CTAP Region 8 – Ventura County is planning on offering two opportunities to participate in the new Leading Edge Certification course for teachers this spring. Each session will be 8 weeks and cover all the topics listed in the Topics and Schedule section below. All modules will be offered online with no required face-to-face meetings. The cost for each session is $450.00 per person.
LEC Session 1 -- 2/27/12 through 4/23/12
LEC Session 2: -- 4/30/12 through 6/18/12
Additional Summer Sessions – Dates TBD
Please review the following for more information about the LEC process. Teachers who are interested in participating in either of the LEC sessions should complete the LEC Application Form at: http://www.formstack.com/forms/VCOEEdTech-LECApp
Overview
The goal of Leading Edge Certification is to help each participant become a more effective online instructor, and to provide a learning context, which interests, excites, and challenges participants to explore effective teaching practices.
Online education can provide the opportunity for students and professional learners to communicate and demonstrate mastery in ways that would be challenging in the traditional setting. Aligning effective pedagogy with engaging curriculum and a variety of online learning tools offers an empowering alternative for tomorrow's leaders. Preparing teachers for that opportunity is the sincere goal of the Leading Edge Certification course.
LEC participants will integrate contemporary technology into teaching practices and learning activities using software, cloudware, and resources that serve curriculum objectives and educational goals. This class includes both theoretical and experiential components; participants will explore research and examples of effective practices in online instruction, but will also spend a substantial portion of course time developing educationally meaningful and personally relevant products to support their online course and their LEC portfolio.
LEC participants can expect to spend 4-6 hours of work per week, which includes:
- Reading course materials and exploring examples
- Completing projects and assignments
- Sharing and reflecting with other class participants in discussion forums.
See also article in Ed Week:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2012/01/national_online_teacher_certif.html
Certification Requirements and Expectations
The Leading Edge Certification is a 50-60 hour course of study, including the development of a professional portfolio. Participants have one year from the start date of the course to complete their professional portfolio for certification.
Participants are expected to engage in all online activities as listed on the course calendar. Ongoing participation in discussion forums is mandatory for certification. The participants that usually have the most success in this virtual environment set aside a specific time for their work each week.
Learning Outcomes
Upon the successful completion of this class, you will be able to:
- Plan, design and incorporate strategies to encourage active learning, interaction, participation and collaboration in the online environment (iNACOL C)
- Provide online leadership in a manner that promotes student success through regular feedback, prompt response and clear expectations (iNACOL D)
- Model, guide and encourage legal, ethical, safe and healthy behavior related to technology use (iNACOL E)
- Understand the online learning experience from the perspective of a student (iNACOL F)
- Understand and be responsive to students with special needs in the online classroom (iNACOL G)
- Demonstrates competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online learning environments (iNACOL H)
- Develop and deliver assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standards-based learning goals and assesses learning progress by measuring student achievement of learning goals (iNACOL I)
- Arrange media and content to help students transfer knowledge most effectively in the online environment (iNACOL M)
Course Structure
This course will be delivered entirely online through the course management system Moodle.
In Moodle you will access online lessons, course materials, and a variety of multimedia resources. Throughout the course, you will participate in a blend of self-paced and adaptive released (instructor-paced) activities using Moodle and alternative Internet-based technologies.
Textbook & Course Materials
There is no required textbook for this course. All required readings are available online, and will be made available throughout the course when needed.
Required:
- Headset/microphone for Adobe Connect and portfolio projects.
- Online accounts for Google, VoiceThread, Glogster, YouTube and other Web 2.0 tools that emerge in the course
- Current web browser with appropriate plugin
Optional:
- JingPro ($14.95) and Techsmith/Screencast (included with JingPro) account for storage
- Web cam for expanding your “presence” within the course
Topics & Schedule: general topic schedule, may flex some depending on needs of the group and other considerations.
Module 1: Introduction and Overview (Week 1)
Learning Objective: After the successful completion of this learning unit, you will:
- understand the LEC program and certification requirements.
- have a basic familiarity with your classmates.
Module 2: Online vs. Face to Face (Week 1-2)
Learning Objectives: After the successful completion of this learning unit, you will:
- identify the similarities and differences between online and face-to-face teaching .
- identify the requirements, responsibilities and advantages of online teaching.
- establish effective policies and procedures when creating classroom discussions
- review the latest educational research on online learning.
Module 3: The Online Teacher (Weeks 3-4)
Learning Objectives: After the successful completion of this learning unit, you will:
- describe the role of an online teacher.
- compare and contrast the face-to-face teaching with online teaching
- translate Bloom's Taxonomy to the online classroom.
Module 4: Setting the Stage (Week 5)
Learning Objectives: After the successful completion of this learning unit, you will:
- plan, design and incorporate strategies to encourage active learning, interaction, participation and collaboration in the online environment.
- create an Online Course Syllabus that includes course objectives, course expectations, communication, grading criteria and instructor response time.
- assess student and teacher readiness for online learning and teaching.
Module 5: Building Community (Week 6)
Learning Objectives: After the successful completion of this learning unit, you will:
- use varied techniques to build community in your online class.
- identify methods for fostering inclusive learning environments.
Module 6: Assessment (Week 7)
Learning Objectives: After the successful completion of this learning unit, you will:
- differentiate and identify the similarities and differences between successful online and face-to-face assessments.
- identify the requirements, responsibilities and advantages of establishing an academic integrity policy.
- explore and integrate current web 2.0 tools that can be used for online learning assessments.
- review and demonstrate best practices of assessment rubrics.
Module 7: Pedagogy & Certification (Week 8)
Learning Objectives: After the successful completion of this learning unit, you will:
- reflect upon your personal areas of strength and your areas of need in your role as an online instructor.
- understand all requirements of the LEC portfolio and the process for submission.