On May 10, 2012 METAA and CoSN held our third annual jointly-hosted CTO Clinic in Massachusetts. The event was a great success – great conversations that I overheard included:

• people having difficulty choosing between multiple excellent breakout sessions,
• colleagues from New Hampshire discussing starting a CoSN chapter there,
• animated follow-up conversations with presenters,
• powerful demos around all of the sponsor tables, and
• planning to prep for and sit for the CETL exam.

All great stealth feedback that we can use in our planning for 2013.

William Powers, author of Hamlet’s BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, was the opening keynote speaker. He reminded us all that being hyper-connected 24/7 does not leave us the quiet time to listen to our own voices and to coax our own genius out of ourselves. As educators, it’s important for us to remember to help students discover and listen to their inner voices. 

I learned from Bailey Mitchell that as I prepare for BYOT, I should calculate our bandwidth needs and then to triple that! As the afternoon keynote speaker, Bailey shared the story of Forsyth County’s successes in preparing students for college, career, and life. 

Keith Krueger helped us to understand the skills we need as education technology leaders to reimagine learning that prepares our children for today and tomorrow, not the past. 

Bill Rust had a standing-room-only crowd, learning how to provide “consumers” (students and educators) choice by design rather than default, and he did this in a framework of an entire education ecosystem. 

There were sessions about the CoSN CETL certification, Leading a Flipped Classroom initiative, Implementing Google Apps for Education, Leadership for Mobile Learning, Making the Print to Digital Transition, and Policies and Procedures – Balancing Learning Opportunities and Security. Many of these sessions involved multiple presenters, moderators, and facilitators and I want to thank all of my colleagues who stepped up and shared their time and their expertise. It does “take a village.” 

Below are my remarks, as I welcomed attendees.

Welcome to our School Technology Leadership/CTO Clinic. My name is Jean Tower and I am the president of METAA, the Massachusetts Educational Technology Administrators Association. I am a member of the CoSN board and am excited to share the news with you that I am the chair elect of CoSN. I share this with you because it gives me the opportunity to tell you why. It’s a big commitment, but one I willingly take on. It’s because I’m dedicated to the organization that, for school technology leaders, is our professional home. METAA is the state chapter of CoSN, the Consortium for School Networking. Together, we are hosting this CTO Clinic, whose theme is Ubiquitous Computing.

METAA is your organization – METAA represents technology leaders in schools, known by many titles – Technology Coordinator, Technology Director, CIO, and CTO to name a few. Regardless of your official title, the Massachusetts organization that provides resources and professional development and advocacy targeted to YOU is METAA. And a big part of our ability to do that is our close alliance with CoSN, as a state chapter.

I would like to recognize the many people who helped to realize this vibrant event.

First, we have several invited guests and national colleagues here with us today.

Keith Krueger, the Chief Executive Officer of CoSN

Kevin Wesolowski, Director of Membership & Chapters for CoSN

Bill Rust, Research Director for Gartner

Bailey Mitchell, Chief Technology Officer, Forsyth County Schools in Georgia, and chair of the CoSN board

And, William Powers, author of Hamlet’s BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age. We’ll be hearing from Bill shortly.

In addition to the invited guests, are the many hard workers who put in countless hours of planning for this conference. Please stand and wave as I mention your name so people can find you during the day to ask you about METAA.

 First, I’d like to thank two METAA board members who served as conference co-chairs with me for the second year in a row – Michael Minihane and Theresa Jay. They are also professional development co-chairs and Mike is the secretary of the board.

Fellow board members who all make contributions to the organization all year long, in many ways, and who all helped to make today possible are:

 Gail Callahan, vice-president

Ted Dubsky, Treasurer

Tom Barnes

Eric Bouvier

Wendy Haskell  

Kathy Martin

Bill Milot

James Panopoulos

Michael Purdy

Annamaria Schrimpf

Kevin Warenda

 Thank you to all of these dedicated colleagues, and to the COSN staff back in Washington who were not able to attend today, but who helped with this event.

Our roles in schools have evolved over the years. I remember the days when we ran every cable, carried the punch-down tool in our pockets, and had to convince people to “try” email. Now, our schools depend on technology and the networks we maintain – to teach and communicate, to schedule our schools, to run the heating and cooling systems, to create our bus routes, to take attendance, and so much more – all systems converge in technology. Technology is the new utility – when people flip the light switch, they don’t wonder if the lights will work today – they depend on them to work.

And in addition to “managing” all that technology – we lead. We lead the way toward change and innovation. As change agents in our schools, one of the things we do is we narrate a story of change – we describe what’s possible.

We are also constantly teaching – providing professional development & just-in-time support, coaching, tutoring, and team-building; cajoling, nudging and advocating. But where do we go to get our professional development? Who do we turn to when we’re getting depleted? We turn to METAA & CoSN, and we turn to each other. We come to events like this to rejuvenate and to build our own skills. Remember the last time you flew somewhere? (Someplace warm and sunny, I hope.) The flight attendant told you that in the event of an emergency you should put your own oxygen mask on before trying to help others, right? Well, today is the professional development equivalent of the oxygen mask. Staying current and informed is a critical aspect of what we do. We need to take care of our own professional development in order to help others and to remain effective. At the end of the day today, we should all leave here a little bit replenished – with some money in the knowledge bank; something stashed away in the leadership bank; and some reserve funds in the strategy bank.

Our banks will be replenished through our keynote speakers who will inspire and motivate; by innovative practitioners who will share their wisdom and expertise; and by sponsors and partners who will update us about the latest products and services. But the CTO Clinic is about more than the presenters. It’s about you – the attendees. I’d like to suggest that you will get the most out of the clinic, if you make sure to take time to network and chat with your colleagues. Sometimes, we remember for years something that a keynote speaker said – but it is often that snippet of conversation in the hall, or the connection you make at lunch, that constitutes that serendipitous take-away that you will use the very next day, back at your office.

Now, I’d like to introduce Keith Krueger, the CEO of CoSN. Keith serves on many Advisory Boards and has a global reputation as a key thought leader. He has organized senior level U.S. delegations to visit Australia, Asia, Europe and South America to examine best practices in technology in education. Please join me in welcoming Keith Krueger to the stage.

I am happy to share this post by Susan Hargrave, from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:

Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a great time to learn how new technologies can help make information accessible to everyone. As e-readers and e-books become more common, these technologies have the potential to open doors for people with disabilities.  This is especially important in schools and colleges, where technologies can enable students with print-related disabilities to easily read the same materials as their peers. For example, students who are blind can listen to text using the e-reader’s built-in capabilities. Students with reading disabilities can make use of this same feature.

Unfortunately, many digital materials are not accessible. This lack of accessibility can make it difficult for students with disabilities to fully participate in educational programs.  To address this problem, schools can turn to some new resources published by CAST, a Massachusetts organization internationally recognized for its expertise in this area. (http://aim.cast.org/learn/practice/palm )

CAST is suggesting that schools assert their power as purchasers to ensure that e-book developers design their materials for all users. When schools include accessibility as a decision factor in purchasing, developers will have no choice but to listen and take action. As a result, schools will have a greater variety of high quality materials to choose from, and students with disabilities will benefit. As an added bonus, many students without disabilities will also benefit from the supportive features included in accessible materials.

Post by: Susan Hargrave
Instructional Technology Specialist
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

If you haven’t tried the Tune-In series from Apple, I recommend it. These are free webcasts. If you are deploying any iPads in your school or district it will be worth your while to sit in on these.

Apple holds these all weekdays from April 23 to August 31, 2012.

Monday:

iPad in Education

“In this session, learn about how the new iPad and iOS 5 can transform your classroom. In addition, learn about all of the content available for iPad and how your institution can purchase it.”

Tuesday:

Content Creation

“Explore the powerful content creation apps in the iWork and iLife suites that engage students on both Mac and iPad. Also, learn about the new iBooks textbooks, and how easy it is to create your own interactive Multi-Touch books with iBooks Author.”

Wednesday:

Using and Creating Courses in iTunes U

“Explore the new iTunes U app, and learn how to create and distribute courses on iTunes U.”

Thursday:

Licensing and Deployment

“Learn about licensing, deployment, and how education institutions can use the Volume Purchase Program to purchase apps and books in volume and distribute them to their end users. This webcast also illustrates the important aspects of a successful iOS deployment — configuration, management, and deployment models.”

Friday:

Deploying with Apple Configurator

“End your week by exploring the new Apple Configurator. Learn how it can be used to quickly configure large numbers of iOS devices and make deployments easy and efficient.”

We have been testing out the configurator and so far it is working well for us. Really makes app management (no easy task) a little easier.

In a recent post  I posited the following list as those elements critical to a successful technology program.

• Leadership, Vision, & Policy
• Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment
• IT Management
• Infrastructure, including Connectivity
• Partnerships
• Budget & Investment
• Professional Development / Capacity Building
• Staffing for Support
• Community Engagement and Support

In this post, I’ll take on Leadership, Vision, & Policy – how would you “grade” yourself in this area? What would that grade be based on? What evidence would we see that would convince us that a school or district had aced this category?

Leadership & Vision Rubric

Policy Rubric

Next installment in this series: Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

Live@edu is being revamped into Office 365. According to a Microsoft blog post, Office 365 for education will become more widely available this summer (2012).  Microsoft has 3 different plans (A2, A3, & A4), with A2 having the fewest features. A2 is what Microsoft will offer free to schools. An earlier announcement had said that the cost was going to be $6/staff/month. I think that they recognized that to compete with Google Apps for Education, they would have to offer a free configuration. Of course, they tout their apps as “better” –

“K-12 institutions have a very specific set of requirements for cloud-based messaging and collaboration solutions. No one brings a richer set of free hosted solutions to the K-12 space than Microsoft Live@edu.” (source)

In 2010, Google Apps for Education had already surpassed 10 million users. It is interesting to watch this competition. Just recently (April 2012) Microsoft scored a contract in India to supply Office 365 to 7 million students and 500,000 faculty members.

In my own district, we use both Google Apps for Education and Office (desktop, installed) and people move back and forth between them without issue. I wonder what we’ll be doing just a couple years from now.

CoSN press release:

CoSN, METAA to Host May 10^th Clinic for K-12 District-level Leaders 

on Leveraging Digital Tools to Enhance Teaching and Learning

Washington, DC (May 3, 2012) – On Thursday, May 10, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and the Massachusetts Educational Technology Administrators Association (METAA) will host a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Clinic at The Conference Center at Bentley University in Waltham, MA. The second of six CTO clinics held in conjunction with CoSN state chapters nationwide, the Massachusetts CTO Clinic will include keynote addresses and panel discussions featuring public and private sector education technology leaders. Designed as an in-depth professional development event for K-12 district-level technology decision makers, attendees will learn about emerging technology trends, receive the latest information on using technology to create effective learning environments, and have the opportunity to network with their peers and members of the private sector.

WHEN:            Thursday, May 10

8:30 AM – 4:45 PM EST

WHERE:        The Conference Center at Bentley University

Waltham, MA

WHO:                          Remarks by:

Jean Tower, President, METAA; Chair-elect, CoSN; Director of Technology, Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough, MA

William Powers, Author and Journalist

Bailey Mitchell, Chair, CoSN; Chief Technology and Information Officer, Forsyth County Schools, GA

FORMAT:                   

Click here for the full agenda. Registration will begin at 7:30 AM, followed by an opening plenary session at 8:30 AM, when  Jean Tower and William Powers will deliver remarks. Following the opening plenary session will be sponsored morning and afternoon breakout sessions, including a lunch plenary session at 1:00 PM. Bailey Mitchell will deliver keynote remarks.

REGISTRATION:     Click here to register. The member rate is $99 per registrant. Current institutional and corporate CoSN members receive one free registration to a CTO Clinic per year. All non-member registrants will be charged the $249 non-member fee.

The clinic’s Tier One Sponsors are: Comcast, Intel, itslearning, Lightspeed Systems NComputing, SchoolDude and Whalley Computers. The clinics Tier Two Sponsors are: ADTECHSystems, CDW.G, Collins Electric, Epson, Gartner, HMH, Hub Technical, iPresent Online, Lightspeed Technology, Presidio, Truenorthlogic and Unitrends.

For more complete information on the Massachusetts clinic, please visit

MA CTO Clinic.

At the Tech Forum Boston yesterday I decided to attend an apps smackdown. It was lots of fun and I left with a few apps to pass on to teachers, and one that I knew I would try myself.

The app is called CloudOn and is free. It works with Dropbox , also free. If you don’t already have dropbox, watch the quick video at their web site to see how it works. It is basically an online storage space for your files.

Once you have dropbox and have a few files there, get CloudOn from the app store. I installed CloudOn on my iPad. CloudOn prompted me through creating an account and then asked where I have online storage – I selected Dropbox and then signed in to my Dropbox account and allowed the apps to connect. Now, in CloudOn, when I select a document (like a word or excel document) I can edit and save the document. Cloudon provides much of the same functionality that office provides.

For my first run, I edited both a word document and a spreadsheet using CloudOn and then opened them again from my computer dropbox. And there were my changes! Yay.

The apps work seamlessly together, CloudOn is not glitchy on the iPad, and they are both free tools. Love CloudOn. Highly recommend you try it.

Have you read this new Google Drive Product News alert? Google Drive will be rolling out and enabled within the next 4-8 weeks for education domains.

“Google Drive is a brand new file synchronization product that allows users to centrally store all of their files in Google Docs. Files can be accessed via a web browser, the Google Drive client, and the Google Drive mobile app.

Google Drive access will be rolling out to all domains over the next 4-8 weeks.

There are numerous changes in Google Docs, some of which are noted below. Please see the “For more information” section at the end which contains additional details.”

read more from Google

This sounds like a great new feature – can’t wait to try it out.

My colleague, Annamaria Schrimpf, and I work together to conduct technology program audits for school districts. We visit the schools, interview administrators and educators, review many existing documents and plans, and conduct surveys of faculty and students. As we review the data and write our report, including commendations and recommendations, we refer to several guiding documents, standards, and best practices.

We also ask the district to help us focus the study by telling what their questions are. Of course, sometimes we spent a good amount of time collaborating with district leadership to help them develop their questions. Every experienced thesis and dissertation adviser knows that question development is one of the toughest parts of the research and writing experience! One school district we worked with had these two essential questions:

• How do the current systems impact student achievement?
• How effectively do current systems support staff?

The guiding documents we use to measure practices against include the following:

• The enGauge Framework, developed by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and the METIRI Group, says that six essential conditions have to exist in school districts for truly effective use of technology to take place. The six conditions are in the dimensions of vision, effective practice, equity, leadership, access, and educator proficiency.
• The Massachusetts state technology plan guidelines are based in part on the School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart. This framework lists the essential ingredients as teaching and learning, educator preparation and development, administration and support services, and infrastructure for technology.
• Partnership for 21^st Century Skills – Skills Framework

We also use our current knowledge of best practices, cutting edge projects, curriculum, teaching and learning, and what we see on the horizon.

As I consider our current models, I realize I am looking for something to replace the enGauge Framework. It was a very good document, forward thinking for its time. However, it was written quite a while ago and will not be updated. It can’t be found online anymore, so I really would like a newer, up-to-date framework to use in addition to the state technology guidelines and the STaR chart.

If you have a suggestion, please leave a comment here.

I have been creating my own list of essential conditions for a successful technology program, and will be writing, in this blog, about those elements.

The list below shows the categories I plan to include in my framework, under development, that I will blog about here, one entry per category. My goal will be to develop indicators that one would look for to demonstrate an effective and robust technology program. Again – if you have suggestions for additions, deletions, or modifications, please comment here.

Leadership, Vision, & Policy

Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

IT Management

Infrastructure, including Connectivity

Partnerships

Budget & Investment

Professional Development / Capacity Building

Staffing for Support

Community Engagement and Support

image source

Where do you fall on the whole “flipped classroom” thing?

This week’s tech & learning poll is trying to get the pulse on that question.

Submit your own vote at Question of the Week.

I  have been very interested in the concept for a couple of years now and I met Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann (http://vodcasting.ning.com/) last summer the BLC. I’ve been relatively surprised at the cynicism I’ve met with from many colleagues in my own district when I say I am interested in it and love that we have a few teachers trying it out with a good measure of success. I have heard that it’s the same old thing wrapped in new paper. I am looking forward to the breakdown of responses that Tech & Learning gets.