OLLIE

 
Online Learning for Iowa Educators (OLLIE) is an initiative by AEA PD Online. Its central aim is to deliver quality professional development in online pedagogy to Iowa teachers, and do so in a systemic way.

Foundational Courses

The first phase of Project OLLIE is a 5-course sequence of foundational courses built around best practices in online teaching:

Introduction to the Online Learner	1 Credit	A course designed for instructors and non-instructors of online courses alike, it gives educators an opportunity to see how online courses function and what a student must do in order to be successful.
Technology for Online Instruction	2 Credits	A course that focuses on the tools an online teacher can use in her classroom. Participants will learn how to build in the Moodle platform, how to weave in other tools such as social bookmarking, RSS, and synchronous meeting tools, and a chance to explore other ways of delivering learning activities online.
Online Learning Instructional Design	2 Credits	A course that examines the process of creating sound lessons and units online--units that are engaging, interactive, aligned, and focused on end outcomes. Participants will apply their learning by building the introductory and first two units of their own course, either in Moodle or via a unit plan. For those looking to create a course in Moodle, it is strongly advised to take the Technology for Online Instruction course first.
Online Facilitation	2 Credits	A course that helps a teacher see all the different considerations that go into teaching online vs. teaching face-to-face.  Everything from how you schedule your week to how you take on different styles/roles in the process of teaching, how you frame your words to how you structure group activity and build classroom culture.  This course involves many interactive scenario-based activities, giving a teacher a taste of the tasks an online teacher faces regularly.
Assessment, Feedback, and Evaluation	2 Credits	This course analyzes the methods by which an instructor helps a student understand if they are learning and what else they need to learn. Included in this is how to establish self-assessment and peer-assessment, as well as get participant feedback to improve a course.

AEA PD Online started offering OLLIE in the summer of 2010. In the 2010-11 school year, over 300 educators have been trained, building internal capacity to deliver more OLLIE courses, online professional development, and online K-12 courses. Currently, the AEAs are also partnering with Drake University, which will be offering a 15-credit certificate in online teaching, using a core of the 9 credits above with 2 electives (6 credits) from their online pedagogy offerings.

OLLIE & K-12 Schools

OLLIE is a central part of AEA K-12 Online, the AEA's statewide initiative to help districts offer their own learning.  Teachers are encouraged to take the OLLIE series to prepare to deliver online and blended learning to their own students.

Below are the districts who have currently taken part in OLLIE cohorts:


Map Channels: free mapping tools

Teachers participating in the cohort not only had a chance to engage with the content, but they also had the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers across the state on similar projects, including the creation of common courses. This past year, several teachers participating in the cohort implemented hybrid units as the first step into online learning. Multiple sections of each course are now available in the summer, fall, and spring.

To register, visit our online catalog.  For more information about OLLIE, contact Evan Abbey, Project Manager for Online Learning.