Major Factors That Influence Planning, Designing, Implementing and Managing Virtual Classrooms (K – 12).

INTRODUCTION

Good evening ladies and Gentlemen, my name is George Rusin, a teacher of Online education with the Toronto District School Board. I would like to introduce our guest speaker Dr. Brown. Dr. Brown has an Honour Degree in Math and Computer Science. He also has a master’s of Online Education Degree and holds PhD in Educational Technology. Dr Brown is author of numerous articles and research papers dealing with online education. Dr. Brown has taught high school for seven years, at Brown college for three years and has been the chair of master’s of Online education at University of Southern Queensland for the last 7 years.

Tonight I shall briefly introduce of the main themes that Dr. Brown will discuss in greater detail. Dr. Brown will examine in greater detail six major factors that influence Planning, Designing, Implementing and Managing Virtual Classrooms (K – 12). The six major themes that will be discussed are based on scientific research that was completed and published within the last three years. Dr Brown will illustrate the importance of the using known educational theory and practices along with scientific research to be incorporated when planning, designing and implementing online education. Six papers that highlight critical factors influencing online learning are;

References


• Archambault, L., & Crippen, K., (2009). K-12 distance educators at work. Who’s teaching online across the United States. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41(4), 263-291.

• Oliver, K., Kellogg, S., Townsend, L., & Brady, K. (2010). Needs of elementary and middle school teachers developing online courses for virtual school. Distance Education 31(1), 55-75

• Pina, A.(2010). Online diploma mills: Implications for legitimate distance education. Distance Education, 31(1), 121-126.

• Hilton lll, J., Graham, C., Rich, P. & Wiley, D. Using online technologies to extend classroom to learners at a distance. Distance Education, 31(1), 77-92.

• Vlachopoulos, P., & Cowan, J. (2010). Reconceptualising moderation in asynchronous online discussions using grounded theory. Distance Education 31(1), 23-36.

• Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., Coleman (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. Tech Trends. 52(5), 63-67.

• Archambault, L., & Crippen, K., (2009). K-12 distance educators at work. Who’s teaching online across the United States. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41(4), 263-291.