H1N1 and Online Learning? What's the Buzz?

U.S. Dept. of Education, Dept. of Health & Student Services, private industries and International Association for Online Learning (iNACOL) share advice on ensuring how learning can continue admist H1N1 flu outbreak season.

The Journal article: http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/09/22/government-and-private-industry-share-advice-on-how-learning-can-continue-during-flu-outbreak.aspx

Ed Gov Web site: http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/pandemic/index.html

Recommendations PDF:
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/pandemic/guidance/continuity-recs.pdf

Who would have thought a couple of years ago that viruses and online learning would be recommended by both government and private industries? Maybe lessons learned from Katrina?

Online Professional Development Cost Saving in the Long Run?

Digital Directions Article: Online Professional Development Weighted as Cost-Saving Tactic

I'll preface by saying that I'm biased, so I definitely think demand for online professional development will increase because schools, districts and states will realize that in addition to providing flexibility for educators who have limited time in their schedules, there are also cost-savings involved.

I particularly liked how this article laid out cost savings by comparing f-2-f and online PD

• Online course: text heavy = $5,000, interactive w/ graphics & video = $30,000
• Day long f-2-f PD for 104 district math teachers = $16,000, substitute teachers = $13,000

I think KSDL should work on a cost analysis for KS. How abut the CBECE Emergency Operations Plan training, which now involves 200+ staff? Pretty easy for online estimated cost since we already have our project sheets set up to track hours it would take to develop an an online course. What do you think the analysis it would look like? I'd estimate that the cost savings would be much bigger because we have teachers on various islands and travel cost itself is probably a big chunk, which doesn't even cover the PD day.

I liked how Michelle Davis ended the article, "Just like online learning isn't for all students, it's not for all teachers either." Doesn't that sound familiar? :)

What do you think about trends for online PD? What about for KS? Looking forward to your thoughts.

21st Century Skills: What Do They Look Like? Webinar

Good one for those of us working on A'o Kumu development of ke kumu, 21st century technologies and culture based learning.

Thursday, October 8 10 am PST / 1 pm EST
Wondering exactly what 21st Century Skills are all about? Trying to determine what steps to take to begin bringing 21st Century Skills into classroom projects? Join this presentation and discussion around 21st Century Skills concepts, examples, and real world advice on how to bring them into the classroom.

More info: http://www.techlearning.com/article/22632

Dorothy's side comments: I was looking for the easy to share function, which they had, but Blogger wasn't on the list. It made me think of another function to include in our revamped tribe house. Kelly, sorry, too lazy to post again in your blog site. Could you note it down? Mahalo.

Did You Know 4.0 (designed by XPLANE) on YouTube

Today, I thought I'd share this video below, which is the latest edition of the popular "Did You Know" presentation.

Testing Audio Pal

Want to try it out yourself? http://www.audiopal.com.

Google Links...

After reading about several Google initiatives from various sources, I thought it would be a good topic for me to blog about.

1. Google Books - Google settles lawsuit with the Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and a handful of authors and publishers. See what's coming up in the future. http://books.google.com/googlebooks/agreement/
2. Google Lit - an online project that combines the satellite imagery of Google Earth with the instructional goals of literature study http://www.edutopia.org/economic-stimulus-education-technology-new-york
3. Google Apps Education - free email and collaboration tools for educational institutions, including infrastructure options (probably will have costs attached in the future) http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/index.html
4. Google Wave - want to be the first 100,000 to try beginning Sept. 30? Sign up at http://wave.google.com/

Any other Google products you use that is worth mentioning?

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

I enjoyed watching this video on You Tube. How about you?

$125,000 Base Salary for Teachers

In September, the Equity Charter School in New York will be opening their doors to 120 5th graders, many from low-income Hispanic neighborhoods and low academic scores. The school's philosophy is based upon the belief that the most important factor in achieving educational equity for low income students is to invest in attracting and retaining teaches. By doing this, they hope to acheive success. All teachers will earn a base salary of $125,000 with an annual bonus up to $25,000. Their operating budget will be based upon per student allocation and they plan to save money on support staff. In exchange for high salaries, they will be assuming additional administrative roles, working from 8-6 p.m., subbing for each other and spending summers on professional development. Many eduation and policymakers will be tracking this school closely.

Read more about this at ABC News, http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=8436814&page=1

What do you think about teachers being paid $125,000 salary in exchange for additional responsibilities while ensuring student success? Looking forward to your thoughts.