Q. What will the focus of the program be? The Online Academy staff will provide orientation to the use of their online modules. They will work with your team in developing a staff development plan that makes use of online instructional resources nationally for staff development. Particular attention will be given to identifying the conditions unique to your area that must be met for your staff to access online staff development resources from a wide array of sources and to personally benefit from online staff development. Q. Why should we participate? Online staff development resources are being created everyday. Companies are being formed to address the staff development needs of districts across the country that allow your staff access to national experts on topics central to their staff development needs. No longer must teachers leave their classes to participate in staff development. They can participate when and where it is most convenient to them. It is even possible to individualize their own staff development programs online. The days of being limited to "canned" workshops and "interesting" speakers are over. It is now possible to know in advance exactly what the staff development will be. Follow-up can be made available to you. The online staff development curriculum of the future will be far more comprehensive than in the past. You will be able to know what you will get and you will be able to access development activities anytime, anywhere. You will also be able to assess what you have learned. Q. Who are the partners? The most important partners will be the pilot sites selected to participate. If you apply and are selected you will be the number one partner. The KSDE is the partner committed to ensuring that Kansas takes full advantage of what the future holds for online staff development. For that to occur we must begin now. The third partner is the Online Academy at the University of Kansas. The Academy has developed online training modules for teacher education that are targeted to the needs of teachers. Over the past three years as they have developed online modules and are familiar with what is available nationally in online staff development, and what is occurring in the e-learning industry. They are prepared to work with us. Q. What will the outcomes of the program be for the state and us? For you, if selected, the outcomes will be a plan for accessing online staff development, a cadre of teachers who have experience in online staff development, and guidelines for how to develop an online staff development program that accesses resources nationally. Your program will be at the cutting edge in terms of readiness to take advantage of online staff development opportunities. It is here and it is growing. The important part of e-learning is content and this e-learning is targeted at staff development. The technology to disseminate content in effective instructional models online is here. The availability of content for staff development will explode on the scene. We need to be positioned to take advantage of the growing opportunities to access staff development online. Q. When will the program begin and what is the time commitment? The program has begun. We have held several planning sessions and the process for selecting pilot sites is in process. The Academy will be working with us in this process. We will be selecting three programs from among those who apply. The Academy is prepared to work with the pilot sites once selected. The time commitment is largely under your control. There will be at least one meeting at the Academy. The number of local meetings with you and your team and the Academy staff will be determined later. A web site will be established for sharing information and for coordination across sites. The process will be tailored to the needs of each pilot site. However, each site will be required to share the results of its efforts. Q. Who from our program should participate? You, of course, should participate, as should your staff development specialist. The number of teachers and principals who should be on your team will be up to you. Having a board member on your team may not be a bad idea as well.