Distance Learning - From Construction to Instruction

The goal of this course is to provide Illinois teachers with a framework of the skills, strategies, and tools necessary for designing, building, and facilitating a fully online or blended learning experience for students of all levels, identities, backgrounds and beliefs. The course begins with a focus on the shifting mindset, qualities, and skills required of teachers transitioning from a traditional classroom to an online or blended classroom, as well as an exploration of the Digital Divide and its implications and impact on students in this new learning environment.

Participants will take this foundation through the remainder of the course as they examine strategies and tools for designing the structure, content, assessment strategy, and interactions that make up an effective online or blended classroom. Throughout the course, participants will also be asked to reflect on their prior experience and apply the concepts and skills they learn to improve and adapt current practices for the online and blended learning environments.

Course Objectives

As a result of this course, participants will:

• Define the roles of the teacher in creating and facilitating an online or blended classroom environment.
• Explore the impact of the Digital Divide on student learning and classroom instruction.
• Employ effective design models, concepts, strategies, and tools in the creation of an online/blended learning classroom.
• Outline a plan for the creation and facilitation of an engaging online/blended learning community.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, learners will:

• Develop a working journal of ideas for effectively implementing technology tools in ways that benefit online and blended teaching and learning.
• Outline a framework for evaluating tools and strategies in the context of online and blended learning.
• Build an online/blended unit in a learning management system that effectively incorporates several technology tools, in a variety of ways, and addresses instructional objectives, student engagement, and the potential impact of the Digital Divide, as well as other common strategies and objectives.