PREPARING TEACHER CANDIDATES FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTS DR. BECKY PASCO

COORDINATOR, LIBRARY SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMS

TEACHER EDUCATION, COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA OMAHA

NDE PRESENTATION, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

WHAT IS “DISTANCE” EDUCATION? Web-Enhanced (Class meets in traditional format but resources are provided online)

Blended/Hybrid Course (Class is combination of face to face class sessions and online interaction/activities handled through distance technologies)

Online (Class never meets face to face and all resources and instruction take place through distance technologies)

WIN A PRIZE!

How many individual distance/online courses will be offered by Nebraska organizations to Nebraska High School students in the 2012/2013?

THE ANSWER IS…

502!

KEEPING PACE WITH K-12 ONLINE LEARNING REPORT AVAILABLE AT HTTP://KPK12.COM/REPORTS/GRAPHICS/

NATIONAL DISTANCE EDUCATION INITIATIVES

State virtual schools or state-led online learning initiatives exist in 40 states. State virtual schools had about 536,000 course enrollments in 2010-11. 30 states plus Washington DC have at least one full-time online school operating statewide. About 250,000 students attend full-time online schools.

THE NEED

NEBRASKA DISTANCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES HTTP://WWW.NEBRASKAVIRTUAL.ORG/ABOUT-US

MYELEARNING.ORG OF NEBRASKA

SCALABILITY AND ADOPTION •  Creation of solid inter-departmental / inter-functional

partnerships

•  Understanding of academic / pedagogical implications/goals and how to tie them into the overall organizational goals

•  Creation of unique policies appropriate for the specific organization

•  Understanding of the importance of measurement and assessment

•  Deployment of technology that is scalable, sustainable, rock solid, easy-to-use and well supported.

Greenberg, A. (2012). Blended Learning Technology: Navigating the Challenges of Large-Scale Adoption.

Retrieved from www.wainhouse.com

ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION DISTANCE INITIATIVES

System Readiness Campus Readiness College Readiness

Department Readiness Program Readiness

FACULTY READINESS

College Committees •  Quality Guidelines •  Policies

Teaching Circles/Research Circles

•  Pedagogy •  Technology

Course/Program Development Incentives •  Stipends •  Release Time •  Grants

FACULTY READINESS

MAINTAINING RIGOR Standards/Guidelines for Program/Course Quality

Handouts

•  Quality Matters [Rubric Standards 2011-2013]

•  Blackboard [Exemplary Course Program Rubric]

•  UNO College of Education Course Proposal Guidelines

NEXT STEPS? Student Readiness •  Sequenced experiences in required

undergraduate program coursework •  One module of course(s) offered in

distance format •  Methods/Technology course taught in

distance format •  Elective course in distance pedagogy

FOCUS OF MODULE/COURSE: DRAFT

Faculty will model distance pedagogy in a blended course for TED candidates through learning modules that require candidates to develop a folder within the course Blackboard site. Required elements will ask candidates to:

•  Identify a specific, small group of P-12 students •  Choose a grade level, standards based curriculum topic •  Develop digital content based on student characteristics •  Develop formal and informal assessment tools

THE BIG MISS

THANK YOU!

Questions and

Discussion