By collaborating with several EdLab Group programs and initiating its own activities, the Online Learning Program leveraged the power of online learning and online tools to help transform teaching and learning, foster leadership, and facilitate collaboration among program partners.

Online learning has been a key curricular feature of the Center’s Teaching + Technology Coaching Initiative (T2CI) program for several years. Coaches used online learning tools during training sessions to build community and collaborate on projects. Examples include discussion board introductions, online portfolio and Web lesson tools, and e-Zine creation. Between training sessions, coaches communicate at a distance with one another and facilitators through use of a moderated discussion board and an e-mail listserv. At T2CI online learning innovation was the Online Special Event, which brought a recognized expert (or team of experts) into an online discussion space for 7-10 days. Coaches, facilitators and the expert or team collaboratively built understanding of a topic or series of topics chosen to help coaches build skills. In 2004 T2CI hosted two successful Online Special Events.

Another online learning innovation involved the use of an online course as the primary training repository for the second-year Peer Coaching program, known as Teaching + Technology Coaching Year 2 (T2C2). Coaches who finished T2C2 and enroledl in T2C2 met three times over the course of a school year to build and refine their coaching plans, practice coaching skills and build coaching community. The online course in which they communicated between the three sessions also held their in-progress coaching plans, plus all training documents and resources.

In addition to supporting existing programs and activities, the Online Learning Program actively sought other partnerships, business, and grant opportunities to allow us to leverage our expertise in online learning design and facilitation. In all of these efforts, we sought to help partner organizations that share our mission of transforming teaching and learning.

Project Status
Completed

Partnerships included:

• Consulting with international partners who are interested in localizing T2CI, including its use
  of online learning elements.
• Co-designing and co-facilitating the seven-week, all-online Ready to Facilitate course
  (partnership with Public Broadcasting System's TeacherLine division and Concord Consortium).
  
• Facilitating and mentoring facilitators for the six-week, all-online Online Facilitator
  Training course (partnership with TeacherLine).
  
• Designing, redesigning, and facilitating five-week courses: Introduction to Peer Coaching and
  Staff Development in an Integrated Curriculum (partnership with National School Board
  Association's Technology Leadership Network).