The second session from the Building Student Engagement in Distance and Blended Learning conference we wanted to share was led by Michael Barbour, a researcher with the CANeLearn-partnered State of the Nation: K-12 E-Learning in Canada project.

Best Practices in Blended and Distance Learning in Canada

Shared Google Doc Note Taking Page – Please help to document this session by contributing to the Google Document.
Session Description:
In education we often here the term “best practices.” It is often included in the title or description of various educational publications. In almost each instance it is presented, it is framed as a silver bullet solution – if you do x best practice, you and your students will have success. However, we all know that there are no silver bullets in education. But there are “promising practices,” structural and pedagogical factors that have shown promise based on the research into K-12 distance, online, and/or blended learning. During this session, Michael Barbour and Randy LaBonte will explore what the research indicates may be things that you should consider in your own practice.
Target Audience:
General
Speakers
Michael Barbour
Touro University, California – Associate Professor, Instructional Design
Vallejo, CA
Michael K. Barbour is Associate Professor of Instructional Design for the College of Education and Health Sciences at Touro University, California. He has been involved with K-12 online learning in a variety of countries for two decades as a researcher, teacher, course designer and administrator. Michael’s research focuses on the effective design, delivery and support of K-12 online learning, as well as policy issues. He has testified before House and Senate education committees in several states, as well as consulting for Ministries of Education across Canada and in New Zealand. Dr. Barbour is currently a fellow for the National Education Policy Center and the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute.
Randy LaBonte
CANeLearn – CEO
British Columbia, Canada
I have been lucky to serve as a senior level executive for over 30 years in the education sector: – lead consultant for seven years at the BC Ministry of Education involved in field work leading to the development of policy, agreements, and e-learning standards; – helped develop, pilot, and implement the Quality Review process for BC online K-12 schools; and- recently took on the role of Chief Executive Officer for the Canadian eLearning Network while continuing my other contract work and online teaching.I am passionate about online and technology-supported blended learning, still looking to change the system, now from without instead of within! I am here in a support role for the symposium and the partners who have planned the event.