OUR JOURNEY TO DIGITALLessons Learned:

Rob Waldron • President & CEO

Objectives• Share what we learned in the journey from

print to 500,000 digital users in one year

• Provide some practical advice garnered

from working with district leaders across

the country

• Learn from you what other priorities we

should be tackling

The reality today is that when a

general officer speaks to a captain, the

general officer has never used any of

the communication systems,

intelligence assets, or weapons

systems that the captain has...things

go so fast now it is very difficult… to be

experts and still be leading.

–General Stanley McChrystal

A Clear Mandate …

Student

Centered

Learning

2001: No Child Left Behind

2004: National Center for

Response to Intervention (RtI)

2010: Common Core State

Standards

…drove us to redefine how technology can enable

our ―student centered learning‖ mission

1National Center for Education Statistics (2012): http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=462Pew Research Center (2012): http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/04/04/the-rise-of-e-reading/

A Clear Mandate …

Student

Centered

Learning

1994: KIPP

1997: Florida Virtual

2006: Rocketship

2006: Khan Academy

…drove us to redefine how technology can enable

our ―student centered learning‖ mission

1National Center for Education Statistics (2012): http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=462Pew Research Center (2012): http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/04/04/the-rise-of-e-reading/

A Clear Mandate …

Student

Centered

Learning

2003: 93% internet access in

schools1

2012: 95% broadband access

in schools1

2012: 21% of US has read an

e-book2

…drove us to redefine how technology can enable

our ―student centered learning‖ mission

1National Center for Education Statistics (2012): http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=462Pew Research Center (2012): http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/04/04/the-rise-of-e-reading/

A Clear Mandate …

Student

Centered

Learning

Meet the individualneeds of each child by providing every child what he/she needs when he/she needs it.

…drove us to redefine how technology can enable

our ―student centered learning‖ mission

1National Center for Education Statistics (2012): http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=462Pew Research Center (2012): http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/04/04/the-rise-of-e-reading/

• 0 to 500,000 digital users in one year

• Approved as a teacher evaluation input in OH & NY

• Recommended in Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland, etc.

• Utilized in many leading charters—KIPP NY, LA, Chicago;

Rocketship; Harlem Children’s Zone, Aspire, etc.

• Praise from leaders and users throughout the country:

―i-Ready is the best online assessment and

instruction combo I’ve ever seen‖

Dr. Eric Conti, Superintendent of Schools, Burlington, MA—

named Top 10 Tech-Savvy Superintendent by eSchoolNews

An Auspicious Start

Five Lessons Learned

Despite political and

market turmoil, educator

priorities are remarkably

consistent.

• • • • •

Lesson 1

• • • • •

Assessment Instruction

Provider

Singing the Same Song

Valid and reliable

Online

Formative and

summative

Progress monitoring

Reputable

Easy to Use and Implement

Affordable

Product Training and

Professional Development

Efficacy Research

Common Core &

State Standards

Link to assessment

Data-driven

Blended Learning

Differentiated

Ongoing Service and Support

The bright lines that

separated publishers

are gone have been

replaced by the same

pitch from

everyone, resulting in

customer confusion

• • • • •

Lesson 2

• • • • •

The Trusted Advisor Dilemma

My company (insert company name),

provides an innovative data-driven,

differentiated instruction technology

solution with progress monitoring and

top-notch professional development.

Technology requires

seamless integration of

programs; thus, buying

the ―best‖ individual

solutions, ―à la carte,‖

doesn’t work.

• • • • •

Lesson 3

Best of Breed

• • • • •

Square Peg…Round Hole

Most student centered

learning initiatives fall

apart during the

purchase process.

• • • • •

Lesson 4

Align diagnostic to instruction resources

―Differentiated Instruction‖ RFP issued

Eyewitness Account

Spring

2011

Summer

2011

Fall

2011

Winter

2011–2012

Spring

2012

Summer

2012

Buy ―safe bet‖ test prep software

Pilot adaptive diagnostic Test prep ―cramming‖

No conclusive view of success/failure

No one fulfills the ―kitchen sink‖ requirements

Great insights but doesn’t link to

instructional resources

More whole class instruction than before

RFP

Edit and re-issue original ―differentiated

instruction‖ RFPCompletion of huge

effort delayed to MarchNo impact on

struggling students

Preliminary research* results suggest a profound lack of cohesion in terms of strategy, expectations, usage, and impact.

• • • • •

Lesson 5

*Initial findings from Frank Ferguson Fellowship, sponsored by Curriculum Associates, Rocketship, and the Bill

and Melinda Gates Foundation

Game of Telephone

―How many technology-

based assessments are used in

your district?‖

• • • • •

Chief Academic

Officer:

Tech

Director:

Teacher:Principal:

―We have rationalized

our assessments to

focus primarily on

program A.‖

―I don’t know but

there are 87 programs

that have been vetted

against our tech

requirements.‖

―We have been

provided A and B

programs.

I am piloting 2 other

programs.‖

―Feels like a new

one each week. I only

use product C because

it’s mandated, but I don’t

have a good sense of its

impact.‖

What to do? Some advice from your peers

1 Find out what is being used, what is working,

what it costs. NOTE: Our foundation fellow can do this for you

2 Ask more questions*, demand more from publishers

3 Accept the fact that the Common Core journey is

multi-year and needs to start now

4 Ensure the solution works for the average teacher

5 75th percentile ―most innovative‖ solution, executed

at 100% is much, much better than vice versa

*Supporting tools available in handouts

Key Questions

Online Assessments:Was the program built from scratch from the

Common Core or just “retrofitted”?

Online Instruction:Is the instruction automatically differentiated based

on an integrated assessment?Online Providers:Is the program SaaS (Software as a

Service), enabling anytime access and rapid

upgrades?

We’re in the middle of one of the

great revolutions in the history of

education. For the first time

ever, technology has given us the

ability to deliver a world class

education to every child in the world.

–Tom Vander Ark

Questions and Discussion

Rob Waldron

RWaldron@CAinc.com

978-313-1208

Technology Buying

Guide

Technology RFP

Template

Available Resources