Blackboard 2.0 Leading Education into the 21st Century

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K-12 Overview Policy Leadership Forum360
Degrees of Digital
Gordon Freedman, VP Education Strategy
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From Experimental to Mainstream

• Education and Technology are Merging
• Sound practice reinforces learning in many ways
• Data and Student systems can tie to learning
• eLearning is no longer Experimental
• Online delivery or supplementation is on the rise
• Organizations are uniting Tech Curriculum
• Student options need to grow, not Shrink
• Large scale problems can be Addressed
• Students of all abilities can find Assistance
• Administrators need to be turned into the
  Technology Drivers
• United IT and Instruction/Curriculum
• Remediate deficiencies and fill in the gaps as a
  matter of policy

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The K12 Structures
Traditional Alternative
Independent
Governor
PK-20 Univ-K12
Charters
Legislature
Cyber Charters
Virtual Schools
State Dept of Ed
State Networks
Private Schools
Regional Service Center
The bulk of American education is organized as it
was 50 years ago. Now driven by standards and
annual year progress (AYP), schools are
increasingly numbers driven because of NCLB.
School Districts
District Boards
Schools
Students/Parents
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Where Online Technologies are Being Used
Practice Performance
Policy Support
School Districts
K-20 Initiatives
Virtual Schools Cyber Schools
K12 Entities
Non-profits Research Institutes
Regional / County Service Centers
ONLINE USE
Implementing
College-University Teacher Programs Grad Programs
Independent Schools
Experimenting
State DOEs
Investigating
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Large Districts

• There has been a great deal of large district
  activity through the active use of data systems,
  student information systems, and learning
  management systems.
• Broward County, FL and Fairfax County, VA are
  standardized on Blackboard and use those
  capabilities to tie together learning
  communities, integrate other components (SIS,
  Content Delivery) and to have 24x7 access to
  education resources at the classroom level.

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Virtual High Schools

• Half of the states have or are building Virtual
  High Schools (with some Middle School delivery).
  They fill the gaps in schools, provide for
  remediation and acceleration, and they show K12
  new models for development and delivery of
  curriculum.
• Florida, Michigan, and California have the most
  comprehensive virtual school system with the
  greatest number of course offerings.
• Most virtual schools are not tied into State
  Departments of Education and therefore are
  assisting education, but not serving the
  mainstream.

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Innovation State University Level
Michigan Moves into 21st Century Michigan
Virtual High School joined forces to strengthen
the delivery of online learning to as many as
450,000 Michigan high school students during the
next three years through the delivery of a free
online course. The free course, on globalization
and competition for 9th graders, will fill the
new high school online learning graduation
requirements signed into law by the Michigan
Legislature and Gov Granholm. (www.mivhs.org)
California Adopts a Safety Net The University
of California College Prep (www.uccp.org)
initiative came into existence to counter access
issues to college prep curriculum. At 500,000
to 1,000,000 per course, students in California
have access to superior AP, Honors and remedial
courses.
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PK-20 Initiatives

• Most states have or are forming PK-20
  Initiatives.
• Kentucky is leading in this effort by working to
  standardize on one courseware and learning
  system, by working over years to get all
  institutions and initiatives into a single
  Statewide plan, and by implementing and
  measuring.
• Georgia was an early mover in this direction, but
  loss of the support of the Governor has slowed
  down the activity between segments.

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Data Systems

• Most states have or are building out data systems
  for NCLB and Annual Yearly Progress (AYP)
  Reporting.
• FLORIDA is leading in this effort to have unique
  identifiers for each student, teacher, and school
  and to do this across the education segments.
• Analysis and immediate corrective action is still
  not moving at the level planned.

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How Online Technology is Being Used
Schools or Districts Technology Use
Supplement or Augment Offerings, Provide Virtual
Environment for School Access 24 x 7
State Funded Virtual School Courses
Provide Access to College Prep and Remedial
Courses and Fill in For Teacher Shortages
Individual Cyber Schools Diplomas
100 Online or Hybrid Schools that Grant Diplomas
and Graduate Students
State Network Infrastructures
Statewide High Speed Networks Linking Education
and Governmental Institutions
University Online Courses For K12
University as Provider of High School or
Professional Development Courses
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Tactical Options
Tactical
GOAL High Performing Students, Schools,
Systems, and Societies
Technology in Schools
Virtual Education
Hybrid Instruction
Administrative Management
Community Communication
Teacher Professional Development
Data System
Identity System
AYP Management
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Strategic Growth A True System
Tactical
GOAL High Performing Students, Schools,
Systems, and Societies
Technology in Schools
Virtual Education
Hybrid Instruction
Cyber Schools
Administrative Management
Community Communication
Teacher Professional Development
Data System
Identity System
AYP Management
Enterprise Grade Educational Networks
Strategic
State-Level Education Backbones
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What Defines Success Today?

• Technology is used extensively by students and
  teachers to enhance learning.
• Parents are more connected to the classroom and
  their childrens progress.
• Teachers have more opportunities, more
  conveniently to develop their skills.
• Best practices and best content are shared
  pervasively.
• Students, teachers, administrators from
  day-to-day know about student achievement on
  learning competencies.
• The community is aware of, engaged in and
  supporting your innovative efforts to improve
  education.

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Four Top (non-funding) Issues

• STUDENT PROGRESS Need to Demonstrate and
  Manage Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
• TEACHER QUALITY Need to Provide Most
  Effective (and Efficient) Professional
  Development Opportunities
• CONSTITUENCY INVOLVEMENT Need to Provide
  Meaningful Parental Involvement in the School
  Community
• ASSESSMENT EVALUATION Need to Improve
  Operations of all Aspects, to Institute
  Measurement and Improvement Processes

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The Four Pillars

• Instructional Delivery and Curriculum Management
  
• Greater Engagement
• Teacher Administration Professional Development
• Improvement Instruction
• Community and Communication
• Boundless Collaboration
• Evaluation and Assessment (Course, Program,
  Institution)
• Informed Progress

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K12s Pressing Issues Addressable by Technology

• Teacher Quality
• Limited professional development opportunities
  (few in-service days)
• Many teachers do not currently meet state
  certification requirements
• Curriculum materials are not aligned across the
  district

• Student Progress
• Meeting Yearly AYP Goals (AP, Special Ed,
  Minority Groups ESL)
• Need to provide high-quality instruction to all
  students
• Demonstrate high-quality instruction to parents
  and community

• Constituency Involvement
• Actively engage parents and community in learning
• Need for secure, standardized internal
  communication
• Need to support mentoring efforts

• Assessment and Evaluation
• Create and evaluate individualized learning
  paths for each student
• Benchmark testing to track progress
• Quick and efficient ways to evaluate change and
  improvement

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Using the Pillars to Address for AYP

• Four Scenarios for Using Bb to Address AYP Pain
• Current District Activity - Not Systematic (No
  Technology)
• Spotty results, analysis not applied
  systematically, or evaluated
• Basic - Technology Used to Supplement Classroom
  
• Includes professional development and community
  relations
• Improved Incorporate Technology for Teaching
  Learning
• AYP Analysis is applied as new content, methods,
  or pedagogy
• Transformed - Technology to Systematically
  Address Improvement
• Build and evaluate on-going system for District
  transformation

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Current AYP ACTIVITY
District / School Activity
State AYP Testing
AYP Results
Classroom
SPOTTY LOCAL RESULTS Disconnected and Not
Systematic
District Analysis
Improvement Plan
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Technology for the Classroom
District / School Activity
Technology Use
Classroom Tech Implementation Courses for
Students, Professional development, Some
Community Work
Classroom
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Technology for Improvement
Improvement
District / School Activity
Technology Implementation Managing Monitoring
Specific Action by Locale Coordinate Result
Tracking
Classroom
District Analysis
Bb Solutions Teaching Learning Professional
Development Communication, Assessment
Evaluation
Improvement Plan
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Technology for Transformation
Transformation
District / School Activity
Outcomes Tracking Improvement Performance Growth
State AYP Testing
AYP Results
Implementation Managing Monitoring Specific
Action by Locale Coordinate Result Tracking
Classroom
District Analysis
Solutions Teaching Learning Professional
Development Communication, Assessment
Evaluation
Improvement Plan
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What Enterprise Technology Addresses

• Technology allows educators to
• Distribute expertise more evenly for better
  access and equity
• Ability to adjust instruction to individual needs
  of learners
• Constantly develop high quality teaching and
  administration
• Ability to make improvement based on analysis
• K12 Reform in legislature meant to end in new
  workers
• K12 Going will grow into large issue as
  elections draw near

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Why Electronic Mediation Has a Role Today

• There are a host education issues that cannot be
  treated efficiently or qualitatively with
  traditional reforms, inaction, or local
  solutions.
• Special Education
• Drop Outs
• Remediation
• Acceleration
• Professional Development
• Leadership Training
• Education technologies and redesigned
  organizations are offering solutions that mix
  online and traditional, designed to assist
  students in filling specific learning needs and
  capabilities.
• Advanced Placement, Honors, and College Track
  (access)
• Remediation in Math, Other Subjects (specific
  learners)
• Provide Convenience (student) and Flexibility
  (school)
• Professional Development, Counseling, Leadership
  Training
• Special Education, Exit Exam Refresher

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Thank You
Gordon Freedman, VP Education Strategy gfreedman_at_b
lackboard.com 831 224 6161