Our last presentation on Tuesday afternoon at NECC was Voices of Experience: Top Ten Tips for Online Learning Environments. During this session Julie Evans, CEO-Project Tomorrow shared the online learning data findings from Speak Up 2007 and moderated a panel discussion. Audience participants provided input during the presentation.
The panelists included:
- Earlene Patton, Alabama Department of Education, discussed the governor’s 9th-12th statewide ACCESS distance learning initiative which is currently in 170 high schools.
- Shauna Washburn, Frenship Independent School District, shared her experiences implementing online professional development for teachers and online coursework for alternative school students.
- Susan Wells, Clear Creek Independent School District, shared her district’s journey to implement online learning for high school students during this past year. This summer the district will be piloting a virtual high school as well.
Panelists discussed their implementation of online learning, successes, challenges and tips for implementing online courses. Audience participants used Senteo units to share their experiences with online learning. The resulting TOP TEN tips include:
- Provide pre-training and professional development
- Incorporate rigorous, embedded digital content
- Identify funding sources – it is available
- Involve school sites in planning process: rights, roles, contents
- Start small – implement a “required” course
- Take advantage of vendor consulting to help “jump-start” the implementation
- Provide support during implementation & documentation in a variety of formats
- Get buy in from curriculum department
- Implement online courses based on addressing the “greatest need”
- Involve parents and secure buy-in for their child to participate
- Identify credible materials to incorporate into master course (#11)
To learn more about online learning, listen to the podcast, view the presentation or request the online learning report from Blackboard, Inc. .
Project Tomorrow and PASCO scientific present Speak Up findings on science education at NECC
Our next stop at NECC was the PASCO scientific booth, where Julie Evans, CEO-Project Tomorrow, presented the Speak Up data findings on science education and released the report, “Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators: Students, Parents and Educators Speak Up about Science Education.”
In this report, students share their ideas about the relevance of science education to their future, their current experiences with science education, recommendations for the ultimate science classroom, and strategies for recruiting them to STEM careers.
The good news is that about 20% of the students are interested in a job in science, math, technology or engineering. And more importantly, another 34% may be interested in these types of careers if they knew more about them. So how do we get students excited about science? One approach is to create classroom environments where students are engaged in learning science — students tell us that their ultimate science classroom includes:
- a teacher who is excited about science
- animations to visualize difficult concepts or interactive simulations to practice what they have learned
- conducting real research on interesting topics
- using technology-based tools to conduct scientific investigations
To learn more about the findings download the report or view the slide show from the presentation at NECC.
New Report Reveals Growing Momentum in Online Learning
Blackboard and Project Tomorrow release “Learning in the 21st Century: A Trends Update”
It was a busy time for Project Tomorrow staff at the recent National Educational Computing Conference in San Antonio, TX. First up on our itinerary was the report release of “Learning in the 21st Century: A Trends Update” on Tuesday morning during a special breakfast meeting co-hosted by Blackboard, Inc. The Trends Update examines the views of online learning expressed by more than 250,000 K-12 students, teachers and parents in over 3,000 schools nationwide during Speak Up 2007. Key findings:
- Over 26% of teachers in 2007 chose online learning as their preferred methodology for their own professional development, compared to 7% in 2006.
- Over 41% of students now believe that online classes will have the greatest positive impact on their learning, a growth of over 20% from the 2006 data findings.
- Over 88% of principals and district administrators say that the effective implementation of instructional technology is core to their mission, and 84% believe that technology use enhances student achievement.
Jessie Wooley-Wilson, president-Blackboard K-12, welcomed the attendees and introduced Julie Evans, CEO-Project Tomorrow. Julie presented the findings and moderated a panel discussion which included: Janet Herdman (North Kansas City Schools,MO), Melissa Higgs-Horwell (South Central Ohio Computer Association,OH), and Ann McMullan (Klein ISD, TX). These panelists shared their experiences and illustrated how online learning can be tailored to meet local needs, for example:
- Klein ISD (TX) is a rapid growth district located near Houston that started implementing online learning as a result of statewide K-8 technology curriculum adoption. The school district has also launched a credit recovery program for high school students, which is currently implemented in the district’s four high schools. As a result of the program’s success, district staff members are now considering offering online courses for ACT and SAT test preparation.
- North Kansas City Schools (MO) is a suburban/urban school district that has been involved in online learning for 5 years. Their primary goal was to provide extended learning experiences for high school students and just this last summer served 500 students. Additionally, their online environment is used for professional development and to facilitate collaboration between teachers.
- South Central Ohio Computer Association (OH) is a regional ICT that provides technology support services to 32 school districts in southern Ohio. The ICT provides a centralized Blackboard portal that participating school districts can use to create customized blended online learning environments.
Click here to learn more about the report or listen to the podcast from the breakfast meeting. The report is available online free of charge from the Blackboard website, click here to request the report.
