Full Description
Powerful collaborative learning—anytime, anyplace!
Online learning seems like a perfect solution for cost-conscious districts and busy teachers, but can these programs also deliver high-caliber professional learning? Using one district's success story as a model, this timely book shows you how to combine well-designed online instruction with the energy of peer-to-peer collaboration. At the heart of this book is a model that supports powerful professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for every student.
Sonja Hollins-Alexander writes from her own experience building a successful online professional development (PD) program for a large urban district. Readers will find
Research-based support for online PD and the author's original Learner-Learner model
A thorough planning guide and ten action steps for program development
Best practices for managing staffing and resources
Strategies for establishing a true community of learners online
Discover how to create a sustainable online PD program that promotes collaboration and growth!
"This book provides district and school leaders with a practical guide to shifting professional learning from more traditional 'sit and get' models to technology-enhanced models that foster collaboration and co-creation."
—Catherine Huber, Principal
Northwood Elementary, West Seneca, NY
Contents
Preface: The Evolution of a Design
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Contributors
1. The Learner-Learner Model
2. Getting It Started: A Planning Guide
3. 10 Action Steps to an Online Virtual Learning Community
4. The Process: Transitioning a Face-to-Face Professional Learning Community to an Online Virtual Learning Community
5. Getting It Done: What Structures Support the Implementation of a Virtual Learning Community?
6. Building Capacity and Sustainability: School-Based Virtual Learning Cohorts
7. Pitfalls Don't Hold You Back
8. Summary: My Reflections
References
Index
