effective use of available resources. Additionally, the
blended modality provides for less passive learning and more active learning.
Click here for details
and registration.
Video
Tools for Teaching and Learning - Feb 25 - March 6
Video is a powerful media for teaching and learning and an
asset to any distance course. With video, you can present information and
your students demonstrate learning. You also can use video to communicate
efficiently and effectively.
Click here for details
and registration.
Using
the Quality Matters Rubric to Improve Your Online Course - Feb
25 - March 13
Recognizing quality is much like recognizing art; everybody
sees something different. With regard to online courses, your students,
faculty, administrators, peers, and accrediting bodies may not know what to
look for in assessing quality. Defining quality standards proves crucial to successful
course design and implementation.
Click here for details
and registration.
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