Administrators

STEPS to Online Education Implementation

How do I begin the process of considering online courses and/or an online school?

Step One: Conduct a Needs Assessment

SEE: Online Learning Needs Assessment Checklist
SEE: Online Learning Administrative Policy Issues Checklist (PDF)

Some critical questions to ask are

  1. Do we want to set up an online school OR just a few classes?
  2. Are you prepared to pay for the development of online content (home grown) and for an online delivery system, or Learning Management System (LMS, like Blackboard or Moodle?)
  3. And/Or do you have funds for the purchase of content from a commercial provider?
  4. Would it satisfy your need for more classes to contract with the local Educational Service District, regional agency, or a school district already offering online classes?
  5. Who will be in charge of this development and what is the timeline for implementation?

You are asking yourself the question, "What unmet educational needs exist in my school system that can be filled by the use of Web-based technology?"

Online classes are usually offered to serve a number of student needs:

Do you need a full 9-12 curriculum to satisfy all graduation needs? Or, do you just want to offer some classes that cannot be offered because of the staffing and funding limits currently in place. You might consider sharing teachers and course content with other districts as a way to begin an online set of offerings.

Call a neighboring school district for more information.

Step Two: Establish Funding Base

Online Learning Needs Assessment Checklist (PDF)
Online Learning Administrative Policy Issues Checklist (PDF)

STEPS to Online Education Implementation

[back to top]