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Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1226] Online PD
From: jataylor (jataylor_at_utk.edu)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 10:08:23 EST
Hello everyone, At this time, this question is for our guests. Each of you have a unique involvement in the area of online professional development for teachers. Since there is much going on in this area, I'd like for you to help us get started in exploring some of the important questions for online PD.
First, please tell us more about your work:
Why did you/your organization become involved in online professional development? What need(s) were you addressing? How did you decide to address those needs?
Describe the online PD you/your organization offer. How is the online PD you offer (or have offered) similar or different from more familiar forms of online delivery (i.e. course platforms)?
What have you found to be particularly important for making online PD successful for teachers? What changes have you/your organization experienced in the development and delivery of online PD, perhaps even as a result of this?
Thanks so much! I look forward to an exciting week ahead!
Best,
Jackie
Jackie Taylor
Co-Facilitator
NIFL-AALPD
jataylor_at_utk.edu
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1228] RE: Online PD
From: Beth Wheeler (bwheeler_at_sbctc.ctc.edu)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 10:55:18 EST
good morning,
washington state adult education is exploring distance learning for abe/esl students. as part of a pilot effort, able network staff designed and piloted an online "new teacher orientation". this course helps instructors new to the system understand more about relationships - with the state office, their individual campus, and with other instructors at their site. there is some philosophy of adult education, lesson planning, etc. as some folks come to our system without the benefit of prior teaching experience.
the course has been offered three quarters now and each quarter the instructors revised it to more completely meet the needs of the students. there is a waiting list each quarter and instructors who have been in the system for several years are asking to be admitted. when this course was offered, there was not intent to move farther into the realm of online staff development. however, with the success of the course, able network is exploring additional offerings online.
beth wheeler, program administrator
distance learning
sbctc
olympia, washington
Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1231] Online PD From: Dlhargrove_at_aol.com Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 11:21:04 EST
Hi everyone,
Florida first became involved in alternative ways of delivering PD about 4 years ago, when we were in the middle of a budget crisis in adult education. Travel budgets were cut considerably, so not many practitioners were able to attend regional or statewide workshops. We needed to come up with an alternative way of assisting our colleagues in receiving Inservice Points. This was about the same time that web-based training was beginning to emerge. Through the efforts of one of our Practitioners' Task Force committees, the first of many online web-based trainings was developed.
When we decided to develop our first course, there were a number of things we looked at:
- 1. What was the most pressing need for PD?
- 2. What did the State require be included in order to get this online PD course approved for Inservice Points?
- 3. Do we need to track the individuals progress? If so, is there a way of tracking without buying an expensive Learning Management System (like Blackboard, WebCT?)
- 4. How will we measure the success of the course?
Adult education programs survive because students remain in the program and complete their goals. If there aren't any students in the programs, there's no program... we all know that story. To that end, we developed our first wbt called,"Improving Retention in Adult Education programs." It was a 5 hour training, developed using Macromedia Dreamweaver.
After much discussion, it was determined that we could track participant progress through online activities that were submitted throughout the training as opposed to using a learning management system (too costly for us.) Each training contained a number of modules. Within each module, participants were asked to complete activities. These activities were electronically submitted to a Program Specialist at our Dept. of Education, who kept a log on all activities. When the activities were completed, and the post test and evaluation submitted, the Program Specialist would send the inservice certificate to the participant.
Not all activities were submitted, however. In many cases, participants were asked to post their ideas or suggestions regarding an issue they just read. Bulletin Boards were created using WebBoard and participants shared their experiences via the boards. This has proven to be a great way to share information.
We had only one problem.... we weren't RETAINING participants in our Retention Web-Based Training! Sure, we had loads of educators logging on, even from out of state. But for some reason, they weren't finishing the material. After a lengthy process of emailing and calling those who did not complete, we realized that our primary purpose for developing this online learning was NOT the only reason people signed up. For many, they didn't need inservice points.. they were just there to get the information and resources and then they left! Measuring the success of our course took on a whole new meaning. In our newer trainings, we've now included a section that asks, "Why are you here?" with options like, "To receive Inservice Points" to "Just gathering information."
We also realized that, although online learning was perfect for delivering instruction, there's no substitute for face-to-face and other personal forms of communicating. Two years ago, when the term, "Blended Learning" came to fruition, we decided to try pairing one of our web-based training courses with a traditional workshop. Participants who signed up were sent to the web to complete some prework and then met for a day of training. This process seemed to work very well. The only problem was with the travel cuts as discussed earlier. We had to find another way of bringing in the human factor.
With that said, we created a position last year through the Florida TechNet grant called, "online facilitator." We moved the adminstrative function from the Dept. of Education to our new facilitator who not only keeps track of all participants, but also emails welcome letters. Our online facilitator looks at what participants are submitting and responds via email or phone to questions or comments. This process has just started this January, so we haven't been able to really determine its impact.. but it appears to be positive. We are also experimenting with a LMS on a select few WBT's through another contact, and are anxious to see the results of that as well.
Hope this basic overview has been helpful to anyone who might be considering developing their first web-based training for PD. It's always nice to be able to see how others have evolved through this process.
Debra
Debra L. Hargrove, Ed.D.
Technology Coordinator
Florida TechNet
http://www.floridatechnet.org
6025 Audubon Manor Blvd.
Lithia, Fl 33547
P ~ 813.657.0789
F ~ 813.657.0970
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1232] Distance staff development
From: Judith Diamond (JDiamond_at_irc-desplaines.org)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 11:55:15 EST
Commenting on staff development at a distance:
Illinois has three service centers, one for each geographic third of the state. The centers deliver staff development and supportive services for all funded adult education programs including ESL and ABE/GED.
Many, many people come to on-site or regional workshops. However, there are others who because of distance, time, or access difficulties cannot attend.
We tried one online workshop, The Brain, Memory, and Learning. It was offered three times. Each time, the workshop ran for six weeks. We found that, though there was a fair amount of interest in signing up for the workshop, the participants' ability and interest in keeping up with the tasks waned after about the third week. We are now in process of developing some shorter online trainings that would be combined with at least one on-site meeting.
More successfully, we have just completed a video and an accompanying text for ESL teachers called: A Framework Comes Alive: Experience an ESOL Classroom. It is an exciting, fun video featuring a great ESOL teacher and his class along with a panel of experienced ESOL instructors commenting on various aspects of teaching. The guide contains specific suggestions elaborating on the video and includes both activities for teachers to bring into the classroom and a Trainer's Guide for programs who want to use the video on-site. We are very excited about this whole project. It has received an enthusiastic welcome from teachers and programs. We will be showing the video and demonstrating training possibilities at COABE this year.
Judith Diamond
Adult Learning Resource Center
Des Plaines, Illinois
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1235] re: Online PD
From: Jennifer Elmore (jennifer_at_jelmore.com)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 14:34:11 EST
Greetings!
“Why did you/your organization become involved in online professional development? What need(s) were >you addressing? How did you decide to address those needs?”
I've worked on a number of different distance/online professional development resources, so I'm not sure where to start! Perhaps a bit of background would be useful.
My first experiences with online professional development occurred at the National Center on Adult Literacy, where I worked as a Project Specialist four years ago (with fellow panelists, Steve Linberg and Ashley Del Bianco.) From my perspective, online PD came into focus for me/NCAL for several reasons.
When I started at NCAL in 1994, I was involved in various, face-to-face professional development initiatives. Many of NCAL's trainings occurred in regional or national contexts; thus, we covered a fair amount of geographic territory. My colleagues and I thought a great deal about the actual physical distances that we, as trainers, traversed as well as the distances that we perceived within the individual organizations we served. (In other words, we often found that staff in a single organization - though geographically close - grappled with "distance issues" because their divergent schedules and roles inhibited collaboration and community.) Long story short, we became interested in developing new ways, as trainers, to bridge those distances.
Another powerful factor pointed me/us in the direction of distance PD resources. Many of our workshop participants expressed an interest in receiving ongoing support and advice from us - beyond our face-to-face meetings. Participants also wanted to preserve and develop professional contacts and communities that they'd formed in our workshops, so we started to think about ways to facilitate this. (We also recognized that lasting organizational development really required access to continuous support. A "one-shot" training would likely not engender lasting change.)
In 1996, NCAL started work on the LiteracyLink project - http://litlink.ket.org/. NCAL was charged with the development of online resources to accompany/complement the Workplace Essential Skills and GED Connection videotapes and workbooks. We were building an online forum for learners - we decided to extend this resource to include a professional development component for teachers and administrators. Steve Linberg and I developed an online PD course system called LitTeacher - that, for a time, paralleled the learner resources online. (This course system, though still a viable delivery mechanism, is no longer accessible through the LiteracyLink website.)
The first online courses that we developed focused on technology planning and on integrating various types of technology into practice. At this time (mid-late 1990s), NCAL had received a great many requests for training in the area of technology planning. Adult education programs wanted to learn how to:
-craft technology plans that complemented their organizational goals -fund their technology plans -begin to implement their plans - acquire resources, secure support staff, train existing staff to use technology, provide ongoing support to staff re: integrating technology into practice.
So, we felt it made sense to re-purpose our face-to-face technology planning resources for delivery in a distance forum. The demand for this content seemed to support this choice - we hoped to reach a wider audience.
As something of a follow up to this first course (and as a complement to our Workplace Essential Skills and GED Connection work), we developed a series of "integration" classes for teachers. These courses were designed to help teachers navigate the new technologies that their programs were beginning to acquire.
In a nutshell, I feel that I moved towards distance PD, in response to four major factors: -requests from the field to bridge distances with "distance resources" -the realization that effective PD required access to ongoing support -the opportunity to build onto an existing distance project -the growing demand for information and training on technology-specific topics - namely, technology planning and implementation.
This response really only addresses Jackie's first question! I'll write more in due course.
Cheers,
Jennifer
Jennifer Elmore, M.S.Ed.
Education Consultant
http://jelmore.com
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1236] Re: Online PD
From: Eunice Askov (ena1_at_psu.edu)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 15:35:13 EST
Wow! The list has had an amazing amount of discussion already, and Monday isn't over yet! As a guest, I am supposed to speak about my experience in online professional development. Penn State's Adult Education Program has been doing credit-based distance education (M.Ed.) for at least 15 years, starting with audioconferencing, then videoconferencing, and now online through Penn State's World Campus <www.worldcampus.psu.edu>. We now offer the M.Ed. in Adult Ed. <www.worldcampus.psu.edu/pub/adted/> as well as the Certificate in Family Literacy <www.worldcampus.psu.edu/pub/famlt/>, both completely online . In this unique kind of professional development, because many people want the courses to apply to a master's or bachelor's degree, retention has not been a problem. In other words, they have a clear purpose in registering for the courses. Our discussion boards are lively, centered around the issues in the courses. About half of our assignments are done as group projects so that online "learning communities" truly do develop. As an instructor, it has been very rewarding for me to have been teaching online since January 2000. I feel that I know my online students just as well (if not better) than my face-to-face students. I'll have to continue this tomorrow...off to the dentist! Nickie Askov
Eunice N. Askov
Distinguished Professor of Education
Penn State University
More on the Family Literacy Certificate, added October 24, 2005:
The Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy offers an online Family Literacy Certificate through Penn State's World Campus. There are five courses that cover three specialization areas: adult literacy; parental involvement; and children's education. You can learn more about the Certificate in Family Literacy Program at http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/pub/famlt/.
Spring semester 2006, three Family Literacy Certificate courses will be offered online through the World Campus: Adult Literacy (ADTED 457), Early Literacy Development and Parental Involvement (ADTED 458), and Introduction to Adult Education (ADTED 460).
The Family Literacy Certificate Program is now offering an alternative to the five-course certificate. You can pursue three-course specialized tracks in adult literacy, children's education, or parental involvement.
These thirteen-week courses can also be used as electives in bachelor's or master's degree programs. The courses begin January 18, 2006. For more information, visit the World Campus web site at http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/wc/index.shtml or contact Sheila Sherow at sms20@psu.edu.
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1240] Fwd: Online PD From: Jerome Johnston (jerej_at_umich.edu) Date: Tue Mar 30 2004 - 00:04:23 EST
Hi. I'm the director of the Project IDEAL Support Center at the University of Michigan. IDEAL stands for Improving Distance Education for Adult Learners. Project IDEAL is a consortium of 14 states working together to develop (and evaluate) distance education as an option to reach adult learners for whom time or distance make classroom learning an unworkable option (http://projectideal.org).
First, please tell us more about your work: Why did you/your organization become involved in online professional development? What need(s) were you addressing? How did you decide to address those needs?
Offering a new program in distance education for adult learners is different than adding a new course to a literacy center's classroom offerings; it's akin to re-inventing the school. There is no way that teachers and administrators can attend a 1 to 2 day workshop and digest all the things they need to know, and then develop an effective plan for offering instruction at a distance. They need to spread their learning over many weeks, developing and refining the various elements of their plan (recruitment, orientation, teaching, and assessment). Online PD was the only way we could see to accomplish this goal.
Describe the online PD you/your organization offer. How is the online PD you offer (or have offered) similar or different from more familiar forms of online delivery (i.e. course platforms)?
The Support Center provides each member state with everything they need to offer online professional development to their teachers: a PD website, a curriculum, a "textbook", a study guide, and a guide for those who will facilitate the PD. The Center provides ongoing support to each state's trainer, ranging from training in the use of the website to mentoring each trainer while they facilitate the course. Every summer there is a workshop for trainers from all the member states where they can refine their techniques for building a virtual community of distance teachers.
DISTANCE LEARNING 101 is a 6-8 week "course" in planning to teach at a distance. Participants spend about two hours per week working on exercises designed to guide their planning for this new activity. The state's trainer/facilitator reads and reacts to each exercise and facilitates an asynchronous discussion of each week's topic among all the participants.
Example: one exercise asks each participant to develop a curriculum for a face-to-face orientation for prospective distance learners. After viewing all the exercises the trainer might post a discussion topic like this: "will you accept anyone that applies for your distance program or will you be selective and take only those students with the highest likelihood of succeeding? What indicators would you use to identify those most likely to succeed?" Staff from the same literacy center are encouraged to work on the exercises together.
The website looks different from Blackboard or WebCT which are built on an expert-novice model of instruction. The Project IDEAL PD model is one of community-building. We want teachers to feel they are professionals exploring a new area of skill development and getting assistance from fellow professionals, not guidance from a "sage on the stage." All the exercises ask participants to develop a plan--for recruitment, orientation, teaching and assessment of distance learners. The trainer's role is to get all of the participants in the course to provide constructive criticism of each other's plan. The textbook (Handbook of Distance Education for Adult Learners) is a handbook with the collected wisdom of teachers in many states on these very topics. The handbook is revised each year with new tips from participating teachers.
DISTANCE LEARNING 102: STUDY GROUPS. This second PD course is for teachers with one year experience teaching at a distance. Having mastered the mechanics of distance, teachers are ready to think in a more focused way about pedagogy. Each participant develops a case study of a difficult pedagogical problem. The essence of the study group is having the study group members examine the cases one at a time, practicing the art of asking questions that further probe the nature of the problem and developing strategies to deal with the learner's difficulties. Essence of a sample case study: "I have a student who is having a difficult time in ratios and wants to practice at home, and I'm having a hard time "talking" to him online to explain the procedures."
What have you found to be particularly important for making online PD successful for teachers?
Facilitation, facilitation, facilitation. The trainer needs to "work the group" intervening in the ongoing electronic discussion in ways that question contributors about their meaning and redirects discussion as needed to keep the discussion alive.
What changes have you/your organization experienced in the development and delivery of online PD, perhaps even as a result of this?
Facilitating discussions with Socratic dialogue is hard work, and a skill that facilitators frequently need to practice. We have changed our support strategy to provide more opportunities for facilitators to practice these skills.
Online is fine, but there is a need to balance virtual activities with telephone and face-to-face to keep the sense of community alive.
J E R O M E J O H N S T O N
Institute for Social Research - University of Michigan
Program on Teaching, Learning and Technology
734/763-3079 (734) 615-6638 (fax) jerej_at_umich.edu
[More coming soon!]
