North Carolina 21st Century Learners and Leaders:I just got back from the National Virtual Schools Symposium and have lots of information to share this week, but I have condensed it into links that you can view and use in your blended leadership and learning models in your district, school, organization, or agency.
http://www.inacol.org/ who hosts the conference shared these quick facts that assure us all we are on the right path in North Carolina to be both globally competitive and collaborative with the virtual advantages of www.ncvps.org and www.nclearnandearn.gov:
1. iNACOL has grown from 303 to 353 countries and/or provinces around the world; up 50 countries from last year
2. 1,500 attended the VSS this year
3. 200,000 students gave input into the USED technology plan, their thoughts on online learning
4. The USDE and White House – are now focused on online and blended learning for STEM (shortage of teachers) and continuity of learning (H1N1)
5. Top 10 breakthroughs transforming life over next 30 years - Virtual and/or blended learning was number 8 (World Future Society, 2009).
6. Only 5 states now do not have virtual state-wide initiatives; up from 20 not having them last year
7. Online education is growing - 2000 enrollments: 50,000 - 2009: 2 million.
Finally, data and research suggests new, emerging, and blended student values are these:Freedom and choice; Customization and personalization; Project based; Move at own pace; Clear guidelines; Fast feedback; and Stand up talk lectures are deadly (Speak Up, 2009).
How is your district, school, agency, and/or professional development efforts addressing these values? Got results? Contact us today for help and support 919-513-8550. And now for more news and notes:
1. New Keeping Pace report 2009, ranks www.ncvps.org as nation's fifth largest virtual school - http://www.kpk12.com/
2. VSS program contained everything from becoming a Google certified educator to how to support exceptional children in blended learning environments. Check out the overlay here where all presentations, notes, and thought leadership is archived http://www.virtualschoolsymposium.org/vss_overlay.php and/or an even simpler version here http://vss2009.wikispaces.com/welcome
3. NCVPS site is being redone and now includes information on our GO LIVE effort as well as new nav tabs on ours to http://www.elearningnc.gov . As a NC leaders and/or facilitators of e-learning, it is essential that you have the latest information that is publicly available to students and parents regarding e-learning opportunities in North Carolina. I believe you will particularly enjoy watching the introductory video from the governor. After listening to her remarks, you will be reminded that you serve in an instructional support and leadership position that continue to shape the future of education in North Carolina. You may view the video here: http://www.elearningnc.gov/about_the_site/a_message_from_the_governor
4. Dr. Setser and NC's e-learning teacher of the year, Mike Shumake, http://shu-ncrew.com/blog/, to present on Friday, November 20th in Poe Hall from 4:30-6:30p.m. The presentation prepares MSA students at NCSU to lead and support e-learning in their districts. Leadership welcome from around the state and/or if in the Triangle, simply RSVP to bsetser@dpi.state.nc.us
5. Student Media time passes TV Time: http://www.alloymarketing.com/media/college/pdf/hightech_CE09.pdf
6. Finally, Dr. Setser address fear and myths about online and blended learning this week combined with some Q and A he was asked to respond to from a panel he served on with Florida Virtual's CEO Julie Young and Donna Hutchinson, CEO of Idaho Digital Learning Academy. Feel free to share and dialogue about the discussion in your district, school, organization, and/or agency:
What ideas/methodologies does NCVPS and Learn and Earn Online bring over from teaching face-to-face into the online course that didn’t work in the online environment? This does not often happen as practices in the face to face are convertible and "blendable" online. Seminar - chat room; group projects - http://www.teleplace.com/ ; equations - www.wimba.com white board, etc.
What can’t I do in the classroom that I can do in an online class? a. real time feedback from external participants via www.twitter.com ; b.exchanges with world class experts in 3D virtual worlds www.activeworlds.net ; c. peer reviews of work on www.wikispaces.com; d. access social media and the wisdom of crowds www.facebook.com ; e. gain more participation from those socially isolated and/or unwilling to share in a f2f environment; f. relearn via archive of what just was taught the day before. g. supplement lessons with real time contributors who have access to web links, application shares, and/or multiple computer platforms via voice, video, etc.
( www.googledocs.com and/or www.googlewave.com ).
How does teaching philosophy change with the introduction of technology in the classroom? And with online or blended learning? Blended teachers are more collectively smart and understand the power of just in time, ongoing, and relearning education than ever before. They are plugged in through RSS Feeds, aggregate technologies, and the world has flattened for them in terms of knowledge capture and means to deliver and empower students via Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies. With the advent of mobile, many of them are becoming evolving learning organisms in a field that feeds on viral knowledge and applies it faster, more efficiently, and better than their face to face only peers who are still trapped in a 1.0 world. As to a modified Mark Twain quote, "Those who tweet have the power over those who do not".
When will we expect students to understand how to use this technology? Without giving them intense explanations/tutorials at the beginning of the online course? Students and adults for that matter learn by doing. They already understand more than we do, the trick is to teach them how to understand the why, what, and how behind deploying it for collaboration, competition, and to leverage its power in an ethical and secure manner. Tutorials are old hat, students can do it faster and better in a you tube culture. When we start teaching students and adults how to have a personal learning disposition towards technology - then we'll be on our way as a nation.
How have you used disruptive technology in blended online classes with school districts? How have you seen online instructors use disruptive technology? We use it with assessment in providing multiple rubrics for students to demonstrate knowledge. We allow multiple assignment platforms and collaborative opportunities, and we archive all and cut out MP4 files so learning is captured forever and becomes portable anytime, anywhere, for any student learning path.
Why do you think online education is important for students, adults and the community? Four things: 1. It levels the playing field for access; 2. Studies show it is as good and/or better than face to face (iNACOL, SREB, Columbia, Florida, Educause, Wisconsin, etc.); 3. It provides catchup and or move ahead access to foster modular, portable, and blended learning; 4. It's cheaper and able to be scaled to all industries to cut travel, training, and infrastructure costs. And most importantly, while educators continue to ask these questions and be stalled in fear, the next millionaire is 15 and creating applications for the iPhone that you probably use as an adult to travel, shop, and/or call a cab. Time to move out of the industrial model yet?
Is NCVPS a threat to teachers or school districts? Funding? Replacement? Training? Courses?
How a school district decides to re-purpose teachers, blend them, put them on to other opportunities with NCVPS for example is really between the local administration and the teacher. NCVPS does not reduce opportunities for teachers, it adds opportunities for students and teachers. In fact, we have over 400 teachers on a waiting list right now and cannot hire them fast enough. I certainly would be open to any teacher who has been displaced in any North Carolina school district to apply with NCVPS so that we can evaluate them for hire.
Moreover, we are a teacher led, blended model in terms of our resources and beliefs. We do not think or support a move to complete singularity and/or computer based only teaching and learning. In fact, we routinely partner with school districts on blended learning models and find that this is the best way to allay fears about our service. Many of the issues raised about teacher compensation do require new funding models and/or re-purposing approaches for districts. However, we have know this since Bill Gates first raised the idea in the early 90's about a 24 hour super center school concept in his book - The Road Ahead. With all of that said, blended learning and teaching models will provide more opportunities for leaders and teachers in the future not less.
In regards to effective teachers in the face to face, online, and/or via blended instruction, more teachers will be needed for these methods in the future and pre-service training at the higher education level will have to shift. Administrators will always weigh options and pre-service programs are beginning to get on board with blended models, but we are continuously advocating for and at these groups to teach both methodologies in a blended fashion to their students. We are not the enemy, we are a solution for transforming the jobs of today into the jobs of tomorrow - using tools and processes that we already know work and exist in higher education business training and throughout the world in new media, industry, and technologies. One only has to visit China and India to see the power of blended learning and training. In the US and in NC, I feel that we are well ahead of other states in providing even more opportunities to instructors who will teach face to face, in a learning management system (Moodle, Blackboard, Desire to Learn), via mobile technologies, and throughout their retirement.
Finally, teachers in the future will not be replaced, but rather enhanced and elevated in their profession by "blended learning" . Funding models will not be a silo barrier to success. Rather, we will come together as a state to serve students in the face to face classroom, on the web, via the portable device, and by teaching them from a rigor, relevance, and relational framework. The trick this time is to really hone in on the relational space, as they have already shown us more about collaboration than we ever thought possible in the days of cooperative learning and/or group work. The new paradigm is simple - technology is no longer a tool it is now a strategic process for us all to learn, unlearn, and relearn how the world will be shaped and led in the 21st Century.
Have a great weekend!
Bryan
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