Leadership Matters - June 2013

1:1 Program ——————————————————

and  Interactive digital teacher and principal evaluation systems with embedded professional development and the ability to collect and store artifacts. The over-arching goal of the program is to equip students with the 21 st century technology skills to ensure college and career readiness and to prepare them to compete for the top jobs in a global, technology-based society. As side benefits, Robertson also hoped to see student performance and attendance increase and the number of disciplinary incidents and time “off-task” decrease. Enlisting the help of a community steering committee and following a custom-designed 1:1 Learning Framework from Pearson, numerous decisions had to be made prior to implementation with respect to:  Personalized Learning Environment – finding digital solutions for curriculum, assessments, resources, interventions, etc.  Supporting Change of Practice (an essential element for success) – Pearson provided professional development for the teachers on creating tech rich lessons, creating rubrics for project-based learning, managing a 1:1 classroom, online formative assessments, item analysis, curriculum support, etc.  Planning and Project Management – Pearson dedicated a project management team that supplied research, plan development and on-site management of the entire scope of the conversion project.  Hardware and Network Infrastructure (an essential element for success) – designing and installing a business class wireless infrastructure that can handle hundreds of devices downloading and streaming video at the same time, filtering and monitoring solutions “Because we wanted our conversion to focus on content creation rather than content consumption, we

(Continued from page 7)

Carolina to find out more about the program in Moorseville where, unexpectedly, Drossos also walked in the door. Call it Devine intervention. “I remember thinking there was so much coming at us so quickly with respect to education reform, and I needed to find a way to make it all manageable for my students, teachers and administrators: 21 st century learning, engaged learning, Common Core State Standards, PARCC assessments, teacher evaluation (Danielson model), principal evaluation, student growth, evidence-based, transparency, parent involvement, and on and on….. I had this vision in my head of a one-stop shop, single sign on (SSO) platform that would provide a solution for all the requirements coming at us.”

“ The analysis is priceless. Having that data at their fingertips enables teachers to literally change their instruction on a dime and focus on

students or concepts that need more attention. ” -- Recently retired Mendon Superintendent Diane Robertson talking about the immediate feedback and analysis the 1:1 program offers teachers

Robertson said she didn’t have the expertise, contacts or financial resources to develop such a platform, but Pearson did, and a three-year partnership was formed. The platform would eventually seamlessly integrate:  Interactive digital course content for all subjects (textbooks, assignments, resources) with teacher and student portals;  Assessments, analytics and diagnostics;  Course content and assessments aligned to CCSS and/or other standards;  Digital assignments and tests to flow seamlessly into electronic grade book;  All of the above to integrate seamlessly with the student management system;  Digital analysis of student growth and trend data;  Reports and analyses generated at the click of a button;  Parent portal for monitoring student progress;

(Continued on page 9)

8

Made with