www.inacol.org

iNACOL Programs and Services

Lisa Gillis, Marcel Keilkucki, Allison Powell, and Matt Wicks

iNACOL Programs and Services• iNACOL • iNACOL Membership Benefits• Webinars & VSS• Committees• Regional Committees• SIGs and Affiliates• Course Reviews• Needs Assessment• Publishing

International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL)

• iNACOL is the premier K-12 nonprofit in online learning

• 3800+ members in K-12 virtual schools and online learning representing over 50 countries

• Provides leadership, advocacy, research, training, and networking with experts in K-12 online learning.

• “Ensure every student has access to the best education available regardless of geography, income or background.”

Mission and Vision•Mission –▫ iNACOL strives to ensure all students have

access to a world-class education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success.

•Vision –▫Online learning is a powerful innovation that

expands education opportunities. iNACOL supports access to high-quality online learning for all students.

iNACOL Membership Types• Corporate – for profit companies

• Associate – non-profit organizations

• Institutional – school governing organizations

• Educator – teachers and students

• Individual – for-profit and non-profit persons

Webinars & VSS• iNACOL Leadership Webinars

– Experts share their knowledge on a variety of topics, answer questions, and facilitate discussion

– 2nd Wednesday of the month at 2:00pm EST.• Special Edition Webinars• Teacher Talk Webinars

– For online teachers to discuss a variety of topics specifically related to teaching online in order to support one another

– 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:00pm EST.• VSS (Virtual School Symposium)

– November 9-11, 2011 – Indianapolis, IN

Committees• Advocacy and Issues

– Advocacy & Education efforts around the country– 1st Thursday of month at 4pm EST– Contact Lisa Gillis, Chairperson, if interested (lisa@iestrategies.org)  

• Awards – Innovator Awards Program – Nominations, Process, Evaluations– 1st Wednesday of month at 4pm EST – Chairperson: Bruce Friend (Bruce.Friend@sas.com)

• Program– Webinars and VSS Program– 4th Friday at 1:30pm EST– Chairperson: Dr. Fred Sagester (fred.sagester@ucumberlands.edu )

• Research– New Research Agenda, Briefs, Database Project– 2nd Wednesday at 1pm EST– Chairpersons: Regina Brown (mrfbrown@yahoo.com) and Kathryn Kennedy (

kmkennedy@georgiasouthern.edu)• State Leaders Committee

– Leaders of state-wide online programs– 3rd Wednesday at 2pm EST– Chairperson: TBD

iNACOL Regional/State Committees

• iNACOL members from across the United States have organized into state-level or regional groups.

• These groups meet on a monthly basis, discussing online education topics and how to increase collaboration among members.

iNACOL State Committees

• California, eLSIG – CUE (Computer Using Educator’s)– Advocacy and Collaboration

• Georgia State Committee – Networking, Professional Development, and

Collaboration

iNACOL Regional Committees

• Western Committee – iNACOL members from AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM,

OR, WA, and WY

• Northeastern Committee– iNACOL members from CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI,

and VT

• Southeastern Committee– iNACOL members from AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC,

SC, TX, VA, and WV

iNACOL Midwestern Committee

• The Midwestern committee is comprised of iNACOL members in IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, OK, SD, and WI.

• Members meet on the first Friday of the month from October-May at 9:00 AM Central via Elluminate.

• Monthly discussion topics are decided based on member input, and have included items such as continuity of learning, credit-recovery, and Second Life.

• For more information, contact co-chairsMarcel Kielkucki (mkielku@kirkwood.edu) Jennifer Kolar-Burden (jkolarburden@gmail.com)

What if my region or state doesn’t have a committee? How can I start one?

• To start a regional or state committee, it’s as easy as contacting iNACOL.

• iNACOL will then help you send out information via email or the iNACOL website to see if others in your state or region are interested in starting a committee.

• iNACOL will help provide tools to conduct your meetings, such as the use of Elluminate or Phone conferencing.

• Another great source of information is to contact existing committees to see how they got started.

SIGs and Affiliates• Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

– Online Christian Programs– Research– Second Life– International

• Affiliates– CUE – eLSIG– Boise State University

• Application on Membership Website• Work with iNACOL on Benefits

What the Course Review Process Is & Isn’t• The course review process IS:

– An independent assessment of how the course meets the iNACOL National Standards of Quality for Online Courses

– An opportunity to provide constructive feedback to the client– A possible opportunity for the client to receive confirmation of

their course quality• The course review process ISN’T:

– A certification that the course(s) meet the iNACOL standards– A “Good Housekeeping seal of approval”

Reasons Organizations Choose to Utilize Course Review Service

• Input for course improvement– Some organizations utilize the information provided

as input to improve the quality of their courses and choose to not share the review information externally. These organizations typically choose to have a small number of courses reviewed and use this input to modify their course development process and as a template to improve all of their existing courses.

Reasons Organizations Choose to Utilize Course Review Service

• External Evaluation– Other organizations utilize the course review process to

validate their courses by utilizing the iNACOL course review process as an external evaluation. These organizations may choose to make the final report available publically and/or provide excerpts from the report when marketing their online courses. Some programs may have to satisfy state requirements related to course quality and will use this report as evidence that their courses meet the required standards.

The Evaluation Rubric• 0 Absent – component is missing• 1 Unsatisfactory – needs significant improvement• 2 Somewhat satisfactory – needs targeted

improvements• 3 Satisfactory – discretionary improvements needed• 4 Very satisfactory – no improvement needed

• When reviewer provides a rating of 2 or less, comments must be provided

Overview of Course Review Process• Initial conversation(s) with client• Formal contract established between iNACOL and client• Survey provided to client that provides context and

information to conduct course reviews• Three course reviewers conduct independent course

reviews (sometimes one reviewer is provided by organization requesting review)

• If there are significant differences in review results, project manager holds conversations with the reviewers to resolve differences

• Final report provided to client

iNACOL Needs Assessment• Assists programs with identifying the

specific courses, services, and needs that can be met through online learning.

• Comprehensive survey process that targets educational leaders, school contacts, and students.

• Customized surveying to meet your needs

iNACOL Needs Assessment

Benefits your program will receive:

• Provides a “voice” for local school leaders and students to share their thoughts as to the courses and services that they would like available through an online environment.

• Provides the leaders of online programs with data and feedback that can be shared with key stakeholders when articulating the reasons for why it is important to support online learning.

• Helps provide awareness of your program with local school leaders, educators, students, and parents.

iNACOL Needs AssessmentiNACOL brings experience in every aspect of

starting and maintaining a high quality online program

Publishing

General Process

• Proposal• Feedback• TOC • Chapters• Revisions• Review• Permissions

Edited Book

• Similar process• Internal vs. external review• Choosing the authors• Deadlines

Onlineprogramhowto.org

Contacts

• Lisa Gillis, lisa@iestrategies.org

• Marcel Kielkucki, Marcel.Kielkucki@kirkwood.edu

• Allison Powell, apowell@inacol.org

• Matt Wicks, mwicks@inacol.org