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SuperTECH
NEWS is the bi-monthly
newsletter of the BLE GROUP, which provides small- and medium-size
school systems with supplementary technology management to
produce high-quality educational results and efficient management.
The
purpose of SuperTECH NEWS is to provide education decision
makers with concise information that allows them to make informed
technology decisions to impact instruction, management and
communication. This is information you can use
on Monday morning.
Editor,
Susan DeMark
Web Design, Charlene
Polanosky
Publisher, Eliot Levinson
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Our
January issue theme is professional development, especially
technology-enabled delivery. Choose from the following articles:.
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Eliot's
Thoughts - A Letter from the Publisher - We are
in the middle of a transition from teacher-based instruction
to technology-enabled instruction. The biggest block to
the transition is the lack of effective professional development
tools and approaches. Eliot looks at the problems and
promise of current professional development. |
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Theme
of the Month—Professional Development
- We look at professional development, specifically technology
and Web-based delivery of PD focusing on two skill sets:
how to teach subject matter and how to use technology
applications. We first summarize the current state of
professional development and its problems, then cite some
breakthrough products and solutions, and envision where
professional development is heading and the ways it must
become linked directly with student outcomes. |
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Products—We
examine a selection of newer-generation professional development
solutions that have made breakthroughs in various key
ways such as providing anywhere, anytime training; allowing
teachers and administrators to work at their own pace;
or giving them access to training to immediately address
skills gaps. |
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Perspectives—Given
the need for new approaches to professional development,
rather than provide a best practices case - as we usually
do - we give perspectives on the subject from three school
and industry leaders. They give insights from the schools'
side of where professional development is heading and
what it needs to be and do. |
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The
BLE Group and Its Services: We offer technology
and management expertise to small and medium-size school
systems. We can assess where your school system is and
exactly what you need to do to implement NCLB. We provide
management support to implement effective technology-delivered
programs. The BLE Group also helps education firms develop
and deliver high-quality products and services to schools. |
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Conferences—Check
out the relevant conferences coming in the next several
months. |
We
want to hear from you. What do you agree and disagree with
on this issue (we will post comments from readers in the next
issue). Please write us at eliot@blegroup.com.
DID
YOU MISS AN ISSUE?
You
can read past issues of SuperTECH NEWS relating to NCLB online:
- October
2004 - Focus: Technology-based Early Reading Progams
- June
2004 - Focus: The Education Killer App
- March
2004 - Focus: Network and data security
- November
2003 - Focus: Handheld
computers and software applications for these devices
- May
2003 - Focus: Data Warehousing and Data Management Solutions
- February
2003 -
Focus: Web-based Assessment Products for High-Stakes Tests
- December
2002
- Focus: Student Information Systems
- August
2002 - Focus: Purchasing Hardware 2002
- June
2002
- Focus: Web-based Applications for Early Reading
- May
2002 - Focus: Web-based Professional Development
- March
2002 - Focus: Technology of Accountability
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Eliot's
Thoughts: A Note from the Publisher
K-12
education is becoming dependent on Web-based technologies
to address the entire spectrum of teaching, learning, and
management in schools. We are in the middle of a transition
from teacher-based instruction to technology-enabled instruction.
The biggest block to the transition is the lack of effective
professional development tools to 1) train educators in the
effective use of technology and 2) use technology to improve
their own skills.
Currently,
professional development is the most important area for technology
to bring about a breakthrough. The lack of sufficient Web-based
professional development tools is slowing down the transition
to technology-enabled teaching and learning as well as the
ability to provide ongoing training of teachers to improve
their skills in standards-based teaching.
Other
topics that we have covered—educational portals or online
assessment—have lots of positive examples and have already
created breakthroughs in the instructional process. When it
comes to professional development, however, we're still waiting
for the big breakthrough. The big breakthrough will be some
form of knowledge-based system that can assess the competency
of teachers on an ongoing and reliable basis, and add value
to their skills.
The
purpose of this issue of Super Tech News is to describe
the current state of professional development and to document
early technology-based products that are being developed to
improve it. Our aim is to familiarize education decision makers
with the current problems and to understand the vision of
some leading thinkers on the subject. We want to make decision
makers aware that if technology is to be integrated effectively
into education, a breakthrough is needed in the use of technology-based
professional development tools. This year we have written
about the problem and the promise. Hopefully, this time next
year, we will be able to write about the breakthroughs and
best practice.
Eliot
Levinson
Publisher, Super Tech News
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THEME:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In
this issue, we look at professional development, specifically online
and technology-enabled delivery of PD. Professional development
is not a happy space in many schools, but important developments
are occurring and you need to understand them and where we are heading.
Professional development ought to have to do with helping teachers
teach kids and with child outcomes, but we are not there yet. What
is delivered to teachers should be measurable and absolutely should
be added value to what teachers are doing with students in the classroom.
It should be linked directly to student achievement. It has to help
teachers teach better.
We
examine professional development for two skill sets: how to use
technology applications and how to teach subject matter. We take
a look at the current state of PD, some of the breakthrough products
and solutions as well as promising new developments, and the vision
of what professional development needs to be.
The
current state is chaotic and often ineffective. Currently, in
many schools, professional development consists of timebound courses
and workshops that are inconvenient, costly, and mostly not accessible
and fitting to a teacher's schedule and needs. Much PD is failing
in many ways to prepare teachers for new accountability requirements,
classroom challenges, and especially for effectively integrating
technology into instruction.
It
fails to jibe with what schools have to accomplish - a mismatch
of batches of training tossed up against the wall for groups of
teachers to see what sticks vs. targeted professional development
that guides each teacher and measures any gaps and subsequent progress
in skills and knowledge. It's driven by the quantity of teachers
exposed to training, and not the quality of the professional development
delivered.
Secondly,
while there has been a rush to create online delivery of professional
development, there are gaps in quality and rigor. Millions are
being spent without knowing which systems and programs are effective
and which teachers are gaining the skills and competence needed.
For
superintendents, a key need is thinking about how to use the new
applications effectively. A daunting problem that superintendents
face: More than 50 percent of new technology is never used. If a
teacher never uses an application, he or she can't get the benefit
of it, and this applies to many technologies from instructional
management systems to data-interpretation tools to classroom-presentation
software. Many schools still regard the professional development
component of purchasing products and services as extraneous, whereas
many businesses build a technology-training component into their
technology adoptions.
However,
there are promising, evolving products and solutions in professional
development, specifically in online delivery. We look at a selection
of them in this issue, in our Products section.
These newer-generation solutions that we examine below do several
things:
- They
address specific needs in schools, such as how to use data tools
and interpret student achievement data;
- They
begin to address the technology gap by working to get teachers
and educators trained on applications so that the conversation
can go to the next level;
- They
make use of online technologies for real-time, 24/7 availability
and for continual collaboration and measurement of progress in
areas such as standards-based teaching, early literacy, and technology
skills;
- They
are starting to link up more directly with instructional outcomes
and with school improvement plans.
What
does the newer-generation Web-based professional development look
like? It isn't bound and limited by time. It's high-quality
and is customized to each teacher or administrator's abilities and
skills. And it's increasingly linked to instructional outcomes and
student achievement. Many of these solutions are adapted from private-sector
models that examine problems, create solutions, and measure results.
The new-generation PD assesses the quality of training and whether
and where it's effective.
Hybrid
professional development solutions are combining some outsourcing
of a district's PD coupled with the establishment, over time, of
local capacity and leadership. Companies are developing research-based
tools and products that are tailored to a school's specific data,
policies, and issues and delivered in an anywhere, anytime basis.
Yes,
one may say "you've come a long way, baby" from the old
boring Tuesday afternoon presentation from a mediocre lecturer.
But schools still have a long way to go to link up professional
development directly with instructional improvement and with training
and nurturing good, effective teachers.
What
is the vision of future professional development that accomplishes
this goal, and what will it look like? What do schools need technology-enabled
PD to do? We address this issue in Perspectives
by talking with a number of people who are thinking through this
problem, addressing it, or involved in creating PD tools schools
need. Basically, it will recognize differentiated learning in teachers
as we do with students. We need tools that will do the metrics as
to where a teacher has and doesn't have skills. It will more effectively
link up what students are learning and not learning with targeted
professional development. It will also be more effectively "baked
in" to the curriculum and instructional products schools are
purchasing.
Professional
development needs to be "informated" much more thoroughly
the way that early reading applications are. Right now, schools
have little in the way of knowledge-based systems that assess what
is the teacher's ability now and what has to be done to get the
teacher to a certain level. This is critical to match teachers'
professional development with standards-based education and to stem
teacher shortages. Districts that are using the newer-generation
PD programs are retaining a higher percentage of new teachers. But
there is a way to go to have widespread professional development
that will make a difference in student engagement and results. All
of these efforts in Web-based professional development will rapidly
increase in the next 2-3 years.
As
we summarized above, in Products we look
at a representative sample of the technology-enhanced and -delivered
professional development products and solutions. Then, the Perspectives
article gets the thinking of three school and industry leaders on
where professional development is now and where it needs to go.
They describe some excellent examples of what works and address
the direction of PD in the next few years.
Back to top
PRODUCTS
AND SOLUTIONS:
Note:
The BLE Group does not endorse any of the products and solutions
listed below. These products and services were chosen to give a
representative, vendor-neutral sample of what is available in professional
development, specifically technology-enabled delivery.
We look at a representative selection of newer-generation professional
development solutions that have made breakthroughs in various key
ways such as providing anywhere, anytime training, allowing teachers
and administrators to work at their own pace, giving them access
to training to immediately address skills gaps, or linking PD with
a school's improvement plan. These PD solutions address two key
areas of training and development: 1) how to execute and integrate
technology; and 2) how to teach subject matter. These products have
taken significant steps in addressing what professional development
ought to do.
The
products and solutions we examine are (click on the links):
Atomic
Learning
Atomic
Learning helps teachers and administrators gain skills in executing
technology and integrating it into classroom instruction and
school management. It's an anywhere, anytime Web-delivered training
program.
http://www.atomiclearning.com/ |
| Product
Description |
Atomic
Learning's approach to making professional development affordable
and accessible is a library of Web-based training and software
tutorials. They are intended as a just-in-time, available
24/7 software trainer.
The
library offers thousands of tutorials on dozens of the most
common applications useful to teachers, educators, and administrators.
These include many of the basic Mac- and PC-based applications
- from Windows spreadsheet to Adobe, Macromedia, and StarOffice
software - and also address other needs and demands such as
time line creators, searching the Web, and e-mail client setups.
The tutorials and support can be categorized roughly into
three groups: Windows, Macintosh, and curriculum tools such
as lesson plans, staff development, workshops, and video storytelling.
The
company's "atoms of learning," as it calls them,
are very short tutorials that present information in an easy-to-understand
format. The tutorials are premised on the most common "How
do I do that" questions a teacher or other learner would
ask if being trained to use an application or tool - in a
style meant to replicate how a trainer would answer if dealing
one-on-one with that person.
Atomic
Learning adds anywhere from 300 to 800 new tutorials in 45-day
product cycles.
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| How
It Works |
A
site license to Atomic Learning permits access to the entire
online library, which users can access from homes as well
as schools. Atomic Learning's offerings can serve as a centralized
knowledge database for schools. Once users log onto the system,
they can pose a question or seek specific information about
how to use a software or curricular tool or program, and find
modules addressing their questions. None of the short tutorial
movies is more than 3 minutes long.
Atomic
Learning CEO Chuck Amos notes that the need of districts for
professional development far outstrips the time available,
hence 24/7 and just-in-time resources are very needed. Certain
questions come up again and again and again, so the modules
aim to cut down the time teachers have to spend accessing
and learning technology and understanding how to employ it
in the classroom.
Atomic
Learning has some 4 million users, according to Amos, in 16
countries. Eighty-five percent of its base is in K-12; 10
percent in other academic settings and universities; and 5
percent are individual users in education and business. Clients
range from small schools to counties such as Broward County,
Florida, and a statewide adoption in Iowa.
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| Pricing
Model |
Atomic
Learning prices site licenses based on total number of students
and teachers. One example would be: a school has 1,000 students
and teachers and pays $1.25 per user per year. Parents are also
free to use Atomic Learning. There are price breaks at different
volumes of customers. |
Campus
K12
Campus
K12 is a tool and database system that schools can use to manage
and track professional development and link it with student
progress against standards. It makes use of Web technologies
to allow ongoing collaboration and measurement.
http://www.campusk12.com |
| Product
Description |
Campus
K12 is a provider of Web-based management and collaboration
tools. With its portal and system, it's aiming to help schools
link professional developments to standards. It's one of the
players targeting individualized, customizable professional
development to student achievement.
Its
offering is a standards-driven professional development system
and management tool. Teachers set goals according to customized
plans and are able to systematize and track their PD on the
Campus K12 system. Using the system, a school or district's
resources and tools are linked to the school improvement plan.
It's built out as an online collaborative community that is
composed of chat capability, discussion board, and Q&A
tools.
Campus
K12 Chairman Phil Camillo says the building of the system
began in 2000. The group took a year with schools in Michigan
to pilot the system, and the first implementation was in 2001-2002.
Camillo believes that the company is well positioned as a
management tool of professional development, especially with
increased emphasis on professional development driven by standards
and goals as connected to a school's improvement plan.
Statewide
Program: Campus K12 has worked with the state of Michigan
on a contract through which it serves all 100,000 teachers
in the state. It's a professional development management portal
developed with the Michigan Department of Education and Michigan
Virtual University that lets teachers, administrators, and
paraprofessionals access, manage, and track professional development.
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| How
It Works |
The
professional development system is an ASP (hosted) solution.
Schools and any educational entities who are clients for the
service obtain administrative rights. Campus K12 brings in
training and support to set up catalogues, standards, resources,
and content to use the system.
Each
school system has its own slice of the database, and school
districts can share and distribute content through the Campus
K12 system. Teachers choose from among workshops, conferences,
and seminars in mapping a path. With Campus K12's management
system, PD goals are aligned to skills directly tied to a
school improvement program.
Working
with supervisors such as a principal or with a master teacher,
teachers participate in a four-step process: 1) assess skills;
2) set goals; 3) complete learning matched to skill needs;
and 4) apply learning. There are four types of teachers' skill
assessments: self-survey, supervisory review, mentor review,
or content-area knowledge tests. Teachers can create and review
electronic portfolios, obtain answers from master teachers,
and find matching resources. Portfolio entries can be shared
as best practices, which are contained in a searchable database.
Working
with ISTE, Campus K12 serves close to 5,000 teachers in 42
states, in close to 300 school districts. The company's target
is mainly statewide, county, and large school adoptions. Detroit
is one example of an urban system using Campus K12.
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| Pricing
Model |
Campus
K12 is prices on a subscription bases per annum. The company
takes account of the number of teachers and does a multiple
subscription based on that figure. It's a scalable rate depending
on volume. |
CaseNEX
CaseNEX is a blend of both in-person and online delivery of
professional development. It's an example of one of the more
advanced types of professional development: university-developed
coursework and collaboration combined with online delivery.
It uses a case-based model in which teachers and administrators
learn by examining and solving realistic, case-based issues.
http://www.casenex.com/index.html |
| Product
Description |
CaseNEX
provides professional development using a blended delivery
of instructor-led coursework and a collaborative, online learning
environment. It uses a case-method approach, adapting one
used in law, medicine, and business, to explore and learn
from case studies and actual school scenarios.
CaseNEX
was developed by University of Virginia faculty. It delivers
instruction via the Web and in person-to-person settings.
The online learning environment incorporates online discussion
groups, journals, live chats, a virtual library, Webcasts,
and collaboration with master teachers and educational experts.
Participants view streaming video as they follow additional
online resources. The communication tools are both synchronous
(real-time) and asynchronous (anytime), enabling the participants
to work together in teams.
Course
offerings range from "Educational Leadership" to
"New Teacher Induction". The case-based modules
stand alone as credit-bearing courses, or they can be used
to supplement existing university coursework or professional
development training. The cases are realistic school scenarios,
such as the challenges of a first-year teacher working in
an urban school classroom that is both academically and racially
divided or the difficulties encountered by a technology coordinator
and an assistant in helping instructors to integrate technology.
The core idea is problem-solving, not simply presenting best
practices.
CaseNEX's
first offering of case-based courses online began in 1996.
Since then, it has grown to develop partnerships and work
with a number of affiliates such as Hampton University, Western
Oregon University, National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards, and the National Association of Elementary School
Principals, among others. The scalable course offerings of
CaseNEX range from stand-alone courses to full-scale professional
development curricula that can be customized to a district's
needs. In addition to general instruction-oriented coursework
such as leadership or equity and diversity, there are complete
modules in literacy, special education, and gifted education.
CaseNEX
is involved in approximately 30 school districts; 10 are large,
urban districts, while the rest are medium and small systems.
One example is collaboration with the Baltimore County school
system to offer year-round online professional development
courses that teachers can take at a convenient time.
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| How
It Works |
CaseNEX
presents realistic case studies combined with research-based
tools. The cases consist of text, audio, and video files,
photographs, and other "artifacts" that are aimed
at enhancing the reality of the presentations. Those participating
in the courses then analyze, discuss, and solve the cases.
A five-step process is used: identifying and breaking down
complex issues; considering multiple perspectives; examining
data; developing action plans; and anticipating consequences.
Communication
tools include case discussion boards; class discussion boards;
workbooks in which the participants keep an online record
of their case analyses and instructors provide feedback; and
live chats with team members and other students across the
country.
In
order to assess and meet professional development needs, CaseNEX
has varied assessment tools including self-appraisals; proficiency-based
multiple-choice assessments; and post-assessments and detailed
reporting to measure teacher growth.
CaseNEX
offerings are delivered in a variety of ways. Site licenses
allow school districts and other partners to have access to
CaseNEX courses and materials for large groups and extended
use. Course choices can be customized. There are also three
credit-hour course packages; workshop supplements that complement
traditional texts for teacher education; and customized packages
in which a partner and CaseNEX can develop new cases reflecting
that school's needs or issues or adapt existing cases to be
more specific to a school's challenges, policies, or data.
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| Pricing
Model |
Prices
vary depending on the mode through which CaseNEX courses are
purchased. Individual purchase prices are currently $529 per
person for 90 hours of professional development, or $799 per
person for three hours of graduate credit from Hampton University.
Or, districts can select from a number of custom implementation
prices, such as an option for CaseNEX to train your staff
to offer courses online or face-to-face, with a one-time course
set-up fee coupled with a per-person fee for a set number
of professional development units. Another option permits
districts to enroll a cohort of 10 students on a particular
date for particular courses, at a cost of $529 for 90 professional
development units, or $799 for 90 professional development
units and three hours of Hampton University graduate credit.
Also,
site licenses are available for school, district, and state
implementation, at a threshold of more than 100 users, and
discounts can be applied with a higher number of enrollees.
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Co-nect
Co-nect is one of the newer-generation players attempting to
link up professional development directly with data-based learning
and instructional improvement. It's a program with both in-person
and Web-based delivery to help teachers and administrators make
data-informed decisions about instruction, align curriculum,
integrate technology, and improve achievement scores.
http://co-nect.net/ |
| Product
Description |
Co-nect
is one of the new-generation K-12 professional development
players placing its emphasis squarely on data-driven decision
making and data-informed strategies to improve instruction.
It helps teachers and educators use assessment data with research-based
strategies to identify district needs and come up with specific
plans to achieve results.
Its
solution combines training, tools, and resources in several
core areas: how to integrate technology successfully; align
curriculum; achieve whole-school improvement; and prevent
early reading failure and increase K-3 literacy scores. It
provides custom solutions in a number of areas such as early
literacy, language arts, math, project-based learning, technology
integration, and science. Co-nect professional development
is delivered through a combination of in-person school consultants
and online - a proprietary Web site with 24/7 access to content,
tools, and resources. The form of the solution depends on
a district's budget, staffing, technology, and needs.
Founded
in 1992 by members of the Educational Technology Group at
R&D firm Bolt, Beranek, and Newman, Co-nect has worked
in nearly 500 schools in more than 140 districts, within 33
states. One current example: Co-nect has a contract with Jersey
City, N.J. schools to train teachers and administrators in
examining how students are meeting 3rd grade reading and math
standards.
Nationwide
Project: Co-nect is leading a nationwide project geared to
improving professional development of teachers, more precisely
identifying its role in student achievement, and targeting
PD to specific needs and outcomes. Last year, it was awarded
a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to
lead a group of educational providers, researchers, developers,
trainers, and users in this project over the next three years.
The
company will build and deploy a Web-based system for more
than 60 test and control schools throughout the country. The
system will combine and analyze data from multiple sources
so that decisions and strategies about professional development
are matched with specific needs of individual students and
teachers.
In
one key project segment focusing on K-6 literacy, the group
is designing and developing software that will aim to track
and match PD practices and specific education outcomes. In
creating the product, they are logging teacher activities,
building a database around specific literacy practices, developing
taxonomy of PD practices, and measuring educational results.
The end result is almost ready for prime time: Working with
software company TetraData Corp., Co-nect and the group will
show the software at FETC this month. Its commercial release
is expected next fall.
|
| How
It Works |
Co-nect's
main thrust is helping schools know how to gather, interpret,
and act on data to better student achievement. This approach
involves six basic steps: define what comprises high-quality
instruction; evaluate weaknesses in practices; map a plan
for continuous improvement including teacher training; monitor
instructional quality in the district, school, and classroom
through a specific framework; study and apply research-based
practices based on student achievement data; and mentor, model,
and coach research-based practices. Its essence is a "capacity-building"
approach - give the district and schools particular tools
about how to track and use data; track how PD is working;
and develop in-school leaders to sustain these practices.
Its
face-to-face PD includes coach, co-teaching, and workshops.
This is supported by the online content library of workshop
materials, training guides, exemplar curriculum and assessments,
and research.
|
| Pricing
Model |
The
pricing depends on which types of solutions and products a
school system purchases.
|
Teachscape
Teachscape partners with schools to deliver a customized professional
development program in both onsite and online formats to teachers
and educators at all levels. It makes use of video case studies,
online forums, multimedia-rich content libraries, and tracking
tools to help teachers with both classroom-management and subject-area
proficiency.
http://www.teachscape.com/html/ts/public/html/index.htm |
| Product
Description |
Teachscape
is another of the new-generation professional development
players that is using computer and Web technology to deliver
a customized PD program to districts and schools. These are
complemented by live delivery of professional development.
It doesn't have a set product or program, but instead partners
with districts to develop a program to fit the district's
needs and goals. Online courses sustain the onsite learning.
Its clientele ranges from individual schools and districts
up to state Departments of Education.
Teachscape's
approach isn't one of 1-off, 1-day seminars, but rather multi-year
contracts and long-term partnerships that can be 2-, or, 3-,
or 5-year engagements, for example. The starting point is
an evaluation of existing PD and teaching practices, one that
includes walkthroughs of classrooms and an examination of
testing data. From this point, Teachscape and the partnering
entity create the customized program according to the partner's
needs, interests, and capacities.
Teachscape's
offerings and services focus on reading and literacy, math,
and science and help teachers develop both content knowledge
and classroom-management skills. The customized staff development
program combines in-person workshops and online tools, content,
resources, and community discussions.
Its
offerings are targeted toward varied audiences: new teachers,
professionals seeking alternative certification, and experienced
teachers needing to bolster development in areas such as standards-based
practice and recertification. For example, it has Video Teaching
Cases that support a district's existing induction program.
A classroom-management course might be offered during the
first five to six weeks of the school year. Online courses
for teachers may range from a 10-hour introductory piece to
a deeper, 45-hour learning element with graduate credits attached.
Teachscape's
partners include the American Federation of Teachers; Biological
Sciences Curriculum Studies (BSCS); the National Education
Association; The Concord Consortium; Stanford University;
and SRA/McGraw-Hill, a division of McGraw-Hill Education.
Currently, Teachscape has three different contracts with state
Departments of Education, and also serves about 300,000 teachers
in about 50 districts, ranging from small districts to New
York City and Los Angeles.
|
| How
It Works |
Teachscape's
online system includes resources such as video examples of
instruction; commentary from experts; tools to facilitate
collaboration, and up-to-date research findings. These can
be coupled with in-person PD delivery. Teachscape doesn't
come in with a set product but rather creates a customized
PD program based on existing PD efforts and teaching practices.
Teachers
in the online system have a starting point - My Desk - from
which they can link up with learning group discussions and
track progress on assigned materials. Learning groups are
online teams that work together in an online PD program. They
can participate in ongoing group discussions and chat rooms
and engage in learning activities. Public discussions allow
opportunities for district- or other group-wide exchange.
Teachscape has an online library in which teachers can navigate
through a variety of content resources, online activities,
and classroom-practice examples.
Streaming
video case studies illustrate and analyze exemplary teaching
in real classrooms. They provide examples of student work
from featured classrooms as well as teachers' reflections
on their classroom instruction video - all online. These reflections
come from interviews done with accomplished teaches who share
their strategies and techniques. They help teachers gain skills
in areas such as how to establish classroom routines or focus
on particular content gaps in meeting standards. Another tool
is online journals in which teachers may collect and chronicle
personal lessons and observations, etc. Only the teacher has
access to the journal.
|
| Pricing
Model |
Teachscape
is purchased through a contract based per teacher and per
year, in a subscription format.
|
Back to top
PERSPECTIVES:
Given
the need for new approaches to professional development, rather
than provide a best practices case - as we usually do - we're offering
perspectives and ideas on the subject from three leaders in the
field. We wanted their perspectives on: What is the current state
of professional development and using technology to deliver more
effective PD? Where is it going? What's there now and what does
it need to do?
We've
examined these issues to give you a bird-eye's perspective from
the side of schools and what they need. Below, we provide this perspective
from three people who have thought through and worked with this
issue. We talked with three school and industry leaders about professional
development:
- John
Q. Porter, Deputy Superintendent, Office of Strategic Technologies
and Accountability, Montgomery Country Public Schools (MCPS),
Maryland
- Don
Hall, Executive Director of Information Technology, Kent School
District (KSD), Washington
- Larry
Berger, CEO and co-founder of software company Wireless Generation
Some
of the key observations and findings of our panelists are:
- Current
professional development is measured in quantity terms, not quality.
It needs to be far more targeted to individual teachers.
- Reliable,
knowledge-based systems must evolve that measure exactly what
teachers have learned and need to learn.
- Student
outcomes must be the absolute starting point of teacher professional
development.
- PD
needs to be delivered in more customizable formats that are linked
to the teacher's developmental learning stage.
- Companies
and schools need to be more aggressive about integrating professional
development for technology with instructional outcomes.
John
Q. Porter, Deputy Superintendent, Office of Strategic Technologies
and Accountability, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland
 "When
you look at professional development, we've been using the old models
from the past. (The old model) was the quantity of people trained
vs. making it the quality of training and whether they got it or
not," Porter says. "We call it the essential question:
How do you know if the student has gotten the information? How do
you know if he or she didn't get it? If the person got it, what
do you do about it? If he or she didn't, what do you do about it?
If they haven't gotten it, you need to put measurements in place
to re-teach and re-test. We do this with students but we don't do
that very well with staff."
Targeting.
Under the current prevalent system of PD delivery, all teachers
take the training even if they've "gotten it," Porter
notes. What is needed: A more targeted training should occur. "We
need to take a look at private-sector models and see if we could
do it the way it's taking place there…There are still very
few situations [currently] where you can learn at you own pace,
be able to take assessments to determine if you got the information,
and if not, be given intervention to restudy and re-test."
This
PD needs to combine both electronic and online delivery with face-to-face
training. The Montgomery County district is taking key steps toward
improving professional development so that it is more closely aligned
with instructional outcomes. MCPS is building a professional-growth
course on elements of how the district evaluates teachers and administrators,
and the whole process is being videotaped and put online so that
teachers can take this particular module, take an assessment, learn
at one's own pace, and take a follow-up assessment to determine
what has been learned.
Data-informed.
Too often, Porter says, measurements of PD have relied on surveys
of how teachers feel about the courses or workshops, not on reliable
assessments that determine exactly what individual teachers and
administrators gained from the training and measure the quality
of the PD and the outcomes.
Secondly,
MCPS is seeking to build a system that will aggregate and disaggregate
data so that decisions about professional development for each teacher
are data-informed and guided - to help gauge what's working and
what's not working. "For example, if a teacher takes our Skillful
Teacher course and has a master's degree, have these made a difference
around certain instructional categories? We will be able to disaggregate
the data in different categories," Porter says. This also means
that if a particular teacher isn't performing, the district will
have much better targeted training for that teacher.
Different
Solutions. No one company offers a complete PD solution, but
companies are doing pieces of it, Porter says. MCPS is adapting
technology tools to PD to develop various solutions. These range
from a Tablet PC program that will create more consistency across
the school system in observations of teachers by using pull-down
menus with keywords and other components, to software that will
allow teachers to manage their own PD process much better.
Bottom
Line. In Porter's view, professional development must head in the
direction where it will have the accountability of student instruction.
Moreover, it must move away from a quantity basis to improving the
delivery so that PD is totally linked with an individual teacher's
actual knowledge and abilities, and ultimately with instructional
outcomes.
Don
Hall, Executive Director of Information Technology, Kent School
District (KSD), Washington
 "It's
really important that when we are looking at professional development,
we use three questions in structuring it: What are all students
expected to know and to do? What do teachers need to do to ensure
the students' success? And where should staff goals and objectives
be targeted to reach that goal?" Hall says. Student outcomes
must be the absolute starting point, in his view.
No
Silver Bullet. Districts may feel that technology will solve
PD, but it won't. Concerning the role of technology in PD, Hall
cited the 2001 book by Jim Collins entitled Good to Great: Why Some
Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don't. The book examines
what factors distinguish elite successful companies from others.
For those companies, Hall says, technology was not a critical factor
- "it was an accelerating factor….Technology is an accelerant
of what is already developing." Too many school systems expect
that technology will change the organization, but the root of change
and success is the organization.
Three-pronged
Approach. For professional development to have a systematic
impact on the results, schools need to start with the questions
as laid out above, linking teacher training directly with student
success. He describes a multi-step process for this to occur:
1.
The resources of the school system are aligned for staff to reach
those objectives. Too often, schools are training teachers
to use resources rather than ensuring that the resource is aligned
to obtain particular outcomes.
2.
Professional development activities and delivery structures are
designed to support the developmental stage of the learner. They
must reflect the whole idea that "adult learners have differing
needs and characteristics," Hall says, adding, "You
must modify the delivery depending on the developmental stage
of the learner." Some teachers, for instance, may be in the
"refinement" stage on certain concepts, where mentoring
will work better than large-group sessions.
3.
All staff must meet established goals and competencies. Those
expectations must be expressed and measured in terms of student
outcomes, not in isolation, according to Hall. He puts it this
way: "When I finish this professional development piece,
I can help my students do X. Very few times do I see professional
development outcomes expressed in terms of student learning."
"For
us [at Kent School District], it's not so much any particular product.
We don't rely on any product. For us, it was about redesigning our
model. We start out by understanding student competencies, understanding
resources, and understanding the (teachers') developmental stages.
Then we look at which model works," Hall explains. One example
from KSD: rethinking the research paper as a means to teach information
literacy. The research paper is a way to take information, analyze
and make sense of it, and create knowledge from it. KSD created
a professional development experience to help make students successful
in that process.
KSD
has also offered a professional development class in which a teacher
brings two or three of his or her students with the teacher to the
class. The teacher and students attend class together and do the
PD unit as a team, and then return to the classroom with the lessons
gained from that class. If it's a technology-learning exercise,
for example, the teacher incorporates the technology in the classroom
and the student-learners from that PD module become "peer teachers"
and also provide tech support for the classroom teacher. "This
has been one of the most successful strategies by far," says
Hall. "The model is the powerful part."
Bottom
Line. "Everything is about alignment," Hall concludes.
It's a process of aligning teacher standards, instructional resources,
and student standards. "What skills do teachers need to be
able to accomplish student outcomes?"
Larry
Berger, CEO and Co-founder, Wireless Generation
 Many
businesses have a more definitive, thought-out technology-training
component, but many schools tend to in-source this training and
not take advantage of what tech companies know. It needs to be more
of a partnership between schools and companies, which bring particular
knowledge about how to use their products and solutions, in Berger's
view. "Companies enter the conversation on their heels because
they don't think that schools will want to purchase the training,"
Berger says.
Technology
Gaps. Why? Part of it is schools' organizational structure,
some lies in defining what schools purchase as products and not
services, and some is school districts seeking to save dollars.
"Schools will say, 'we spent $100,000 for the product. We shouldn't
need to spend another $70,000 for training," Berger says. Partly,
some companies share part of the responsibility because they aren't
very good at the training end.
Concerning
professional development for the use of technology, Berger cites
two key components: first, how to effectively use the tools; secondly,
"now I've got all of this data, how do I use it?" Leaving
one of these questions out makes a big difference."
Hybrid
Approaches. According to Berger, some of the most successful
PD is adapting a "hybrid" model for the future, which
combines both outsourcing of PD and building of local capacity and
leadership. He cites CaseNEX as a very good example of this hybrid
model. "The very notion of a case-based approach [in professional
development] is new," Berger notes. Using the case-based approach,
the professional development experience is generated locally, meaning
districts and teachers set up the starting point of the conversation,
applying learning to exact situations that teachers will deal with.
In other words, it isn't some generic, lecture presentation that
is latched on to a product as an afterthought.
Berger
cites another excellent example of an integrated approach with professional
development linked to instructional outcomes. CIRCLE - the Center
for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education
- in Texas is developing a state-of-the-art, integrated professional
development program for early childhood teachers. The program aims
to enhance children's cognitive development. Wireless Generation
and CIRCLE worked together to create a handheld computer-based version
of CIRCLE's pre-K observation and evaluation tools. PD firm Teachscape
has been brought in, and is working with Dr. Susan Landry and CIRCLE
to develop online courses for teachers. Says Berger of this approach:
"It's really baked in - they went to a top professional development
company to work with them and generate courses."
Bottom
Line: Berger's best piece of advice if you are a school leader or
administrator responsible for making professional development successful
- "If I were looking at a company, I would ask, 'Can we go
observe and participate in a training session where your stuff is
in use?' And you can see what really happens. Good training is a
combination. It's a magic combination of the trainer and the product
and the magic in the room."
Back to top
CONFERENCES:
Following
is an annotated list of educational conferences that you may want
to attend in the coming months (complete with links to information).
Florida
Educational Technology Conference: FETC 2005
Annual forum allows educators, educational technology leaders, media
specialists, and administrators to share concerning their technology-integrated
curriculum strategies and practices. Sessions, workshops, and vendor
exhibits provide a look at the latest trends and products available.
Jan. 26-28, 2005
Orlando, Fla.
http://www.fetc.org/fetc2005/index.cfm
ICE 2005 Conference
Entitled "Empowering Teaching and Learning," the annual
conference looks in depth into technology issues and tools, multimedia
in learning environments, assessment in a standards-based classroom,
teaching and assessing through multiple intelligences, and more.
Sponsored by Indiana Computer Educators.
Jan. 26-29, 2005
Indianapolis, Ind.
http://www.ptsc.k12.in.us/ice/
Texas
Administrators' Midwinter Conference 2005
The gathering of the Texas Association of School Administrators
focuses on key educational topics ranging from curriculum and instruction
to assessment, finance, and technology. Featured are best-practice
presentations, panels, and general sessions.
Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2005
Austin, Tex.
http://www.tasanet.org/
American Association of School Administrators:
2005 Annual Conference
"Stand Up for Public Education: The Heart of Our Democracy":
Annual conference for administrators addresses strategies and ideas
for governance and management. Sessions center around the themes
of managing the business in terms of day-to-day running of a school
district, transforming the business, and preserving democracy.
Feb. 17-20, 2005
San Antonio, Tex.
http://www.aasa.org/nce/
National
Association of Secondary School Principals Annual Convention
The 89th annual convention and exposition offers real-life examples
and best-practices sharing on issues relevant to middle-level and
high school leaders. Topics include: NCLB, challenges for the beginning
principal, leadership for closing the achievement gap, turning struggling
students into confident learners, use of handheld devices in educational
settings, creating a web of community support, and more.
Feb. 25-28, 2005
San Francisco, Calif.
http://www.nasspconvention.org/
Legislative and Policy Conference
Sponsored by the Council of the Great
City Schools, this conference examines key issues ranging from the
prospects for amending the No Child Left Behind Act to implementing
the new special education law.
March 12-15, 2005
Washington, D.C.
http://www.cgcs.org
Consortium for School Networking: 10th Annual K-12 School Networking
Conference
"Beyond Wires and Boxes: Using Technology for Transformation"
is the theme of this year's conference and international exposition.
Hundreds of district, state, and national educational technology
leaders attend this gathering, sponsored by the Consortium for School
Networking (CoSN).
March 22-23, 2005
Washington, D.C.
http://www.k12schoolnetworking.org/
International
Technology Education Association 67th Annual Conference
This gathering offers teachers and educators an opportunity to focus
on strategies to prepare the next generation for technological literacy.
The ITEA Technology Festival provides a setting for teachers and
educators to share their technology education materials with other
participants.
April 3-5, 2005
Kansas City, Mo.
http://www.iteawww.org/D.html
National
Association of Elementary School Principals 84th Annual Convention
The largest gathering of elementary and middle-level educators features
sessions, workshops, networking, and special events. Over 300 exhibitors
show products and services.
April 15-19, 2005
Baltimore, Md.
http://web.naesp.org/conv2005/
National
School Boards Association 65th Annual Conference
The annual conference focuses on the challenges of increasing student
achievement, data-driven school improvement, and the role of the
board in fostering professional learning communities, among other
topics. Programming includes topical tracks, caucuses, and special
events for new board members.
April 16-19, 2005
San Diego, Calif.
http://www.nsba.org/conference/index_flash.cfm
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WHO
IS THE BLE GROUP AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
The
BLE Group brings together 35 working CIOs, superintendents,
and curriculum directors of school systems and state education
departments who are knowledgeable about and dedicated to using
technology to improve K-12 instruction and management. The
BLE Group provides services to help education firms develop
and deliver high-quality products and services to schools.
And we supply services to schools to manage technology use
in order to improve results and make school operations more
efficient. The services are:
- Super
TECH NEWS - A free, Web-based newsletter that
offers up-to-date, easy-to-understand information to non-technical
education decision makers to guide technology decisions.
It's news you can use.
- CIO
and Instructional Leader Panels - The BLE Group
provides more than 75 focus groups per year for technology
firms and publishers to assist you in improving the quality
of products and services for K-12 schools. The panels are
held at NECC, NSBA, and FETC.
- Implementation
Support - The biggest problem schools have is getting
technology used effectively. Fifty-five percent of software
is never used. This brief, inexpensive management service
occurs in the early stages of a major system implementation.
It's focused on improving the management capacity of vendors
and helps school systems that are implementing technology
avoid problems and get the maximum from your investment.
- NCLB
Management Support for Smaller School Systems (aka Rent
a Part-time CIO) - The BLE Group is passionate about
improving the quality of education in small and rural school
systems. As technology becomes essential for accountability
(you cannot do NCLB without it), smaller school systems
run the risk of becoming second-class unless you can find
a way to plan and manage technology effectively. This is
difficult as good technologist/educators are scarce and
costly. The BLE Group's NCLB management and support service
provides individual districts and consortiums of smaller
school systems with a part-time CIO who will work as part
of your management team. Our service improves management
capacity and gives you the expertise you need at a reasonable
price.
BLE
Group People
 Eliot
Levinson is the founder of the BLE Group. Levinson launched
the BLE Group (www.blegroup.com)
in 1998 to help schools implement technology for better results.
Levinson felt that there was a need for professional services
from a group of educators who understood technology and could
address the unique needs of K-12 schools.
Levinson
is known for his work in implementation of technology for
accountability and his knowledge of educational-technology
products and services. Eliot's background integrates education
and technology. His experience in education includes being
a teacher in California and Pennsylvania, a middle school
principal in Massachusetts, and an assistant to the chancellor
of schools in New York City. His technology and research background
ranges from having worked as a management scientist at the
Rand Corporation and directing a research program on the organizational
impact of technology at MIT's Sloan School of Management to
being the co-founder of a Web-based instructional-management
company.
Eliot
works as a strategic technology advisor to school systems
of all sizes and state departments of education. He also assists
several educational-technology firms in strategic planning
and implementation. In addition to publishing Super TECH
NEWS, he is a regular contributor to Scholastic Administrator
and speaks frequently on topics of education policy, technology,
leadership, and school management, etc.
THE
BLE Group's leadership team consists of:
- Eliot
Levinson-CEO, BLE Group
- Rick
Rozzelle-Former CIO, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools,
North Carolina
- Charles
Garten-Executive Director, Educational Technology and
Information Services, Poway Unified School District, California
- Kenneth
Eastwood-Superintendent, Middletown, New York
- Ann
Boyle- Former Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum,
Instruction, Assessment, and Technology, Scottsdale Unified
School District, Arizona
- Don
Hall-Executive Director of Information Technology, Kent
School District, Washington
- Patrick
Kelly-Executive Director of Information Technology, Frederick
County Public Schools, Maryland
NOTE:
To inquire about BLE Group services, check out our Web site
at www.blegroup.com
or call 202.281.1763
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SUPERTECH
NEWS © 2002-2005 BLE GROUP. All rights Reserved. Do not copy
or reproduce without written permission.
NOTE: The BLE Group does not endorse any of the products mentioned
in this newsletter.
These were selected to illustrate the types of products currently
available.
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