Wednesday September 30, 2009

Susan Patrick, CEO, iNACOL

Erica Beasley, DBA and Registrar, Briarcliff Manor UFSD

Jennifer Matthews, Director, Training Services, Blackboard Inc.

Learning Continuity: A Discussion with Susan Patrick, CEO of iNACOL

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Born from education in 1997

20 million users

1,000+ of us, working with 5,200+ of you

Extended by 2,500 developers and partners

9 global offices across 4 continents

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• Close the gap between the way students live and the way they learn

• Deliver a 21st Century educational experience that is engaging, individualized and effective

Our Vision:

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• An open, web-based teaching and learning platform for engaging and assessing learners in and beyond the classroom

• 3,000+ clients, 15+ million estimated active users, at all levels of learning

• Local or hosted deploymentEngaging and assessing learners at all levels

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Client Community

A CLOSER LOOK AT CONTINUITY OF LEARNING

Susan Patrick, CEO, iNACOL

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Continuity of Learning - Planning• Most districts are not thinking about online learning as a

solution to enable scalable continuity of learning . . .• Online learning can provide a short-term solution and a

long-term framework for options related to the continuity of learning ▫ Weather closures▫ School dismissals and closures▫ Natural disasters▫ Flu and other pandemic preparedness (including H1N1)

• Planning for online learning to be used day-to-day – provides a “win-win”▫ Engaging communication and resources online in

traditional, blended and virtual classrooms

Case Study: Singapore•SARS outbreak in 2005, academic continuity•e-learning as a key strategy for learning

continuity. • long-term e-learning plan:

▫ train every teacher to teach online▫ provide online learning in 100% of secondary schools▫ all instructional materials are provided digitally and

online▫ every teacher and secondary school uses a learning

management system to deliver course materials and track student progress.

•e-Learning week

Continuity of Learning Chart from Singapore

Getting Prepared•What can the online learning community provide to assist US

states, districts, schools and individual students displaced H1N1? ▫34 states have state virtual schools▫70% of school districts offer online courses

•Short and Long -Term frameworks to help schools adopt e-learning for learning continuity ▫Readiness Assessment

Preparing people Availability of instructional materials Accessing the technology tools and platforms

▫Partnerships Resources and services

People: Examples• Teachers

▫ Inventory access at home in the event school is inaccessible▫ Train teachers in use of the LMS, communication and

distance learning tools (low tech and high tech) for short-term and long-term solutions.

• Training parents and students ▫ Inventory access at home in the case of a school dismissal. ▫ Train students and parents to access materials and services

(low tech and high tech)▫ Schools use blended environment under normal

circumstances to ensure a smooth transition in the case of an emergency.

• Identify and train gap-fill tutors for online tutoring

Instructional Materials: Examples

• What instructional materials are available? ▫ Textbooks only – (online materials? offsite licenses?); ▫ Syllabus and materials available via packets or over the

Internet;▫ Full online courses

Schools with full online courses more in-depth, systemic approaches to continuity of learning and interaction available.

• Invest in digital content and instructional materials that could be delivered at a distance and used in online learning.

• Accelerate organization and access to proprietary and open educational resources (digital, adaptable, sharable, modifiable, re-distributable, i.e., creative commons licensing, MITE, Curriki, etc.)

Technologies: Examples

•Phone conferencing: ▫ Provide conference-calling solutions;

•Web-conferencing solutions: ▫ Provide synchronous class meeting solutions.

•Learning Management System solutions: ▫ Provide blended learning throughout the year;▫ Provide synchronous and asynchronous class meetings

with teachers and students including live chats with other students.

▫ Allow students and parents to track class using syllabus, completed assignments, grades and assignments interact and have discussions with teachers view their.

•Online Courses•Virtual Schools

Readiness Assessment

•Continuity of Learning Readiness - Schools, districts and states could benefit from doing proactive readiness assessments for e-learning e.g.▫ Knowing what the student and teacher

population have at home: e.g. controlled email account, computer and internet access.  

▫ A plan/ policy for expanding access in the short- and long- term.

Readiness Assessment•Learning Continuity Readiness•Schools, districts and states could benefit by

doing a readiness assessment for e-learning in advance and knowing what the student population has in inventory at home: computer and internet access at a minimum.  

• If they don't have access, then the formulation of a plan or policy for expanding access in the short- and long- term as well as interim strategies in place.

Identifying Issues

•Policy▫ Which level of government will be responsible for

monitoring and administering such a program for quarantined students?

▫ If online classes are offered to quarantined students, how is the online school to be reimbursed, and how will the credits be transferred?

▫ How would responsibilities be divided between the federal government and the US Department of Education, state governments and departments of education, local governments and school districts?

▫ What union issues will need to be accounted for?

•Resources on our website for Continuity of Learning:▫Slides▫Continuity of Learning Readiness

Assessment▫Continuity of Learning Framework (chart)▫Resource Partners

www.inacol.org/col

Additional Resources

BRIARCLIFF MANOR SCHOOL DISTRICT

Blackboard Client Spotlight

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CENTRAL DATA PROCESSING

INTEROPERABILITYCommunication Essentials

For the Information Age

People | Process | Systems

September 2009September 2009

Briarcliff Manor School District, Briarcliff Manor, NY

Blackboard Adoption K-12

• Prerequisites:– Data integration (accounts, classes)– Mobile Desktops Dashboards

www.briarcliffschools.org– Consolidation of systems (Blackboard

ConnectED, SafeAssign)– LDAP (We use Active Directory Authentication)– Default course template– Copy of Courses (hold one year back)

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Briarcliff Manor School District, Briarcliff Manor, NY

Mobile Users – Website Menus

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Briarcliff Manor School District, Briarcliff Manor, NY

Blackboard Basics – The Assignment

• Login To Blackboard and Set Your Dashboard Preferences

• Course Landscape

• Upload a Course Document

• Post a Course Assignment

• Make Your Course Available

• NEW THIS YEAR - include a Wimba Recording

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Briarcliff Manor School District, Briarcliff Manor, NY

Timed Assignments & Copyright

• Teachers have websites but = copyright issues

• Teachers time material = setup for year but timed release of course content and assignments. (students with prolonged absences)

• Attendance is essential even if it’s virtually

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Briarcliff Manor School District, Briarcliff Manor, NY

Blackboard Parents

• Student Portfolio – 3-8 NYS Parent Reports (ELA, Math, Science,

Social Studies)– Favorite Work - K-12

• One portal per parent no matter how many students.

• Teachers can choose how involved they would like the parents to be in their course, if at all.

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Briarcliff Manor School District, Briarcliff Manor, NY

Parent Dashboard

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ENSURING EDUCATION CONTINUITY

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Ensure Education Continuity

When preparing for education continuity, your district must take into account both your

readiness plan as well as the necessary infrastructure.

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Education

Continuity

Infrastructure1.LMS2.Mass Communication3.Digital Content

Preparedness1.Vision2.Trained Staff3.Established Procedures

Your Partner in Education Continuity

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Need help finding and implementing the appropriate infrastructure

Ready for the unexpected and expanding access

Need guidance on where and how to get started

Need help planning for education continuityR

eadi

ness Com

pre

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ive

Nas

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Available ResourcesLimited Robust

No matter where you are in developing a readiness plan, you can take steps today to

provide clear communication and learning continuity.

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A Range of Solutions and Services

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INFRASTRUCTURE

PREPAREDNESS

Research Gathering

Learning Continuity Implementation Service

Staff TrainingTraining Materials I Online I Face-to-face

Blackboard is your partner to ensure education continuity and can provide a range

of solutions and services to achieve your goals.

Limited Robust

Blackboard Quick Start Solutions

Nascent Comprehensive

Challenge: Learning Continuity

Offering Uninterrupted Curriculum Delivery During Hurricanes and H1N1

Calcasieu Parish Public Schools

• Rural / Suburban / Urban district

• 33,000+ students

• 4,500+ staff

• 1030 square miles

• Louisiana

• Curriculum teams ensure content is developed for use in Bb. In an emergency situation, an “Emergency Assignments” area is created

• Schools open guest access to curriculum for parents• Teachers and students communicate through

discussion boards and Bb mail• Today, every Calcasieu teacher uses the Blackboard

system, with more than 60% using it to communicate with parents

Blackboard Solution: Online Curriculum Delivery & Communication

Calcasieu Parish partners with Blackboard to ensure interactive teaching and learning will continue regardless of student locale.

Thank you! Questions?

iNACOL

www.inacol.org/col

Erica Beasley, Briarcliff Manor UFSD

(914) 941-8880 x379

ebeasley@BRIARCLIFFSCHOOLS.ORG

www.blackboard.com/continuity/k12

(800) 424-9299 ext. 2427

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