2. About me
2

3. Leadership & Technology
My thinking has been influenced by:
 Doctoral research on leadership in technology-enhanced
learning situations
 Consulting work with the BC online K-12 schools
 Development of standards and quality review
 Policy and practice consultation with AB post-secondary
 Online support for community access facilitators
 Continuing research of online programs
3

4. About the Room…
Where
 From US?
 From Canada??
 International?
Who
 K-12 Educator?
 Post-secondary Faculty?
 Administration / Government?
 Others??
4

5. Questions for you to reflect on…
 1. How can the existing quality assurance measures be
used to evaluate K12 online and blended learning
programs?
 2. How can the evaluation process benefit learning
outcomes and results without taking away from
instructional delivery?
 3. What are the top 3 barriers to achieving quality in
online and blended learning programs?
 4. What are some of the successes in applying a quality
metric to online and blended learning programs?
5

6. Technology &Education – Collision course?
MANAGING E-LEARNING IMPLEMENTATION:
April 20, 2006 What Do Real Leaders Do? 6

7. Technologyin context…
 Students today depend too much upon ink. They
don’t know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a
pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.
National Association of Teachers, 1907
7

8. Technologyin context…
 If technology is the answer, what is the question?
 The paradox of technology enhanced education is that
technology changes very rapidly and human beings very
slowly.
 It would seem to make sense for proponents of e-learning
to begin with the students.
Bates & Poole, 2003, p. xiii
8

9. It’s About Pedagogy…
 Technology is often viewed as
pedagogically neutral (Moll, 2001)
 Yet the organization of learning and
engagement of learners through
educational technology is essential to
pedagogy (Bednar, Cunningham, Duffy, &
Perry, 1992; Gayol&Schied, 1997)
9

10. Assumptions underlying early e-Learning
1. That people predictably transfer learning from one
situation to another.
2. That learners are passive receivers of wisdom – vessels
into which knowledge is poured.
3. That learning is the strengthening of bonds between
stimuli and correct responses.
4. That learners are blank slates on which knowledge is
inscribed.
5. That skills and knowledge, to be transferable to new
situations, should be acquired independent of their
contexts of use.
10

11. Pedagogical shift?
11

12. e-Learning Challenge
 A fundamental question in understanding quality in e-
learning is not only how to define it, but how to foster
quality instructional and leadership practices – “the aim
when using technology is not to be as good as face-to-
face teaching but better” (Bates & Poole, 2003, p.23).
12

14. 14

15. Defining Quality
 Quality's economical importance comes from its
perceived ability in business terms to lower costs,
improve employee commitment, and ensure continuous
improvement within a dynamic environment(Dawson &
Palmer, 1995)
 Pedagogical meaning focuses on enhancing the process of
learning and the interaction between the learner and the
learning environment
 Despite all that has been written about quality,
Wikipediasums it up best, stating quality is “perceptual,
conditional and somewhat subjective” (Wikipedia, 2010,
¶1). 15

16. How can quality be achieved in K-12 e-learning even if
its description is fleeting and elusive?
 What does quality e-learning look like?
 How do you know it?
 Out-loud thoughts…
16

17. Quality & Standards
 The focus on quality in e-learning began with the
examination of the quality of course materials and digital
learning content provided to students.
 Standards were created to address the quality of the
course – focus on instructional design, accessibility,
resources, and assessment
BC-
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/docs/digital_learning_standa
rds.pdf
 Shift to standards on instructional delivery (accreditation)
BC http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/docs/dl_standards.pdf
17

18. Measuring Quality
iNACOL Standards
 http://www.inacol.org/research/nationalstandards/index.php
International Society for Technology in Education
 http://www.iste.org/standards.aspx
WASC Accreditation Criteria for Online Schools
 http://www.acswasc.org/pdf_general/WASCSupplementForOnlineSc
hools.pdf
18

19.  Standards, such as those published by such organizations
as the International Society for Technology in Education
and the International Association for K-12 Online
Learning, simply fall short by describing a minimum,
whereas quality’s focus should be on the maximum
attainable.
(Bates & Poole, 2003)
19

20. iNACOL Standards
 The online teacher knows the primary concepts and structures of effective online instruction and is able to create learning
experiences to enable student success.
 The online teacher understands and is able to use a range of technologies, both existing and emerging, that effectively
support student learning and engagement in the online environment.
 The online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, application, interaction,
participation, and collaboration in the online environment.
 The online teacher promotes student success through clear expectations, prompt responses, andregular feedback.
 The online teacher models, guides, and encourages legal, ethical, and safe behavior related to technology use.
 The online teacher is cognizant of the diversity of student academic needs and incorporates accommodations into the online
environment.
 The online teacher demonstrates competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online learning environments
in ways that ensure validity and reliability of the instruments and procedures.
 The online teacher develops and delivers assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standards-based learning goals
and assesses learning progress by measuring student achievement of the learning goals.
 The online teacher demonstrates competency in using data from assessments and other data sources to modify content and
to guide student learning.
 The online teacher interacts in a professional, effective manner with colleagues, parents, and other members of the
community to support students’ success.
 The online teacher arranges media and content to help students and teachers transfer knowledge most effectively in the
online environment.
20

21. iNACOL Standards
 Online Environment & Technology
 Active Learning & Engagement
 Inclusion & Accessibility
 Assessment Strategies
 Professional & Ethical
 Instructional Design
21

22. Arewe falling short??
 Discussion...
22

23. 23

24. Standards-based approach…
 Missing from this approach is an examination of the
extent of interaction between and among teacher and
students – the “extent of contact between the teacher
and those taught as well as the levels of socialization,
sharing of experiences and visible involvement in the
process of learning” (Koul, 2006, p.178).
24

25. Total Quality Management…
 Quality is not just about management process (learner
achievement), customer satisfaction (learner opinion), or
quantification of product (course content).
 Quality is the relations among learners and teachers in
the learning community that describe, and are the
evidence of, quality learning.
25

26. Quality and Interaction...
 “High quality interaction with learning
materials, interaction between teachers and
learners and interaction among learners, are
all essential for effective learning.”
Bates, A.W. (2006), p.222
26

27. Teachers and Quality
 Analysis of 400,000 students in 3000 schools found the
most important predictor of quality was the teacher
 Teacher effect on student achievement was both additive
and cumulative
Rice (2003)
 The quality of a student’s teacher is the most important
determinant of learning after family background.
Hanushek (1992)
27

28. Importance of social interaction
Research conducted by Richard Light of Harvard:
 One of the strongest determinants of student success
was not instructor teaching style, rather the ability to
form and participate in small study groups
 Students who studied in groups:
 More prepared for class
 Better engaged in their studies
 Learned significantly more than students who worked on
their own
Light, R.J. (2001)
28

29. Quality and Technology
 Ungerleider and Burns (2003) found that the
effectiveness of technology use was correlated to the
level of interactivity provided by the technology, or the
engagement of the learner.
 understanding that interaction through the use of
technology is pivotal to building insight into quality in e-
learning
29

30.  Quality, then, is largely a result of the
participation, negotiation between
educational stakeholders, and interaction
between and among students and teachers in
the learning environment.
30

31. Managing Quality
1. How can the existing quality assurance measures be used to evaluate K12 online and
blended learning programs?
2. How can the evaluation process benefit learning outcomes and results without taking away
from instructional delivery?
3. What are the top 3 barriers to achieving
quality in online and blended learning
programs?
4. What are some of the successes in applying a quality metric to online and blended learning
programs?
31

32. Discussion…
32

33. 33

34. Quality and Theory…
 Defining quality on the basis of standards is one
approach, but to truly understand, analyze and assess
quality it must be situated within a theoretical framework
(Ellis, et.al., 2007; Deepwell, 2007).
34

35. Community of Inquiry Model
35

36.  The idealized view of education, as a critical
community of learners, is no longer just an ideal, but
has become a practical necessity in the realization of
relevant, meaningful, and continuous learning. It is
within such a community of learners that the potential
of e-learning will be fully realized.
 Garrison& Anderson, 2003, p.3
36

37. Research-based
 Garrison,
Anderson, and
Archer’s (2000)
Community of
Inquiry framework
is the foundation
for instructional
practice
37

38.  The model is social constructivist in nature and
grounded in John Dewey’s (1938) notion of practical
inquiry. Since its initial formulation ten years ago, the
Community of Inquiry framework has been used by
educators worldwide to inform research and practice.
Most recently, the development of a common CoI
survey has resulted in a flurry of new research that is
supporting understanding of online learning.
38

39. Theoretical Framework
Communities of Inquiry Survey:
 Link to Survey
http://communitiesofinquiry.com/methodology
 34 question Likkert Scale
 Teaching Presence
 Social Presence
 Cognitive Presence
39

40. British Columbia Context
 35,000 educators
 600,000 students
 60 school districts
urban/rural
 Declining enrolment
 55 public DL schools
 18 independent DL
schools
 Online Choice: Open
boundaries
40

41. Two lenses for measuring
Compliance Quality
•Funding •Participation
•Curriculum-focused •Learner-focused
•Supervision •Engagement
•Assessment •Personal knowledge
•Achievement •Success
•Completion •Satisfaction

42. DL Quality Review Process
Internal review by DL educators
 Instructional/leadership review models for reflection on DL
Standards supporting school planning processes
 Collection and monitoring of data to shape DL practice
External Review (select DL school sites)
 Initial meeting(s) with school staff and district staff
 Review of DL achievement data, satisfaction info, etc.
 Observation/discussion with instructional, support and admin staff
 Sharing observations – external team and district/school staff
 Post site review meeting (observations and data analysis, areas of
strength /improvement)
 Publication of external review formal report
42

43. BC Quality Review
Data-driven process analyzing:
 Student Success
 DL achievement data, provincial exam data, Foundation Skills Assessment test
results, satisfaction surveys, and district and school-level data
 Instructional Practice
 Standards; research on emerging e-learning instructional practice; DL staff
experience and practice; integration and use of educational technologies;
strategies for supporting learner engagement; and learning resources
 Leadership Practice
 Support of emerging DL instructional practices; parent, student & staff
involvement, input, and satisfaction; planning and school improvement
processes; and audit, School Act, and DL Agreement compliance
43

44. Quality Review Model
Student Success
(engagement, achievement & satisfaction)
External Emerging
Review Implementing Quality
Practice
- Instructional & Leadership -Sharing &
Observing, Vali Practices Applying New
dating, &
Strategies
Recommending
Internal Review
(part of school planning process)
44

45. 45

46. Commonwealth of Learning Quality Assurance
http://www.col.org/PublicationDocuments/QA%
20NFE_150.pdf
http://www.col.org/PublicationDocuments/pub
QAOSToolkit.pdf
46

47. Commonwealthof Learning
 Quality assurance is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the
various aspects of systems, projects or programs to maximize the
probability of standards being achieved for specified performance
indicators.
(p. 15 http://www.col.org/PublicationDocuments/QA%20NFE_150.pdf)
 Harvey and Green (1993) five interrelated ways of defining quality
1. Excellence: Learning as something exceptional, unique
2. Consistency: Learning is consistent and focused on common outcomes
3. Fitness for purpose: Meeting pre-determined requirements, needs or desires
4. Value for money: Return on investment in learning
5. Transformation: Quality as enhancement and empowerment
47

48. Quality Matters…
 Three primary components:
 Quality Rubric – no matter what the rubric
 A Peer Review Process – or accreditation
 QM Professional Development – a focus on learning
http://www.qmprogram.org/
48

49. Open Question Period
49

50. Quality: Final Words…
 In the final analysis, it is the teacher’s personal mastery of
the ‘art of instruction’ and their sensitivities to the needs
of students that determine course quality.
Alley and Jansak, 2001
50

51. Resources
 http://www.inacol.org/research/nationalstandards/index.php
 http://www.col.org/PublicationDocuments/QA%20NFE_150.pdf
 http://www.col.org/PublicationDocuments/pubQAOSToolkit.pdf
 http://communitiesofinquiry.com/model
 http://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=communities+of+inquiry&hl=en&as_sdt=0&
as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ei=DS-
LT7vfEarUiALX6t3ZCw&ved=0CBoQgQMwAA
 http://communitiesofinquiry.com/sites/communityofinquiry.com/files/Critical_
Inquiry_model.pdf
 http://communitiesofinquiry.com/sites/communityofinquiry.com/files/CoI%20
Draft%2014b.doc
 http://wiki.ubc.ca/images/1/19/SECTIONS_Framework.pdf
 http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/docs/dl_standards.pdf
 http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/quality_review.htm

52. Measuring Quality: Randy LaBonte 52

53. Quality Assurance in K12
Online & Blended Programs
Randy LaBonte
Destiny Education Consulting
rlabonte23@gmail.com
@rlabonte
53

54. Managing Quality
1. How can the existing quality assurance measures be
used to evaluate K12 online and blended learning
programs?
2. How can the evaluation process benefit learning
outcomes and results without taking away from
instructional delivery?
3. What are the top 3 barriers to achieving quality in
online and blended learning programs?
4. What are some of the successes in applying a quality
metric to online and blended learning programs?
54

55. Sloan Consortium
 Sloan Consortium published a quality framework based
on the five pillars of learning effectiveness, cost
effectiveness and institutional commitment, access,
faculty satisfaction, and lastly student satisfaction
(Moore, 2005).
 The framework can be applied in educational settings as
well as corporate training learning environments.
 A quick guide to its five pillars of quality is also available
on their website for download.
http://sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/pages/Sloan-C%20Pillar%20Reference%20Manual.pdf
55

56. 56