Making Time for Professional Development

Presented by:

Dawn Capes

PowerPoint presentation available after FETC at

http://www.BeaconLearningCenter.com

Bibliography

“Benefits of Online Learning.” Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia. 2001. Online. Internet. Accessed March 20, 2003. Available http://www.cw.bc.ca/onlinecourses/market/benefits.asp

“Benefits of Online Learning.” ERI Economic Research Institute. Copyright 2000-2003. On-line. Internet. Accessed March 20, 2003. Available http://www.eridlc.com/info/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.benefits

“Benefits of Online Learning.” ExecuTrain. Virtual Campus. 2003. Online. Internet. Accessed March 20, 2003. Available http://virtualcampus.executrain.com/educate/etrain/home/benefits.asp

“Benefits of Online Learning.” Virtual Academy. Online. Internet. Accessed March 20, 2003. Available http://www.iaff.org/academy/online/benefits.html

“Benefits of Online Learning.” Wide World. Online Professional Development for Teachers and Students. Online. Internet. Accessed March 20, 2003. Available http://wideworld.pz.harvard.edu/eng/about/about_benefitsonline.cfm

Bobendrier, Laura. “Evaluating Distance-Education Programs.” Click On Detroit.com. 2000. Online. Internet. Accessed March 20, 2003. Available http://www.clickondetroit.com/sh/employment/stories/employment-ed-20000926-110508.html

“Educational Benefits of Online Learning.” Blackboard. 2000. Online. Internet. Accessed March 20, 2003. Available http://resources.blackboard.com/scholar/general/pages/ictraining/Online_Learning_Benefits.pdf

Howell, Dr. Joseph. “The “Two Out of Three” Test: Justifying Instructional Technology Development.” 2003. (Beacon staff member. Article currently unpublished.)

Nielsen, Jakob. Designing Web Usability. New Riders. 1999.

AT-A-GLANCE
Course CRITERIA
IDEA & CONTENT / LANGUAGE / AUDIENCE APPROPRIATE / INSTRUCTION & ASSESSMENT / PRESENTATION
TITLE-- title is relevant and appealing / CONVENTIONS-- spelling is error free; punctuation and capitalization are uniform and rule-based; grammar is accurate; "Author's License" is for emphasis or to improve voice / VOICE-- tone fits topic or purpose; story draws educator in and makes educator feel connected; writing style is collegial, friendly & informative / CONTENT ALIGNMENT-- develops and appropriately targets the purpose; teaches, reinforces, and/or uses the skills related to achieving the purpose / LAYOUT-- presentation of lesson is organized; scrolling should be limited to less than 5 text pages
DETAILS-- details are clear and to the point; details are accurate and have been researched; details are used selectively; details provide information necessary for educator success; details work together to focus lesson / READABILITY-- readability level is appropriate for educators; complexity of sentences fits audience; word, sentence, and ¶ length fit audience; important terms are italicized or boldfaced; topic headings provide guidance; information is in manageable amounts for audience reading ability / RELEVANCE-- addresses purpose; employs real-world classroom situations or problems; educator recognizes a reason to proceed through the lesson / CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT--clear objective; strong models and examples; addresses misconceptions; relates to world of educator / GRAPHICS-- graphics have visual appeal; graphics are clear; graphics are relevant to the audience; graphic sizes enhance content and do not distract; graphics bring story to life; graphics load quickly; lesson does not suffer from graphic overload; text in graphics is clear
ORGANIZATION-- easy to see where lesson is headed; story and instruction are logically sequenced; order and placement of lesson com-ponents promote understanding; understanding grows; transitions are strong and purposeful, pacing is natural and effective; lesson provides various opportunities for educator response / WORD CHOICE-- word use is economical and appropriate; tone is friendly; writing style is appealing to audience; words produce imagery; verbs are descriptive and use active voice; words prompt connections / LEARNER RESPONSE--provides a variety of responses; provides educator interaction; common errors or misconceptions are anticipated and addressed in answer choices / PRACTICE-- uses appropriate interactivity for the practice provided; provides enough practice to develop concept; uses a variety of interactivity / SPACING-- spacing promotes clean appearance; spacing facilitates natural flow for reading
STRUCTURE-- introduction grabs audience's attention and provides clues of what is to come; lesson parts add up to the whole; lesson structure includes teaching, modeling, practice, and review; there is a sense of closure; and educator leaves wanting more / COMPREHENSION-- educator can grasp message; importance of lesson is obvious; lesson contains varying levels of comprehension; prior knowledge is activated; reflection is encouraged; lesson provides for repetition of key concepts, ideas and vocabulary / FEEDBACK-- actively engages participant; incorrect response feedback suggest re-think; questions direct and guide, correct response guides to related concepts; corrective feedback for misconceptions / HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS-- models and applies higher-order thinking skills; requires the use of higher-order skills in practice problems / TEXT-- amount of text and sentence length is appropriate; text contains cognitive breaks
FLUENCY-- smooth logical flow to text; components are inserted strategically to enhance flow of lesson; vocabulary is appropriate and avoids jargon; wording is clear and concise; accurate pacing provides for an easy read / LENGTH--text contains cognitive breaks; divisions within the lesson are paced to facilitate learning / LEARNING-- activity is enhanced by attention to multiple modalities & promotes opportunity for participant application / INTERACTIVITY-- placement of interactivity support the natural flow of the lesson; instructions are provided for interactivity NAVIGATION-- in course introduction or 1st chapter, instructions are presented to help the educator navigate smoothly from page to page and concept to concept
MULTICULTURAL--lessons are balanced culturally, ethnically, & racially / TRACKED ASSESSMENTS-- Evaluation criteria or guidelines should be stated; objectives of the course are documented and measured; assessment method matches the purpose