Presentation from Online Learning: What School Boards Need to Know. Presented at Triple I conference by Cindy Hamblin, Jeff Hunt, and Phil Lacey

1. Joint Annual Conference of
IASB/IASA/IASBO
November 17, 2012
Online Learning: What School
Boards Should Know

2. Joint Annual Conference of
IASB/IASA/IASBO
Presenters:
Cindy Hamblin
Illinois Virtual School
Jeffrey Hunt
DuPage Regional Office of Education
Philip Lacey
Niles Township High School District 219

3. Expanding Educational Access and
Opportunities for Students
•Can you identify students that would benefit
from an enrichment or advanced placement
course(s) a not currently offered?
•Are there students facing scheduling
conflicts (e.g course options, time of
semesters)?
•Do you have students needing to recover
credit or earn credit over the summer or in
the midst of a semester?
•Have you identified students that need a
remote education program (off-site)?

4. Participant Question
What is your interest in
online learning?
● I am curious; I am here to find
out more.
● We are discussing online
learning in our district.
● We are actively planning an
online program.
● We have an online program.

5. Essential Question
How are you
preparing
your graduates to
learn in the post
secondary digital
environment?

6. Essential Question
How can you
address students'
needs and
interests in low
enrollment
courses/subjects?

7. Essential Question
How do you get
your Board policies
ready for digital
learning?

8. Essential Question
How do you
prepare your
teachers to teach
with digital learning
esources?

9. Essential Question
How do you
ensure that your
students receive
quality digital
courses?

10. Creating Urgency
After today's
session we hope
that the larger
issues with digital
learning will create a
higher level of
urgency for this
matter in your
school district.

11. Definitions
● iNACOL –
International
Association for K-12
Online Learning
● OER – Open
Educational Resources
(Free or inexpensive
course content.)

12. Definitions
http://www.sloanconsortium.org/

13. Key Components for a Virtual
Program
● Instruction
● Curriculum
● Technology

14. Blended Learning

15. Blended Learning

16. Online Learning
● Students work at the
time of their choice.
● May work at home or
at school
● Have contact
electronically with
teacher and other
students. Florida Virtual School
● May have pacing
charts to evenly
divide work.
● May have weekly
deadlines.

17. Overview

18. TRENDS
Impacting the
Landscape of
Online and
Blended
Learning

19. Numbers: Online Enrollments
● 2009, 2 million (est.) online class
enrollments in K-12.
● 2012, several million estimated or
slightly more than 5% of the total K-12
student population
● Thirty-one percent (31%) of higher
education students took at least one
online course in the fall 2010 term.
Sloan C group predicts 40% by 2012.
● 2011 - online and blended learning
opportunities exist for at least some
students in all 50 states plus DC.
http://www.inacol.org

20. Technology Trends in K-12
Education

21. Educational Trends Impacting
Online and Blended Learning

23. ILLINOIS

30. DIGITAL LEARNING COUNCIL
http://digitallearningnow.com/
1. Student Eligibility: All students are digital learners.
2. Student Access: All students have access to high quality
digital content and online courses.
3. Personalized Learning: All students can customize their
education using digital content through an approved provider.
4. Advancement: Students progress based on demonstrated competency.
5. Content: Digital content, instructional materials, and online and blended learning
courses are high quality.
6. Instruction: Digital instruction and teachers are high quality.
7. Providers: All students have access to multiple high quality providers.
8. Assessment and Accountability: Student learning is the metric for
evaluating the quality of content and instruction.
9. Funding: Funding creates incentives for performance, options and innovation.
10. Delivery: Infrastructure supports digital learning.
Each element includes recommended actions for lawmakers and policymakers!

32. Illinois Policy
REMOTE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM (REP)
● Public Act 96-0684 (HB 2448, 8/25/09) and modified PA 97-0339 (HB
3223, 8/12/11): Authorizes school districts to create and offer
“remote educational programs” tailored to individual student needs
and claim GSA for those programs. 105 ILCS 10-29.
● Prior law: GSA could only be claimed for virtual programs offered in a
classroom or other traditional school setting.
● Broad district discretion, provided the program and plan meet legislative
criteria.

33. Two Key Elements for Establishing REP
1. Adopted School Board Policy: 2. Student Remote Educational Plan:
○ Criteria for participation ○ Specific achievement goals
○ Limits on numbers of students ○ Assessments
or grade levels ○ Progress reports
○ Approval process for ○ Teacher/student interaction
participation ○ Designation of supervising adult
○ Process to develop student ○ Other family responsibilities
plans ○ Consistency with IEP
○ System for calculating clock ○ Participating in district programs
hours of attendance ○ Responsible district administrator
○ Process for renewal ○ Term
○ Specific location or locations for
delivery

34. REP: Other Requirements
● Students remain enrolled in a school district attendance center, and are
tested and included for all State/federal accountability determinations.
● Certified/Highly Qualified Teachers responsible for critical instructional
activities.
● GSA claimable for any days up to limit of student’s GSA.
● ISBE rules require documentation of active participation to claim GSA.
● District policy and data must be submitted to ISBE.

35. Illinois Virtual School (IVS) - The state’s 5-12
supplemental online program
● Contract awarded to the Peoria County Regional
Office of Education in 2009
● In 2009, ISBE awarded a 7 year contract to the ROE to
manage and operation its virtual school program.
● IVS is a Supplemental Program
● Supplemental online programs provide a small number of
courses to students who are enrolled in a school separate
from the online program.
Illinois Virtual School

36. Illinois Virtual School (IVS) Mission
● IVS 5-12
● Enhancing Educational Opportunities for Students through
Online Courses. IVS Courses are Offered in Partnership
with the Local School.
● IVS-PD
● Delivering Online Professional Development Opportunities
to Illinois Educators.
ISBE's Virtual School
Program for Illinois

37. IVS Partners with Public & Private Schools
● Online, instructor-facilitated courses
○ 126 semester courses
○ 23 Advanced Placement semester courses
○ Experienced, IL Certified, Highly Qualified Instructors
○ 58 current part-time instructors
○ Completed online pre-service program
● Course content and instruction is delivered through the
IVS learning management system.
○ Students work at their own pace.
○ Majority of the instruction is asynchronous
○ Synchronous web-conferencing tools available in every course.
IVS (5-12) Program

38. ● Flexible Enrollment Dates. Each term has 17 weeks of instruction.
● Courses are approved by NCAA and College Board
○ Ceeb Code: 140188
● IVS Student Information System (SIS)
○ Monitor student progress.
○ SIS is available to students, parents, and school personnel
○ Completion certificate provides recommended grade and
percentages
● Cost is $250 per semester course. NOTE: District decides if the
school or parent pays for the course.
IVS (5-12) Program

39. D a ta

41. Components of a Quality
Online or Blended
Program

42. Technology

43. Tools
Productivity Suite
Audio (headphones w/ mic)
Video (webcam)
Software

44. Costs
TCO
● User Tools
● Content
● LMS
● SIS

45. LMS
Learning Management
System
● Moodle
● Blackboard
● Desire to Learn

46. SIS
Student Information System
● Use existing
● Use seperate
● Integrate data
● Features

47. Synchronous Communication
Facilitates "Live" Conversation
● Adobe Connect
● Elluminate
● Google Hangout

48. www.kpk12.com

49. Technology Considerations
Interoperability Among User Tools
TCO
LMS
SIS / LMS Interoperability
Synchronous Communication

50. Curriculum

51. Development Issues
● Common Core
● NCAA approval
● Technical know
how

52. Course Development Philosophy
● Borrow (steal) it
● Buy it
● Build it yourself

53. Realities
image source

54. OER Content
NROC
● http://www.hippocampus.org/
CK12
● http://www.ck12.org/
Concord Consortium
● http://www.concord.org
MoodleShare
● http://moodleshare.org
OER Evaluation Tools
● www.oercommons.org
Curated List of Resources: http://goo.gl/xh5fP

55. www.kpk12.com

56. Content Considerations
Content Acquisition
OER Role
Quality
Measuring Student Outcomes
District Alignment

57. Professional Development
Establishing an Effective Professional
Development Program
image source

58. Common Myths / Misconceptions
● Virtual schools and regular school counselors can handle
the few participating students without leadership support.
● Any regular classroom teacher is already qualified to teach
online.
● Any highly qualified face-to-face classroom teacher is ready
to teach a quality online course that has previously been
prepared or purchased. Some say those who teach a
section that is already online don’t really teach at all!
http://www.inacol.org/research/docs/NACOL_PDforVSandOlnLrng.pdf

59. Common Myths / Misconceptions
● Virtual schooling will fit with regular school routines
and practices. The technology coordinator and
counselor will provide any professional development
necessary.
● Newly qualified teachers who learn about virtual
schooling in their preservice programs will be ready
to teach online when they graduate.
http://www.inacol.org/research/docs/NACOL_PDforVSandOlnLrng.pdf

60. Prepare for the "Why?"
● Concisely Define Purpose
● Purpose Drives Design
● Effectively Convey Goal
● Build Consensus
image source

61. Purpose Statement
District 219 has instituted Board Goal #3: Anywhere,
Anytime Learning. As students receive devices and
participate in a re-written curriculum (BOE Goal 2
Ensuring a guaranteed and rigorous curriculum and
common final exam) teachers need to be able to
effectively leverage the educational potential these
devices offer students. Tech 1 exposes teachers to a
wide variety of common resources (web 2.0,
collaborative, FOSS) which will help them effectively
select and develop educational experiences for their
students.

62. Wisconsin Illinois
● 30 hours of PD for e- ● Current IL Certification
learning/online classroom ● Highly Qualified in
instruction. Content Area
● Course content based on
the iNACOL National
Standards for Quality
Online Teaching
http://dpi.wi.gov/imt/onlinevir.html
image source

63. PD Considerations
Need Cabinet/BOE level support
Required or optional training
Timeline for completion
Content
Credit / remuneration options
image source: http://farm1.static.flickr.
com/64/191668056_20bbc7e89e_o.jpg

64. www.kpk12.com

65. Programmatic Development
What is the purpose / reason for your PD program?
Do current offerings support your online learning
initiative?
Who will receive PD?
In what setting will participants receive instruction?
Where will your curriculum come from?
How will you define success from your PD program?

66. PD Resources
iNACOL: National Standards for Quality Online Courses
● http://www.inacol.org/research/nationalstandards/
ISTE: NETS
● http://www.iste.org/standards.aspx
iNACOL: PD for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning
● http://www.inacol.org/docs/NACOL_PDforVSandOlnLrng.pdf
D219 Anywhere, Anytime Resources
● http://url.d219.org/aal

67. Quality Assurance

68. Quality Assurance
image source
This is not course rigor!

69. Quality Assurance
Quality Course Design

70. Inputs and Outputs
PROMISING PRACTICES
Quality Assurance

71. PROMISING PRACTICES
Provide
students multiple
pathways to learn:
● Text
● Audio
● Video

72. Quality Assurance
Effective program
evaluation
● Participation
targets
● Completion goals
● Cost targets
● Student feedback
● Comparison to
traditional
courses/subjects

73. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Requiring students have interactivity
with the teacher and other students.
Image Credit

74. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Requiring weekly, purposeful
communication between the teacher
and individual students.
Image Credit

75. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Regular formative assessments,
followed by periodic formal
evaluations by outside reviewers.

76. Interaction Triangle
Content
Student
●Essential Understandings
●Course Goals
●Student insights
Student
Teacher

77. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Using live virtual sessions with
software like Blackboard Collaborate
or Abobe Connect.
Image Credit

78. Quality Assurance
● Measures for academic
performance.
Image Credit

79. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Delivering an Engaging and
Challenging Course.
Image Credit

80. Quality Assurance Measures
● Student outcomes
○ Achievement
○ Growth

81. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Using the same course outlines,
major assessments and courses
examinations as face-to-face
courses.
Image Credit

82. Quality Assurance Measures
● Postsecondary and Workforce
Readiness.

83. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Proctoring major assessments and
final exams.
Image Credit

84. Quality Assurance Measures
● School Improvement initiatives
and practices.

85. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Challenging problems for accelerated
(gifted) students.
Image Credit

86. Quality Assurance Measures
● Graduation/Retention Rates

87. PROMISING PRACTICES
● Adding oral exams at milestone
points in the course to check for
understanding.
Image Credit

88. Quality Assurance Issues
How are non-traditional programs
treated in the accreditation of your
schools?

89. INTERACTION TRIANGLE
Content
Student
● •Essential Understandings
● •Course Goals
● •Student insights
Student
Teacher

90. Policy & Leadership

91. WHO CAN BE SUCCESSFUL?
●Achievement and Self-Esteem
● BeliefsResponsibility/Risk Taking
● Technology Skills and Access
● Organization and Self-Regulation
Roblyer, M.D. and Marshall, J. (2002). Prediction
success of virtual high school students: Preliminary
results from an educational success prediction
instrument.

92. COURSE TARGET AUDIENCES
Excellent Students, “A”, “B”
Average Students, “C”
Struggling Students
Credit Recovery

93. Digital Teaching and Learning
Organizational Belief
How does online learning address
organizational issues, not just online
learning issues?

94. Digital Teaching and Learning
Organizational Belief
● Role of Leaders
○ Online Learning
○ Technology
○ Curriculum and Instruction
○ Finance and Operations
○ Senior level

95. Digital Teaching and Learning
Organizational Belief
Endorsing is not Leading….

96. Teacher-related Policies
Contracts & licensure
●Charter, District-led
●Core vs. electives
Special licensure or
development Teacher evaluation
●ESS, Career/Tech Ed (CTE) ● State/district process
●Charter- ensuring
link to student data
Teacher-student contact time
●Remote, live sessions, F2F,
blend? Teacher Union
●MOU’s?,
●Support for online ed
teachers?

97. INACOL DEMOGRAPHICS STUDY
www.glickconsulting.com

98. INACOL DEMOGRAPHICS STUDY
www.glickconsulting.com

99. Where do I start?
www.ilvirtual.org
Today's presentation: ● Administrator Academy
Course.
Today's handout:
● Regional effort to help
http://tinyurl.com/2012Handout
schools with digital
learning opportunities.

100. Today's Resources
Presentation:
http://
Handout:
http://tinyurl.
com/2012Handout