Design Elements for Training Adult Educators to Teach Online

Design Elements for Training Adult Educators to Teach Online
- Hosted by the Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List[[1]]

Really, Really Quick Survey of Discussants

Click here to take a very quick survey of your experience either participating in online PD, designing, or teaching it:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=4xgOEwoE6JrmoZHfpv1RdQ_3d_3d

The survey contains 6 pretty quick questions to give us a sense of who's doing what, who's thinking what about what vis a vis online PD.

It's an opportunity to respond if you've been too busy to think through the posts, and (hopefully) an opportunity for us to see where, as a group, we are in our thinking.

C'mon, it's quick! It could be interesting to see some 'hard' numbers to give us a broader context of who all is listening. Imagine that there are a number of lurkers, sort of nodding our heads, going, um hmm...

Please try to respond by Friday, June 19, 2009.

Announcement

Issue: Currently there are very few adult literacy education teachers who have been trained to do online teaching. If online or blended learning significantly expands, there will be a "labor shortage" of these teachers. What design elements are key to developing online professional development for training distance education instructors? Join the Professional Development List to explore these and related issues in designing online professional development.

Dates

Because of the diverse goals of the group to discuss both distance learning for students and for training distance eductors, this discussion is now scheduled into two parts.

Part I: Design Elements for Training Adult Educators to Teach Online

• June 15-19

Suggested Discussion Framework

Day 1 (Today, June 15):

Discussion Topic: How to get started in designing online PD for distance educators

Day 2: June 16

Discussion Topic: Online (and Distance) Design

Day 3: June 17

Discussion Topic: Facilitating Online PD for Distance Educators

Day 4: June 18

Discussion Topic: Evaluating Learning and Facilitating Teacher Change

Day 5: June 19

Discussion Topic: Planning for Action

Part II: Design Elements and Considerations on Distance Learning for Students

• June 19 - 26

All questions pertaining to distance learning for students will be held until Part II.

Background on Topic

In January 2009, a small “work group” of about 20 dedicated professionals from the Adult Literacy Professional Development List (one of the Institute’s national Communities of Practice) formed the “Adult Literacy Online Professional Development” (ALOPD) group. The ALOPD group, a smaller community of practice specific for grappling with online professional development issues, addressed the question, What design elements are key to developing online professional development for training distance education instructors? As a result, they wrote the guide Online Professional Development Design Elements for Adult Educators New to Teaching Online. The tool was shared at the AALPD PreConference at COABE and with other staff development professionals for further feedback and revision.

Now, the Professional Development List has invited the ALOPD to share and discuss their work, questions, and considerations for designing online professional development. If you did not have the opportunity to join the ALOPD group OR if you are interested in learning more about designing online professional development, this discussion is for you.

Preparation for Discussion

Please review parts or all of Online Professional Development Design Elements for Adult Educators New to Teaching Online:

• Part I: http://home.comcast.net/~djrosen/Design_Elements.pdf
• Part II: http://home.comcast.net/~djrosen/Design_Elements.1.pdf

Guests

Crystal Hack, Director, GED-i Project Crystal Hack is the director of a nationally used online GED test preparation curriculum and the associated professional development for teachers, administrators, and coordinators.

Leslie Petty, Associate Director, Project IDEAL Support Center, University of Michigan Leslie Petty is the Associate Director of the Project IDEAL Support Center. Project IDEAL is a consortium of states interested in exploring the potential of distance learning to serve adult learners. Project IDEAL provides technical support, resources, professional development and other services for member states.

David J. Rosen, President, Newsome Associates Adult literacy and technology, including online learning and online professional development, have been major themes of David’s work for more than two decades.

Goals and Questions for Discussion

Design Elements for Training Adult Educators to Teach Online:

Methods and Approaches to Professional Development

• There has been much debate recently in our Work and Advisory groups about what course content should always be delivered face-to-face as opposed to online, and I'm especially interested in hearing folks' opinions on this subject. We've heard from people who felt strongly that online learning did not suit their particular learning styles. In the course of our project, we hope to find creative ways (through technology and multimedia) to address the learning needs of all participants. It would be great to hear about your experiences with online delivery.

Learning Management Systems

• To gather information and make some decisions about delivery options, techniques, to include in our training proposal for FY10. I am particularly interested in learning about the best, most cost-effective online platforms to use for online training. Especially synchronous training. Would like to be able to view one anothers' documents, maybe use white board.

Online Design

• I would like some suggestions on the best way to have a good flow: ice-breakers, presentation styles, material selection (is it best to have participants pre-print session materials or print as needed during the training?).

Integrating Digital Technologies into Online PD

• Looking for training and design ideas for online learning. We are mounting the use of blogs, podcasts and movie clips to help in our online training so any ideas of how to put these new digital technologies to work would be much appreciated.

• I'm very interested in the authentic integration of technology into instructional delivery especially in online teaching and learning environments, instructional design, etc.

Online Teaching Skills and Techniques

• I do feel that teaching at a distance requires some additional skills or techniques than the face to face class, but how do we identify those skills?

• What training is needed for a teacher to transition from the traditional classroom to the virtual classroom?

• Do good DL teachers have a different learning/teaching style than traditional classroom teachers? As to what I hope to take away is something rather concrete that can be implemented to train individuals as effective DL teachers.

• As we move to facilitated online professional development, the need for trained facilitators will be increased. As these online facilitators will be role models for new practitioners, it is crucial that we hire exemplars...and know what expertise we need in these facilitators.

• Strategies for online teaching

• The many facets that may be presented regarding distance learning and preparing teachers to teach online

Early Adopters and Resistors

• We also face the usual resistance from those who have never done anything new in adult education. How do you deal with the dinosaurs?

Building Community in Online Professional Development

• I'm particularly interested in ways others use to build participant collaborations and interactivity in distance learning [for teachers].

• I feel I am a beginner at this and would love tips and tricks for making teaching at a distance interesting and interactive.

Existing Online Professional Development Opportunities Available

• As I sit here I realize I have a ton of questions both as a teacher and as a professional developer. In terms of PD, I'd like to know what kinds of online professional development activities are already available to educators in 'budget' constrained states where cost is definitely a factor in terms of professional development opportunities teachers can participate in.

• …discussions around online and blended learning opportunities and innovations. Big changes are ahead for us, including a lack of trainers and tutors to facilitate this kind of online learning.

• Personally, I'm particularly interested in the way teacher-educators introduce new adult literacy teachers to a theoretical and practical awareness of multimodality in their thinking and teaching. Has anyone any experience of this?

General

• I am currently working on a project that aims to provide professional development to teachers interested in teaching basic skills courses online. I am interested in any topic that would apply to that task.

• I am very interested in learning as much as I can in developing online professional development for teachers in my field of ESOL.

Considerations for Designing and Teaching Distance Learning Programs for Adult Students:

Starting Up a Distance Learning Program

• My goal in this discussion is to learn more about the challenges of implementing an online GED course. What information do we need to start a program like this?

Delivery Platforms

• We have made several attempts at implementing distance education, but find we are coming up short on quality. I am looking for ideas for delivery. We are using KeyTrain for content

Content and Instructional Design for Distance Learning

• We are a nonprofit developing a brand new online reading program for adults, and I am struggling to design activities for a largely anonymous audience.

• I am working to develop modules that will appeal to a broad and increasingly global audience, all the while trying to consciously avoid the pitfalls of making sweeping assumptions about our learners.

• I want to develop a structured online learning environment [for transition to college students] that students can use to supplement what is being taught in the classroom.

• Many of our students have low literacy skills and limited computer experience, so I’d like to find out the best ways of creating accessible programs for them.

• Improving my presentation techniques and possibly adding a face-to-face component are equally important for me to learn how to incorporate.

Enrolling and Retaining Adult Learners

• It seems that programs throughout our state with DL programs struggle more with enrollments, retention and persistence than their traditional classroom peers.

• I'm most interested in retention of learners on the online program.

• My interest in this course has to do with motivating students to complete the online class. Many sign on for the class, but only a small percentage actually finish the program.

Supports for Students Who Are Learning-at-a-Distance

• I do believe that online learning will reach so many more of our students who otherwise would drop out totally. Issues we are finding involve collecting data and working on interventions that our students need during their home study. Coaching may be the "missing link" to retaining adult students.

Instructional Strategies for Teaching-at-a-Distance

• How, for example, can we identify adults who do not own a computer but have access to one in a public library and have educational needs that online courses could serve but in a public arena? Are there significant privacy concerns that these students will face and what are the relevant instructional approaches for teachers working within these limitations?

Existing Distance Learning Options

• I would like to know about any programs developed for the employment sectors I am working in [the retail/wholesale/grocery and tourism/hospitality sectors]. Some of my students may not have English as their first language, so this may also affect online teaching.

Assessing Distance Learning

• I'm curious how students will be assessed so that instructors can keep track of their progress. In particular, I would like to see opportunities for our ESOL students.

Resources Shared During Discussion

Collaboration Tools for Collaborating and Learning Online AALPD Resources Wiki

The YouTube videos clips shared in this discussion are a GREAT resource that can be used as an introductory activity/ice-breaker for an online PD course. I placed both Melinda's and Gina's You Tube links into the AALPD Resource Wiki at:

AALPD Resources Wiki http://aalpdresources.pbworks.com/

Under "Sharing Presentations and AV Resources". Please help me gather more YouTube videos that we can add to the Wiki. It's free to use, and anyone with a PB Wiki account can post.

1. Click the AALPD Resources Wiki link and create a free account.

2. Instructions are right on the front page on how to add resources to it.

3. Just click on the category to which you would like to add a resource

4. Then click "edit" and type in your entry.

5. Don't forget to SAVE the page!

Distance Teacher Self-Assessment www.adultedonline.org This is a free, online tool to help teachers determine if they have the skills for distance teaching. It includes video clips of a master distance teacher talking about her teaching approach, offers examples of distance teaching skills and provides suggestions for resources to help teachers build their skills. It also has an option for an administrator to invite his/her teachers to take the assessment and share their results as a way of identifying areas where additional PD might be needed.

Online Professional Development (OPD) Delivery Modes Media:OPDdeliverymodes.doc For those who may have experience with only one mode or format of online professional development (OPD) the attached table describing several different modes might be useful. Perhaps Jackie could add this to the ALE Wiki, where others could add comments or suggest other modes of delivery. One of the important early decisions about what OPD mode to use is whether it needs to be synchronous (in real time), asynchronous, or both. Some modes are only asynchronous or only synchronous. Some offer both. Of course, an OPD designer can also choose several modes (including face-to-face for blended PD models.) Some delivery modes are very costly, and some are not. Some are free.

Ohio Web 2.0 Technology Session Media: Adv_Technology_handouts.pdf Attached are the handouts on a Web 2.0 Technology session we offered in southwest Ohio. It includes many of the resources that have been shared recently on this discussion. We watched the “The Common Craft Show” short videos on various topics and then discussed their usage. At the end of the day, participants were given time to explore and create something based on what we learned about wikis, blogs, social networking and more. It was great to see the excitement on the faces of teachers creating with technology!

~Jenny

Jennifer Davis

Professional Development Specialist Southwest ABLE Resource Center

Design Elements Discussion Summary

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