agora - policy statement

7/28/2019 Agora - Policy Statement

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AEA PD Online: Agora

Policy Statement

Introduction:In Ancient Greece, the Agora was a central meeting place for

community members. It featured public forums for ongoing conversations, as well

as an exchange for the sharing of resources. AEA PD Online proudly sponsors the

Agora, a 21stcentury digital counterpart to the Greek meeting place. In this online

space, different communities can create a venue for social learning and all its

benefits, including access for online conversations, professional development

events, and sharing of resources.

Through AEA PD Online, the Iowa Area Education Agencies support a 21stcentury

model of professional development through social learning communities. This

builds off the research of communities of practice from Etienne Wenger and

others. For more on what communities of practice are and how they function,

please visit:

http://www.ewenger.com/theory/

http://www.ideapartnership.org/

Statewide Implications: In order to thrive, social learning communities require an

easy way to locate them, a centralization to bring educators across the statetogether, and a method for evaluating effectiveness on a statewide level. Because of

these, we recommend the use of social learning communities on a statewide level.

This means they will be located in one spot and managed by AEA PD Online. Any

AEA supported community will be part of the Agora, adhering to the policies stated

herein.

AEA Supported Communities: To be labeled as an AEA Supported Community or

a similar designation of approval, it must be a part of the Agora. That means it must

agree to all the policies herein, including the approval process, platform, fee

schedule, acceptable use, etc.

We recognize that the use of social learning communities is wide-spread, and there

is potential in communities existing outside of the Agora that have value for Iowa

educators. While the AEAs do not discourage the participation of educators in

external communities, they will actively promote and market only their own

(Agora).
http://www.ewenger.com/theory/http://www.ewenger.com/theory/http://www.ewenger.com/theory/http://www.ideapartnership.org/http://www.ideapartnership.org/http://www.ideapartnership.org/http://www.ideapartnership.org/http://www.ewenger.com/theory/


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External Partnerships: The AEAs see partnership as a valuable ingredient into best

serving Iowas schools. Thus, the AEAs are very welcoming of external partnership

involvement in the Agora, with understanding about the designation of an AEA

Supported Community (as listed above).

Approval Process: To be approved for a hosted community in the Agora, a groupneeds to complete an application (attached below). This application will be

submitted to AEA PD Online and taken to the Advisory Council for approval.

The Advisory Council will look at the ability for the community to directly improve

student achievement and educator professional learning. The community will also

consider 1) the unique need for the community in a particular segment of educators,

2) if there is an overlap or duplication with an existing community, 3) the alignment

with statewide priorities from the AEAs and the Department of Education, and 4)

the ability of the requesting group to successfully manage and facilitate a

community.

The Advisory Council will notify the requesting group when they have been

approved, and will have them meet with statewide staff to put the community into

implementation.

Platform: To centralize the communities, help with awareness and marketing, and

encourage cross-pollination, the Agora is hosted on one platform. Currently, that

platform is the AEA PD Online statewide Moodle server. The Agora can be accessed

athttp://agora.aeapdonline.org.

Fees: AEA PD Online and its governing council reserve the right to determine the

fees for member participation in the community, as well as the allocation of thefunds. Currently, there is no fee for members to participate. Our philosophy is that

the concept of social learning communities is in many ways a teacher-driven

practice, and charging for the opportunity to develop ones practice would be

detrimental to the health of the communities as a whole.

In addition, it is reinforced to groups that their activities should be in line with the

philosophy towards fees and should not make a fee necessary for involvement

within a group. However, there might be ancillary community activities (license

renewal credit, workshops with speakers, etc.) with other benefits that will require

some fees to cover costs and make the opportunity a possibility. In this case, fees

for these opportunities should be sufficient to cover the costs associated with theopportunity and nothing more.

Oversight: AEA PD Online oversees day-to-day operations of the Agora, including

technology support, user access, and marketing. Steering for Agora in its entirety,

including long-term planning and items requiring resource investment is overseen

by the AEA Online Advisory Council. AEA PD Online reserves the right to deny
http://agora.aeapdonline.org/http://agora.aeapdonline.org/http://agora.aeapdonline.org/http://agora.aeapdonline.org/


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individual users and entire communities access if they do not follow the policies set

by AEA PD Online or the Advisory Council.

Acceptable Use: Users will agree to the Acceptable Use Policy to access AEA PD

Online resources. Violations of the policy are subject to discipline, including verbal

or written warnings, as well as the loss of privileges.

AEA PD Online reserves the right to monitor content for appropriateness and

compliance (including copyright, COPPA, FERPA, and the Iowa Code of Ethics)

Technology Support: The statewide team for AEA PD Online provides ongoing

technological support, including maintenance of the platform and user login

assistance. This support will be limited in scope in accordance with the capacity of

AEA PD Online to provide resources for that support.

Non-Discrimination: Iowas Area Education Agencies do not discriminate on the

basis of gender, gender identity, race, national/ethnic origin, creed, age, maritalstatus, sexual orientation, or disability. Groups facilitating a community must follow

the AEA non-discrimination policy.

Group Responsibilities: Groups approved for managing a community of practice

agree to the following:

In its initial application, the group members will define their purpose and target

audience.

The group will provide a steering committee for their community of no fewer than

4 people. This committee will have regular periodic meetings (either face-to-face orfrom a distance) to plan vision for the community. Members of AEA PD Online will

be invited to attend these meetings as ad hoc members for the purpose of assuring

that decisions involving statewide resources can be met.

The steering committee will assure that the community has online facilitators with

knowledge of the central aim of the community and dedicated time to facilitate

community activity. AEA PD Online will offer facilitator training for those who are

chosen.

The group will adhere to the AEA PD Online style guide for acceptable digital

components, technologies, or formatting.

The group will adhere to the Agora Acceptable Use Policy; steering committee

members will monitor their community for adherence to the terms (e.g. FERPA,

copyright compliance, etc).


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The steering committee will moderate forums and sharing repositories for

appropriateness, taking care to remove any contributions that are libelous,

derogatory, abusive, or otherwise disruptive to the community learning process.

The group will provide at least one monthly event for the community (suggestions

for monthly events can be found below).

Best Practices: In order to provide a successful learning experience for community

members, steering committees and their designated facilitators are encouraged to

follow several best practices in online social learning facilitation. These include:

A distributed leadership model, including various roles and pathways for

community members to take on leadership responsibilities within the group.

A communication plan for how information will be sent to community members

through the Agora, including a regular schedule of communication.

An understanding of social learning, including the different roles that exist within

a social learning community.

An ongoing process for evaluation, including baseline data and goals for

participation within the community.

Expectations for Community Traffic: One responsibility is to assure that

communities within the Agora have steady activity of participation. Communities

that have limited to no participation have a negative impact on other communities,

as they drive away individuals who are first-time visitors.

AEA PD Online will monitor overall participation within the communities and will

train community steering members how to do so as well. The intention is to help

steering committees self-govern their level of participation and make any corrective

changes that are necessary.

If a community is not exhibiting a minimum threshold for participation and the

steering committee has not made changes, AEA PD Online will intervene and work

with the steering committee on some immediate changes. In addition, AEA PD

Online will help the steering committee analyze the need of the community

members to make long-range plans. If, as a result of this analysis it is determined

there is no longer a need for a community, it will be closed.

Community Events: To be active and thriving, a community must consist of more

than just the contributions of community members. There must be community-

sponsored events available to their members.

Ideas for community events include:

Webinars


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Virtual round tables

Community work team sessions

Face-to-face statewide conferences or regional workshops

Steering committee meetings that are open to community members

Social networking chats (such as a Tweet-up)

Digital community annotations (such as a Diigo mashup) Synchronous events from an embedded community course

Community online gatherings

Offline community events, such as community competitions or challenges

These events will be place on the Agora calendar so that community members can

easily see opportunities that are available. AEA PD Online will provide training on

how to create events on the Agora calendar for steering committee members.

Marketing: Agora activity will be updated and previewed on the AEA PD Online

website/blog and sent out in the AEA PD Online newsletter updates. Any items

individual communities would like posted may be forwarded to theCommunications Specialists for AEA PD Online.

The service name Agora as well as graphics associated with Agora, the AEAs, or AEA

PD Online, are approved only for official Agora communities on the Agora platform

or in AEA PD Online marketing. External partners wishing to use those items on

their own marketing must seek permission from AEA PD Online first.


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Application for AEA PD Online: Agora Communities

1. Describe in brief your organization, including its overall mission. Feel free to

point to a website that explains in more detail this information.

2. Identify at least four individuals who will be serving as steering committee

members for your online community

Name Position Email

3. Explain the purpose and intended audience for the community. Note: to make

sure the Agora is an efficient and organized experience for participants, we will

encourage groups with similar purposes/intended audiences to work

collaboratively in the same digital space.

4. How will this community align with the work of the Iowa Core?

Signature below indicates that you have read the Agora Policy Statement and agree

to all the provisions within, including an understanding of the steering committees

expectations. Questions regarding this policy may be sent to Evan Abbey

([email protected], 515-270-9030 x14511).

__________________________________________ _______________________________ __________

Signature Name Date
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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