Online Teachers@Work Symposium

Overarching Themes

Below are summaries of the discussions participating teachers had at the Symposium.

Collaboration:

Best practices shared by teachers indicate the need for teachers to

  1. build repositories for shared curriculum materials
  2. use web logs to develop and share ideas
  3. have students work in cohorts on collaborative projects, and
  4. have students review and discuss each others' work

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Communication

Teachers shared these needs:

  1. involve parents in child's educational process
  2. socialize students with their peers whenever possible as the online environment can be isolating
  3. teach the etiquette of online communication and foster development of personal style
  4. develop a mentoring 1:1 relationship between teacher and each student
  5. open channels and optimize access for free exchange of ideas and discussion of needs between administrators, teachers, students, parents, and counselors
  6. engage all stakeholders in evolving a clear message of what online education is in all of its processes, procedures, technology, content, and methodology

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Individualization of Instruction

Online teachers need to

  1. assess students current knowledge, skills, and experience
  2. provide different learning opportunities for different types of learners
  3. provide different opportunities for different types of learners to show what they know and are able to do
  4. provide feedback in forms most appropriate to individual learners

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Evolution of the practice of teaching and the expression of learning

Online teachers must always realize

  1. the teacher is the facilitator, mentor, and moderator in the online environment
  2. the learner needs to be encouraged to be actively engaged and responsive
  3. online practice is a hybrid of best overall instructional practices
  4. legitimate avenues for sharing curriculum materials, tools, and techniques will nurture evolution of practice
  5. empowered independent learners should be offered a variety of course and project options

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Content

Online teachers understand that

  1. homegrown content is authentic and more effective
  2. canned content has to be supplemented and individualized
  3. successful lessons are designed with focus on outcome and offer many paths to get there
  4. culminating projects allow students to demonstrate learning processes, and are one method of online assessment

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Technology, Tools, and Resources

Online teachers know and develop units and lessons that offer

  1. student access to and use of a greater variety of information, tools, and resources
  2. students already skilled in the use of a broad range of technology to expand their work within the context of the online class
  3. a variety of technology tools, techniques, and approaches to give students the fullest possible involvement with course content

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Policy

Online teachers know how important it is to have policies in place to support online programs and classes:

  1. funding is key to the entire process
  2. consistency is imperative in definitions of completion rate, enrollment schedule, teaching load, prep time and compensation, office hours and teacher availability, attendance, participation, and grading policy, and course credit and accreditation

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