Digital Learning Transition

The essential questions for this unit are: What were the major lessons learned by participating in the DLT MOOC-Ed? Which resources and activities were most valuable? How can the DLT MOOC-Ed be improved?

Digital Promise Panel with Sara Schapiro, Director of the League of Innovative Schools, and Tom Trigg, Superintendent of Blue Valley Schools

Interview with Dr. Steven Webb, Superintendent of Vancouver Public Schools

State and District Leadership in a Digital Learning Transition Patrick Larkin, Assistant Superintendent for Learning, Burlington Public Schools, MA Bette Manchester, Founding Director, Maine Learning Technology Initiative and President of the Maine International Center for Digital Learning

Principal Panels, in Conjunction with America Achieves Fellows: Principal Panel 1: Maureen Marshall, Principal, Garfield Elementary School, Fairfax County Schools, VA Carmelita Reyes, Principal, Oakland International High School, Oakland Unified School District, CA

Principal Panels, in Conjunction with America Achieves Fellows: Principal Panel 2: Misha Simmonds, Principal, University Heights Charter School, Newark Public Schools, NJ Tom Sims, Principal, Dickinson Fine Arts Academy, South Bend Community School Corporation, IN

In this unit, we consider strategies for the effective leadership of digital learning transitions. The essential questions for this unit are: What leadership strategies are currently being used in your school or district digital learning transition? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current local leadership strategies? What recommendations would you make to improve your local DLT leadership strategies?

Gerald Aungst, Supervisor of Gifted and Elementary Mathematics, School District of Cheltenham Township, NJ ; Patrick Larkin, Assistant Superintendent for Learning, Burlington Public Schools, MA; Rebecca McLelland-Crawley, Science Supervisor, West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, NJ

Lisa Andrejko, Superintendent, Quakertown Community School District, PA; Rich Kaestner, EdTech Services; CoSN SmartIT Project Director, CoSN

Ann McMullan, Executive Director of Educational Technology, Klein ISD, TX (retired); Bailey Mitchell, Chief Technology and Information Officer, Forsyth County Schools, GA; Jean Tower, Director of Technology, Northborough/Southborough Schools, MA; Karen Fuller, Chief Technology Officer, Klein ISD, TX

Joe Ableidinger, Senior Consultant, Public Impact; Gail Pletnick, Superintendent, Dysart Unified School District, AZ

Michael Robbins, Special Advisor for Nonprofit Partnerships, U.S. Department of Education; Alex Molina, Deputy Director, Providence After School Alliance

Unit 6 - Planning for Selected DLT Elements

Please review the panel discussion with experts from across the country. The experts included in the video, who are also participating in the discussion forum, are: Lorie Kaplan, Executive Director, eMINTS National Center, University of Missouri 2013 Columbia; Joellen Killion, Senior Advisor, Learning Forward; Thomas Murray, Director of Technology and Cyber Learning, Quakertown Community School District, PA; Barbara Treacy, Director, EdTech Leaders Online, EDC, Newton, MA.

As we have seen in the prior units, preparing and supporting education professionals, both teachers and administrators, in changing their professional practices is essential for successful digital learning transitions, but is too often given far too little attention, time, and resources. This is compounded by the need for educators to also address many other changes in K-12 education, such as new curriculum standards and student assessments, new approaches to teacher evaluation, new data and reporting systems, and the critical need to improve the achievement of all students while dealing with increasingly tight budgets. Educators cannot be expected to address these changes without opportunities to update their own knowledge, skills, and practices through professional learning. The essential questions for this unit ask the following about your school or district: How well prepared are teachers and administrators for the changes in their knowledge and practices required for a successful digital learning trans

During Units 1-3, we2019ve explored many of the big ideas about K-12 digital learning to help you define the vision and goals for your own initiatives. We2019ve also looked at many school and district initiatives, and the lessons learned from them, to inform your understanding of the challenges involved in creating a successful digital learning transition and strategies for addressing those challenges. The essential questions for this unit are: (1) How can we effectively communicate our goals for digital learning, and the challenges to meeting those goals, with the members of our school or district community? (2) What new insights and ideas have we gained about digital learning that will impact our work?

The expert panel for Unit 3: School and District Digital Learning Transitions includes leaders from some of the example schools and districts highlighted in this unit: Mira Brown, Director of Development and External Relations, Summit Public Schools; Jon Deane, Chief Information Officer, Summit Public Schools; Jeremy Macdonald, Integrated Technology Systems Coordinator, Bend-La Pine Schools, Oregon; Rebecca McLelland-Crawley Science Supervisor for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District.... The questions answered in the video are listed below, with the times they are answered: How is Summit Public Schools working with students and teachers to grow your digital transition? (Jon & Mira, 1:11); What has been your experience working as a teacher and coach in your district? (Jeremy, 3:04); What comes first, the culture change, or the technology? (Jeremy, 4:27); What has your experience been teaching and assisting other educators start a 1:1 initiative? (Rebecca, 5:45); Why aren't we asking stu

This unit extends the work we began in Unit 2 by providing information about digital learning transitions in additional schools and districts. You will be able to select resources about public (non-charter) schools; districts that participate in the Power on Texas initiative; and/or schools that represent models developed by charter school management organizations. During this unit, you will also review the goals and challenges statements prepared by other participants during the prior unit and work within your discussion group to develop recommendations of the most important things to include when communicating goals and challenges to your community. If you have not updated your statement at this point, you still may.

Questions for panel located at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sjdDpq5McxpMK3IuNccv5_cBLDWzNsWmZgnbjNZpc7s/edit?usp=sharing

For this unit, we have three separate interviews with leaders from each of the four example digital learning transition initiatives, so you can choose those from the case studies you selected in 2.3. Lisa Andrejko, Superintendent, Quakertown Community School District, PA and Ann McMullan, Executive Director of Educational Technology, Klein ISD, TX. Questions discussed with Lisa and Ann: What does the digital learning transition look like in your school districts (0:50); How did your digital learning transition evolve over time? How long does it take to start to see a shift in teaching and learning practices? (13:50); How do you find the time to provide professional learning opportunities for teachers? (15:55); How important is it to have an instructional technology coach, specialist or facilitator within the school building? (19:10); How do you bridge between digital learning, focusing on 21st century skills and the 4 C2019s, and preparing students for standardized testing? (23:25); How do you use digital p