inacol 2012 rl
TRANSCRIPT
Creating an Accredited K-12 International Blended Distributed
Learning Program
The journey … Surveyed K-12 online jurisdictions
around the world Unable to find others that were
offering International Online Education in a major way
Most programs were content intensive (i.e. correspondence) and lacked strong teacher/student relationships
SD73 wanted to build a unique model
OWNED A
ND Oper
ated
by
SD73
CR
EA
TI O
N O
F S
D7
3 B
US
I NE
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CO
MP
AN
Y –
WW
W. G
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BA
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D. C
A
Asynchronous Learning Students complete online work at their own
pace.
“Most of the online courses nowadays are offered in asynchronous mode, enabling students with the freedom of time and distance. Nonetheless, the drop-out rate for online courses is high. With online synchronous instruction students have both freedom of distance and punctuality of regular progress and the drop-out rate is found to be greatly reduced.” -Online Synchronous Instruction: Challenges and Solutions
Synchronous Learning
Students meet with BC teacher synchronously once per week in an online classroom
Students work together in a class synchronously
Students work on projects together
Quality Success rates equal or better than
campus Personalized rather than individualized
learning 2009 PISA results indicate Canada has a
strong educational system: Canadian students continue to be leaders in reading,
math and science. Canadian students perform well in a global context in
reading. On the combined reading scale, only four countries surpassed Canada: Shanghai-China, Korea, Finland and Hong Kong-China. - http://cdnsba.org/
“Online learning began as a way to improve the quality of distance education by providing more and better interaction with instructors and between students.” - A Study of Face-to-Face and Online Teaching Philosophies inCanada and Australia
The Model A Blended model that incorporates
online learning with face to face learning Students are provided with a high level
of service Teachers focus on building relationships
with students A quality program is key to success
STAGES OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Why would a public school district
want to consider creating their
own accredited online
International Program?
Bring revenue into a School District
Broaden skills of DL teachers
Expose quality BC education to the International Market
Prepare for upcoming workforce shortage as outlined in the BC Jobs Plan:
“Of the one million job openings ahead, 43 per cent will need trades and technical training. The skills and training plan represents fundamental change to how we prepare British Columbians for the jobs of tomorrow.” www.bcjobsplan.ca
Benefits Enlarges presence in International
Education
Larger student base to increase skill level of Teachers i.e. Business courses popular in Asia but not BC.
A larger student base increases choice for courses
International students can benefit from our high quality BC education
Transition from Overseas to Canada “students set up for success” ie Cultural awareness
Implementation
GLOBALE
D.CA
Hiring T
each
ers
– On C
ontr
act
Strategies to “find” that unique teacher
Collaborative Interview by Administrator and Teachers
Support to help develop Collaborative Digital Community
Blended Program consists of:
1 facilitator overseas 1 BC certified teacher in
Canada 1 cohort of students Online resource Overseas Partner
Facilitator
Bilingual Technologically savvy Student motivator/supporter Flexible
Teacher BC certified DL certified Flexible, creative and adaptable Culturally aware Teaching philosophy is based on
creating strong relationships with students
Student Cohort Approximately 10-15
students/cohort Cohort allows for:
Group projects Real time discussions Social presence Working together
Online resources
Coursework is always available in Moodle
Avoid shipping issues with text books
BC teacher can mark submitted work at any time
Teachers open to wide variety of alternative resources to ensure connections with students
Overseas Partner
Provide students access to appropriate technology
Stable internet connection Cohort of students
Issues Cultural differences i.e. Chinese principal
schedules an unplanned assembly
Technology i.e. certain sites are blocked such as Youtube.
Learning Styles – Be aware of the traditional learning/teaching style currently being used and not presume that the constructivist approach is one that will automatically be well perceived.
STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY
IOLA
BC LEGISLATION
• April 2002, BC School Amendment Act provided public school districts the ability to incorporate business companies.
• Under the legislation a board of education is the sole shareholder and revenue generated by the company returns to the district.
• Legislation not without controversy http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/selling-canadian-teaching-in-china https://bctf.ca/IssuesInEducation.aspx?id=5958 http://www.saanichnews.com/news/161453575.html
RATIONALE
Taking BC online learning services internationally required a coordinated approach and single entity.
• Enable a single point for discussions with education stakeholders
• Lead a BC-branded international marketing strategy• Support the development and delivery of BC curriculum and educational services through online or distributed learning
• Uphold the quality of program content and services• Be independent and inclusive, with a governing board drawn from school district business companies, independent schools, business, government, and international reps
• Provide mandate to improve online content and services
MEMBERS
International Online Learning Association of BC
• 5 school district business companies (SD 91,73,63,37,34
• 1 independent school
• Minimum one representative from independent schools
• Members only from business companies to start
FOCUS ON QUALITY
Quality learning key
• Accredit online learning offerings of members
• Foster innovation
• Share quality metrics and approaches with domestic programs
• Build content, share with domestic
ANY QUESTIONS?