Stage2_Scoping

**Relationships and communications**

 * Focus** **:** Identify stakeholders and leadership group, establish communication networks, a nd develop a shared vision and principles.


 * Explanation**: A Learning Community Online [LCO] is based on a shared vision where schools see a common solution through working cooperatively. A shared vision and guiding principles provide the structure and support that is needed when developing goals and working through any subsequent issues. It is essential that strong working relationships be established at the outset. It is vital that all Principals are totally committed to the process, working closely with the LCO Leadership group, and actively supporting the goals of the LCO within their own schools. Without this commitment from Principals then successful outcomes will be limited, as borne out in cluster research.

Identify **potential stakeholders**:
 * Action:** Identify a **leadership group** of highly committed individuals, including Principals who will drive the development of the LCO. Innovative leaders within a school should be identified as part of this group as this is not just necessarily the domain of a lead ICT teacher. Aim for a balance of school leadership, innovative teachers, elearning experience and representation from across the schools. This group could also include representation of key stakeholders . Bear in mind the need for this group to be reasonably small to be effective and agile.
 * **//teaching and learning//**: students, teachers, parents, whanau, the community
 * **//education suppor//t**: other cluster representatives, Virtual Learning Network Community, other local schools/education institutions incl early childhood, Ministry of Education
 * //**financial**//: BOTs, Principals, Community Trusts, sponsors, Ministry of Education, Service clubs, community groups
 * Establish communication** between members of leadership group and back to schools and stakeholders. Agree on meeting schedules well in advance, where possible making use of existing meetings. Meetings can be a variety of face to face, audio, video or web conferencing as the needs of the group determine. Establish listserv communication and develop a shared online space for asynchronous discussion, online collaboration and sharing of documents.

VLN Community Charter - Example of shared vision & principles of participation in an LCO (//to be finalised & ratified by Council shortly)// ICTPD research - importance of the role of Principal - other relevant research? BES Develop a guide about online communication tools. (a space in ELGG for this)
 * Supporting Resources:**

**Identify Learner needs**

 * Focus:** Carry out a learning needs analysis to identify the range of learning opportunities required.


 * Explanation:** The primary purpose of an LCO should be to improve the learning outcomes and extend the learning opportunities for their students. Schools therefore need to identify the needs of their students which may not be currently met within their own system. Once an understanding of student needs is gained then schools can begin to explore how collaborations through an LCO can be developed to help meet those needs. For some schools these needs may be very obvious such as in the Senior Secondary area where students are not able to study the subjects they wish through lack of specialist teachers, timetable clashes, or limited resourcing for small classes. These factors can be just as important in other areas of the schooling sector such as Primary, where for example schools are challenged to meet the needs of a new language curriculum area for Year 7 & 8s or Wharekura, where more support is sometimes needed in the Year 9 & 10 curricula. There may be a range of other student learning needs that can be supported through an LCO that are not so obvious as previously mentioned and will be unique to different schools. These could be Gifted & Talented Programmes, ESOL, literacy & numeracy support, cultural connections, opportunities to collaborate across the curriculum, shared opportunities for 'virtual field trips' or 'digital conversations'. A scan of the internal & external learning environment of a school and cluster would identify where there are gaps and where there are opportunities. What are the things we could be doing that are not so immediately obvious? As some schools have gaps in how they can best meet the needs of their students, so too do they have strengths - this provides the basis for successful collaborations between schools. It is also important to remember that all members of a school community are learners. What learning opportunities can be made available for teachers, Principals, BOTs, school staff and the community through an LCO?

Consult with the wider school community, teachers and students as to what learning opportunities they would like to have access to. This links to the focus of raising awareness about what the possibilities could be and the investigation of what other LCOs are doing.
 * Action:** Carry out a ‘learning needs audit’ of students to identify the range of learning opportunities, learning areas and levels required.

**Supporting Resources:** Learning Needs Audit for Secondary Schools //(Develop this as a separate resource from the content of the old LCO handbook as too much & too specific to Secondary to be included in the actions here - which outlines all the steps to follow)// [|Needs Analysis Survey for Schools] //(Just one here from the FarNet ask other clusters to share (Darren - Google Docs)//

**Logistical coordination**

 * Focus**: Complete an investigation of other LCO and cluster models, and evaluate their suitability to meet the needs of your schools.

Identify both the advantages and potential pitfalls of different LCO models and from this analysis develop a model that best meets the specific needs of your group. A collaborative approach actively involving input from all schools and key stakeholders is critical for success. Planning needs to include key strengths such as resources and personnel, and risk management issues such as ‘succession’ to protect the cluster against the loss of key personnel. It is important to consider aspects such as commonality of interest and goals, unique characteristics and problems of the schools, and size of the LCO. It is essential that schools within an LCO have sufficient in common to establish and sustain a long-term commitment. Pre-existing collaborative relationships between schools can provide the basis for the establishment of the LCO e.g. Principal networks, regional clusters. Ideally any LCO will have a clear understanding of the advantages and potential pitfalls of its own model. This can be very helpful for future planning and risk management.
 * Explanation:** There are many aspects to be considered in the scoping phase. It should be recognised that many LCOs are part of a national network that actively collaborate **across LCOs** as well as within their own LCO. As such, consulting with other LCO is important to assist with your own planning but you should also be aware of your potential role in the wider national network.


 * Action:**
 * consult with key members of other LCO
 * key personnel visits to a number of active, experienced LCO schools.
 * consult with relevant national bodies & institutions already working with clusters such as: MoE, VLN Community, ICTPD team
 * explore the possibility of buddying with an experienced LCO as a 'satellite' as your own LCO grows and develops it's expertise.
 * investigate strategic and financial planning in existing LCO.

Virtual Learning Network Community - cluster links and contacts ICT PD cluster network other schools collaborations? Grey & Lynda's work
 * Supporting Resources:**

**Professional development and Support**

 * Focus:** Raise awareness of the wider school community about their potential school involvement in a Learning Community Online [LCO]. Identify strengths and Professional Development needs of schools.


 * Explanation:** It is important for the whole school community to participate in discussion about an LCO and the opportunities it may bring to their students and their school. This will help to enable a shared understanding, and support of the LCO development. It will also serve to raise expressions of interest from staff who are keen to participate as well as indications from some who may be reticent. The implications of joining an LCO, both positive and potential negative factors, needs to be fully discussed. A stocktake of skills and expertise in the school, including positive attitudes about elearning should be taken to assist in targeting the skilled staff that can actively contribute to the LCO, taking into account the student needs already identified. This will also assist in tailoring Professional Development opportunities that best meet the needs of participating staff.

When carrying out an audit of skills and expertise some things to consider are:
 * Action:** Share with the learning organisations community, governance boards and teaching staff, a bigger picture overview of the elearning landscape and the role of LCOs. Include historical information, examples of current practice and stimulate discussion of the possibilities involvement in an LCO will bring. Invite contacts from other LCOs, the Virtual Learning Network Community or Ministry of Education to assist with the preparation, and or, presentation and facilitation of discussions if necessary. Be wary of relying too heavily on the 'outside experts', messages are much more powerful when shared by respected existing members of a school community.
 * while technical skills may be useful, good teaching skills and a willingness to learn are the critical factors.
 * a survey of the teaching ‘scope’ and interests within schools often reveal hidden treasures or assets.
 * invite initial indications from all staff who may be interested in participating,and explore opportunities for exposing them to examples of existing models.

Core Ed - [|10 Trends] (eLearning landscape) Expanding Learning Horizons (Rachel slideshare) Core [|ed Talks] - ePrincipals Gazette articles Case studies - Jo's wiki //**Professional Development:**// Example stock take survey? Virtual PD programme ICTPD contracts
 * Supporting Resources:**
 * //Raising Awareness://**

**Pedagogy**
Online learning environments, using tools such as a Learning Management System (LMS) & Web 2.0, are integral for support of online learning and collaboration between teachers and schools. They also provide the capacity to bridge the divide betweekn online (distance) learning and face to face classrooms by enabling a convergence of the both into blended learning environments.
 * Focus:** Identify current and desired teaching practices online.
 * Explanation:** An identification of current and desired teaching practices online and the use of learning environments will enable teachers at a personal level and schools at system level to determine changes to existing practices that will need to be made. It is important to note that traditional teaching practice that may be used in face to face classroom environments is not directly transferable into online learning and that a change in pedagogy does not require an add-on fix but an integral change to the way teaching and learning occurs in online and blended learning environments.

Provide opportunities to explore other clusters use of online learning environments. Share research about changes to teaching practices.
 * Action:** Provide support and guidance for teachers and schools as they explore pedagogical changes and the system changes that will enable this. This can be in the form of Professional Learning opportunities, access to experts, sharing and discussion within & between schools and other LCO, guidance for strategic planning and decision making to support systems level changes.Provide opportunities for teachers to observe online learning in action.

NZCER Research - targetted at different audiences. eFellow Research - Teletubbies, Trevor? Learning environments Learning Design work - Trevor, Conor, Derek?
 * Supporting Resources:**

**Technical coordination**

 * Focus**: Conduct a technical audit, and identify technical needs.


 * Explanation:** For an effective LCO to succeed, schools require a robust and well-maintained internal network, sufficient bandwidth, access to equipment and technical support. This audit will be essential in the following stage to inform decision-making about possible changes to technical resourcing and additional technical infrastructure required, especially those involving business or outside technical assistance. Consider also the importance of a cross-school audit and subsequent planning that would leverage an economy of scale for provision of equipment, services & support. This is of particular significance to the development of high speed networks, regional loops, and a NEN with the ability to aggregate and share technical services and support through cloud computing and hosted applications.

An audit should: Establish a small team of ICT leaders from across the LCO who can collaborate to identify shared technical needs and contribute to planning and decision-making.
 * Action:** Carry out an audit to identify the available and required technical resources and expertise required for elearning in each school.
 * provide an overview of existing hardware, software, network capability, and peripherals, as well as ongoing costs associated with internet and phone connections.
 * identify additional technical requirements. **This process must be informed by the needs of the teaching and learning process** and ensure the resulting infrastructure will be reliable, user-friendly, readily accessible and easily administered.
 * consider a range of purchase or lease options before committing to a particular technical solution. In addition, the level of sustainability, scalability, and ease of maintenance should be addressed.

MOE links Network Benchmarks, SNUPS, NEN,
 * Supporting Resources:**

**Learning and Teaching Resources**

 * Focus**: Conduct a review of appropriate learning resources, and identify future needs.


 * Explanation:** The provision of appropriate learning resources is important for the success of online learning. Online resources need to be easily acessible to students and teachers, available in standard digital formats, and flexible enough to be repurposed according to specific learning outcomes. Other types of resources that need to be considered in individual schools are the access to specialist text books, laboratories and equipment, audio-visual and communication equipment, computer and internet access and learning support personnel. This is particularly important for online students as most often work more independently than their classroom counterparts and need greater levels of learning support to enable them to access the required resources. Consideration should be given to how schools can best collaborate in LCOs to create, share and access a wide range of learning resources. Note that learning resources that are appropriate for online learning will also be suitable for blended learning situations potentially of use for every student and teacher.

Develop Curriculum and/or Year Level teams from across the LCO and identify special teaching support and elearning expertise. Explore the LCO online space for the sharing of information, expertise and resources. Assess school strengths that can maximise the benefits of the whole LCO. eg. media, organisational, practical, legal, community expertise Identify the specific learning resources needs for a online courses where there may be shortfalls and excesses. Share resources/ expertise between schools instead of making individual purchases. Identify existing internet-based resources to enrich and enhance learning programmes. Explore opportunities for teachers to collaborate, create and share learning resources as Open Education Resources, Explore opportunities for students to contribute to the creation of learning resources through their own learning process. eg co-constructed wiki 'text books' Identify teaching and learning resources/expertise available to enhance a programme/course eg. National Library, Te Papa, Virtual Field Trips, Book Council, Community Resources (local art galleries, museums, people)
 * Action:** Carry out a LCO-wide review of learning resources suitable for sharing across schools to support online learning. This can be facilitated by the following actions:

TKI resources (search page) Digistore Software for Learning Virtual Learning Network Community - connections to other LCOs and sharing of existing teacher created resources Wiki Educator Links to Te Papa, Book Council, Core Ed book tallks, LEARNZ, National Library
 * Supporting Resources:**

**Administration and support strategies**

 * Focus:** Identify support and management personnel.


 * Explanation:** Aspects of the process of the development of an LCO can be very time consuming and require co-ordination and management across the schools. It is important to identify a suitable person who will be responsible for the administration and management tasks that are required when setting up an LCO. A central point for communciation and co-ordination across the LCO will streamline the processes that are occurring across all areas of the development. Ideally this person would already be an active participant in the emerging LCO but these tasks can be delegated to existing ancillary staff or by employing an additional person.

Ensure this role doesn't fall on people within a school by default but staff are actively engaged, fully understand the requirements and are supported into these positions. Ensure adequate time allocation is given to administrative support. Key tasks at this stage would be to act as the central point of contact for correspondence with the LCO, co-ordinate meetings, and circulate information and key documents.
 * Action:** Identify a key person who can fill this administrative role.

Examples of structures for administrative support?
 * Supporting Resources:**

**Finance / Funding**

 * Focus:** Explore existing funding models and draft budgetary requirements.

Draft costs and the initial budget should be compiled from accurate, up-to-date data by an experienced person. It should be informed by initial stocktakes/audits undertaken and aligned to developing goals of the LCO. It is important that input from all key participants is included and that it is based on at least a 3 to 5 year plan of expenditure. Ensure draft budgets scope costs associated with the following: Explore the options for financial management: Should finances be run through one of the participating schools? Should a separate bank account be opened? Should a Charitable Trust be formed? The investigation of a range of LCO funding models would provide examples of sound financial practice or pitfalls to avoid. Key people/bodies that need to be involved are: Principals, school BOTs, Ministry of Education, Community Trusts, local tertiary/vocational providers, commercial sponsors, telecommunications companies, local bodies and businesses. The on-going financial management of the LCO should be the responsibility of a professional with an understanding of both financial and educational backgrounds and financial processes should be open and transparent to all key stakeholders. Investigate a wide range of funding sources and make a collective decision about the financial options e.g. Ministry of Education initiatives such as ICTPD funding, community, and commercial options. It should be recognised that many funding sources are contestable and in the long term not sustainable. Regardless of external funding opportunities which may be useful particularly in the early development of an LCO, all schools will need to be prepared to contribute funding, in the form of staffing and finances, to ensure the long term sustainability of an LCO. The Return on Investment would be realised by the economy of scale gained by the full participation of all schools and the benefits gained by their students.
 * Explanation:**
 * technology (including connectivity),
 * staffing including professional development and support,
 * resources
 * facilities
 * professional fees

Investigate other LCO funding models. Collate information from school/LCOstocktakes & investigations. Draft initial budget. Investigate a range of funding sources.
 * Action:** Identify person/people with necessary skills and experience to be responsible for finances.

ICTPD info Community Trust info Any other funding info? Sample budget
 * Supporting Resources:**

**Evaluation**

 * Focus**: Discuss and evaluate the scoping process with key stakeholders.


 * Explanation:** Processes for evaluation should be implemented at an early stage as this feeds into further planning. At this stage the driving group has been established and the following key areas are evaluated:
 * student and schools needs
 * likely models that could be used
 * an audit of staff skills
 * an audit of existing technical resources and expertise and identification of the equipment to be used
 * draft budgets
 * the administrative areas which will require LCO level co-ordination
 * potential shared learning resources.

Identify person/s tasked with completing the evaluation process. Evaluate scoping process and feedback to driving group. Develop an MoA to proceed.
 * Action:** Identify key groups from whom feedback will be a key component of the evaluative process

examples of MoAs
 * Supporting Resources:**

**Outcome**
Commitment to participate. A firm decision needs to be made by each participating school, evidenced through the submission of a formal statement of approval, Memorandum of Agreement, from each school’s Board of Trustees.