This is the fourth blog in a series where we will explore excellence in online curriculum for secondary education and what to consider when partnering with an online learning provider.
In our last few blogs we’ve talked about the importance of a rigorous, high quality curriculum that engages and motivates students. A quality online curriculum provider will also offer support teams that partner with you every step of the way throughout the implementation process—from planning and implementation to ensure the ongoing success of your program. Please see our list of the top five considerations when evaluating support services of an online learning provider.
1) Implementation and support tied to your unique goals and objectives. The most effective implementations are developed in collaboration with a digital curriculum provider, tying implementation plans to a district’s unique goals and objectives. The support team should offer expertise and work closely with administrators and educators to design programs and instructional models that meet student needs and build to the capacity of the staff.
2) Identify and track key metrics. The key to a successful personalized learning implementation is to identify goals that are measured and tracked throughout the implementation. Quantitative and qualitative data should be regularly collected and evaluated to gauge progress toward a school or district’s established goals. This ensures that your implementation stays more closely aligned to your program’s mission.
3) Professional Development. Professional development is essential for the effective implementation of personalized learning programs. From district and school leaders to classroom teachers, professional learning should be designed around the goals of the program as well as the experience of educators. Professional development should provide personalized support to meet every teacher and administrator at their level of readiness, deepening their understanding through a combination of on-site and on-demand implementation services, ongoing coaching and mentoring, and help with the curriculum. Educators should feel supported as they develop and hone their skills.
4) Seamless Integration. As the complexity of school systems increases, so does the need to maintain seamless integration when implementing an online curriculum program. Ensuring a provider offers a simple implementation process that has minimal impact on existing network infrastructure can make a big difference. This should include the simplicity of a single sign on to streamline user registration and automatic data exchange, which allows districts to manage and monitor their programs with ease.
5) Ongoing Support. Ongoing technical support should be available 24/7 to support educators with the resources they need for an effective implementation
Learn more about the Apex Learning Implementation Success Managers who partner with your organization to plan, implement, and ensure the ongoing success of your program. In our next blog of the series, we will explore efficacy, outcomes and results when evaluating online curriculum.