Return-Path: <nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id i2TGL4m27845; Mon, 29 Mar 2004 11:21:04 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 11:21:04 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <142.25998148.2d99a5b0@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Dlhargrove@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1231] Online PD X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: 9.0 for Windows sub 5006 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: O Content-Length: 4839 Lines: 88 Hi everyone, Florida first became involved in alternative ways of delivering PD about 4 years ago, when we were in the middle of a budget crisis in adult education. Travel budgets were cut considerably, so not many practitioners were able to attend regional or statewide workshops. We needed to come up with an alternative way of assisting our colleagues in receiving Inservice Points. This was about the same time that web-based training was beginning to emerge. Through the efforts of one of our Practitioners' Task Force committees, the first of many online web-based trainings was developed. When we decided to develop our first course, there were a number of things we looked at: 1. What was the most pressing need for PD? 2. What did the State require be included in order to get this online PD course approved for Inservice Points? 3. Do we need to track the individuals progress? If so, is there a way of tracking without buying an expensive Learning Management System (like Blackboard, WebCT?) 4. How will we measure the success of the course? Adult education programs survive because students remain in the program and complete their goals. If there aren't any students in the programs, there's no program... we all know that story. To that end, we developed our first wbt called,"Improving Retention in Adult Education programs." It was a 5 hour training, developed using Macromedia Dreamweaver. After much discussion, it was determined that we could track participant progress through online activities that were submitted throughout the training as opposed to using a learning management system (too costly for us.) Each training contained a number of modules. Within each module, participants were asked to complete activities. These activities were electronically submitted to a Program Specialist at our Dept. of Education, who kept a log on all activities. When the activities were completed, and the post test and evaluation submitted, the Program Specialist would send the inservice certificate to the participant. Not all activities were submitted, however. In many cases, participants were asked to post their ideas or suggestions regarding an issue they just read. Bulletin Boards were created using WebBoard and participants shared their experiences via the boards. This has proven to be a great way to share information. We had only one problem.... we weren't RETAINING participants in our Retention Web-Based Training! Sure, we had loads of educators logging on, even from out of state. But for some reason, they weren't finishing the material. After a lengthy process of emailing and calling those who did not complete, we realized that our primary purpose for developing this online learning was NOT the only reason people signed up. For many, they didn't need inservice points.. they were just there to get the information and resources and then they left! Measuring the success of our course took on a whole new meaning. In our newer trainings, we've now included a section that asks, "Why are you here?" with options like, "To receive Inservice Points" to "Just gathering information." We also realized that, although online learning was perfect for delivering instruction, there's no substitute for face-to-face and other personal forms of communicating. Two years ago, when the term, "Blended Learning" came to fruition, we decided to try pairing one of our web-based training courses with a traditional workshop. Participants who signed up were sent to the web to complete some prework and then met for a day of training. This process seemed to work very well. The only problem was with the travel cuts as discussed earlier. We had to find another way of bringing in the human factor. With that said, we created a position last year through the Florida TechNet grant called, "online facilitator." We moved the adminstrative function from the Dept. of Education to our new facilitator who not only keeps track of all participants, but also emails welcome letters. Our online facilitator looks at what participants are submitting and responds via email or phone to questions or comments. This process has just started this January, so we haven't been able to really determine its impact.. but it appears to be positive. We are also experimenting with a LMS on a select few WBT's through another contact, and are anxious to see the results of that as well. Hope this basic overview has been helpful to anyone who might be considering developing their first web-based training for PD. It's always nice to be able to see how others have evolved through this process. Debra Debra L. Hargrove, Ed.D. Technology Coordinator Florida TechNet http://www.floridatechnet.org 6025 Audubon Manor Blvd. Lithia, Fl 33547 P ~ 813.657.0789 F ~ 813.657.0970
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