Multi-State Online Professional Development ToolKit

Changing professional development and meeting teacher needs

MOPD - A Model for Online Professional Development

Resources

This section of the ToolKit provides additional templates and information about online professional development. There are also links to companies and other organizations that provide valuable resources and information. This page, like all of the other ToolKit pages, provides easy access to documents, Web sites and other materials that contain up-to-date and reliable information to assist in planning and developing online courses.

A Framework for E-Learning
http://bookstoread.com/framework/
This site focuses on various online learning issues, including: pedagogical, technological, interface design, evaluation, management, resource support, ethical and institutional. Various factors discussed in the eight dimensions of the framework can provide guidance in the design, development, delivery and evaluation of flexible, open and distance learning environments, including an international perspective.

Any Time, Any Place, Any Path, Any Pace: Taking the Lead on e-Learning Policy
http://www.nasbe.org/e_Learning.html
In October 2001, the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) released the conclusions from its study group on e-learning. This report is a PDF file.

The Association for Online Academic Excellence
http://216.36.213.212/index2.html
Founded in 1997, the Association for Online Academic Excellence (AOAEX) is a professional accrediting association established to uphold and maintain high standards for all levels of online postsecondary education. The focus is on higher education.

Cybertools for Today's Schools by the Instructional Technology Resource Center at the University of Central Florida, A SEIR*TEC Partner
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/classes/cybertools.pdf
This document is the course syllabus and shows the topics covered in this online course. This is one of a series of courses available to educators from the ITRC at the University of Central Florida.

Distance Education Clearing House
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/
The Distance Education Clearinghouse is a comprehensive and widely recognized Web site bringing together distance education information from Wisconsin, national and international sources. New information and resources are being added to the Distance Education Clearinghouse on a continual basis.

eLearningGuru.com
http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles.htm
A commercial site that offers “100 practical, 'How To' articles to ensure your e-learning efforts are a success.”

E-Learning for Educators: Implementing the Standards for Staff Development, (NSDC) National Staff Development Council
http://www.nsdc.org/library/authors/e-learning.pdf
This document provides an overview of the Council's standards and considerations when the method of delivery is online. It provides a matrix of the standards, essential elements and guiding questions to consider.

E-Learning Synthesis: Instructional Technology Systems from NCREL Technology in Education
http://www.ncrel.org/tech/elearn/techsys.htm
This document is contained within the E-Learning Knowledge Base. Resources include links to connectivity and hardware issues, commercial eLearning products, course development platforms, higher education topics, virtual high school topics, online professional development for Educators and Web page design.

Innovate
www.innovateonline.info
Published by the Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University, Innovate focuses on the creative use of information technology (IT) to enhance educational processes in academic, commercial, and government settings.

Handbook of Distance Education for Adult Learners. 2^nd ed. by Leslie Petty, Jerome Johnston and Dehra Shafer. Project IDEAL Support Center, University of Michigan. September 2004.
http://www.projectideal.org/pdf/handbook/DEHandbook3rdEdTEXT2!.pdf
The second edition incorporates insights gained from teachers in 13 Project IDEAL states using curricula such as Crossroads Café, GED Connection, PLATO, SkillsTutor, and WES during the 2002–2003 school year.  For more information about Project Ideal and links to their publications, consult this Web site: http://www.projectideal.org/IDEALpublications.htm

Intellectual Property, Copyright and Distance Learning
http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/resources/intellectual_property.asp
The increasing number of online courses and use of the Internet in distance learning is redefining copyright protection boundaries on intellectual property. The purpose of this project is to link to Web-based articles that review the literature in this area or that pose substantive arguments as to the current state of affairs and where we may be going on this issue. We also want to provide links to relevant associations that have an interest in these issues, as well as provide a bibliography of print articles that illuminate the issue. (From On the Horizon, MCB University Press)

Kentucky Virtual University Course Development Resource from Myk Garn
http://www.kyvu.org/partners/quality_audit_1-23-01_screen.pdf
This document is used by Kentucky faculty as a guide for developing online courses. It includes important questions to consider when developing a course.

North American Council for Online Learning
www.nacol.org 
The mission of the North American Council for Online Learning is “to increase educational opportunities and enhance learning by providing collegial expertise and leadership in K-12 online teaching and learning.”

Online Event Technology by Kurt Larsen Director, WestEd RTEC
http://www.wested.org/onlinepaper/index.html
This site is designed to provide information for planning and presenting online events including the following topics:

• What is an Online Event and why do people use them?
• How do I know if an Online Event is the right choice for my purposes and audience?
• How do I prepare and host an Online Event?
• What tools are available and appropriate for my experience and goals?
• How do I get people to participate in my Event?
• What kind of feedback can I get about my Online Event?

Online Journal of Distance Learning Administrators
http://www.westga.edu/~distance/jmain11.html
Provided by the State University of West Georgia, the articles are archives from 1998 through summer 2003.

Professional Development: 21st Century Models, by Judy Salpeter in Technology & Learning, August 2003
http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13000492
This article relates effective professional development characteristics. Included are several lists of resources for further information.

701 eLearnng Tips by The Masie Center, Summer 2004
http://www.masie.com/701tips/
"The MASIE Center's TRENDS readers and e-Learning Consortium Members, over 1000 e-Learning tips were received, analyzed, and categorized.  These tips are from senior managers and training professionals from major corporations around the world.  We have edited and compiled 141 pages and 14 chapters covering the ABCs of getting started to global implementation strategies."

Slate Citation Machine
http://landmark-project.com/citation_machine/cm.php?ctype=1
This is a format for bibliographic citations provided by the Landmark Project.

10 Tips for Successful Online Learning - by Mitchell Weisburgh
http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/10_tips.pdf
This document is a quick reference on important things to remember when delivering online instruction.

TappedIn 
http://tappedin.org/tappedin/
Tapped In is a Web-based learning environment created by SRI International to transform teacher professional development (TPD) for professional development providers and educators. Tapped In enables providers to offer high-quality online professional development experiences and support to more teachers cost-effectively. Tapped In offers TPD providers and other organizations the latest in online technology, along with the online learning strategies and support needed to use online technology effectively. Through Tapped In, organizations can develop, implement, and manage online courses, workshops, seminars, mentoring programs, and other collaborative activities that supplement, or function in lieu of, face-to-face activities. 

Ten Ways Online Education Matches, or Surpasses, Face-to-Face Learning by Mark Kassop, Technology Source, May/June 2003.
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1059&action
This article list 10 ways he believes online education excels. Note: This article was originally published in The Technology Source (http://ts.mivu.org/) as: Mark Kassop "Ten Ways Online Education Matches, or Surpasses, Face-to-Face Learning." The Technology Source, May/June 2003. The article is reprinted here with permission of the publisher.

Texas Technology Access Project
http://tatp.edb.utexas.edu/
The mission of the Texas Technology Access Project (formerly the Texas Assistive Technology Partnership) is to make technology, and the many benefits available through technology, accessible to Texans with disabilities. This focuses on online distance education.

TxDLA; Texas Distance Learning Association
www.txdla.org 
The TxDLA Mission is to promote the implementation of effective distance learning for the benefit of all Texans.

What Considerations Should Be Made In Order To Develop Accessible Web-based Distance Learning Courses? AccessIT and the University of Washington
http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?173
This document contains the accessibility needs of instructors and students to keep in mind when creating online courses. The accessibility of authoring tools and Web pages is also addressed.

Accessible Information Technology Resources: A Quick Reference Guide for Educators, Southern Regional Education Board http://www.sreb.org/programs/EdTech/pubs/PDF/
AccessibleInformationTechnologyResources.asp
Follow The Link
This guide provides information about tutorials, legal issues and guidelines to help educators improve access to information technology resources for students with disabilities when creating online instructional materials.
 

For more information, e-mail Bill Thomas at bthomas@sreb.org