Online Professional Development

1. Virtualized
Professional Development
Nicole Schomp (@nschomp) &
Dr. Jason Murray (@jasonmurray72)

2. Our Journey
▪ From
– Traditional professional development
– Outnumbered
– Very little differentiating during in-service
– Frustration
– Limited topics
– Limited time
▪ To
– Virtual solution

3. Needs Analysis
▪ Number of instructors
▪ Differentiate instruction
▪ Diversity of topics
▪ Changing dynamics & perspectives
▪ Time flexibility

4. Planning & Designing

5. Virtual Model

6. Implementation Framework
▪ Moodle
– Courses by level of difficulty
– Interactivity
– End of course deliverables
▪ Coincide with curriculum & lessons
▪ Support
– Phone
– Email
– Remote

7. Differentiating Model
▪ Grouping of staff by skill level for course enrollment
– Eases anxiety
– Removes frustration
▪ Differentiation within course
– Moodle lessons have multiple pathways determined by answers
– Provide options to culminating activities

8. Tools
▪ Moodle
– eBooks
– Lessons
– Forums
– Embedded Content
▪ Panopto
▪ Voki
▪ Padlet
▪ Google Docs
▪ OneDrive
▪ Surveys
▪ GoAnimate

9. Tracking Progress
▪ CompletionTracking
– Releasing next activity after completion of previous
– Automated check marking of completed activities
– Automated emails when course is completed
▪ Tracking reports
▪ Badging
▪ Registrar system

10. Attention to Details
▪ Personalization through coaching
– Tech provides feedback
– Reach out when we see someone struggling
▪ Communities of Learning
– Teachers pull together
▪ Complement each other
▪ Give credit to each other
– Acknowledgement of teacher success
– Physically meet to work on it together
▪ Self-Reflection
– Building on prior course knowledge
– Implementation strategies
▪ Thinking outside the box
▪ Willingness to fail

11. Asynchronous Virtual In-Service Day
▪ Automated activity completion courses
▪ Required forums with feedback element
▪ Wikis
▪ Padlets
▪ Assessments
▪ Deliverables

12. Synchronous Virtual In-Service Day
▪ Similar to asynchronous courses
– Everyone taking the courses on the same day in their classrooms
▪ Offerings
– Differentiated courses & lessons
– More course topics
– Time for F2F collaboration
▪ Support
– Phones & email
– Virtual helpdesk with real time chat and remote services
– Live technicians to repair hardware issues

13. Benefits
▪ Crowdsourcing
▪ Feedback – ongoing support
▪ Statistics on staff progress
▪ Customization
▪ More topics & variety
▪ Collaboration
▪ Flexibility
▪ Cost effectiveness
▪ Ability for learn to review course materials as often as needed

14. Challenges
▪ Developing content rich, customized, interactive courses
▪ Logistics
– Tracking activity completion
– Tracking course completion
– Communicating expectations
▪ Culture Shift
– Anxiety about online training
– Computer skills
– Administrative buy-in

15. Solutions
▪ Strategy
▪ Leveraged Moodle activities & reports
– Outlined expectations and content
– Model ideal lessons
– Integrated & embedded web 2.0 tools
– Showcased a variety of approaches
▪ Communication
– Email blasts
– Newsletters
– Increased support
– Personal touches

16. Conclusions

17. Questions
▪ Presentation – www.slideshare.net/jasonmurray72
▪ Twitter
– @nschomp
– @jasonmurray72