A few thoughts….

Online learning is critical to our future, both for adults and children in K-12. I’d like to see a series of courses that go beyond how to design online learning–although that is certainly essential–to how to best manage resources to facilitate and enable online learning. As an administrator growing his own program, what planning do I need to put in place to ensure success for learners in K-12 environment?

We also need a coordinated plan for sharing developed content, policies and procedures, and resources with each other to ensure that we’re not reinventing the wheel a few thousand times in our respective school districts and learning environments.

Update: 02/12/2009

Ran across this post the ASCD blog on Why All Teachers Need to Learn to Teach Online.

Susan Patrick, president and CEO of the International Association of K-12 Online Learning, talks about technology innovations in the classroom and why it is important for every teacher to learn how to teach online. . .Hear Patrick discuss her upcoming ASCD Annual Conference presentation on “Why All Teachers Must Learn How to Teach Online.” Session details are after the jump.

She shares that (these are my imperfect notes):

A Challenge admin are facing is finding new ways to engage students and integrate technology into the classroom. We’ve been struggling with that issue…what we’re seeing happen in other countries–and in districts across the U.S.–when they are trained to use the Internet (blended or hybrid learning environments)…using a course management system, where all your class resources are posted on then the teacher can teach in a traditional classroom, draw upon almost limitless resources on the Intenet, then allow students to move faster, get extra help, doing online learning…it’s the way to get to customized, individualized learning beyond the resources in the textbook with one teacher.

Blended learning environments…students want teachers to be comfortable with this, too. There is a host of Web 2.0 tools, Web 3.0 tools, including blogs. A quarter of students are posting on blog and adding onto wikis. Students are creating content on the Internet. More than half of teens are looking for a dynamic where they can learn, be more creative, add to resources, comment or give feedback, provide discussion on topic…you’re creating a more collaborative environment.

It’s a way to expand class time, the depth of discussion using some of these Web 2.0 tools…there are a whole (NACOL.org) list of tools. Teachers teach the way they were taught. If our schools of education are still teaching the way they were taught…a world class education is beyond a single textbook, a single teacher or classroom. We have to tap into the Internet, develop creativity and communication skills that are kids are somewhat developing on their own but we need to teach them with academic rigor.

Need more authentic examples…because there is so much more emphasis on writing, as well as the projects that get developed, students have a better sense of student voice, authenticity of student work…there are tools

Listen to the rest of Matt Swift’s conversation with Susan Patrick.

var addthis_pub=”mguhlin”;

Subscribe to Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org

Be sure to visit the ShareMore! Wiki.

Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure