Search, learn, share! Brought to you by the producers of the Google Teacher Academy, a Google Workshop for Educators (GWE) introduces participants to innovative ways Google tools can be used in education. A full day of fast-paced presentations and hands-on activities includes experience with advanced search techniques, collaborative web-based applications, and inspirational instructional strategies. Google Certified Teachers share ways they've implemented the use of free tools such as Google Docs, Google Earth, Google Sites, and... even more. Participants who complete the event are given access to the Google Workshops for Educators Network (GWEN), an online community focused on supporting educators as they learn more about the power of Google to drive student learning. The intended audience is online educators (including teachers, administrators, and tech integration specialists) with advanced technology skills.

Starting an online program as a part of a school or as a separate school is a many-faceted challenge, even for seasoned educators. This session will identify which types of decisions need to be made first and which decisions should wait until after these initial decisions have been made. The session will give you the opportunity to work with experienced practitioners from around the country. Topics will include program design, curriculum decisions, administrative systems, teacher recruitment and professional development, student recruitment and support, policy development, and more. This session is designed for educators who are new to virtual schooling or in their first two years of their program.

It is widely accepted, but not well documented, that students of ethnic minorities are under-represented in virtual school populations. With the growth of virtual schooling, the diversity of online learners is increasing. Several programs that target disenfranchised populations of students are appearing on the virtual school landscape, raising many challenging issues. The results of a nationwide survey of virtual school programs by iNACOL and David B. Glick & Associates, LLC, adds further complexity to the discussion.

Who are virtual school students? Is the oft-touted anonymity of online learning really a benefit to students? Are ethnically-targeted programs a return to separate-but-equal, or do they provide culturally sensitive and uniquely supportive environments? What can we learn from charter schools who have been debating this issue for over a decade? How is ethnicity important to your students and teachers? This panel discussion will include leaders from both targeted and general programs, as well as individuals from communities underserved by online learning programs.

You've heard about virtual labs before, but now is your chance to learn how to integrate them into your online science courses! Here is a unique opportunity to learn from the virtual lab developers themselves. See new tools and technologies and pick an an-depth training session that best fits your needs!

In this workshop, participants will learn about the broad range of practices and technologies available for implementing high quality science learning in online courses. The workshop will feature an initial session of live demonstrations and test drives of various cyberlearning tools, virtual labs, and other online laboratory science resources. Participants will then select an in-depth hands-on training session provided by the tool developer and learn how to integrate one of the tools in an online science course. The goal of the workshop is to help online teachers and course developers to improve the quality of their science courses, to exchange best practices, and learn about the latest tools and technologies for online science education.

The workshop will consist of two highly interactive, hands-on sessions:

1. Hands-on demo session. Check out 8 interactive and hands-on demonstrations of online science courses, investigations, resources, and technologies. Learn about new tools to enhance your current courses.
2. In-depth hands-on training session (5 options). Select the virtual lab tool that best fits your interests or needs and participate in a training session that will help you learn how to integrate the tool into your courses. Get tips on how to make your science courses more hands-on and engaging for learners. Each training session is led by the developer of the virtual lab tool, so you will be able to have direct interaction with the experts!

Agenda

Online educators face countless challenges as their programs grow, mature, and change over time. This session explores issues and findings from iNACOL's Promising Practices in Online Learning white paper series as a starting point to look at the approaches taken by experienced online programs in areas including content development, teacher management, blended learning, credit recovery, socialization, and other key operational issues. Attendees should come ready to share their ideas and practices from their programs in an interactive, round table format facilitated by the educators profiled in the Promising Practices white papers. The session will include active discussions that result in concrete strategies that attendees can take back to their organizations and begin to implement immediately. It will benefit any online learning educator, but will be a forum for discussing intermediate to advanced concepts in the management, operations and strategic planning of online learning programs.

Tom Clark, TA Consulting - Chairperson
Cathy Cavanaugh, University of Florida
This session focuses on asking answering questions that strengthen K-12 online learning programs. Program administrators, evaluators, and researchers will share their approaches to identifying questions that link to improving practice and methods that lead to insights for managing online learning environments, both for increasing quality and effectiveness and for meeting accountability needs. We will also share updates on K-12 online education programs that are in planning stages at the U.S. Department of Education. Participants will be asked to contribute their ideas on successful practices and lessons learned, and ways to strengthen research and evaluation practice.

This hands-on session will provide an overview to emerging technologies for online learning. The session will engage participants in conversation around creating successful learning communities, promoting collaboration, and enhancing instructive techniques with Web 2.0 tools. Participants who bring laptop computers will have an opportunity to try out a collection of Web 2.0 tools and think together about strategies for selecting and incorporating the ones that most meet their identified virtual school needs.

What do online teachers need to know and do? How can we balance effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of professional development? How can we effectively evaluate teachers' progress against online teaching standards and competencies? How can we measure the effectiveness of our professional development programs?

Participants will join a panel of experts in professional development for online teachers to investigate best practices in answer to these questions. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of what has worked -- and what hasn't -- in their programs. Topics for discussion will include:

• NACOL, SREB, and NETS-T standards
• Synchronous v. asynchronous delivery mechanisms and tools
• Budgeting for professional development
• Getting teacher and administrator buy-in
• Implementing a robust evaluation program
• On-going professional development topics and delivery for veteran online teachers

In addition to the concrete strategies they will glean through collaboration and discussion at this session, participants will leave with sample professional development syllabi and implementation ideas and templates for teacher evaluation rubrics and personal professional development plans.

How do state organizations authorize high quality online programs and ensure that these schools help in the recovery of drop outs and also attract other interested students needing a different type of educational program.

Today's learners expect more choice than ever when it comes to their educational experiences. How can educators/districts harness the power of technology to offer strong, learner-centric, innovative programs that help students on the road to success? Tim King, Director of the AllPrep Charter schools, and Jan McSorley, from Austin ISD's Clifton Career Development School, will share their experiences in using technology to offer real choice to diverse populations.

Encouraging self-directed individualization through the design of an online class, based upon Gardner's theory of data entry points, enables even reluctant learners to achieve success. Allowing students to choose their own path through each of the topics within a course encourages participation while demonstrating mastery. Students' ability to choose multiple paths within a course increases their attachment to the content and the likelihood of success.

Brief summary of phase I and II of the national Going Virtual! research series with a discussion on how to measure effective teacher PD and progress in the design of phase III. Presenters will share initial results from a pilot study evaluating the effectiveness of teacher training and discuss the complexity in measuring the impact of teacher training on student achievement.

Successful implementation of online learning initiatives demands strategies that position schools and states to take advantage of opportunities that support online learning. Essentials: district and state educational technology plans and statewide tool for measuring technology readiness that include a strong online learning component. Lessons learned about innovative planning and implementation models enable states, and urban and rural, small and large districts to make their vision a reality!

Achievement data and completion rates have been the principle measures of success for online learning, but only look at results. A fundamental question in the drive for student choice is how do we know if quality learning is taking place if we merely focus on accountability not improvement? Join Randy in this interactive dialogue about the Quality Review process British Columbia has launched to foster quality in K-12 online learning and the initial results.

The Fort Washakie High School has operated a successful hybrid model of online learning for Native American students on the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming. The school's model will be discussed as well as the strengths and struggles it has experienced over the past 5+ years. Administrators and students will provide their prospective and answer questions from the audience.

Last year, Poway Unified School District identified 76 students who had dropped out, many of whom were more than 15 courses behind. We aggressively developed a plan to develop an online program that would inlcude a diagnostic assessment in each course to customize the learning experience. We also formed strategic partnerships with community members and organizations for support and outreach assistance.

Smithsonian online educational experiences open the national museums to learners everywhere. The session features 1)a Smithsonian segment of a pilot Introductory Physics course, 2)Online Conferences, free, interactive, interdisciplinary multi-session events examining evidence and research findings with Smithsonian experts, and 3)a pilot animated lesson simulating an examination of evidence of global warming in the fossil record, work done in real life by Smithsonian paleoclimatologists.

Do you often find yourself spending hours scouring the Web for multimedia, primary sources, and fun bits of pop culture to keep students engaged in your English classes? New interactive guides help students learn the process and mechanics of analytical writing. Some also help students organize their thoughts, hone a point of view, and build the basis for their argument. We will look at online resources to supplement literary analysis and writing and discuss how to best integrate these tools into your virtual instruction.

Challenged to keep up with the fast-paced evolution of technology-supported learning in an era of reduced resources? This session examines ways Open Educational Resources (OER) can support learners, teachers and institutional innovation in this new economic landscape. Case studies from the NROC Network and HippoCampus will be shared.

Online learning issues keep cropping up all over, from Oregon to Florida, Ohio to Arizona, the federal stimulus to local budget battles. In this special session, the iNACOL Advocacy and Issues Committee will illuminate key national and global trends in online learning policy, and then organize participants in round robin sharing sessions. Participants will learn what might lie ahead for their programs, and share strategies for broadening online learning opportunities for all students.

In 2008 the Texas Virtual School Network moved state virtual school legislation from paper to reality in 9 months. Recruitment of course providers, review of courses and agreement negotiation occurred while online systems where developed for a January 2009 roll-out. After two semesters of operation, priorities and funding changes were made as a result of the 81st Texas Legislature. Learn how this unique, dynamic collaboration between educational organizations is expanding online options for Texas high schools and students.

What if we were all working together - online and in-class, across school boundaries? This session reviews a practical, standards-based, student-centered, data-driven model for bridging the gap between traditional and online instruction through integration of modular tools, open educational resources, school as a service and parent involvement that will disrupt learning as we know it. Participants will debate issues of collaboration - quality, availability, copyright, and sustainability.

This presentation will describe the development of a collaborative relationship between Michigan Virtual School and Michigan State University with benefits to each organization. Preservice and inservice teachers were given online experiences in virtual math and science summer camps at MVS in which ninth graders worked with simulations. These collaborative relationships are presented as examples of potential win-win relationships between virtual K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions.

Pearson's Project Tapestry supports standards based assessments and management of student data, as well as providing an educational platform that can deliver content for both blended and virtual schools. To support virtual schools Pearson is developing a suite of virtual courses for both core curriculum and AP courses. In this session, Todd Hitchcock and Ron Rheinheimer will discuss how Project Tapestry and Pearson’s new virtual courseware can be used to personalized learning for every student.

Engaging students from a distance is one of the biggest challenges in online education. Creating high quality course content is essential to establishing student engagement. This requires forethought and planning. This session will outline the process that Virtual Virginia has developed for creating and reviewing course content to assure high quality, engaging course material through a collaborative approach.

The U.S. Department of Education is developing a new National Educational Technology Plan to provide a vision and concrete goals for how information and communication technologies can help transform American education. Please join representatives from the plan's development team to share your knowledge, experience and expertise. https://edtechfuture.org/

How can schools ensure continuity of learning during school closures and dismissals? To meet the immediate needs for pandemic planning due to the H1N1 virus, and prepare for long-term school closure continuity of learning needs, this session will take a broad approach to solutions through online learning for continuity planning. The presenters will share useful information on trends, guidance, challenges and solutions using online learning for K-12 schools to help develop preparedness plans.

When INSPIRE virtual charter school discovered how much impact synchronous tutoring sessions were having on its students' test scores, the staff decided to pursue a Charter Dissemination Grant to expand use of synchronous tools and bring some brick-and-mortar colleagues into the process as well. Hear how the INSPIRE team developed the grant proposal and created partnerships with Boise State University and local traditional schools to make it work.

Instead of consuming content, students at HTA develop content and have a deeper appreciation for the content developed. It has proven successful where HTA excelled on the large scale assessment in its first year. Instead of being provided content, students learn by doing; testing hypotheses and actively explore relationships. This is the future of education; development of web 3.0 skills and the shift to educating Jetson's children in Flintstone schools!

With fiber-optic cable now "wiring" the world, students from everywhere have access to online education from anywhere. Parents can get a world class on-line education for their child at costs that are substantially less than sending him/her to a "national" private school. The world-wide market for US accredited K-12 courses will grow exponentially in the next 10 years. Dr. Spottswood's presentation will discuss what you need to do now to reach this enormous international market with your online courses.

Online learning is touted as a credit recovery vehicle for K-12 students, yet little is known about where these "drivers" are coming from, how many of them there are, and what "roads" they tend to travel. This presentation explores data from over 1,000 credit recovery students to better understand their "traffic" patterns. We'll use this data to guide and open discussion about the construction projects needed to improve the credit recovery traffic on our online superhighways.

Ensuring academic success for students with disabilities is a national imperative, but how is this imperative being met in K-12 virtual schools? How can e-learning best serve students through adaptive technologies, individualized instruction, and innovative provision of related services? This important session tackles the question head on. The author of a recent national report on special education in virtual schools will examine urgent policy issues and explore best practices.

This session is designed to shed light on the many benefits of incorporating social learning networking into the K-12 virtual school community. In this session you will find better ways to engage your students and bring more focus to your educational discussions. You will learn how you can expand individual and group learning, as well as open students' eyes to other methods of learning. All with safe, secure technology that makes it easy to motivate and inspire students and educators.

Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) is an online curriculum delivery system that is designed to teach required subjects for graduation in grades 2-12. Currently, VLA offers an array of over 80 courses. VLA fits all learning styles, interests, and needs of students. VLA serves 31,000 students in over 179 school districts, 53 counties in Ohio, all 50 states, and internationally. Join the presentation in examining how a VLA program will benefit your districts.

A model that has been successful for over ten years in a small online charter school, in rural Minnesota will highlight its advisor model. Assigning each licensed teacher in the school to be an advisor or Learning Manager for twenty-five students each year has been incredibly successful. If you are discouraged by students disappearing in your virtual enviroment then this presentation is for you. Join us for an indepth look at a successful online advisor model and its components.

This session will review some of the significant obstacles for online language learning programs in addressing the national ACTFL standards embodied in the 5 Cs (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities) as well as promising efforts to not just overcome them, but to empower students in virtual schools to take advantage of their unique environment and its growing offerings. A variety of tools, programs, and online resources for developing and teaching foreign language courses will also be shared.

Data isn't fun or exciting but it is crucial to the success of any online school. What questions does the school need to ask itself about data? What tools can be used to easily derive, analysis and present data? How can programs make data available "just-in-time" to inform instruction and improve outcomes? Presenters will quickly overview two of the many tools available and show the depth and breadth of data and reports that may be produced. Uses for the data to drive continuous improvement shall be shared and solicited from the participants.

Learn about the South Carolina Office of eLearning's cost-effective, capacity building approach to developing and delivering online courses for students and educators. The SC Virtual School Program and eLearningSC, in partnership with EDC's EdTech Leaders Online, offers online training for SC educators to design online courses based on the iNACOL, SREB and SC standards. This training is part of a new add-on Certification in Online Teaching that will be offered by the SC Department of Education.

Policymakers and educators have proposed expanded learning time in schools to improve student academic performance, and early demonstrations of expanded learning time initiatives have shown success. The session outlines the use of online courses to expend learning time to increase schools' capacity to prepare students academically. Student achievement is a factor of the amount of quality instruction students experience, and online courses increase quality instructional time.

This session will discuss both blended and virtual models of credit recovery and explore the student population participating in credit recovery. A variety of strategies will be presented that help bridge the gap for struggling students. In addition, this session will examine how to facilitate implementation and choose courseware that will meet the needs of the greatest number of students. A courseware evaluation rubric and handouts of the strategies will be provided to participants.

A virtual school model for professional development will be presented by a team representing district administrators, teachers, specialists, students and university faculty. This model was implemented as part of a strategic plan addressing the needs of 21st century learners. Through the use of interactive tools, and audience participation, attendees will learn, explore and contribute to a discussion about important strategies, outcomes and challenges when developing a virtual school.

How nimbly can your program adapt to the individual needs of students? This session examines best practices in implementing personalized learning in online programs while maintaining high student achievement and academic integrity. What curriculum features are important? What assessment should be built in and with what frequency? How can procedures and staff support be structured most effectively? We will discuss real-world examples of effective models what this adaptability makes possible.

As mathematics requirements nationwide continue to rise, the impact of high failure rates in math courses becomes more profound. With generous foundation funding, the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE) is developing new solutions to improve student success in "gatekeeper" math courses in high schools and community colleges. We will discuss and explore the math challenge with perspectives from MITE and the Michigan Virtual School.

Ensuring student success requires building a 'value chain' for the student from initial interest, through the enrollment process, through instruction and graduation path. Working with dozens of school districts and thousands of online students each day, we've learned that there are critical paths to successful student performance. The job of ensuring an online student is actively engaged and making progress belongs to everyone! This presentation, using real-time examples as well as student performance data, will illustrate a team approach to improving student achievement.

The focus of STEM education is to grow the proficiency level of students in the sciences and mathematics. With NASA funding, CCSSO and SREB are developing an elective online Science/Math course for middle and high school students to explore earth and space science concepts through the context of current NASA Missions. Students in the course will learn NASA's unique problem solving methods by exploring and solving actual problems as they occur. Come to this session and find out how you can become involved in the project.

In this session, we will share the latest data from the Speak Up 2008 online surveys of over 335,000 K-12 students, teachers, parents and administrators and discuss how the data findings on online learning, learning management systems and Web 2.0 learning tools has evolved and changed over the past six years. The data will provide a context for a panel discussion with high school students involved in a variety of online learning environments.

The founders of PLC EDU and AAVS would like to introduce their new program and talk about the problems we incurred while moving forward with the project. After 2 pilot programs, 2 years of organizing funding, technology, accreditation and staffing, we are proud to talk about our new international diploma program that will help to bring African students in the 21st century. We also have pilot projects running in Russia and Saudi Arabia which we will update everyone on.

Isolation is a common problem among online students. By creating an emphasis on live, collaborative Elluminate sessions, Kaplan Virtual Education has been able to increase student engagement and improve student outcomes. In this session, we will share the methods we use to help teachers create interesting sessions, how we draw students to the sessions, and how we ensure that students are engaged while in the session itself.

This session will address how to increase student engagement in an online course. Demonstration of various tools that can be used with the LMS will show how to individualize instruction based on learning needs by creating a more dynamic, interactive environment that is motivating for students. Current research on student engagement will be also presented, as well as multiple viewpoints. Audience participation is encouraged.

Chicago Public Schools has a diverse population and a diverse set of opportunities to meet students' needs. Supplemental online courses for acceleration, core, and electives have been offered since 2001, and now credit recovery. Based upon data and research, CPS has developed strategies to engage students, keep them in school, and offer a variety of paths toward graduation. Distance Learning plays a large role in that plan. Come learn about CPS' Distance Learning Program and VOISE Academy.

Today's school counselors are trained to provide a comprehensive school counseling program that will aid in the growth and development of all students. Many online institutions have not yet included a counselor on their academic support and/or administrative team. The presentation is designed to help online organizations recognize the need for counselors in the virtual world and provide step-by-step instructions for developing comprehensive guidance services for their virtual students.

Our online lab program has a hands on component that is beneficial to students and in-line with current research on best practices in science instruction. We will include regular and AP courses in our discussion and share what we've discovered and the tools and resources that we are using.

What does the next generation of Virtual Learning look like? Through this facilitated discussion we will show concrete examples of virtual worlds, while participants will be engaged in conversations around gaming and efficacy in online learning. We will explore various types of assessments in virtual worlds and how students respond. Student user feedback from students reviewers will be examined. We will also delve into the use of formative assessment (ex.MyLabs) as a tool for student motivation.

This presentation will demonstrate how discourse analysis was used to investigate the literacy and structure of an online classroom. The researcher captured "world class" instances of online instruction by recording the interactions of instructors with their online students. The cyber school studied was formed in 2001 to research and develop asynchronous instructional strategies. The research in this study is part of a yearlong project with Pennsylvania's best cyber school and Penn State.

A f2f principal and a state virtual school will present a successful academy model that can be implemented in a f2f school for online learning. Data will be shared on participation rates, academic impact, graduation rate, and cost savings to two different districts who have successfully incorporated online learning in their school. This presentation includes all of the support strategies you will need in a local district to be successful in starting an "Academy."

The Regional Educational Technology Assistance (RETA) Program uses webinars to maximize ongoing professional development (PD) opportunities for K-12 teachers. As a series of synchronous events and utilizing the PD community, webinars have the potential to enhance existing virtual school programs at all levels. RETA Webinars can serve as a model to help your organization build capacity in addressing the PD needs of multiple audiences. Practical advice, resources, and strategies will be provided.

Bryan Eldridge of Florida Virtual School and Alessio Artuffo of Giunti Labs discuss a new cooperative initiative to implement new digital content production, management, and delivery strategies and the capability of improving learning personalization for today's developed knowledge societies to survive global crisis. Western economies need to harness innovation in educational technologies to better compete and survive in the emerging global competition and economical turmoil.

Discover Dorchester School District Two's vision for utilizing web-based distance learning to improve high school retention and graduation rates. You will learn how to improve student retention and graduation rates by providing levels of remediation that offer each student multiple paths to successful high school completion. Dorchester District Two has recently completed its first year of implementation.

This session will explore the benefits achieved, and problems encountered, of using online courses to provide High School Credit Recovery programs across multiple schools in a district. Experiences and results from 5 California districts over 4 years will be presented, including how a 6-school High School District went from a standing start to successful district-wide implementation in one school year. Presenters will review staffing, courses, in-service, and course and project management

According to Dr. Belfanz of John Hopkins University, there are 2,000 schools - Dropout Factories - that produce the majority of dropouts. These schools are based in large urban cities. Pioneering urban educators, not satisfied with the widening tide of poverty, have combined highly innovative thinking about technology, online learning, and social/emotional development, in a cyber-school model to rescue cities that are drowning with dropouts.

A panel of four university researchers who study K12 online teacher professional development will explore the linkages of their work with the development of emerging policy and best practice in each of their local contexts, and provide a model for collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

What do leaders in online learning have to say about the current trends facing education? Join us as Jessie Woolley-Wilson, President of Blackboard K-12 moderates a panel of online learning leaders including Dr. Brian Setser, CEO of North Carolina Virtual School, Julie Young, President and CEO of the Florida Virtual School and Donna Hutchison from the Idaho Digital Learning Academy. These leaders will discuss a variety of topics including online learning trends, strategies for adoption, funding, and keys to overcoming obstacles in your states or districts.

Focused outreach for an online program is critical for success. Creating name recognition and awareness of online course availability with a variety of stakeholder groups such as counselors, administrators, parents, and students should be a major objective for promoting your program. A panel of marketing experts from a state virtual school, state led initiative and a national private school will share a variety of outreach and collaboration strategies that have proven successful in this interactive session.

Virtual learning experiences support student development of the critical skills demanded in the 21st Century work force. By integrating virtual learning components into both online and face-to-face instructional models, Riverside Unified School District students benefit regardless of the instructional setting in which they enroll. Tying together the best of virtual and face-to-face instructional models is leading to great improvements in content delivery across a 45,000 student urban school district.

International Baccalaureate's (IB) Diploma Programme Online has provided - until now on a limited basis and only to students in existing IB World Schools - online courses that meet the exacting IB standards. Through an exciting new initiative, IB, with Pamoja Education and select IB Open World Schools, is increasing its online offerings and inviting students outside of IB World Schools to participate. Come see how your students can experience world-class, university-recognized IB courses online.

K21 online learning is boomingl, but who's tracking the data and issues shaping that growth? The answer is Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning, the go-to annual report. Hear from the report's author and leading contributors and join the roundtable discussion of key policy and practice issues from 2009, as well as a look ahead at key emerging issues in 2010.

This session will address how one regional education service agency in Genesee County Michigan is shaping the thinking of its local contituency toward accepting and utlizing online learning to meet the Online Experience Requirement in Michigan. This session will discuss the impetus behind the law, the impact on school reform, and the collaborative strategies used by regional education service agencies to address the requirement.

This session focuses on a 'best practice' framework for successful online course delivery, suitable for the senior secondary school environment, developed as a result of an experience-based international study of 8 schools from Iceland/Finland. It highlights the importance of nurturing effective virtual learning communities surrounding an online course. The session will focus on the challenges in establishing a sustainable program, as well as examining aspects of the program's success to date.

Yes, K-12 and Higher Ed can work together! As K-12 standards become more challenging students in remediation courses at the post-secondary level increase. Tennessee is striving to meet learner and instructor needs by building a stronger connection between K-12 education and post-secondary institutions through a dual credit laptop initiative, a state-wide LMS platform, shared e-learning development tools and a variety of other partnerships. Learn about our hurdles and successes

ePortfolios are becoming central teaching and learning channels which are learner centered and outcome based. See an ePortfolio demonstration and join the discussion of how ePortfolios differ from conventional folders through their design, purpose, and criteria for inclusion, knowledge acquisition, reflective elements, assessment, storage capabilities, search functions, and retrieval mechanisms. Additionally, current uses by end users, schools, and other organizations shall be explored.

Virtual Coaching, Mentoring, and Evaluating: Want to ensure support and mentoring for your online instructors that result in student learning? Join us and learn how teachers and administrators set goals, share progress, visit virtual classrooms and improve instruction that impacts learning via e-portfolios and data from virtual walk-throughs. Come hear how teacher leaders impact the growth of online instructors. Take away technology tips and tools - build your coaching and mentoring program.

iNACOL is releasing two new studies which focus on K-12 online learning outside of the United States. An overview of the updated iNACOL International Survey and the State of the Nation Study: K-12 Online Learning in Canada will be shared. International leaders in K-12 online learning will provide updates to the state of online learning for students in each of their countries. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the panelists and will leave the session with new ideas and perspectives in the areas of policy, funding, content, assessment, and professional development.

Preparing teachers for the challenge of online education has been difficult for virtual schools. Kaplan Virtual Education and K12, Inc. pair up to share their methods for ensuring teacher success by pre-qualifying teachers prior to employment and by employing a rigorous onboarding experience. Come hear our techniques for helping teachers, both prospects and new, understand and prepare for the unique demands of teaching online. In this session, we'll assist participants in creating their own systems for ensuring success.

This session will demonstrate that meeting students' needs often means discarding conventional instructional delivery. Rather than placing students in a model, build the model to fit the student. Using a variety of disruptive innovations, see solutions offered by two school districts - one in Wisconsin, the other in Florida. One district integrates an online curriculum into a structured yet highly individualized hybrid learning model, reducing social anxiety for overage, credit-deficient students - allowing them to work at their own pace, creating complete flexibility in their schedules. The other district delivers an economy of scale, using a flexible online curriculum in several blended models for credit recovery, original credit in Juvenile Justice, Alternative to Expulsion, dropout retrieval, community learning centers and self-contained ESE units, along with a virtual school. Both programs operate from a social justice perspective.

Indiana Online Academy uses a standards-based online learning model to facilitate success and maximize the potential of online learning in Indiana. Explore the benefits of aligning courses to standards. Examine the utilization of prescriptive assessments to create personalized learning paths. Consider innovative methods to inform course design and fuel continuous improvement. Learn what steps we take to ensure that all students have access to high quality education and learning opportunities.

Teaching, developing, and learning mathematics online has many challenges. We've overcome many challenges by providing opportunities to our students similar to a face to face classroom through our online interactives. We will share with you several math examples that have text, graphics and audio; math manipulatives, and several free online resources.

This session will demonstrate how two developing online schools, one in Utah and one in California, use open source content for their online schools. Both schools in part use the non-profit site Curriki as a source for and tool to organize their content. The course development process, general challenges and opportunities as well as specifics of the Curriki site will be shared.

An online reading supplemental service for middle school students was provided to a group of English Language Learners by Educate Online during the school year 2007-2008. Researchers selected a sample of the students to conduct an observation study of online instruction. The purpose was to examine patterns of interaction and instructional strategies to teach reading online. Findings include reading strategies, types of feedback, and online activities observed during instruction.

The Idaho Digital Learning Academy is a state online school. In our quest to provide the best instructional practices, an innovative performance pay and evaluation rubric was designed to increase and focus on effective online instructional practice and reward those teachers that go beyond good teaching to exceed expectations. Come to this session to learn more about this innovative performance pay system!

This presentation will share findings from Innosight Institute's case studies about the online learning landscape and discuss how states and districts can foster disruption through online learning. Examples will be drawn from case studies on Florida Virtual School and various districts using Apex Learning, among others.

The iLab Network allows students to conduct science experiments using real equipment via their web browsers. In this session, we will describe this new resource for STEM education and how it is transforming science teaching in both online and regular classrooms. We will demonstrate a lab using equipment housed in Australia and watch it live on webcam. Finally, we will share results from our classroom pilot test and discuss the implications for online and regular science classes.

MNOLA is an organization of online providers who are working to increase awareness of online learning in the state. During meetings, the members share best practices, ideas, and develop a legislative agenda. MNOLA has reached out to the MN Department of Education and the state legislature to teach and inform those bodies about online learning and its successes. The OLL programs in MNOLA are competing for students, yet this group allows them to work together to make OLL stronger in Minnesota.

A partnership was formed with the creation of a private 3-12 grade virtual online academy under the supervision of a university's school of education. Learn how an online 3-12 school was formed for the purpose of training future teachers in online pedagogy, and to appeal to parents and students interested in a disruptive innovation in 3-12 private education. The panel will present successful marketing strategies for how to start and maintain a private online school without public funding.

Pressures to increase math performance raise concerns about how to support struggling students to meet more rigorous curriculum outcomes. This session details after-school and summer online intervention strategies designed to assist students at-risk for failing algebra. Created through a partnership between the Michigan Virtual University, Michigan Math and Science Centers, CompassLearning, and K-12 schools, presenters will share their experiences enacting this program and their lessons learned.

e4TN has infused an unusually high number of instructional games and simulations as integral parts of its curriculum based on sound learning theory. Examine how and why e4TN creates games and simulations, and share in the lessons learned about instructional games and simulations derived from data collected by e4TN over years of experience. By exploring the evolution of e4TN's design, use, and instructional purposes of games and simulations, attendees can gain new insights for their own programs

Today's students are engaged in technology in a way that we have not seen in previous generations or with technology tools of the past. However, with all of their apparent usage, teens understanding of the technology tends to be rather shallow.? In this combined session, the presenters will explore the use of blogs, wikis, microblogging, avatars and 3D worlds, streaming video, and other Web 2.0 tools that can be used to add a little pop and zing to your online teaching.

Statistics show that only 71% of Washington State high school students graduate on time, and only 18% complete a college degree. This session will review recent research on the impact of online courses on high school graduation rates and college readiness in Washington State, as well as best practices to ensure that students get the most out of their online course experiences. The session will also include a consideration of online resources and tools that support hybrid learning models.

What are the best practices when it comes to operating a high quality online program? One way to answer that question is to look at standards. iNACOL has released standards for quality online teaching, courses, and programs. Another way to answer the question is to understand what is required for your online program to receive accreditation. We will provide an opportunity to examine the issue from both of these perspectives as representatives from expertise on the topic

The isolation of teaching online can be a barrier to professional growth. Virtual Virginia has overcome this barrier through the use of mentoring, social networking, and professional networking. This session will explain how Virtual Virginia has encouraged professional growth and developed a community of learners through peer-to-peer support

Schools and districts struggle with training online instructors in strategies to promote student achievement. Professional development strategies will be highlighted that are aligned to iNACOL Standards while building a community of online learners and promoting high standards. Research will be discussed on creating effective K-12 online learning.

Virtual schools are changing the paradigm of teacher training and evaluation. But what to do with the reluctant online educator - that teacher who's making just a half-hearted stab at good virtual instruction? Participants will leave with new ideas of how online teacher training and support, subject matter experts, growth plans, professional learning communities and mentoring can best be designed to meet the needs of reluctant educators in a dynamic, real-world virtual school environment.

No issue causes more confusion, concern or debate than socialization in online schools. Are children missing out, or are online schools as good or better at developing healthy social experiences for today's generation. This session tackles the socialization issue head on. New research, reports and practices, including a first-ever national study on the social skills of online school students, provides evidence that will shock critics and may even surprise supporters of online learning.

Gifted LearningLinks, the online program offered by Center for Talent Development, works with academically talented students who come in all shapes and sizes. They vary in age and academic backgrounds, have distinct learning preferences and individual social-emotional needs, making differentiation essential. In this session we will discuss current Web 2.0 tools and illustrate how Gifted LearningLinks has used them to differentiate content, process, and product in their online curriculum.

A virtual learning and management system focused on delivering music education courseware. Music offers its own unique challenges due to its audible and performance components. What is required is a system by which student performance can be accessed via the internet. View a technology solution that overcomes the issue of virtual assessment of the student's progress which is key, offering a multimedia program solution that teaches students the fundamentals of music and performance.

This research study explores virtual school head administrators' core beliefs about the purpose and potential of virtual schooling. Survey data describing key characteristics of the leaders create the context for the themes that emerged from qualitative interviews, namely administrators' beliefs about individualizing education for students, meeting the needs of underserved students, reforming public schools, and preparing for the leadership challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

We began with a bright idea of having a virtual, "Second Life"-style counseling center for our local 13-19 year old students. This case study will explore how we overcame various barriers and obstacles to commission and establish a safe, virtual environment, where teenage students in our area can access resources, chat with counselors, and join live group sessions on topics such as career, health and personal welfare. We'll also discuss how you might develop your own virtual center at low cost.

Aventa Learning partners with schools to provide standards-based, diagnostically-driven curriculum, coupled with English Language Learner (ELL) resources and rich instructional support, to create a unique credit recovery model that benefits at-risk and ELL students. Instructional and curricular experts, along with their partner schools' personnel and students, will share their successes, challenges, and insights.

Districts and charter schools are creating blended learning programs and schools to help meet student academic and social needs. Students and teachers in these models work together through a combination of online learning and traditional face-to-face instruction. In this session, we will look at a few varying examples highighting the reasons students choose these programs, their academic and instructional models, their use of facilities, school budgets, and existing evidence of success.

Learning and game-play collide in Conspiracy Code, the first in a revolutionary new series of courses. An innovative, complete online class, Conspiracy Code engages students in interactive learning like no other course. All Conspiracy Code courses are teacher-supervised, academically-viable, complete classes that fuse the best of online gaming with proven pedagogical techniques and standards to produce a truly unique learning environment for high school students.

Every online classroom is made up of students with diverse approaches to learning. Understanding and responding to learning styles can be a challenge for online teachers. This session will use web-based tools and strategies to assist teachers in both identifying students' learning styles and intelligences and engaging students in activities which best suit those styles and intelligences. Participants will have the opportunity to both discuss ideas and the demonstrated tools during the session.

e4TN, the 2009 USDLA 21st Century Best Practice Distance Learning Award winner, embraces four keys of disruptive innovations that build e-learning buy-in across Tennessee and the nation. These keys spur growth, create markets, and support clients. Curriculum, implementation, and instructional specialists will share samples, student and district accounts, and metrics to explain e4TN's success with diverse populations and Tennessee's rise from relative e-learning late-comer to award-winning status

Private schools have many challenges in education, but when it comes to accepting and adopting new innovations like hybrid models of education they have many advantages. Come learn how you can lead of school 3x the size of your current schools size with virtually the same expenditures. Brian Crouse will share his experiences with University of Phoenix, Orange Lutheran Online and Sevenstar Academy on how small private schools can compete with much larger schools in offering excellent education.

iNACOL is more than just VSS, publications, and webinars. In this session, learn about additional iNACOL services and opportunities provided to online schools and practitioners. Discover how you can request and conduct a needs assessment with iNACOL, join a regional iNACOL committee, or partner with iNACOL to evaluate your program's course offerings using the iNACOL Standards of Quality for Online Courses.

Michigan is committed to removing policy barriers to cyber schools, allowing for innovation in learning. One of the most promising cyber school learning solutions is the development of My School and Not School project based learning environments. Both serve at risk students for whom traditional school does not fit. They share an international online community focused on learning and students. These programs were developed in collaboration with the U.K Inclusion Trust and Inclusion U.S.

This session is designed to provide the online community with an overview of the NCAA initial-eligibility process & the means by which prospective student-athletes become academically eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics in their freshmen year as well as the process that takes place for schools/programs to register their courses with the NCAA Eligibility Center along with current trends & issues with the eligibility process will be discussed. Question and answer time included.

Improving quality in virtual schools depends on timely actionable data. While virtual schools collect unprecedented amounts of teacher and student performance data, the data is not always in a form that facilitates decision-making. The University of Florida's Virtual School Clearinghouse addresses this challenge with an online data, analysis and reporting system. This session will outline insights into successful practices emerging from the data.

In this panel, researchers will present recent findings that have immediate implications for practitioners, including teachers, administrators, and instructional designers. You will hear about teacher factors that relate to student success in online courses; how preparing teachers to teach online can have an impact on their face-to-face teaching; what students expect of teachers in virtual environments; and the impact of an online professional development initiative for Florida teachers.

The HOPE STUDY is a series of surveys put together by Dr. Mark Van Ryzin an Educational Psychologist from the University of Minnesota. BlueSky Charter School presents two years of HOPE STUDY results focusing on school culture and its impact on student motivation and psycho-social development. School environment exerts a powerful influence over student performance. Results show that our online culture with strong student service support outscores brick and mortar schools in all constructs.

It's time for you and your students to be heard! By adding audio to your online class, you can increase student engagement while appealing to the multi-sensory learner. In this session you will see examples of how VHS teachers are implementing the Blackboard audio tools (Podcasting, Voice Authoring, Voice Announcements and Voice Board) into their classes. We will also look at how easily and effectively you can include web 2.0 tools and narrated PowerPoint presentations in your lessons.

Enough of the "point and click" stuff. Online Education has moved to the next level. Come see the techniques used to elevate online lessons to higher cognitive levels. See how to move from Bloom's lower "knowledge" level, all the way up to "synthesis" and "evaluation" levels. Apply the LEARN model to student assignments and use the 5 E's to drive online discussions. Pick up a few new tools and new websites to help you YOUR students BLOOM ONLINE.

Virtual teachers must utilize tools that stimulate, motivate and challenge students. A carefully designed Moodle site allows for students to become actively engaged in the learning process. This session takes you beyond just using the Moodle CMS. It incorporates the use of Elluminate for synchronous learning, Camtasia for screencasts, and Respondus for importing quizzes. Join us for an advanced session of online course design while we create an effective virtual learning environment.

Second Life is not a game anymore. Users socialize, connect, and create. Learn to create gestures, see Professional Development, and let's visit the Eduislands, tour Tennessee's Coordinated School Health Building, the Online Course Networking Building, and the Tennessee Titans clubhouse - all built by the presenters. Also, let's talk about computer ethics and computer addiction. You wouldn't want to ruin a first life with your Second Life. It's optional to bring your laptops.

IDEAL-NM is a statewide eLearning service center that supports P-12, higher education, and state agencies. In addition to a statewide virtual school IDEAL-NM also provides a common, statewide learning management system (Blackboard). This presentation will provide an overview of the program with a focus on the virtual school and its supplemental model, which has led to a 94% pass rate for online students. The presenters will share experiences and lessons learned.

Many in the online industry are promoting the benefits of interoperable solutions. In a comprehensive look at interoperability around teaching and learning, this session focuses on pilots using SIF and Common Cartridge. Case studies and the connection with virtual schools shall be shared to illustrate the whys, hows, and benefits of implementing solutions that work together to minimize effort and maximum results.

As the heart of an online class, the discussion board merits special attention. The use of effective techniques can turn a perfunctory exercise into a meaningful experience for students. A skilled instructor uses a variety of techniques and strategies to guide and shape forums while keeping students interested and engaged.

NYCiSchool equips students with skills necessary for success and leadership. The program offers students opportunities to engage in meaningful work relevant to them and the world, choice and responsibility in determining their high school experience, and unique structures to support development as students and individuals. NYCiSchool uses innovative technology to offer students an individualized, developmentally sensitive high school experience that prepares them for college and beyond.

Not only does online PE work, it has benefits that go beyond a face-to-face gym class. FLVS is entering a new arena with an online program for 3-5 graders integrating brain-based learning with math and literacy concepts. We will show you how that is engaging for students. Carone Fitness will discuss the logistics and benefits of a successful online PE program for grades 6-12. Logistics include monitoring and verifying student activity, assessing student fitness levels, meeting state & national standards, modeling proper technique, adapting to student needs, and evaluating student performance. When implemented correctly an online PE program enables students to be healthy and active for life. Come join us for some fun!

In this panel, researchers will present recent research findings that have immediate implications for practitioners'-teachers/facilitators, school administrators, and instructional designers. You will hear about the qualities that virtual schools look for in their teacher applicants; how school-based teachers are supporting their online students; the issues surrounding student-student interactions in online courses; and what online teachers see as the challenges unique to teaching online.

Developing online courses that include interactive lessons, simulations, audio and video can be costly. By using free and other open source digital content resources your course development costs can be greatly reduced while increasing your overall course quality. Come see how other virtual schools have transformed their online courses through the use of freely available, award-winning, standards based digital content resources.

In the spring of 2008, David B. Glick & Associates and iNACOL surveyed online programs around the country to identify the demographic characteristics of online learners. This presentation will discuss not only the results of the survey, but also the important issues behind such work. What benefits might come from understanding the demographics of online students, or is that information that we're better off blind to? What does the law say about collecting such information?

Online credit recovery is a growing model helping schools and districts increase graduation rates and ensuring more students are college and work-force ready. Please join us as we highlight findings and illustrate district successes from a recently released report about the growth, impact, and changing models of online credit recovery.

Participants will gain ideas that have been proven in developing, implementing, and evaluating on-line professional development workshops. The design of these workshops is focused on developing technology leadership as well as assisting districts in using technology to enhance student learning. Through the use of online learning management systems; teachers, administrators, curriculum and technology leaders are able to develop skills and knowledge in a flexible environment.

The Knowledgeworks Foundation brought together groups of futurists and educators to look at the forces that will impact education over the next twenty years. The result is their Map of Future Forces that will Affect Education. This session will help participant explore the map and to identify how these forces and changes will impact education.