Briefing on Self-access Online Courses on School Development

Briefing on Self-access Online Courses on School Development and Selfevaluation (Part One) 7 October 2004 (Thursday) Academic Community Hall, Hong Kong Baptist University

Background • Exploring various means including provision of online resources to support school development and self-evaluation work • Strengthening online support through commissioning an experienced UK-based course developer to develop online courses on school development and self-evaluation • In 2003/04 s. y. , jointly organised a free trial of online courses – positive feedback from participating schools which suggested development of similar courses for HK schools

Modes of learning adopted by participating schools • Forming study groups, members of which took different courses and did sharing • School representative (contact person for free trial) took a no. of courses and did sharing in school • Principal took a no. of courses and then recommended courses for staff • Principal adopted and adapted some course materials for in-house staff development

Feedback from participating schools ü Learners could schedule their online learning in accordance with their own progress, work schedule and needs ü Clear course structure ü A range of choices providing rich course contents and resource/reference materials ü Due emphasis on theory and practice Æ ALL in English Æ Too much content Æ Lack use of multi media

Objectives of online courses • • bring in a global perspective on school development and self-evaluation enhance participants' knowledge and skills for conducting self-evaluation on the effectiveness of learning and teaching in school cater for the professional development needs of incumbent or prospective external school reviewers familiarise participants with the key processes in the Enhanced School Development and Accountability Framework

Target participants • • • School principals as school leaders and incumbent/prospective external school reviewers Other school leaders responsible for school development and self-evaluation work EMB officers involved in quality assurance and related work

Design Courses run on FOT's e-learning management system which enables a user to: • • • have total control over his/her learning; have a clear idea about the structure of each course; practise what has been learnt by doing course activities and tasks; reflect on his/her learning; have access to reference and resource materials that enrich his/her understanding of the topic being covered; and share his/her views with other online learners through the Discussion Board.

Outline The courses are composed of two parts. Part One comprises a selection of 17 courses currently run by the course developer which can be grouped into the following three categories: (1) Supporting an understanding of 'brain friendly' learning (2) Supporting teachers in the classroom (3) Supporting school leadership, management and governance

Outline (1) Supporting an understanding of 'brain friendly' learning: • Multiple intelligences • Emotions and learning • Learning styles • The emotionally intelligent school (2) Supporting teachers in the classroom: • Supporting the very able child • Managing behaviour positively • Understanding English as an additional language and bilingualism

Outline (3) Supporting school • • leadership, management and governance: School self-evaluation for school leaders: classroom monitoring Managing school finance – effectiveness and efficiency Effective recruitment – getting the right people in Developing policies – achieving consistency and focusing on learning • Leading the high performance school • School self-evaluation for board members • School self-evaluation for primary subject leaders: classroom monitoring • School self-evaluation for secondary subject leaders: classroom monitoring • Creating a supportive working environment • An introduction to coaching – supporting all staff

Duration Upon the launch of each part of the courses, users can have access for a one-year period. Access period for Part One 8 October 2004 – 7 October 2005 Access period for Part Two This part is being developed. Details about the exact launch date and structure will be announced shortly.

Procedures for registration and setting up user accounts 1. a. b. Setting up a school account The Principal can authorise a person in the school (the School Online Administrator) to use the username and password provided by EMB to create an account for the school. The School Online Administrator (SOA) will go to the course website at www. emb. org. hk/sdaonline, and click on “Schools – Join Now” on the pull-down menu under “Take me to the courses”. 。 Schools – Join Now

c. The SOA will enter the username and password provided by EMB, and then complete the required details about the school – school name, address, name of SOA, official school email address, telephone number, etc. 。

d. SOA will create a school username and password. This information will be confirmed by email. e. SOA will give the school username and password to the designated school user*, and outline to him/her the procedures below. (* Given that each school is provided with one single user account, school head could engage a no. of his/her staff members in working collaboratively on a selection of courses through shared use of the designated school user account. Subject to the decision of the school management, the designated school user can be the SOA himself or herself. )

Setting up a school user account f. The designated school user will then go to the course website, and click on “First-time Users – Register” on the pull-down menu. First-time Users - Register

g. The designated school user will enter the school username and password.

h. The designated school user will then complete some required details – name, official email address, etc. , and create an individual username and password. This information will be confirmed by email to the user’s official email address.

3. Accessing the courses i. Upon completion of the above procedures, the designated school user will be able to access the online courses. To do this, he/she will go to the course website, and click on “Existing Users – Login” on the pull-down menu. Existing Users - Login

j. The designated school user will enter his/her individual username and password to access the courses. Anytime he/she subsequently wants to access the courses, he/she enters his/her individual username and password at the “Login” button.

k. The school may wish to have several users working on a selection of courses collaboratively. Users working this way will share the individual username and password of the designated school user, and always use that same username and password for access to the courses.

Suggested learning mode • School Principal as lead learner encourages teachers involved in school development planning and self-evaluation work to form a study group. Through shared use of the designated school user account, they take courses that serve their development needs in different study periods. Participants are encouraged to do inhouse sharing as a means to facilitate professional exchange among colleagues.

Key messages • Online courses are NOT compulsory; they serve as online resource support • Emphasis on reflective learning and practice with no assessment components • School users take a selection of courses in a way that serves their own needs, suits their work schedule and progress • School users practise what they have learnt to support their school development • Next stage of online course development shaped by the level of school users’ participation and feedback