NACOL Research Committee

Well, it looks like I am running to be one of the co-chairs of the North American Council for Online Learning’s research committee.  For the past two years, this committee has been chaired by Dr. Cathy Cavanaugh at the University of Florida.  In trying to figure out her replacement, as she decided to step down, the committee decided to have two chairs or co-chairs: one from the K-12 environment and one from “other organizations”.  The “other organizations” tag represents higher education, business and industry, and other non-K-12 entities – which would be where I fall.

Over the past couple of years, the research committee has brought forward research briefs on topics like:

• NACOL Access and Equity in Online Classes and Virtual Schools, by Raymond M. Rose with Robert L. Blomeyer, Ph.D. (November 2007) – at least I think this one had its origins in the research committee
• NACOL Professional Development for Virtual Schooling and Online Learning, by Niki Davis and Ray Rose with NACOL Research Committee Working Group (November 2007)
• …and the committee will be releasing another one titled “Online Teacher Support Programs: Mentoring and Coaching Models” at the Virtual School Symposium later this month

For the coming year, in our discussions at the last meeting some of the topics that we discussed as possible things to look into for 2008-09 included (and I am quoting from Dr. Cavanaugh’s meeting summary here):

• Virtual school models that show promise for at-risk students
  • Supplemental virtual school vs at risk or cyber charter students – why are they successful? What are they doing differently? (discussion about choice of terms) What support structures are in place that facilitate at risk students regardless of where they take their online course.) Perhaps case studies – interviews of programs that publicize working with and having success with at risk students. Narrow data collection to those that advertise programs targeting at risk
• Teaching world languages online
  • Perhaps first of a series on different content areas. Investigate different approaches
• Professional development for online teachers
  • Looking at university programs and vendor programs, states with teacher qualifications for online teaching, and states with standards addressing online experiences
• Advanced Placement performance of online and face-to-face students
  • Possibly addressing completion rates, exam take rates, level of student readiness, scores, increased opportunities to take an AP course

For my part, I was asked for a statement that the members of the research committee can use to judge my candidacy against the other individual based upon these five questions:

1. Nominee name
2. Nominee represents K-12 schools or another organization (choose one)
3. Nominee profession, title, place of work
4. Nominee reason for interest in the position of chair
5. Nominee viewpoints about the next year of the committee’s work for NACOL

Here is what I wrote:

Michael Barbour

I am an Assistant Professor in the Instructional Technology program at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.  I primarily teach in our K-12 technology integration program where I focus upon using the Internet as a tool for teachers.  I have been researching virtual schooling in Canada and the United States since the mid-1990s.  I first got involved in virtual schooling as a teacher, course designer, and district-based administrator.  This happened around the same time I was finishing my Master’s degree, and I became interested in not just how online worked at the K-12 level, but why it worked.

As an organization, NACOL has taken a lead role in describing how K-12 online learning works and encouraging various stakeholders and other interested parties to get involved in our community. Through the research committee, we have the opportunity to begin to analyze and explain why K-12 online learning works – something that is needed to accompany the vast amount of practitioner-based literature that is available.  As a researcher in the university environment who has had an interest in and been involved with K-12 online learning for the past decade, as co-chair of the research committee I can assist in continuing to bring this direction to the committee.

Compared to other areas of distance education, K-12 online learning still does not have a strong literature base. Further complicating our understanding of K-12 online learning is that the vast majority of this literature is based upon the experiences and/or opinions of practitioners in the field and not on systematic research. Over the past two years the research committee has taken steps to address this gap, however, there is still more work needed to continue to identify what we know based upon reliable and valid research, and what opportunities exist for the evaluators, researchers, and graduate students who are interested in filling those holes. As such, the research committee must be able to explore these issues with the support of NACOL, regardless of the outcome of such exploration. Specifically, over the next year I would envision the research committee taking steps to synthesis the existing body of research on K-12 online learning, and to identify areas where research is needed to help grow the field.

Donna Scribner, who has been serving as Dr. Cavanaugh’s vice-chair for the past year, was acclaimed as the K-12 co-chair. I’ll let you all know how the election for the “other organization” co-chair turns out.

K12 Online Conference

I noticed this in my Bloglines earlier today.

• Join the K12 Online Conference – It’s free! from California Dreamin’ by Rob Darrow

The interesting thing was that I noticed it while I had one of the pre-conference keynotes, “It Simply Isn’t the 20th Century Any More Is It?: So Why Would We Teach as Though It Was?” by Stephen Heppell,open in another tab.

If you haven’t already, this is a worthwhile, free, online conference that you should spend some time taking in.  I will…

Celebrate NASA’s 50th Year, US-China Virtual Symposium, Jobs And Much More…

Mostly higher education stuff, but some K-12…

Dear USDLA Members, NATIONAL DISTANCE LEARNING WEEK (NDLW), NOVEMBER 10-14, 2008! Sponsored by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), ( http://www.usdla.org ) the 2008 National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) will be held November 10-14, 2008. The purpose of National Distance Learning Week is to generate greater awareness and appreciation for distance learning, including K-12, Higher Education, Corporate and Military, while recognizing leaders and best practices in the field. Therefore, I urge you to conduct local events during this time-whether you are a professional engaged in the day-to-day practice of distance learning, or an individual or organization that provides products and services being distributed via the Internet, video conferencing, or satellite technologies. For additional ideas, more information, or press materials, visit http://www.ndlw.org. Registration for the USDLA Sponsored Webinars NOW OPEN! Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=23082994046 ============================================================ November 11-13, 2008 Drexel University in Philadelphia Website: http://tel.coas.drexel.edu/conference/demo/index.html Call for Papers due Oct. 17, 2008 Website:http://tel.coas.drexel.edu/conference/demo/call.html About the Symposium Drexel University’s School of Education will host this event live and online on November 11-13, 2008, at Drexel University in Philadelphia, in conjunction with the Global Development Learning Network’s (GDLN) Beijing Center. The GDLN, a partnership of over 120 recognized global institutions, is a World Bank Institute initiative which promotes the use of distance learning technologies in education and capacity building around the world. The Symposium will be the catalyst for developing an online network of university scholars and educational practitioners from China, the U.S. and around the world, to discuss challenges and successes in distance learning internationally, share learning innovations and state-of-the-art technology, and develop an on-going forum for exchange via asynchronous online discussions. The dynamic program will feature live speakers and panelists from the United States, China, Austria, and India, as well as on-demand content and blogs for registered conference participants. It will also include live events in Second Life. The U.S.-China Virtual Symposium is being held in conjunction with National Distance Learning Week (November 10-14), an event sponsored annually by the U.S. Distance Learning Association (USDLA). Website: http://tel.coas.drexel.edu/conference/demo/index.html =============================================================== Happy 50th Birthday NASA Join us for a birthday celebration like none other! November 13, 2008 November 14, 2008 in Asia pacific 2008 marks NASA’s 50th year. Schools from around the world will join together to wish NASA a happy birthday in the distance learning event of the year. Discovery Education, Polycom, Inc. and the United States Distance Learning Association join forces with NASA for the most extensive birthday party ever. NASA’s Digital Learning Network, USDLA, Discovery Education and Polycom, Inc. are thrilled to bring you the opportunity to participate in one of NASA’s virtual birthday party sessions, which will connect classrooms around the globe in celebration of NASA’s 50th anniversary. Twenty schools, ten from the United States and ten from other countries will be participating as live interactive videoconferencing sites. Other schools will be able to participate through watching the live stream at http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/ . The 10-hour birthday event will start at 9 am EST connecting to a different NASA Distance Learning Network site at the top of each hour. Each session will last approximately 30-35 minutes. During that time we will meet one of their experts and look at one unique topic surrounding NASA’s history. Each of the ten sessions will be to a different DLN site and focused on a different topic. Topics include: the shuttle, Mercury, Gemini, Hubble Space Telescope, jet propulsion, icing tunnel, wind shear, Phoenix, Material International Space Station Experience, and Stennis Space Center history. The schedule for each session is as follows: Top of the hour :00-:03 Distance Learning Network welcome with introductions (3 minutes) :03-:06 NASA at 50 video clip from Discovery Education Channel (2-3 minutes) :06-:09 Guest talk (designated scientist, engineer, or astronaut SME) (2 minutes) :09-:18 Q&A with host, guest, and live US & International school (9 ½ minutes) :18-:23 U.S. School presents Happy Birthday NASA (5 minutes) :23-:28 International School presents Happy Birthday NASA (5 minutes) :28-:30 Presentation of NASA Portal & Discovery’s NASA at 50 website resources (2 minutes) :30-:31 Conclusion In preparation for the event, Discovery Education invites you to visit our NASA at 50 website, located at http://discoveryeducation.com/nasaat50/. It features the video clips that will be part of the birthday parties, as well as teacher’s guides that accompany each video clip. Your students can even download the video clips to portable media players to watch them at school, at home, or on the go. For additional preparatory resources, check out NASA’s 50th Anniversary website at http://www.nasa.gov/50th/home/index.html. Here you can learn more about NASA’s rich history and find additional ways to celebrate NASA’s anniversary. Connections for each hour begin at 9am with the final connection at 6pm EST. Pairings of the various NASA DLN sites with interactive international school location are shown below by hour. Notice the EST time zone is listed on the left signifying each hour from 9-6. Next to the DLN site and country are the appropriate time zone (and date) for each site by location according to what time it will be for the participating site. Topic is also shown for each session. 9am KSC-Kennedy Space Center (9:00am EST), India (7:30pm) Shuttle 10am    MSFC- Marshall Space Flight Center (9:00am CST),Slovenia (4pm) Mercury 11am LaRC – Langley Research Center (11:00am EST),UK (4pm)Material Int. Space Station 12pm GSFC- Goddard Space Flight Center (12:00pm EST),UK (5pm)Hubble Space Telescope 1pm JSC – Johnson Space Center (12:00pm CST),Mexico (12pm)Gemini 2pm SSC – Stennis Space Center (1:00pm CST),New Zealand (8am 11/14)Stennis Space Center 3pm DFRC – Dryden Flight Research Center (12:00pm PST),Canada (1pm)TBD 4pm GRC- Glenn Research Center (4:00pm EST),AUS (8am 11/14)Icing Tunnel 5pm ARC – Amesa Research Center (2:00pm PST),JPN (7am 11/14)Wind Shear 6pm      JPL – Jet Propulsion Laboratory (3:00pm PST,)HK (7am  11/14) Phoenix Please mark your calendars to participate on November 13th/14th. Those who are the interactive U.S. and international schools will be presenting a happy birthday wish to NASA during the session. If you are participating via watching the stream, consider making your own event by finding another school somewhere else in the world who is also participating via stream. Have a connection following and celebrate together! Celebrate in your own unique way! Make it a real party! Some suggestions: · Have cupcakes or a party cake · Share a Happy Birthday wish to NASA using your own unique style/traditions. (Ethnic costumes encouraged) · Make cards or posters using some of the research you have done about NASA’s 50 year impact on our collective history. Contact Marci Powell, USDLA President and Polycom Global Director, Higher Education and Corporate Training, at marci.powell@polycom.com or Elaine Shuck, Polycom Global Director, Primary and Secondary Education at elaine.shuck@polycom.com to let us know what you plan on doing to celebrate. These plans must be received not later than October 13th for the twenty live videoconferencing sites and by October 30th by 4PM EST for those who are celebrating in their own way. We look forward to seeing you on November 13th! =============================================================== GOVERNOR RENDELL 2008 NATIONAL DISTANCE LEARNING WEEK AWARD RECIPIENT Drexel University Online announced today that Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell is scheduled to attend and be honored at the 2008 National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) annual awards reception on November 10, 2008. The reception will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Drexel’s campus at the Edmund D. Bossone Research Enterprise Center, Mitchell Auditorium, and will recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution in the field of educational technology and distance learning. Philadelphia, PA September 29, 2008 — Drexel University Online announced today that Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell is scheduled to attend and be honored at the 2008 National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) annual awards reception on November 10, 2008. The reception will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Drexel’s campus at the Edmund D. Bossone Research Enterprise Center, Mitchell Auditorium, and will recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution in the field of educational technology and distance learning. NDLW, sponsored by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), is an initiative that seeks to generate broader awareness and appreciation for distance learning within the areas of pre-k-12 education, higher and continuing education, home schooling, as well as business, corporate, military, government, and telehealth markets. “We are honored to have Governor Rendell speak at this event and to recognize this tremendous contribution to the field of educational technology,” said Dr. Constantine Papadakis, president of Drexel University. “Governor Rendell is being honored with the 2008 Leadership Award because, under his leadership, the Commonwealth has built an infrastructure and platform to permit 21st Century education to flourish in the state. These connections will soon make it possible to support timely and global communication and collaboration in classrooms across Pennsylvania and around the globe.” Distance learning is currently the fastest growing segment of the education market, both in K-12 and higher education. Commercial and government markets around the world recognize how distance learning, education and training makes a strategic contribution to achieving organizational performance objectives, leveraging talent and resources, and implementing and preserving institutional knowledge. For more information regarding NDLW Awards Ceremony, please contact Dr. Kenneth Hartman by phone at 215.895.0501 or by email at kenhartman@drexel.edu. ============================================================== STANFORD SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING DEBUTS SERVICE OFFERING COMPLETE COURSES ONLINE FOR FREE ‘Stanford Engineering Everywhere’ Pilot Releases 10 Computer Science, Electrical Engineering Classes under Creative Commons License in Many Formats STANFORD, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Stanford School of Engineering today announced the debut of Stanford Engineering Everywhere (SEE), the pilot of a free online service that provides Stanford’s popular introduction to computer science and other computer science and electrical engineering courses. Each consists of complete video lectures and materials such as handouts, assignments, exams and transcripts. With SEE, Stanford Engineering is releasing the courses under a Creative Commons license, explicitly encouraging educators and learners around the world to incorporate the video courses and materials into their educational endeavors and to form virtual communities around the classes. “We are excited to extend our teaching and learning opportunities worldwide through SEE,” said Jim Plummer, dean of the Stanford Engineering School. “We hope SEE will enable a broad range of people to learn, to share their ideas and to make their own contributions to knowledge.” The 10 courses, arranged in three subject areas, include one of Stanford’s most popular sequences: the three-quarter introduction to computer science. SEE also offers three courses on artificial intelligence and robotics, and four on linear systems and optimization. The address for SEE is http://see.stanford.edu “The introductory CS sequence at Stanford provided me so much – programming fundamentals, of course – but more importantly, they provided me many of the basic building blocks that I still use to think about software, products and organizations with today,” said John Lilly, a Stanford CS alumnus (BS 1993, MS 1995) and the CEO of the open source software developer Mozilla Corp. “These classes were among the most useful of my time at Stanford, and I’m really excited to see Stanford making them widely available under a Creative Commons license.” SEE is produced by the school’s Stanford Center for Professional Development (SCPD), which will use its 40 years of distance education expertise to provide an anywhere/anytime open access learning experience. SCPD executive director Andy DiPaolo said the ease of forming groups on Facebook and sharing information will allow learners to use Stanford engineering courses as a basis to engage with each other in the vital social aspects of learning. “We want people to learn from it, build on it and share with others using popular social networking tools,” added DiPaolo. The SEE pilot’s development and launch was funded by Sequoia Capital, a Menlo Park, Calif., venture capital firm. Open license, popular technology The Creative Commons license allows for non-commercial reuse of the video lectures and materials so long as proper attribution is given. This allows educators and students to download and incorporate the materials into their own work, so long as they acknowledge Stanford and other consenting copyright holders. Any lecture or course materials for which Stanford Engineering was unable to secure a copyright holder’s consent has been omitted from SEE. With that and a few other exceptions, everything offered on SEE is exactly the same as what is offered to enrolled Stanford students. Stanford registration and credit, however, is not available to those taking courses through SEE. To facilitate easy downloading, the video presentations are available at the SEE Web site and through iTunes, YouTube, Zune, Bit Torrent and Vyew. Videos are in multiple formats to ensure widespread compatibility and a variety of quality and download times. Part of the technological infrastructure includes access to course-specific Facebook pages. These pages are meant to be self-sustaining user communities, rather than Stanford-moderated groups. SEE is the latest effort at Stanford to share information and ideas with the public online. Three years ago the university helped pioneer the use of Apple’s iTunes service by academic institutions. Earlier this year Stanford launched a dedicated channel on YouTube. SEE represents Stanford’s first free site to offer complete video-based courses and materials available anywhere, anytime and on-demand. DiPaolo said expansion of SEE beyond the initial set of offerings will depend on the public response. He said he hopes that educators and students around the globe make the most of these free and easily accessed courses to enhance learning. “In the industrial age we went to school,” he said. “In the communications age, school comes to us.” Contact: Stanford School of Engineering David Orenstein, 650-736-2245 Communications and Public Relations Manager davidjo@stanford.edu Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20080917005182/en =============================================================== 1) Assistant Vice President Center for Distributed Learning University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida seeks an Assistant Vice President for its Center for Distributed Learning who will provide vision and executive leadership for its distributed learning programs. UCF is a rapidly growing multi-campus research university enrolling nearly 49,000 students in a metropolitan setting. Over the past decade, UCF’s distributed learning program, Online@UCF, has been internationally recognized as one of the premier initiatives of its kind. An earned doctorate or terminal degree from an accredited institution is required. For a complete list of desired qualifications please go to http://www.itr.ucf.edu/news/jobs.html . Salary is negotiable and based on credentials and experience. Review of applications will begin September 16, 2008 and continue until the position is filled. For full consideration send a cover letter, contact information for three professional references, and a current CV to Assistant Vice President Center for Distributed Learning Search Committee, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Millican Hall 338M, Orlando, FL 32816. UCF is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Search materials are available for public review as provided by Florida statute. ============================= 2) Executive Director for Distance Education, University of Missouri The University of Missouri is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Executive Director for Distance Education. The Executive Director will report to the Office of the President and provide system-wide leadership in the development and delivery of online distance education programs. Must possess an earned doctorate with a history of progressively responsible leadership of a university-wide distance education, continuing education, or program development unit. Ability to work collaboratively and diplomatically with diverse partners is necessary. Successful experience in working with foundations, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and other external funding sources is required. Current understanding of the needs and purposes of a major public research university with land grant responsibilities is essential. Submit letter of application and resume to: University of Missouri Human Resources ATTN: K. Blake Danuser 215 University Hall Columbia, MO 65211 United States Distance Learning Association(USDLA) 8 Winter Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 1.800.275.5162 www.usdla.org Disclaimer If you have received this e-mail in error or wish to be removed from the distribution list please hit the (unsubscribe) link below and then delete the message. We have taken precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting software viruses but we advise that you carry out your own virus checks on any attached message. Please be advised that USDLA and its affiliates do not sell mailing lists or provide customer information to other organizations. Your e-mail address is used to maintain member and customer contact information and provide notification of new distance learning, education and training news, activities and events. About USDLA The United States Distance Learning Association is a non-profit organization formed in 1987 and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. USDLA promotes the development and application of distance learning for education and training and serves the needs of the distance learning community by providing advocacy, information, networking and opportunity. Distance education and training constituencies served include pre-k-12 education, higher and continuing education, home schooling as well as business, corporate, military, government, and telehealth markets. The USDLA trademarked logo is the recognized worldwide symbol of dedicated professionals committed to the distance learning industry.