Preparing Teachers to Teach in Online and Blended Learning Environments

Preparing Teachers to Teach in Online and Blended Learning Environments

DR. PAUL RESTA, U. OF TEXAS, AUSTINJARL JONAS, BLACKBOARD INC

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2011

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Welcome and IntroductionsJARL JONAS JARL.JONAS@BLACKBOARD.COM

SR. PROGRAM MANAGERCOURSESITES

MY LIFELONG LEARNING JOURNEY

- K12 TEACHER, FL & NJ- FACULTY DEV. COORD., NYU- DIR. VIRTUAL COLLEGE & CORP. LEARNING , NYU

- CONSULTING MANAGER, BB- PROGRAM MANGER, COURSESITES BY BB

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CourseSites is a fully hosted, online course creation and facilitation service for high school teachers and higher education instructors.

• A Call to Action• The Need to Keep Up• What is CourseSites?• CourseSites Demonstration

• Create an Account• Create a Course• Invite Students• Set-up Home Page• Resources

• Questions

Agenda

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Prepare teachers to teach in online and blended learning environments.

Virtual schools, online courses, and blended learning environments (face-to-face and online) have grown exponentially across the country in recent years and this trend will continue well into the future. Few, however, are learning to teach online classes. Twenty-first Century educators must get training and experience in online and blended learning environments as part of their educator development programs so that they master the skills to teach in such environments.

A Call to Actionhttp://www.redefineteachered.org

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• Supplemental or full-time online learning opportunities are available to at least some students in 48 of the 50 states plus Washington, DC.

• 27 states� , as well as Washington, DC, have statewide full-time online schools.

• 38 states � have state virtual schools or state-led online initiatives, and Alaska is planning to open a statewide online learning network in 2011.

• Many virtual schools show annual � growth rates between 20% and 45%.�

• 75% of school districts had one or more students enrolled in an online or blended learning course.

• 72% of school districts with distance education programs �planned to expand online offerings in the coming year.

Source: http://www.inacol.org/press/docs/NACOL_fastfacts-lrOct2010.pdf

The Need to Keep Up

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Need for Free Resources

“SCHOOL BUDGETS ARE UNDER PRESSURE—AND MANY TEACHERS ARE OPENING THEIR OWN WALLETS AS WELL AS TURNING TO FREE RESOURCES.”

Source: Deepening Connections: Teachers Increasingly Rely on Media and Technology PBS and GRUNWALD ASSOCIATES LLC, 2011

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What is CourseSites?

Presentation Tools

Content-Based Tools

Distribution Tools

Communication Tools Productivity Tools

CourseSites is a free, fully hosted online course creation and facilitation service, specifically designed for individual instructors.

• Text & Voice Discussions• Email• Text Chat• VoIP/Whiteboard• Journals

• 24/7 Access• Email• Social Sharing• Virtual Classroom• Blogs

• Lesson Planning• Efficient Grading• Progress Reports• Performance Dashboard

• Online Environment• Email• Text Chat• VoIP/Whiteboard

• WSYWIG Editor• Mash-ups (YouTube)• Wikis• VoIP/Whiteboard• Podcasts

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What’s In It For Me?

Interactive course websites at no cost for:

• Teacher Education Faculty• Pre-service Teachers• In-service Teachers

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http://www.coursesites.com

Creating an Account

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Quick, Easy Registration

Instructors can sign up using popular web service credentialsto lessen # of online accounts and reduce login errors

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SETTING UP COURSES

How do we make sure students do not feel like this?

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Course Structures

Choice of 32 pedagogically-driven course structuresw/ sample content helps expedite the course building process

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Course Themes

Choice of 50 themes creates aesthetic learning environmentand enhances student engagement

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Initial Guidance

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Instructor Home Page

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Getting Started with CourseSites

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Student Orientation

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Accessibility & Universal Design

Request enrollment at accessible.coursesites.com

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Instructor Community

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Lesson Planning

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Learning Modules

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Notifications

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Wikis, Blogs, Journals

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CourseSites Live

Participant Window

Text chat

Audio controls

Tools

Activity Window

(optional)

Whiteboard tools

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CourseSites IM

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CourseSites Voice

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Images• www.cooltext.com (course banners)• www.flamingtext.com course banners)• www.pics4learning.com• www.loc.gov (Library of Congress)• www.gettyone.com (royalty free)• www.flickr.com (now from w/in CourseSites)

Video• www.youtube.com (now from w/in CourseSites)• www.teachertube.com

Web Content• www.slideshare.com (now from w/in CourseSites)• www.merlot.org (Advanced K12, HE)• www.eduhound.com (K12)

Programs• www.techsmith.com/Jing (create recorded overviews)• www.ispringsolutions.com (Creates Flash-based resources from

PPT)

Multi-media Resources

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Partner CapabilitiesPartner Capabilities – also at no cost!• Respondus

• Assessment Creation • LockDown Browser• StudyMate Class• Free versions for use on CourseSites only

• SoftChalk • Free version for use on CourseSites only

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Testimonials and Showcases

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http://www.coursesites.comjarl.jonas@blackboard.com

Get Started Today!

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• CourseSites Blog (Coming Soon)community.coursesites.com

• YouTubewww.youtube.com/coursesites

• Facebookwww.facebook.com/coursesites

• Twitter@coursesites

Stay Connected!