Improving Online Teaching & Learning in American Schools
October, 2013--Lisle, Illinois
The supplementary use of online courses, blended learning and other creative and powerful uses on online learning continue to proliferate in the nation’s schools and universities. This is happening as a response to both economic pressures for increased efficiency and to the demands of students and families for more flexible and accountable instructional options.
In the past, new online teachers often had limited opportunities to participate in specialized online professional development opportunities that were specifically designed for preparing effective and highly interactive teachers for blended and fully online learning environments.
Suitable professional development opportunities for online program administrators in the past were generally unavailable or available only by committing to time consuming post-graduate higher ed. degree programs. To address this situation Dr. Robert Blomeyer and Dr. Greg Kearsley teamed up to create Online Teaching Associates; a new online professional development provider offering high quality online professional development at an affordable cost.
Dr. Blomeyer formerly directed educational technology R&D projects supporting effective uses of educational technology in American schools and effective online teaching and learning. He is co-editor of
What Works in K-12 Online Learning, along with Dr. Catherine Cavanaugh from the University of Florida. (ISTE, 2007)
Dr Kearsley is an internationally recognized instructional designer and educational technology consultant who has designed and implemented online learning programs for many colleges and universities. He is the author of multiple books on instructional design and online teaching and learning.
Online Teaching Associates presently offers three courses:
1. The Online Teaching Course (OTA-121) is a six week, fully online, professional development course supporting the preparation of effective online teachers, and
2 The Management of Online Instruction (OTA-621/621) courses are two, three week, fully online courses preparing school administrators and program managers to become the effective 21st Century leaders needed to move effective online programs forward.
OTA’s courses are situated in an interactive online professional community offering web conferences and discussions with experts in the field of online teaching and learning.
Online Teaching Associates assesses the performance of all course participants using imbedded online assessments. Results from performance assessments are used to evaluate and rank our participants' performance and to support an ongoing OTA research program contributing improved professional and public understanding of the effects from online teaching and learning on academic performance.
OTA has a proven track record of success. Pre-post items of OTA-121 participants’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for standards-based online teaching, as defined in iNACOL’s National Standards for Quality Online Teaching, showed a statistically significant gain (38%, p=.0001) in self-confidence regarding abilities and willingness to serve as teachers for fully online or blended courses.(Click here for a research summary)
OTA's courses are offered only on a TBA basis. School districts, online educational providers and higher ed institutions winterested in offering OTA's "Online Teaching Course" or "Planning and Administering Digital Education Programs" OTA-621/631 - two three-week courses for online leaders) are encouraged to contact Dr. Robert Blomeyer.
Additional information is available from the
Online Teaching Associates website, or by contacting:
Robert Blomeyer, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Online Teaching Associates Ltd.
rblomeyer@earthlink.net
Home Phone: 630-769-5178
Cell Phone: 630-319-7885
