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| Thursday, 21 July 2005: 5:15 PM-6:00 PM | |||
| Yerba Buena Salon 12 (San Francisco Marriott) | |||
| K-1: AP Online: Designing Courses for the Accelerated High School Learner | |||
| Detailed Description: | Oregon currently lags in the nation at giving students a leg up on college with Advanced Placement classes in high schools, a recent report says. To solve the problem, Portland State University is working with the Oregon Department of Education and Oregon e-learning providers to develop online Advanced Placement courses for high school students. This session will describe course design and development strategies used to customize courses for this unique type of learner and circumstances. | ||
| Presentation Format: | Showcase | ||
| Topic: | Enabling learning: Effective instructional practices and flexible design models | ||
| Target Audience: | Academic Technology Directors, Course Designers, E-learning Managers, Faculty and Other Instructors, K-12 Educational Staff | ||
| Appropriate Audience Level: | Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users | ||
| Abstract Text: | Nationwide, Advanced Placement classes have proliferated since 2000, according to the College Board's first annual "Advanced Placement Report to the Nation," released in January 2005. However, in Oregon, the availability of AP courses in high schools, especially rural high schools, is spotty at best. According to Oregon Department of Education (ODE) officials, AP courses are often a hard sell in Oregon high schools because of the added burden on staff and because of diminishing funding for public education. In many rural schools, teachers are not trained to teach AP courses or the schools do not have sufficient funds to pay teachers to mentor students through the courses. The ODE is currently engaged in a program to significantly increase opportunities for rural, low-income, and minority students in Oregon for advanced placement courses. At the center of this multi-pronged program are federal grant dollars that allow for a fee waiver for income eligible students and increased opportunities to access advanced placement coursework through online course development. Portland State University has partnered with the ODE and others to develop fully online AP courses in key subject matter areas. As of February, 2005, two new online AP courses in Biology and Government have been developed. The current plan is to have an additional 7-10 courses developed and available to Oregon high school students by the beginning of the Fall 2005 semester. This session will present some of the unique challenges and opportunities encountered while developing online AP courses. In particular, the session will address unique instructional design issues related to developing 18-36 week asynchronous courses, strategies to work with high school teachers to write engaging online content, teacher training issues, publisher e-pack implementation and customization strategies, and other important challenges related to developing online courses for accelerated high school learners. | ||
| Session Leader: | Thomas H. Luba Portland State University | ||
| Co-Presenter: | Marie Lewandowski Portland State University | ||
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