Newsletter

June 2019 Newsletter

As the sun sets on another school year and summer beckons, bookmark this newsletter, its research and readings links, and get ready for a summer PD kickoff and a full next year with events – join in by submitting your own proposals!

  1. The CANeLearn Leadership Summit is Friday, August 23rd in Toronto at York University – featuring Joe Freidhoff and Maxim Jean-Louis – examining eLearning successes, challenges, accessibility, and scalability.
  2. Submit your proposals for blendED Alberta (Oct.23-25), DLAC in Austin (Feb.24-26), and the DL Symposium 2020 in Vancouver (Apr. 19-21).
  3. Add your voice to the annual State of the Nation program survey.

The CANeLearn Board wishes you a safe and restful summer.  We look forward to launching another school year with our own August Leadership Summit in Toronto!

Please forward this on your own networks.

Photos by Marcos Luiz Photograph on Unsplash


In the News

Online Learning Graduation Requirement: Lessons from Michigan

  • CANeLearn invited Joe Freidhoff from Michigan Virtual to share some of his research on Michigan’s 2006 policy of online learning requirement for high school graduation.
  • Joe shares research and advice for provinces that may be headed down that path, or contemplating it.
  • Check out Joe’s blog post here

Update!

REFAD – Pour apprivoiser la distance / Guide de formation et de soutien aux acteurs de la formation à distance

  • Préparé par Mme Marcelle Parr (consultante), le REFAD a mis en place un guide de formation pour répondre aux besoins pointus et très actuels de perfectionnement des praticiens oeuvrant dans le domaine de l’enseignement-apprentissage à distance.
  • Résolument orienté vers la pratique et l’action, ce guide viendra outiller les concepteurs et les formateurs qui doivent créer et utiliser des contenus de cours à distance.
  • Ce document de référence donnera un tout nouvel éclairage sur les pratiques à privilégier dans un monde ou la déferlante des technologies, pour être efficace, doit être arrimée à de solides approches pédagogiques.
  • Ce document est disponible à partir de Pour apprivoiser la distance  – Guide de formation et de soutien aux acteurs de la FAD

State of the Nation Report: Individual Program Survey – We need your help! 

  • The annual State of the Nation: K-12 E-learning in Canada report reflects the most recent data collected by provincial and territorial Ministries of Education, but from indvidual programs as well.
  • For e-learning programs that have not already submitted data, or are wishing to update their individual program survey responses, please visit at your earliest convenience:http://tinyurl.com/sotn-program-survey

Publication du onzième rapport sur la situation nationale du e-learning en M-12 au Canada

  • Cette édition du rapport sur la situation nationale du cyberapprentissage en M-12 au Canada en est à sa 11ème année, et c’est aussi la sixième fois que le Réseau canadien de cyberapprentissage (CANeLearn) nous soutient dans cette recherche.
  • Ce rapport suit l’édition relativement longue du dixième anniversaire, et le rapport annuel a subi des changements importants.
  • Cette 11ème édition décrit les changements survenus en lien avec la gouvernance et l’activité de cyberapprentissage au cours de l’année écoulée tant au niveau des provinces qu’à celui des territoires.
  • Voir plus ici

Featured Events

Featured Events

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blendED 2019: Alberta Blended & Online Learning

October 23-25 in Edmonton

Registration open, call for proposals closes soon!

http://www.blendedalberta.ca/

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10th Canadian EdTech Leadership Summit

The Future Of Education And Skills 2030

Dec 5-6 Centennial Secondary School, Coquitlam BC

http://summit19.mindsharelearning.ca/

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Digital Learning Collaborative Annual Conference

February 24-26, 2020 – Austin TX

CANeLearn is excited to share two special discounts on conference registration:

Click here for the DLAC 2020 Call for Proposals

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2020 BOLTT (Bringing Online Teachers Together)

April 2-3, 2020 in Toronto

Evening keynote address // Full day skill building event

More info at http://www.boltt.ca/toronto-fall-conference/

Archived keynote from BOLTT Ottawa 2019 available here

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2020 Digital Learning Symposium

https://new.canelearn.net/symposium20/

April 19-21 in Vancouver

Reserve at last year’s early group rate – $375/person – Fully refundable!

Click to reserve your seats ~ Minimum 5 registrations – expires July 15!

Call for proposals is now open!


Worth digging into…

Reading

Driving K-12 Innovation | CoSN

  • A new series from CoSN on trends driving emerging technology in K-12
  • Phases include reports on “hurdles”, “accelerators”, and “tech enablers”
  • A Toolkit is due to be released this year as well
  • Find out more here

Top Ten Myths About Online Learning

  • More than a decade ago, iNACOL released a list of “Top Ten Myths about Virtual Schools”
  • In an effort to address some of the misinformation recently published about K-12 online learning, CANeLearn updated the list of myths and provided examples from a Canadian context
  • Read more here

The Authoritative Canadian Copyright Review: Industry Committee Issues Balanced, Forward-Looking Report on the Future of Canadian Copyright Law

  • From Michael Geist
  • In December 2017, the government launched its copyright review and the committee released the authoritative review with 36 recommendations that include expanding fair dealing, a rejection of a site blocking system, and a rejection of proposals to exclude education from fair dealing where a licence is otherwise available
  • This post highlights some of the most notable recommendations in the report likely to serve as the starting point for any future copyright reform efforts.
  • Read more here…

A new tool for navigating through a complex world – OECD Education and Skills Today

  • Education today is about helping students develop the tools they need to navigate an increasingly complex, volatile and uncertain world and the new OECD Learning Compass 2030 framework claims to point the way forward.
  • Developed as part of the Future of Education and Skills 2030 project, the Learning Compass frames what students should learn to be ready for tomorrow.
  • Read more here…

Rethinking Learning and Teaching in the Digital Age

Ten key developments changing the dynamics of universities and colleges:

  1. Student Expectations and Requirements are Changing.
  2. Flexibility is Shaping New Ways of Delivering Programs and Courses.
  3. Competency-based and Outcome-based Learning are Growing Quickly – expanding into fields which long resisted this move, especially for universities (colleges are already engaged in competency-based education (CBE) for a considerable time).
  4. Technology is Enabling New Approaches to teaching, learning, assessment, and administration.
  5. MOOCs are Offering Expanded Routes to the Delivery and Recognition of Learning, including for K-12 and college-based students.
  6. Assessment for Learning and Assessment of Learning are Changing – using video, simulation, virtual reality, as well as new forms of paper-based assessment.
  7. Governments are Rethinking Quality and Accountability.
  8. Equity Remains a Challenge, Despite Massification.
  9. e-Portfolios Are Emerging as Critical Resources for Students.
  10. The Roles of Faculty are Changing.

From the MVLRI Research Clearinghouse k12onlineresearch.org

Michigan’s K-12 Virtual Learning Effectiveness Report, 2017-18 – Joseph R. Freidhoff 

  • Based on pupil completion and performance data reported by public schools to MDE or CEPI, this report highlights 2017-18 enrollment totals, completion rates, and the overall impact of virtual courses on K-12 pupils.

What if online students take on the responsibility?: Students’ cognitive presence and peer facilitation techniques – Ye Chen, Jing Lei, Jiaming Cheng

  • The purpose of this study was to investigate: (a) the characteristics of online students’ cognitive presence in a peer-facilitated discussion environment, and (b) the peer facilitation techniques that enhance cognitive presence development.

Professional Development- Differences in teachers’ attitudes between online and traditional training courses – Egoza Wasserman, Ruth Migdal

  • The basic need for man to be constantly engaged in learning on the one hand and the technological revolution on the other hand lends itself to an interesting combination of change in the learning process. This change has not overlooked the teachers who have also undergone changes in their professional development at the Pisgah centers.
  • The technology age has brought with it online learning. The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of the teachers training in the Pisgah centers in Israel on the differences between online and traditional training courses.

Teaching to Connect: Community-Building Strategies for the Virtual Classroom – Sharla Berry

  • A sense of community is central to student engagement and satisfaction. However, many students struggle with developing connections in online programs. Drawing on interviews with 13 instructors, this paper explores the strategies that they use to help students develop a sense of community in synchronous virtual classrooms.

Happy reading!


Events

Adventures in Archives

2018 BOLTT (Bringing Online Teachers Together) Conference

Links to Padlet curations here: http://www.boltt.ca/toronto-fall-conference/toronto-schedule/

Open Education Week 2019

Check out recordings from the March Open Education Week here

CCC Digital Learning Day

Links to archives from the February 2019 online event here

Events

IT4K12 Conference Highlights

  • Recorded presentations from the November ERAC annual conference
  • Archives here

Archives of DLsymp19

  • Pictures, presentations, video recordings, and other items of interest from the April 7-9 event
  • Links to all here

See all CANeLearn archives here   (members only)

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