NEWS RELEASE
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008
CONTACT: Mike Nowlin
517-853-3867 (office)
989-450-0855 (mobile)
nowlin@paceandpartners.com
Online K-12 instructors from Dearborn, Bay City, Kalamazoo and Hartland recognized for statewide excellence in virtual classroom
LANSING – Lorri MacDonald, an online forensic science instructor from Dearborn who teaches students throughout Michigan in a virtual classroom, has been chosen the first-ever Online Teacher of the Year Award by Michigan Virtual School (MVS), a division of Michigan Virtual University (MVU).
MacDonald, a part-time teacher for Michigan Virtual School and an assistant professor in science education and research methods at the University of Detroit Mercy, was one of four finalists for the Online Teacher of the Year Award.
The other finalists were Molly Bruzewski, a consultant from Bay City who serves as an MVS online instructor in American Government, Legal Issues and Advanced Placement Government and Politics; Melanie Laber, a mathematics teacher at Hartland Middle School who teaches math online for MVS; and John Goudie, a biology teacher at the Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center who teaches Bioethics online for MVS.
The four MVS educators and MVU faculty and staff were recognized for their outstanding contributions to Michigan student learning by Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm. Michigan ranks second in the United States (after Florida) in a 2008 survey of online learning policy and practice recently released by the Center for Digital Education in consultation with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL).
“Michigan has taken a leadership role in the nation in online learning and because of their efforts and those of their colleagues across our state, I feel confident that we will continue to be a state others envy and emulate,” Granholm said. “Because of the great work of Michigan Virtual University and others who are spurring the use of online learning, we are using the technology that links us to the international marketplace to make sure that Michigan comes out on top in that global competition. I could not be more grateful for their pioneering work.”
Online learning is expanding dramatically in Michigan and nationwide. Michigan Virtual School has seen its course enrollments climb from 100 during the 1999-2000 academic year to more than 12,000 during 2007-08. National estimates for online enrollments have jumped from 40,000 to 50,000 in 2000 to about 1 million last year, according to NACOL. Michigan Virtual School has trained more than 400 online instructors like MacDonald since it was launched eight years ago.
“Online instructors are a critical component to effective online teaching and learning,” said Jamey Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of MVU. “Just like in face-to-face teaching, online instructors must be engaging, knowledgeable and available. Lorri is all of these things and more, and she represents the very best in what is a new and growing field. She truly believes all students can learn and does a remarkable job of developing rapport with students she never gets a chance to meet in person.”
This semester, MacDonald has 40 high school students in her two Introduction to Forensic Science classes. She teaches another 17 in Advanced Forensic Science. Her students are from schools all across Michigan, from tiny Detour Village in the Upper Peninsula to Grand Rapids to Ferndale just outside Detroit. All of the course content and instruction occurs over the Internet, with students logging in to follow lessons and complete assignments, and MacDonald interacting with students through e-mail and discussion rooms.
“Lorri represents a growing number of elementary, middle and high school teachers in the U.S. that are honing their skills as online instructors,” said Susan Patrick, NACOL president and CEO. “She is a true educational pioneer and is helping all of us reshape how educational services are delivered at the K-12 level.”
MacDonald has seen the expansion of online learning first hand. She developed the MVS Forensic Science course three years ago and started with just a handful of students. Today, the classes are so full that two other online instructors are helping MacDonald teach the introductory course. Currently, MVS has more than 100 trained instructors as faculty members.
“It is an honor to be named Online Teacher of the Year,” MacDonald said. “I am part of a talented and dedicated staff of teachers at Michigan Virtual School, to be recognized as Teacher of the Year is quite humbling.”
MacDonald, who earned her doctorate in education and master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University after receiving her bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan, also has more than 20 years of experience in teaching and building administration at the middle and high school levels. She started teaching online three years ago.
“Online learning has changed my teaching practice in my face-to-face classroom,” MacDonald said. “I have become more creative and constructivist by encouraging students to build on their own prior knowledge rather than relying on ‘pearls of wisdom’ dropped during lectures.
“Online learning is much more than just ‘sit and get,’ which is a common misconception that I have encountered,” she added. “Online learning is the way of the future, the way to reach more students in remote places and more students with up-to-date information. If we don’t use this form of learning, our students are deprived of learning the skills necessary to compete effectively with the rest of the world.”
According to a 2005 Pew Internet Project survey, 87 percent of kids between the ages of 12 and 17 use the Internet, and close to nine out of 10 of them believe the Internet helps teenagers do better in school.
“Online instructors are helping define the classrooms of the future,” said Robert Currie, executive director of Michigan Virtual School. “Our online instructors use powerful communication and presentation tools to engage students in an online learning environment. Today’s students turn to the Internet for everything from shopping to social networking. Online instructors reach out to students through a medium with which they are extremely comfortable.”
MacDonald, along with the three other finalists, were honored during an awards banquet at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in Lansing on Tuesday, Dec. 2. The event, hosted by Michigan Virtual School and MVU, was attended by educational leaders from around the state.
About MVU
MVU is a private, nonprofit Michigan corporation established in 1998 to deliver online education and training opportunities to the citizens of Michigan. It is the parent organization of the Michigan Virtual School and Michigan LearnPort®, an online learning portal that delivers professional development opportunities and more to the Michigan education community. To learn more, visit http://www.mivu.org
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