Redesigning The Inacol Standards For K-12 Online Course Design

The research presented created a revised K-12 online course design rubric based off the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses. The redesign was completed in three distinct phases, beginning with a literature review of the iNACOL standards that compared current K-12, higher education, and other related literature to each element found in the standards to test for content validity. Results of phase one showed that the iNACOL standards did match up to current literature. Phase two consisted of an expert panel review of the standards, along with phase one suggestions, over three rounds. Viewing the standards through the specific lens of K-12 online course design, the experts combined, revised, deleted, or kept individual elements. The end result was a revised rubric based off the original iNACOL standards. This revised rubric was field tested against current K-12 online courses in phase three. Four groups of two reviewers used the revised rubric to test the inter-rater reliability. While the overall results of the revised rubric did not meet the reliability threshold for percentages, specific elements did. Future research should look to why certain elements were successful (i.e. phrasing, type of question asked) while others were not. This study could also be replicated with other widely accepted standards to help strengthen or revise expert results

Voracious Appetite of Online Teaching: Examining Labour Issues Related to K-12 Online Learning

A paper presented at the annual Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) conference, Waterloo, Ontario, February 16, 2013. Distance education and online learning at the K-12 level is growing at dramatic rates in Canada, the United States and worldwide. Barbour (2012) estimated that there are approximately 245,000 Canadian students who are enrolled in one or more distance education courses. This figure represents approximately 5% of the total K-12 student population in Canada; up from the estimated 2.5% to 3% reported just two years earlier (Barbour, 2010). This is dwarfed by the rate of growth in the United States, where the Ambient Insights (2011) estimated there are 4,000,000 students engaged in online learning; up from 2,000,000 the previous year (Wicks, 2010)

Book Review - Making the move to K–12 online teaching: Research-based strategies and practices

Making the move to K–12 online teaching: Research-based strategies and practice

Still Forgotten Teachers in K-12 Online Learning: Examining the Perceptions of Teachers Who Develop K-12 Online Courses

Like many K-12 online learning programs, the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) began by utilizing vendor content to populate its online courses. In its fourth year, the IVHS began a concerted effort to design more of its own online course content internally. The aim of this chapter was to examine the support needed and application of tools used by IVHS course developers. The data consisted of a two-part, web-based survey and telephone interviews that were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive analysis. The results showed these developers had a strong desire to use interactive elements in their course as well as working in cooperative teams. Further, developers were opposed to using a forced template, but indicated a need for general structural guidance and additional professional development. Finally, developers recommended that subject matter teacher-developers and multimedia specialists be split into two separate roles, and these individuals work together as a part of a team. Further research should be conducted on the intended use of technology tools requested

The Forgotten Teachers in K-12 Online Learning: Examining the Perceptions of Teachers Who Develop K-12 Online Courses

Like many K-12 online learning programs, the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) began by utilizing vendor content to populate its online courses. In its fourth year, the IVHS began a concerted effort to design more of its own online course content internals. The aim of this study was to examine the nature of the support needed and application of tools used by IVHS course developers. The data consisted of a two-part, web-based survey and telephone interviews that were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive analysis. The results showed these developers had a strong desire to use interactive elements in their course as well as working in cooperative teams. Further, developers were opposed to using a forced template, but indicated a need for general structural guidance and additional professional development. Finally, developers recommended that subject matter teacher-developers and multimedia specialists be split into two separate roles, and these individuals work together as a part of a design team. Further research should be conducted on the intended use of technology tools requested

Where is the baby?

Introduction: People experiencing homelessness can struggle to have basic healthcare needs met due to a variety of factors, potentially resulting in the progression of untreated health issues and development of complications. Since the COVID19 pandemic, rates of homelessness have increased and women are the fastest growing subgroup. Women have a higher need for preventative care, especially when considering reproductive health and gynecologic issues. Health education and treatment, even for seemingly benign conditions, is imperative for improving health outcomes of women experiencing homelessness. Case description: A 38-year-old woman experiencing homelessness becomes unresponsive, and an onlooker calls 9-1-1. No medical history is known except the patient is suspected to be around 40 weeks pregnant. EMS notes the patient is in asystole, and they begin chest compressions and oxygen en route to the hospital. Neither fetal heart rate nor fetal movement were detected by the paramedic. Upon ED arrival, two OB/GYN physicians boarded the ambulance and began an immediate postmortem cesarean section. Access into the abdominal cavity was obtained with a vertical surgical incision. As the physician lifted the enlarged uterus, the patient regained consciousness and a pulse. Surprised at the unexpected turn of events, the OB/GYN lost grip of the uterus and the patient returned into asystole. Upon further assessment, it was determined that a large fibroid tumor, not a fetus, had resulted in the patient to suffer an extreme supine hypotensive event. She was promptly transported to the operating room for an emergency hysterectomy, and encountered no further complications. However, lacking understanding of the situation, she demanded to see her baby when she awoke in the postanesthesia recovery unit. Discussion: Uterine fibroids, or leiomyomas, are the most common tumors of the pelvis in reproductive-aged women. While vastly benign, patients may develop symptoms depending on tumor location or size. Giant fibroids can grow up to 11.4kg and increase risk for supine hypotensive syndrome, causing decreased cardiac output and loss of consciousness due to compression of the inferior vena cava. In the case of our patient, adequate access to medical care would have likely led to early diagnosis and management of the fibroid. This would have also given an opportunity to educate the patient, thus limiting potential mental and emotional repercussions caused by her mistaking her symptoms for pregnancy. Conclusion: This case illustrates the struggles faced by an unhoused woman lacking healthcare. Barriers to healthcare access include cost, transportation, low health literacy, and perceived stigma from healthcare providers. Current efforts to improve health outcomes for low socioeconomic groups, including the Affordable Care Act, free health clinics, and targeted health education for underserved populations, are beneficial yet often underutilized. Increasing health literacy and breaking the cycle of mistrust of the medical system may help encourage utilization of available programs, but bridging the gaps in healthcare for houseless women will take a continued multifactorial effort from several entities

Legal Personhood and the Firm: Avoiding Anthropomorphism and Equivocation

This article has been published in a revised form in Journal of Institutional Economics, doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744137415000235. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © Millennium Economics Ltd 2015. Published by Cambridge University Press.From the legal point of view, ‘person’ is not co-extensive with ‘human being’. Nor is it synonymous with ‘rational being’ or ‘responsible subject’. Much of the confusion surrounding the issue of the firm's legal personality is due to the tendency to address the matter with only these, all too often conflated, definitions of personhood in mind. On the contrary, when the term ‘person’ is defined in line with its original meaning as ‘mask’ worn in the legal drama, it is easy to see that it is only the capacity to attract legal relations that defines the legal person. This definition, that avoids the undesirable emotional associations and equivocations that often plague the debate, is important for a legally grounded view of the firmPeer reviewe