iNACOL Programs and Services

1. iNACOL Programs and Services Allison Powell, Marcel Kielkucki, Bruce Friend, Matt Wicks, and Rick Ferdig

2. iNACOL Programs and Services • iNACOL • iNACOL Membership Benefits • Webinars & VSS • Committees • SIGs and Affiliates • Regional Committees • Needs Assessment • Course Reviews

3. International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) • iNACOL is the premier K-12 nonprofit in online learning • 3500+ members in K-12 virtual schools and online learning representing over 50 countries • Provides leadership, advocacy, research, training, and networking with experts in K-12 online learning. • “Ensure every student has access to the best education available regardless of geography, income or background.” • Conference – Virtual School Symposium (VSS): Indianapolis, IN on November 13-15, 2011

4. Mission and Vision • Mission – • iNACOL strives to ensure all students have access to a world-class education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success. • Vision – • Online learning is a powerful innovation that expands education opportunities. iNACOL supports access to high-quality online learning for all students.

5. iNACOL Membership Types • Corporate – for profit companies • Associate – non-profit organizations • Institutional – school governing organizations • Educator – teachers and students • Individual – for-profit and non-profit persons

6. Webinars & VSS • iNACOL Leadership Webinars • Experts share their knowledge on a variety of topics, answer questions, and facilitate discussion • 2nd Wednesday of the month at 2:00pm EST. • Special Edition Webinars • Teacher Talk Webinars • For online teachers to discuss a variety of topics specifically related to teaching online in order to support one another • 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:00pm EST. • VSS • November 13-15, 2011 – Indianapolis, IN

7. Committees • Advocacy and Issues • Advocacy & Education efforts around the country • 1st Thursday of month at 4pm EST • Contact Lisa Gillis, Chairperson, if interested (lisag@insightschools.net) • Awards • Innovator Awards Program – Nominations, Process, Evaluations • 1st Wednesday of month at 4pm EST • Chairperson: Roger Hanley (rogerh@fyionlinelearning.com) • Program • Webinars and VSS Program • 4th Friday at 1:30pm EST • Chairperson: Dr. Fred Sagester (fred.sagester@ucumberlands.edu ) • Research • New Research Agenda, Briefs, Database Project • 2nd Wednesday at 1pm EST • Chairpersons: Regina Brown (mrfbrown@yahoo.com) and Kathryn Kennedy (kmkennedy@georgiasouthern.edu) • State Leaders Committee • Leaders of state-wide online programs • 3rd Wednesday at 2pm EST • Chairperson: Bryan Setser (bsetser@dpi.state.nc.us)

8. SIGs and Affiliates • Special Interest Groups (SIGs) • Online Christian Programs • Research • Second Life • International • Affiliates • CUE – eLSIG • Application on Membership Website • Work with iNACOL on Benefits

9. iNACOL Regional/State Committees • iNACOL members from across the United States have organized into state-level or regional groups. • These groups meet on a monthly basis, discussing online education topics and how to increase collaboration among members. • Currently, the following regional committees have been established:

10. eLSIG Computer Using Educator’s Affiliate Group in California • iNACOL members from across California meet monthly on a conference call, focusing on online educational issues in the state. • Conference calls occur on the second Tuesday of the month at 3:30 PM PST. • For additional information, contact co-chairs Chris Bell (chrisbell619@gmail.com) and JenithMishne (jmishne@mac.com)

11. iNACOL State Committee in Georgia • The Georgia committee meets on the second Friday of the month at 9:30 AM EST. • Brainstorming new topics for this year • For additional information, please contact Chairs - Ryan Fuller (Ryan.Fuller@cobbk12.org) and Amy Waters (Amy_Waters@Gwinnett.k12.ga.us)

12. iNACOl State Committee in South Carolina • The South Carolina committee meets on the last Thursday at the month at 3:00 PM EST. • Topics discussed by members focus on online learning issues in South Carolina. • For additional information, contact co-chairsJoe Flora (joe.flora@sc.rr.com) Shelly Hudson (shudson@psecademy.org)

13. iNACOl State Committee in Oregon • The Oregon committee meets on the second Thursday at the month at 10:00 AM PST. • Topics discussed by members focus on online learning issues in Oregon, as well as professional development. • For additional information, contact chairperson Robyn Mackillop (rmackill@yahoo.com)

14. iNACOl State Committee in Pennsylvania • The Pennsylvania committee meets on the last Wednesday of the month at 2:00 PM EST. • Topics discussed by members focus on online learning issues in Pennsylvania, as well as professional development. • For additional information, contact chairperson Michael James (mjames@qcsd.org)

15. iNACOL Midwestern Committee • The Midwestern committee is comprised of iNACOL members in IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, OK, SD, and WI. • Members meet on the first Friday of the month from October-May at 9:00 AM Central via Elluminate. • Monthly discussion topics are decided based on member input, and have included items such as continuity of learning, credit-recovery, and Second Life. • For more information, contact co-chairsMarcel Kielkucki (mkielku@kirkwood.edu) Jennifer Kolar-Burden (jkolarburden@gmail.com)

16. iNACOL Western Committee • The Western Committee is comprised of iNACOL members from AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, WA, and WY. • Meetings occur on the second Tuesday of the month at 11:00 PST/12:00 MST. • For additional information, contact chairperson Rick Tanski (rick.tanski@asd20.org)

17. iNACOL Northeastern Committee • Just started summer 2010 • Planning meeting Sep 16 – 17 attended • Oct meeting – Quality Standards – 24 attended • Nov meeting – Tuesday’s lunch • Meets third Thursday of the month at 3 pm • Chair – Liz Pape (lpape@govhs.org)

18. iNACOL Canada Committee • The Canada committee is just getting started. • Plans are to meet on a monthly basis at a time TBD to discuss issues facing online learning in Canada. • For additional information, contact co-chairpersons Randy LaBonte (rlabonte@shaw.ca) Kevin Viau (kviau@edynamiclearning.com)

19. What if my region or state doesn’t have a committee? How can I start one? • To start a regional or state committee, it’s as easy as contacting iNACOL. • iNACOL will then help you send out information via email or the iNACOL website to see if others in your state or region are interested in starting a committee. • iNACOL will help provide tools to conduct your meetings, such as the use of Elluminate or Phone conferencing. • Another great source of information is to contact existing committees to see how they got started.

20. iNACOL Needs Assessment • Assists programs with identifying the specific courses, services, and needs that can be met through online learning. • Comprehensive survey process that targets educational leaders, school contacts, and students. • Customized surveying to meet your needs

21. iNACOL Needs Assessment Benefits your program will receive: • Provides a “voice” for local school leaders and students to share their thoughts as to the courses and services that they would like available through an online environment. • Provides the leaders of online programs with data and feedback that can be shared with key stakeholders when articulating the reasons for why it is important to support online learning • Helps provide awareness of your program with local school leaders, educators, students, and parents.

22. iNACOL Needs Assessment iNACOL brings experience in every aspect of starting and maintaining a high quality online program

23. What the course review process is & isn’t • The course review process IS: • An independent assessment of how the course meets the iNACOL National Standards of Quality for Online Courses • An opportunity to provide constructive feedback to the client • A possible opportunity for the client to receive confirmation of their course quality • The course review process ISN’T: • A certification that the course(s) meet the iNACOL standards • A “Good Housekeeping seal of approval”

24. Reasons Organizations Choose to Utilize Course Review Service • Input for course improvement • Some organizations utilize the information provided as input to improve the quality of their courses and choose to not share the review information externally. These organizations typically choose to have a small number of courses reviewed and use this input to modify their course development process and as a template to improve all of their existing courses.

25. Reasons Organizations Choose to Utilize Course Review Service • External Evaluation • Other organizations utilize the course review process to validate their courses by utilizing the iNACOL course review process as an external evaluation. These organizations may choose to make the final report available publically and/or provide excerpts from the report when marketing their online courses. Some programs may have to satisfy state requirements related to course quality and will use this report as evidence that their courses meet the required standards.

26. The Evaluation Rubric • 0 Absent – component is missing • 1 Unsatisfactory – needs significant improvement • 2 Somewhat satisfactory – needs targeted improvements • 3 Satisfactory – discretionary improvements needed • 4 Very satisfactory – no improvement needed • When reviewer provides a rating of 2 or less, comments must be provided

27. Overview of Course Review Process • Initial conversation(s) with client • Formal contract established between iNACOL and client • Survey provided to client that provides context and information to conduct course reviews • Three course reviewers conduct independent course reviews (sometimes one reviewer is provided by organization requesting review) • If there are significant differences in review results, project manager holds conversations with the reviewers to resolve differences • Final report provided to client

28. iNACOL Book Publishing Dr. Richard E. Ferdig RCET Research Professor & Professor, IT Kent State University

29. http://www.inacol.org • At the RegistrationDesk ORAfter 11/17 online

30. General Process • Proposal • Feedback • TOC • Chapters • Revisions • Review • Permissions

31. Edited Book • Similar process • Internal vs. external review • Choosing the authors • Deadlines

32. Lessons Learned from Virtual Schools • An Introduction and Overview of K–12 Virtual Schooling • The National Landscape of K–12 Online Learning • ACCESS Distance Learning: Delivering Instruction via a Blended Model in Alabama • Colorado Online Learning (COL) • Florida Virtual School • Georgia Virtual School • Idaho Digital Learning Academy • Louisiana Virtual School (LVS) • The Michigan Virtual School • Missouri’s Virtual Instructional Program (MoVIP) • The North Carolina Virtual Public School • South Carolina Virtual School Program • Effective Engaging E-learning Environment for Tennessee (e4TN) • Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN) • Virtual High School Global Consortium • Exploring and Expanding on Lessons Learned from K–12 Virtual Schools

33. Purpose of Book • 80/20 Principle • Virtual School Perspectives • Historical Perspective and General Overview • Administration and Policy • Outcomes and Lessons • Best Practices • Future Plans

34. Example of Best Practice 4. Communication with stakeholders 5. Preparing students and teachers

36. Contacts • Allison Powell, apowell@inacol.org • Marcel Kielkucki, Marcel.Kielkucki@kirkwood.edu • Bruce Friend, Bruce.Friend@sas.com • Matt Wicks, mwicks@inacol.org • Rick Ferdig,rferdig@gmail.com