Running head: EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1

Edgenuity Professional Development Project Plan

Scott A. McKee

EDU 698

Rebecca Waters

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2

Abstract

The Edgenuity Professional Development Project (EPD) is intended to design, develop, and

implement an available online resource for Valley Community School (VCS) educators to learn

how to use Edgenuity for online and blended learning as an option for at-risk student

remediation, credit recovery, and online learning. To create an effective online resource the

Instructional System Design (ISD) will utilize the ADDIE Model, named after the first letter of

each word in the process (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation).

According to Hodell (2011, p.24), the ADDIE model or some derivative of it provides designers

with the necessary structure for designing any curriculum, regardless of the variables involved.

With high school drop-out rates increasing and graduation rates decreasing, VCS needs to look

for additional options to address the growing need to help students catch up on lost credits and

use 21st century pedagogy and methods. Through the use of Edgenuity, VCS teachers will be

able address these needs by creating a student-centered learning environment integrating

available technology and blended learning.

Key Terms: court and community schools, alternative education, at-risk students, credit

recovery, remediation, graduation rates, blended learning, Edgenuity, professional development

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3

Edgenuity Professional Development Project Plan

Rationale

VCS purchased the services of Edgenuity four years ago. Initially small group

professional development was provided for the teachers at each site. At that time not all of the

site infrastructures could support adequate use of the online learning product and as a result

Edgenuity has fallen by the wayside for almost every teacher and site. For Edgenuity to be used

effectively into the future it is necessary to create an online resource for teachers to use to learn

how to employ the benefits as an option for remediation, credit recovery, and online learning to

help at-risk students achieve a high school diploma. Sari Factor, CEO of Edgenuity Inc., states,

“Every student dropout is a tragedy, and our country and economy can’t afford to keep

squandering talent and letting our students down. At Edgenuity, we are deeply gratified to

partner with schools and districts to help drive meaningful dropout prevention results.” (as cited

in Edgenuity, 2013, p. 1).

Matt Wicks, Vice President of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning

(iNACOL), is quoted by Plummer (2012) as saying, “the surge of virtual credit recovery is a

recent phenomenon. We probably began seeing online credit recovery become a bigger focus

about four years ago. Schools noticed how online learning could be utilized for students who

were unsuccessful.” VCS began to consider virtual credit recovery about the same time in 2008,

first with a product called School City and eventually settled with Edgenuity (formerly E2020

Inc.) in 2010. However, since then, Edgenuity has not been utilized effectively as an option by

VCS teachers. VCS is currently evaluating the expense of Edgenuity in relation to the benefits

of students and educators. For this reason a readily available online resource for educators to

access for use when needed and convenient could help bring Edgenuity back through increased

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 4

use as a viable option in the eyes of VCS administrators, educators, and students.

Research or Theory Base

Watson & Gemin (2008), cite a report on a study regarding what is called “The Silent

Epidemic”. The epidemic is the increasing dropout rate in the United States. The report is titled,

“Ending the Silent Epidemic: A Blue Print to Address America’s High School Dropout Crisis.”

According to the study;

Every 29 seconds another student gives up on school.

Nearly one-third of all public high school students fail to graduate with their class.

Dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, in poor health, living in poverty, on

public assistance, or single parents with children who fail to graduate.

Dropouts are more than eight times as likely to be in jail or prison.

Dropouts are four times less likely to volunteer, twice less likely to vote or

participate in community projects, representing only 3 percent of actively engaged

citizens in the United States.

The impact of dropping out of high school affects the individual, family, community, and nation.

The costs are great, based on the information presented by the study; something needs to be done

to address this epidemic. In the 21st century the time has come to address problems with 21st

century solutions and/or options. Online and blended learning environments are a couple of

these options.

Varius (2011) describes blended learning as a model in which a student learns, at least in

part, at a supervised physical location away from home and through online delivery where the

student has control over the time, place, or pace of the curriculum. On a larger scale, blended

learning is becoming a tool for problem-solving around the dropout crisis.

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Currently there are several online and blended learning products available, VCS has

chosen Edgenuity. According to an article titled, “Edgenuity Highlights New At-Risk Student

Success Stories (2013),” research from Alliance for Excellent Education shows that many

students drop out of school because of lack of engagement with subject matter or challenges in

making up for missed credits. Edgenuity is addressing these issues by providing flexible and

personalized learning opportunities that resonate with students and help them earn credits at their

own pace.

For educators to adopt and feel comfortable in integrating online and blended learning

on-going professional development is necessary. According to the iNACOL, “professional

development is needed for virtual teachers in meeting the needs of students with disabilities,

identifying at-risk students, and differentiating instruction, topics that are not part of the current

professional development programs for the majority of virtual teachers (Rice & Dawley, 2009).

This Capstone Project will address this need to design, develop, and implement an available

online professional development resource for VCS educators to use to better understand how to

use Edgenuity as an effective option for helping at-risk students with remediation, credit

recovery, and ultimately graduate high school.

Contribution to Education

The Edgenuity Professional Development Project will make a contribution to VCS

Juvenile Hall by enabling a 21st century option for students and teachers to use for students to

have an additional opportunity to advance and recover lost credits in the process of graduating

high school. Other VCS sites and educators will also have the opportunity to participate and

become more proficient in the use of Edgenuity as an option to help their at-risk students

graduate. Edgenuity is not the answer to every student; however, it is a 21st century option for a

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 6

very diverse population of at-risk students as an option to address the learning needs to help

achieve a high school diploma. Sari Factor (2013), CEO of Edgenuity Inc., states, “We’ve seen

online and blended learning solutions help students stay in school and change the trajectory of

students’ lives through flexible, personalized, engaging instruction.” This professional

development resource for Edgenuity will be made available online and easily accessible to share

with all VCS or any other schools’ educators interested in using Edgenuity.

Contribution to Personal Skills

The EPD Project is going to allow the Instructional Designer (ID) to apply many skills

and much of the knowledge that has been learned in this program at Post University. It is going

to provide an opportunity to demonstrate that the ID has developed the knowledge and skill set

needed to meet the M.Ed. Core Outcomes and Instructional Design and Technology Outcomes

that have been identified as key for this project.

Through the process of designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating this

program the ID will be able to experience the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) process by

using the ADDIE model. The ID will explore the functional elements and artistry of website

design in the process of utilizing and integrating a variety of technology tools and multimedia.

Once the EPD Project is completed the ID will have developed a professional

development resource that can be shared with colleagues and hopefully enhance at-risk student

learning options and opportunities at all VCS sites. This final application to earn a M.Ed., in the

form of a capstone project, will add to and enhance the ID’s personal skill set as an educator,

technology coach, and a solid resource for VCS and Merced County Office of Education

(MCOE) into the future.

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Project Detail

This project will be using California State University, Chico’s (2002) Rubrics for Online

Instruction (ROI) and Joan Van Duzer’s (2002) from Humboldt State University, Instruction

Design Tips for Online Learning (IDTOL) as a framework while using the ADDIE model to

create an online professional development in the use of Edgenuity for VCS educators. The ROI

breaks down the process of developing an effective Online Learning Environment (OLE) into six

categories. In conjunction with the ROI, the IDTOL provides a checklist that can be used for

each category to ensure the instructional designer incorporates all the key elements to create an

exemplary online learning environment. For the application of ROI to EPD the word student

will be replaced with participant, since EPD is intended to be a professional development

resource as opposed to an actual course. What follows is a listing of key components of the ROI

that will be applied in the development of EPD as an exemplary OLE;

Category 1 – Learner Support and Resources

According to the ROI (2002), the exemplary OLE will contain;

A. A variety of course-specific resources with contact information for instructor.

B. Access to a wide range of resources supporting course content and different

learning abilities.

Using a weebly.com website as a platform, EPD will incorporate a wide range of

participant support and resources in its design as it applies to learning how to use and

understanding the benefits of Edgenuity as an option for remediation, credit recovery, and online

learning.

Category 2 – Online Organization and Design

According to the ROI (2002), the organization and design of an exemplary OLE will;

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 8

A. Be well organized and easy to navigate.

B. Be aesthetically designed and present and communicate course information

clearly throughout the course.

C. All web pages are visually and functionally consistent throughout the course.

EPD’s weebly website will have a clean professional look with close attention paid to

ease of navigation, aesthetics, and consistency in its visual and functional aspects. In order for

participants to have a good experience, the organization and design need to be “user-friendly”,

visually appealing, and practical in function.

Category 3 – Instructional Design and Delivery

According to the ROI (2002), an exemplary OLE’s instructional design and delivery

should include;

A. Clearly defined goals that are aligned to the learning objectives.

B. Learning objectives are identified and leaning activities are clearly integrated.

C. Visual, Textual, kinesthetic, and/or auditory activities to enhance participant

learning and accessibility.

EPD will breakdown Edgenuity’s use and benefits into separate web pages based on

specific functions. Each page will have goals and objectives that are clearly identified and

supported by engaging learning experiences.

Category 4 – Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning

Since this EPD is not intended to be an actual course, but an effective professional

development resource, it will not be necessary to use a platform with a Learning Management

System (LMS), such as COURSEsites, Haiku, or Moodle. However, if in the future the need

were to arise to monitor and assess participants in EPD an LMS could be installed.

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 9

Category 5 – Appropriate and Effective Use of Technology

According to the ROI (2002), an exemplary course should effectively use technology by;

A. Using a variety of technology tools to appropriately facilitate learning.

B. Applying new teaching methods to innovatively enhance participant learning and

interactively engage participants.

C. Using a variety of multimedia elements and/or learning objects are used and are

relevant to accommodate different learning styles.

D. Optimizing internet access and effectively engage participants in the learning

process.

In the development of EPD as an effective OLE it will be a challenge to incorporate a

variety of technology tools and multimedia to address and accommodate different learning styles.

This part of the project will be where creativity and innovation are needed to explore new ways

of creating an engaging professional development resource.

Category 6 – Faculty Use of Student Feedback (ie. Instructional Designer Use of Partici-

pant Feedback)

This category will be used in a way for the instructional designer to use participant

feedback from a survey to further enhance and modify the professional development resource on

an ongoing basis. At the end of each visit, the participant will ask to take part in a survey of their

experience to be used by the instructional designer to improve the learning experience of EPD.

Project Outcomes

The intended outcomes for the EPD Project are;

1. Provide an effective and engaging online professional development resource for

VCS educators in the use and benefits of Edgenuity as an option for at-risk

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 10

students for remediation, credit recovery, and online or blended learning.

2. Increase the use of Edgenuity by VCS educators in their approach to increasing

student learning options and opportunities.

3. Ultimately improve existing credit recovery program, decrease dropout rates, and

increase graduation rates for VCS’s at-risk students.

Key M.Ed. Outcomes

The key M.Ed. outcomes that will be clearly demonstrated by the EPD Project are;

Core Program Outcomes:

Students will develop a vision for the future of education, a personal critical and

creative perspective on issues and changes in education, and several means to

adapt to future realities.

Students will develop and demonstrate leadership thinking in critical areas of

interest within their field.

The EPD Project has identified the need for professional development for VCS educators

regarding the use and benefits of Edgenuity as an option for improving student success rates. By

identifying this need demonstrates a vision for VCS’s future. Taking the lead on piloting

Edgenuity and designing, developing, and implementing an online professional development

resource demonstrates creative perspective on issues and change in education while

demonstrating leadership thinking in critical areas of interest.

Students will develop expertise in designing and delivering instruction to support

the achievement of a diverse population of learners of all ages in a variety of

settings (e.g., public education, private education, charter schools, corporations,

elearning, et al.).

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The EPD project will design and deliver instruction to educators who teach in an

alternative learning environment which intends to increase the use of Edgenuity as an option for

at-risk learners to improve their educational situation by recovering credits and graduating high

school.

Students will be able to identify and use current relevant technology in the service

of better learning.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of creativity and innovation as

applied to education.

The goal of the EPD Project is to create an effective and engaging learning experience for

its participants. EPD will identify and integrate relevant technology to enhance participant

learning and create an engaging experience that demonstrates innovation and creativity.

Concentration in Instructional Design and Technology Outcomes:

Students will be able to design and develop learning environments using models

of instructional design, such as the ADDIE model.

The EPD Project will use the ADDIE model to analyze, design, develop, implement, and

evaluate the projects instructional design through completion and will be ongoing until the need

for EPD expires.

Students will understand and be able to apply theories of design and instruction

to the development, design, and implementation of educational experiences and

events.

Along with the ADDIE model, the EPD Project will use the ROI and IDTOL as a

framework to aid in the creation of an exemplary and effective OLE that adheres to the theory of

design and instruction of instructional experiences and events.

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Students will be able to integrate appropriate technology in a diversity of

educational settings, including schools, universities, corporations, non-profits and

government agencies.

The EPD Project will identify and integrate appropriate technology to create an effective

and engaging OLE for VCS educators to better understand the uses and benefits of Edgenuity as

an option to improve student success in remediation, credit recovery, and online learning.

Technology

The EPD Project will use technology throughout the scope of the project to deliver

instruction and learning experiences to the participants. The project platform will be delivered

on Weebly.com in the form of a webpage. The webpage will use the ROI and IDTOL as a guide

to develop an exemplary and effective OLE. The learning experiences will include, but not

limited to, screen casts for tutorials, links to videos, interviews, webinars, and survey tools. The

website will also have a resource page for educators to quickly access other options for online

learning resources and tools. For participant evaluation and feedback there will be an online

survey for each participant to complete regarding the learning experience before leaving the

website.

One skill set that will be developed through this project is various forms of screen-

casting. Three screen-casting tools will be explored; screen-cast-omatic for tutorials, Jing for

screen shots and video recording, and Educreations for online lectures. The ID will be looking to

find innovative and creative ways to integrate these technology tools into the instructional design

of different learning experiences.

The ID has had several years of web design experience by building websites on msn

Live, Google Sites, Wordpress, and now Weebly.com. Some of this experience has been honed

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through this program using Wordpress to develop and maintain a personal learning environment,

edudigitalteacher.com. Also, the ID has been a technology coach for MCOE/VCS for the last

three years and has had additional training opportunities, exposure to resources, and

collaboration with like-minded educators along the way. The ID hopes to use these

opportunities, resources, and experiences in some way to further enhance the EPD Project’s

learning experience. Most of what has been learned regarding instructional design and

technology integration has been through a combination of personal interest, professional

teaching, technology coaching, and educational experiences at MCOE/VCS and Post University

over the last three years.

The goal of this capstone project is to effectively use appropriate technology to develop

an effective and engaging online professional development resource that uses the ADDIE model

of instructional design and adheres to the ROI standards using the INTOL checklist to create an

exemplary OLE.

Timeline

Week # ADDIE Phase ROI Category Tasks to Complete1 Analyze

&Evaluate

Category 1 Select website theme. Identify each page’s content. Select page layouts to fit with content. Research best practices in online professional

development. Research tips and tutorials for screen-casting. Research Survey tips for evaluations. Evaluate progress and make adjustments. Keep notes of changes made. Begin planning Project Presentation

2 Design&

Evaluate

Category 2 Write goals and objectives for each pages content.

Design aesthetics and ensure consistency between pages in form and function.

Design learning experiences for each page’s content, goals, and objectives.

Select and design visuals that fit with content

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 14

and page layouts. Design survey for participants. Evaluate progress and make adjustments. Keep notes of changes made. Outline Project Presentation

3 Design+

Develop&

Evaluate

Category 2&

Category 3

Establish universal accessibility; non-text items optimize images for quick display, choose colors that aren’t affected by colorblindness, and add alternative media sources if possible for different modalities and disabilities.

Ensure goals align to learning objective and add content to pages.

Begin to create learning experiences, edit, and embed into appropriate pages.

Begin to assemble and integrate goals, objectives, and activities into pages.

Edit survey for participants. Evaluate progress and make adjustments. Keep notes of changes made. Collect information needed for Project

Presentation.4 Develop

&Evaluate

Category 3 Complete rough draft for each page regarding all materials, goals, objectives, activities, non-text items and run tests to ensure functionality.

Embed and test survey for participants. Evaluate progress and make adjustments. Keep notes of changes made. Begin writing or creating visual/auditory

Presentation based on rubrics.5 Develop

&Evaluate

Category 5 Finish editing and testing content to create final draft of entire website. Run a final round of testing to check for ease of navigation, page content activities alignment with goals and objectives.

Send EPD Website to professor, an administrator, and other technology coaches to test and provide initial feedback.

Make final edits and adjustments before deployment.

Evaluate progress and make adjustments. Keep notes of changes made. Continue writing or creating visual/auditory

Presentation based on rubrics.6 Implement

&Evaluate

Category 5&

Category 6

Send out an email to all VCS educators and administrators and ask them to use the site, complete the survey, and contact the ID if they

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 15

have any questions or need some personal assistance.

Evaluate and make adjustments as needed per survey results.

Keep notes of changes made. Complete draft of Project Presentation based

on rubrics.7 Implement

&Evaluate

Category 5&

Category 6

Send out email reminder for those who have not participated encouraging them to take the time to participate and complete the survey.

Evaluate and make adjustments as needed per survey results.

Keep notes of changes made. Edit and revise draft of Project Presentation

based on rubrics.8 Evaluate Category 6 Analyze and evaluate survey results.

Make adjustments as needed per survey evaluation.

Continue to make note of changes. Send out an email to thank all of those who

have participated and continue to encourage everyone to participant and come back periodically for refresher participation.

On-going development until EPD Project need expires.

Incorporate final evaluation of project into Project Presentation and make final edits for final draft and submit for Post University approval.

Project Evaluation

Hodell (2011, p.69), reminds us that, “evaluation is more than just a post-course event.

Evaluation takes place in every element of the ADDIE model.” Throughout the entire course of

the instructional design process everything and anything is subject to change as the ID evaluates

and monitors the design process of a project. For the EPD Project each week, each phase of

ADDIE, and every category of the ROI will undergo evaluation and adjustments and changes

will be made as needed. The ID will seek ongoing evaluation and feedback from MCOE/VCS

technology coach colleagues to have more feedback from a variety of sources. Prior to

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 16

implementation a Post professor, VCS administrator, and VCS Juvenile Hall teachers will be

consulted for evaluation and feedback.

Once the EPD Project is launched and implementation begins each participant will be

asked to complete a short survey regarding their learning experience and provide feedback to

improve the professional development resource. Each week of implementation evaluation,

adjustments, and changes will take place as deemed necessary. The ID will be able to determine

if the identified key outcomes have been demonstrated based on the qualitative feedback from a

professor, VCS administrator, MCOE/VCS technology coach colleagues, and participants that

have completed the survey going into the Capstone Project’s final week and evaluation.

EDGENUITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 17

References

Chico, CSU. (2002). Rubrics for online instruction. Retrieved from

http://www.csuchico.edu/roi/the_rubric.shtml.

Hodell, C. (2011). Isd from the ground up: A no-nonsense approach to instructional design (3rd

ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: ASTD Press.

Plummer, L. (2012). Credit recovery programs combine the best of online and in-class

instruction. The Journal, March. Retrieved from

http://thejournal.com/Articles/2012/03/08/Online-credit-recovery.aspx?Page=1 .

Rice, K., & Dawley, L. (2009). Going virtual: The status of professional development for K-12

online teachers: Insights and implications. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education,

17. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/28226 .

Unknown. (2013, May 30). Edgenuity highlights new at-risk student success stories. Retrieved

from http://www.edgenuity.com/information/media-room/press-releases/edgenuity-

highlights-new-at-risk-student-success-stories/.

Van Duzer, J. (n.d.). Instruction design tips for online learning. Retrieved form

http://www.csuchico.edu/tlp/resources/rubric/instructionalDesignTips.pdf.

Varius, L. (2011). Getting to graduation: Can blended learning curtail the dropout crisis?

Education, 53. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-

update/aug11/vol53/num08/Getting-to-Graduation.aspx .

Watson, J., & Gemin, B. (2008, June). Using online learning for at-risk students and credit

recovery. Retrieved from

http://www.inacol.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NACOL_CreditRecovery_Promi

singPractices.pdf .

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