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Papers on Web Delivery of Professional Development and Distance Education authored or co-authored by John W. Rice

John serves as a program/project coordinator for the Texas Center for Educational Technology, and as an adjunct professor in the Dept. of Teacher Education and Administration at the University of North Texas. Previously he has served as an educational technology consultant, technology coordinator, and teacher.

The following articles, papers, and proceedings deal with distance education surrounding online professional development, or distance education in general. Materials dealing with online professional development generally refer to Texas STARgate, a former TCET project. Texas STARgate was funded by a Texas Technology Infrastructure Fund (TIF) grant, in partnership with
Classroom.com / Connected University.

Dunn, L., Poirot, J., & Rice, J. (2005). Instituting a distance-delivered doctorate in educational computing: PhDifferences, not just a higher-level masters degree. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITE). Phoenix, AZ, March 2-5. Norfolk, VA: Association for Advancement of Computers in Education.

This paper chronicles the creation of a distance-delivered Ph.D. in Educational Computing to be offered by the Department of Technology and Cognition at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. Scores of institutions of higher learning currently offer Masters degrees in many curricular areas, but few offer distance-delivered Doctorate degrees. The purpose of the current paper is to inform and educate other institutions of higher learning as to the concerns and issues involved in initiating such a project. Topics discussed include the need for the program, a review of current online Masters programs, the steps involved in setting up the program, a general comparison of Masters and Doctoral programs, the challenges faced in the creation of a distance-delivered Doctorate, and the use of technology to overcome the challenges.

Rice, J. (2004, Fall). Preparing school technology leaders for online professional development: Training efforts with El Paso teachers for online course facilitation in Texas STARgate. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 7(3). [Online]. Available: http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/ojdla/fall73/rice73.html

Much research interest in the field of distance education by necessity focuses on student achievement. However, instructor preparation may be of equal concern, particularly when considering the lack of direct human contact between instructors and learners. Toward this end, 41 technology leaders in El Paso Independent School District engaged in online facilitator instruction through Texas STARgate, a professional development portal for Texas teachers, from December, 2003 to January, 2004. In February, 2004 a select few from this group volunteered to lead the first online professional development courses for El Paso teachers. This paper will examine the background of the STARgate project, including the literature surrounding support efforts given to online learners and facilitators; identify key issues for course facilitation offered in STARgate guide training; and illustrate the efforts used to discern if the El Paso facilitators put the knowledge offered in their training to effective use.

Peet, M., Rice, J., Dunn, L., Restine, K., & Keeton, L. (2004). Challenges and solutions to implementing Texas STARgate, an online professional development portal for K-12 teachers. Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications (ED-MEDIA) 2004 (1), 5048-5053. Lugano, Switzerland, June 21-26. Norfolk, VA: Association for Advancement of Computers in Education.

Texas STARgate is an online professional development portal for K-12 teachers in Texas schools. A Texas technology center experienced a variety of challenges in the design, delivery, and support of this portal. This paper examines the challenges and solutions developed to deliver this portal to a growing number of school districts. Examination of the solutions should provide critical information for other organizations desiring to implement similar online professional development portals.

Restine, K., Rice, J. & Peet, M. (2004). Texas STARgate: Statewide online professional development. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITE), 655-659. Atlanta, GA, March 1-6. Norfolk, VA: Association for Advancement of Computers in Education.

Texas STARgate is an online portal offering a variety of professional development opportunities based on the Texas Technology Applications curriculum. Flexibility and multiple paths to short tutorials, browsable Web resources, short course options, and credential awarding coursework allow users to access content in a variety of ways. This professional development system is designed to serve continuing education credits and Technology Applications credentials while also supporting users that are not ready for such formalized professional learning options. Hybrid delivery options provide flexibility of access while reinforcing supportive environments based on professional learning theory. A variety of lessons learned toward developing statewide online professional development is applicable toward other organizations wishing to develop similar initiatives.

Restine, K., Peet, M., Rice, J., & Keeton, L., (2004, May 1). Professional development anytime, anywhere: Texas STARgate’s online professional development for Texas teachers. [Online]. Available: http://techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18902858

Teachers can now engage in anytime, anywhere technology-related professional development with Texas STARgate, an online professional development portal that delivers a variety of courses, resources, and tools for teachers in several different ways. Texas teachers can access technology-related professional development whenever they wish from the comfort of their own homes or in more structured learning environments. The Texas Center for Educational Technology at the University of North Texas, in collaboration with Classroom Connect, developed STARgate to give Texas teachers the opportunity to learn more about the Technology Applications TEKS and how to use technology effectively in the classroom.

 

 
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