An Elluminate
Success Story

Harris County Department of Education Delivers Online Instructor Training Statewide with Elluminate Live!

According to the Texas Education Agency, research shows that online teachers model their own virtual classroom after the instruction they have received. That’s why it’s critical for new online teachers to experience a modeling of active instructor-led learning. That’s also why the agency selected Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) as one of the training providers for more than 300 online instructors for the Texas Virtual School Network.

Meeting iNACOL Standards
Jeanie Cole is the Manager of Digital Learning and Instructional Technology for HCDE. “One of the requirements for the online instructor training program is to cover iNACOL standards, including synchronous discussion and using the whiteboard,” she explains. “The reason we liked Elluminate so much is that it provides both of those, so it helps us align very well to the standards. We were also looking for a way to help participants connect within their collaborative groups. With Elluminate, they can get an idea of each others’ personalities and really connect as a group.”

“We’ve had almost 40 districts in our online instructors’ training, and they all use Elluminate,” Cole continues. “First we demonstrate to them, and then they become the discussion leaders and tutor each other. We have many participants who are really impressed with Elluminate and realize it’s a really good tool to use with their own students.”

Going Beyond Synchronous Chat
“Originally, we used the text tool in Moodle for synchronous discussion, which although sufficient, didn’t give us the fluidity and comfort level we have in normal conversations,” adds HCDE Instructional Technology Specialist David McGeary. “We were very much aware that face-to-face is a primary method of exchanging ideas, so we wanted technology to accurately represent that.”

“Adapting to the Elluminate environment became a progressive learning experience where we began to involve the participants more in crafting their own presentations and presenting to one another,” McGeary adds. “Jeanie and I only present only one week in six, relying on our participants to act as moderators. This tends to be very powerful way to get the students involved in the technology. They can see how in depth and well connected they can be through the interface.”

Creating a Learning Community
“As time went by, we started using Elluminate not just for synchronous interaction but also for tutorial projects, and we always provide a sandbox where they can pop in any point to learn the environment a little bit better,” says McGeary. “Our participants discover little things we didn’t know Elluminate could do, which they share with everybody to create a true learning community.

“We are very big into dialog, and encourage students not to talk about topics but to talk to each other about topics,” McGeary continues. “So they are having conversations about the content. This is an opportunity for everyone to come together and have fair representation of their ideas. As result of the interaction in Elluminate, our participants form very potent peer bonds that continue long after the course is done.”

Integrating Elluminate Within Moodle CMS
In the future, we will be implementing the Elluminate Bridge for Moodle,” concludes McGeary. “Having Elluminate Live! close within the CMS will make it seem like it’s more of a contained course. It will also give us flexibility to schedule sessions, select individual participants and have them authenticated through the system, and name moderators for a specific session. We’ll also have direct access to the session recordings. We’re looking very much forward to this implementation and are certain it will bring a new dynamic to course.”