Wicks.GettingStarted

__How to Start an Online Program__ Breakout Session: __** Getting Started and Quality (Chris Rapp and Tom Stanley) **__

Evergreen Education Group chris@evergreenedgroup.com 208-914-1552 [|www.evergreenedgroup.com]
 * Chris Rapp**

Project Learning Corp testanley01@gmail.com 702-768-4670
 * Tom Stanley**

** Organizing Chaos in the 2.0 world'[[file:VSSstartinganonlineschool.ppt]] **
1. First steps should be baby steps


 * Vision
 * Systems and costs – soft and hard funding, teacher and student, available resources (what to pay for and what to get for free)
 * Teachers
 * Administrators
 * Techies
 * Addressing the nay sayers
 * Your audience – marketing, in district, state wide, nationally

2. Focus your dream and resources
 * analyze
 * customize – templates, in house curriculum or purchase it
 * train
 * rollout
 * re-evaluate

3. Connecting to the world
 * __The 5 star curriculum__ - points of a star---student to student, student to community, student to technology, student to teacher, student to community
 * Who to hire
 * The role of professional development
 * Student “boot camps”
 * Problem students

Building a path to success requires the use of dedicated teachers and professionals to help you reach each goal....

Never solve a problem from its original perspective Dumb questions lead to smart answers - Aristotle Identify problems Fix solutions goals reached-short and long term goals attitude Come back from future 1step at a time 6 universal questions

Dumb questions
 * What is it?
 * Where does it happen?
 * When does it happen?
 * How does it happen?
 * Why does it happen?
 * Who causes it to happen?

Challenging assumptions turn obstacles into opportunities
 * Why have we always done it this way?
 * Does anyone actually look at this problem?
 * Why do I have to post my research as ideas?
 * Why can't I just copy and paste?
 * Why do I need to share my ideas with others?

What does everyone else not do?
 * State problem
 * Solution deadline
 * Ideal solution
 * Stay in future
 * Record phases - research discussion
 * Overcome barriers
 * Solution- come back to now- first draft

Not invented here contest Is our research/product top quality?
 * Most easily implemented ideas
 * Best idea from family member
 * Best idea from foreign company
 * Best idea from friend
 * Best idea from competitor
 * Best idea by asking help

Ideal staff to evaluate your progress
 * Creating rubrics to fit your program


 * Promoters- counselors, kids (ambassadors), teachers, parents
 * Designer – Curriculum Designers, Techies, Students, Administrators
 * Implementers – Teachers, Administrators
 * Evaluators- Teachers, Students, Parents, outside input

At the end of the process the following questions should be asked:

Conducting Staff inservices- three weeks in the summer, online throughout the year
 * What have we accomplished?
 * Why is it important?
 * What now?
 * Who needs to do what?


 * Dots- get their attention
 * Nature
 * Negatives
 * Overcoming negatives
 * Desired results
 * Process
 * Materials needed
 * Resources needed
 * Training needed
 * Set timeline/ presentation date/ to whom
 * Issues
 * Negatives
 * Solutions
 * Present day

--

=**Quality - [|How to Start an Online Program website]**=
 * Chris Rapp**

**iNACOL National Quality Standards**

 * iNACOL National Standards of Quality for Online Courses - [[file:NACOL Standards Quality Online Courses 2007.pdf]]
 * iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Teaching - [[file:NACOL Standards Quality Online Teaching.pdf]]
 * iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Programs - [[file:NACOL Standards Quality Online Programs.pdf]]

Knowledge Capture - Notes from the breakout sessions

 * Coming soon

**Program Evaluation**
**Knowledge Capture - Notes from the breakout sessions**
 * Program Evaluation from Promising Practices Series - [[file:iNACOL_Prgrm_Mgmt_Pages20-22.pdf]]
 * Evaluation in Online Learning from "Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning" - [[file:KeepingPace_2008_pages26-28.pdf]]
 * Florida Virtual School 2009-10 Evaluation Report (Executive Summary) - [[file:Excu10_v3_r.pdf]]
 * Colorado Online Learning Evaluation 2009-10 - [[file:COL2010evalRptFinal.pdf]]
 * Coming soon

**Data Collection**
**Knowledge Capture - Notes from the breakout sessions**
 * Coming soon


 * Questions from the session:**
 * 1) How do you maintain quality from teacher to teacher?
 * 2) Will evaluators and coaches help the teacher be a more effective and successful facititator?
 * 3) Facilitators will check course for broken links and personalize course. Will this make a more successful completion of a course by students?
 * 4) How do you maintain a qulaity education in mathematics which usually requires a great deal of explanation for many pupils to understand?
 * 5) How do you maintain a high quality program for special ed students with a reading problem?
 * 6) What are the pre-requisites for screening studnt and preparing them for success in an online environment?
 * 7) Should you use external or internal evaluators to guage program effectiveness?
 * 8) Who are the critical personnel to have as a mininum to start a virtual school?
 * 9) We want to transition from a local district to a statewide curriculum? What is a good starting point? What are some issues of motivating students and teachers? How do you deal with accountability?
 * 10) What are the largest risks associated with blended/online learning?
 * 11) Is it better to purchase curriculum v. teacher created?
 * 12) How can you best motivate students, help them become self-directed and engaged?
 * 13) What are the best practices for students?
 * 14) What is an adequate network infrastructure?
 * 15) How do you know you have prepared properly?
 * 16) Can you trust a vendor when asking about needed infrastructure?
 * 17) What are the steps to promote quality online blended program for diverse learning needs?
 * 18) What are the key elements when you measure for quality?
 * 19) What data do you need to draw from studnt to make distance learning more effective?
 * 20) What are best practices/helpful tips for starting an online hishg school?
 * 21) How can at-risk students best learn in an online environment?
 * 22) How do you balance the responsibility of the student to do the work and the teachers responsibility to work with the students? How do you deal effectively with parents call concerning technical issues ahead of time?
 * 23) How do you support teachers who are developing virtual courses for next year while teaching a full load this year? What are the resources you need, lessons learned and are there any shortcuts?
 * 24) What are the 2-3 critical areas that need to be addressed before launching an online program?
 * 25) What type of online program should be designed for a district that has initiated high access?
 * 26) How can a student seamlessly make the transition from online to "brick and mortar" settings?
 * 27) How can you ensure that the depth-breadth of learning is equitable?
 * 28) How can a prgram bcome sustainable? Once the development money is gone what other funds can you access?
 * 29) What would be a model online course?