Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Tool of the Month: What’s Your Favorite Tool?





Over the past few months we’ve posted about Softchalk, Diigo, and Nanogong. We want to hear how you are using the tools in your courses with our readers. Complete the form and receive an AEA PD Online lanyard!

2013 Summer OLLIE and MOLLIE Schedule



Online Learning for Iowa Educators (OLLIE) is a foundational five-course sequence to help individuals become online instructors, whether at the post-graduate level, for professional development, or at the K-12 level.  For more information on OLLIE and the sequence, please visit http://www.aeapdonline.org/p/ollie.html 

In 2013, we are introducing More Online Learning for Iowa Educators (MOLLIE), a simple name to describe our secondary layer of professional development aimed to help current online instructors looking to improve their practice. MOLLIE features a set of electives in specific aspects of online teaching and learning to be explored more closely. 

OLLIE: Introduction to the Online Learner (1 cr.)
In his book, Disrupting Class, Clayton Christensen boldly predicts that half of 9-12 grade instruction will be online by 2019. But what is online instruction? How does learning take place online? What do students need to be successful?

This course helps educators understand what online learning is like from the student perspective. It gives a firm foundation for the different type of activities that constitute online learning, as well as a firm pedagogical base for what students need in order to be successful.

This course is intended for all educators, including those who will teach online or those individuals who are not planning on teaching, but wish to understand online learning from the student perspective. 

Dates and Registration Links
April 3-25, 2013  Register here
June 5-25, 2013  Register here
July 17-August 6, 2013  Register here 

OLLIE: Technology for Online Instruction (2 cr.)
With the demand for online instruction rising, both in K-12 and for professional development, instructors need support in understanding the available tools and their appropriate pedagogical use.

This course will help teachers feel comfortable using Moodle for a host of different purposes, including online courses, hybrid courses, web portals, and online communities. Participants will develop content in the Moodle platform, including activities, forums, lessons, and assessments. Skills and concepts will be analyzed in context of the Iowa Online Teaching Standards and Online Course Standards. The course is delivered online, in an asynchronous delivery (participants work at their own time and place).

Dates and Registration Link
May 8 - June 11, 2013  Register here 

OLLIE: Online Learning Instructional Design (2 cr.)
This course introduces educators to the core principles of online instructional design. Participants will experience and discuss how to create student outcomes, assessments, and lessons for an online asynchronous format. They also will have exposure to existing online technologies, including web 2.0 tools, as well as online resources and repositories. Participants will create two instructional units, with lessons and assessments, and will practice their understanding with work in small groups. All content and activities created by participants will be able to be used after class is completed.

Dates and Registration Link
June 12 - July 16, 2013  Register here

OLLIE: Online Facilitation (2 cr.)
Teaching online is not the same as teaching face-to-face. There are many differences between the two, and a quality online instructor will understand strategies that they use in an online format.

This course gives instructors an understanding of the important differences to teaching online. The course pays particular attention to the biggest challenges that beginning teachers face, such as how often to provide response to students, how to overcome the barrier of no face-to-face communication, and how to ensure academic integrity. And most importantly, this course focuses on the current research and best practices in establishing an online community among students.

Dates & Registration Links
April 10 - May 14, 2013  Register here
July 17-Aug 20, 2013  Register here 

OLLIE: Assessment, Feedback, and Evaluation (2 cr.)
Sometimes teachers take for granted how much assessment happens through direct observation and informal conversations with students in a face-to-face classroom. In an online classroom, however, assessment becomes a challenge. Without that direct contact with students, teachers must use new methods to assess and provide feedback for students that work over an online setting.

This course focuses on those methods teachers need to use for assessment, feedback, and course evaluation. We will look not only at the educational theory of assessment principles, but also in practical techniques that an instructor can use right away. In this course, there are many hands-on scenario-based strategies for participants to implement their skills. 

Dates and Registration Link
May 8-June 11, 2013  Register here

MOLLIE: Blended Learning (2 cr.)
The US Department of Education, with its landmark study "Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning" (2008), found blended learning to be more effective than either face-to-face or fully online learning, concurring with many other studies performed at the higher education level. Blended learning offers much potential to bring the best of technology infused practices and flexibility found in the online format with the direct personal contact of a face-to-face classroom.

The downside is that many teachers are not prepared to implement blended learning in their classroom. This course gives an introduction to teachers on what makes blended learning, and what are the best practices for a blended learning classroom. Participants will look at several different models of blended learning, spanning age levels and curriculum areas, and will develop their own plan to bring blended learning to their classroom. 

Dates and Registration Links
April 10-May 14, 2013  Register here
June 12 - July 16, 2013  Register here

MOLLIE: Online Lesson Design (including Soft Chalk) (2 cr.)An online instructor faces a unique challenge when designing lessons.  While online lessons need to keep the rigor and higher-order thinking that a face-to-face lesson contains, they must do so in a flexible format that allows a student to choose their own time, place, and pace.

This course focuses on the design process for online lessons, both text-based as well as spoken. Special attention is spent on attributes (such as hypertext, pullouts, manipulatives, and embedded activities) that bring interaction to a lesson. This course will also give the participant training in the Soft Chalk platform, a tool for Iowa educators to build online content.

Dates and Registration Link
July 17 - Aug 20, 2013
Registration Link coming soon; check our online catalog here.

AEA PD Online: Live!


Did you know that you can access recorded AEA PD Online: Live events through our AEA PD Online App? To get the app, go to myapp.is/aeapdonline

Instructor Course Proposal Tips and Tricks 

Instructional Designers, Peggy Steinbronn and Rob Brookhart, share practical tips on how to complete your online course proposal.


 


NanoGong 

NanoGong allows allows students to submit assignments as audio recordings and receive audio feedback. Watch this short video to find out how to incorporate an NanoGong activity into your online course.







Upcoming Courses


See below for a list of upcoming online professional learning opportunities. To register, click on the activity number listed with each course. To conduct your own search for professional development classes, download the AEAPD Online app at myapp.is/aeapdonline or click here to go to the AEA PD Online catalog.


Glogster: Project-Based Learning with Multimedia
Discover how help students create and use interactive posters (glogs) that combine text, images, sound, video clips, graphics, and hyperlinks.
Register at 22009099991303
Course Dates: April 1-21, 2013
Credit(s): 1


iEvaluate: Teachers
Learn the critical elements of the teacher evaluation system in Iowa.
Register at 22000299991311
Course Dates: April 1-May 10, 2013
Credit(s): 2 (Renewal only)


Photoshop Elements: Digital Imaging in the Classroom
Find practical ideas about how to use digital cameras, scanners, and images from the web to enhance student learning.
Register at 22000499991303
Course Dates: April 1-21, 2013
Credit(s): 1


Introduction to the Online Learner
Discover what online learning is like from the student perspective.
Register at 22001399991305
Course Dates: April 3-23, 2013
Credit(s): 1


iEvaluate: Teachers
Learn the critical elements of the teacher evaluation system in Iowa.
Register at 22000299991312
Course Dates: April 8-May 17, 2013
Credit(s): 2 (Renewal only)


Online Facilitation
Learn about the differences between online and face-to-face instruction and online facilitation strategies that will increase student learning.
Register at 22009699991304
Course Dates: April 10-May 14, 2013
Credit(s): 2


Les 400 Ans du Qubec/Qubec’s 400 years
Learn about our neighbors to the North: French-speaking Canadians.
Register at 22013699991301
Course Dates: April 11-May 15, 2013
Credit(s): 1 (Renewal Only)


iPods & iPads for the Classroom
Incorporate iPods and iPads into classroom instruction.
Register at 22004199991309
Course Dates: April 15-May 12, 2013
Credit(s): 2


Using the iPad in the Math Classroom
Math meets mobile learning in this course. 
Discover ways to support student understanding of complex math content with iPads.
Register at 22014199991301
Course Dates: April 15-May 20, 2013
Credit(s): 2


iLife in the Classroom
Find out how to integrate Apple’s iLife Suite (iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iDVD, and iWeb) into your classroom instruction.
Register at 22004299991305
Course Dates: April 29-May 26, 2013
Credit(s): 2


iPods and iPads for the Classroom
Learn to implement Apple's iPods & iPads into your classroom.
Register at 22004199991310
Course Dates: May 6-June 2, 2013
Credit(s): 2

External Partner Webinars

Blended Learning Strategies for Common-Core Math
March 19, 2013 1:00 p.m.
No early registration needed! To participate go here on March 19 at 1:00.
Visit with Suzy Brooks, a third grade math teacher, and Sara Lwanga, a math department chairperson, about digital resources for math instruction that can be used in a blended learning environment to support the implementation of the Common Core math standards.

Virtual Museum Field Trip: Cleveland Museum of Art
March 19, 2013 7:00 p.m.
Register here.
In this webinar, visit the Cleveland Museum of Art and find out how you can bring the museum’s resources into your classroom. Learn about the museum’s teacher resources and how to connect with students from around the world.

Flipping the Classroom (How brain research, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Chickering & Gamson’s Principles say it works)
April 10, 2013 3:00 p.m.
Register here.
Find out if “flipping your classroom” is right for you. Webinar participants will review the research and reasoning behind flipped classrooms.


The dissemination of information from external organizations by AEA PD Online does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.