offering students a spectrum of online learning experiences: featuring jeffco public schools
DESCRIPTION
In 2006, Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado was looking for a way to address the staggering number of students that were failing classes as well as provide options for students that wanted to learn in a way that modeled their digital lives. The district also wanted to expand educational options for the hundreds of students that were leaving the district each year to learn online elsewhere. In order to meet these needs, Jeffco Public Schools turned to Blackboard to expand educational offerings with online courses. Jeffco Public Schools shares how Blackboard software helped accomplish the following: Develop a five-year road map for online learning, Address the districts withdrawal and failure rate, Provide online learning opportunities without students having to leave their school, Launch a statewide online school and, Use online learning as a vehicle for organizational change.TRANSCRIPT
Wednesday May 13, 2009
Audie Rubin, Director, 21st Century Virtual Academy, Jeffco Public Schools (CO)
Mike Petersen, Manager, K-12 Solutions Engineers
Offering Students a Spectrum of Online Learning Experiences
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Born from education
in 1997
20 million users
1,000+ of us, working with 5,200+ of you
Extended by 2,500
developers and partners
9 global offices across 4 continents
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• Close the gap between the way students live and the way they learn
• Deliver a 21st Century educational experience that is engaging, individualized and effective
Our Vision:
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• An open, web-based teaching and learning platform for engaging and assessing learners in and beyond the classroom
• 3,000+ clients, 15+ million estimated active users, at all levels of learning
• Local or hosted deploymentEngaging and assessing learners at all levels
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Client Community
JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS: 21ST CENTURY VIRTUAL ACADEMY
Blackboard Client Spotlight
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Implementing Online Learning for Students
Jefferson County Public School DistrictGolden, Colorado
Audie RubinDirector of Student Online LearningK-12, public, charter, brick & mortar and
online 3rd year in Jeffco Schools12th year in educationOnline experience: spent 5 years teaching
elementary and leading the middle and high school of Colorado’s largest online charter school
Jeffco SchoolsLargest school district in ColoradoAbout 150 schools85,000 studentsSuburban, urban and mountains25% Free and Reduced RateStrong reputation as a solid districtNot a utopia, just a good place to work
Paving the Way District’s IT and Division of Instruction work
closely to develop solutions for schools 2006-2007: Planning period to implement Bb
district-wide for instructional staffBudgeting for ResultsCreating of Online Education Office in 2007-2008All instructional staff provided with Bb accountsOnline role-based PLCsRole out of Curriculum Alignment Project, via Bb
onlyIn the last 22 months…
State of Online Learning 3+ million college students taking online
coursesOver 90% of colleges with 15,000 or more
students offer online courses
Over 1 million K-12 students learning onlineOnly 40,000 in 2001
About 12,000 K-12 students learning FT online in Colorado
Only a few hundred in 2001
Needs AssessmentEstimate that a couple hundred HS students leave
Jeffco each year to learn FT online somewhere else2006-2007: 28,000 HS students, 29,000 F’s7 of the Top 10 failed courses are 9th grade coursesAbout 1,000 HS students a year go to BYU for
credit recoveryWhat are we doing to prepare students for their
future in the 21st Century?New graduation requirements… require that all
high school courses integrate technology and online learning
Developing the Road MapStudent Online Learning Road Map lays out
next 5 years in 4 ways…Supporting Local ImplementationSupplemental Course OfferingsFull-Time Online SchoolContracted Services
Multiple needs can only be addressed with multiple solutions
4-Square Model
Course Components
Class Calendar
Pre-Assessments
Group Work
Labs
Discussion Boards
Unit, Mid Term, & Final
Exams
Earth
Science
Full-time Online
Credit Recovery (Mastery-based)
Hybrid
Online Enhanced
Course Development…2007-2008Created a development, alignment, and review
processFreshman 4 core classes developed internallyDevelopment teams of 2-3 teachers per coursesReviewers were content specialists at district-
levelAligned to Curriculum Alignment Project
10th-12th purchased from FLVS through RFP process
Course Development…2008-2009Improved process based on last year’s
experienceCourse Authors / Technical Developers
Aligned purchased courses to CAPCourses developed internally created to
expand course offering…Freshmen English for Young Men
Chinese 1 Digital Photography
Algebra Readiness Russian 1 Video Game Design
Spanish 1 Renewable Energy Event Training
Spanish for Heritage Speakers 1
Survey of American Music
Outdoor Adventure
Taking Online Learning Mainstream
Professional DevelopmentDomain Administrator at every high school
Section creation request & enroll studentsOversee and support teachers Initial training & quarterly meetings (f2f)
PD to teach onlineHybrid, facilitated, & offered 4 times a year
Credit Recovery & Hybrid Online Enhanced
FT online & self-paced SafeAssign
PLC in Bb for all trained teachers and Domain Admins
21st Century Virtual AcademyEnrolling students throughout the state of
ColoradoDiploma granting schoolMultiple enrollment options
Full time (tuition free)Part time (tuition free)Supplemental (fee-based)
Rigor, relevance and relationshipswww.jeffcopublicschools.org/online/
Next 5 YearsExpand online course offerings at high school
level2009-2010: every HS will have Bb accountExpand online learning to middle schoolsExpand Virtual Academy to K-12Better serve specialty populations with online
including special ed, gifted, homebound, ELL, and dropouts
Contract services
Lessons LearnedThe goal is not to get people learning online. It is
about transforming the way an organization educates students.
Online learning is not about the toys. It is about the learning.
Real change occurs at the heart of an organization.Push hard enough to see movement but not so
hard that it falls over.Find your comrades.Recognize and then extinguish the fear.
Communicate the excitement.
Challenge: Diverse Learning Needs
Offering enriched curriculum for all learners.
Blackboard Solution: Anytime, Anywhere Student Engagement
“Students today are very tech-savvy and comfortable with technology and the flexibility of online instruction. Whether they are fine arts or magnet students, athletes, or those enrolled for credit recovery, they enjoy the individual choices they make in regards to when, where, and how long they participate in their virtual course.”
- Becky Nunnally, Supervisor, eHigh School
Cobb County School District
Blackboard
Case Study
• Suburban county
• 100,000+ students
• 8,800+ staff
• 113 schools and educational centers
• Georgia
Blackboard
Case Study
Deer Valley United School District
• 36,500+ students
• 36 schools
• Arizona
Challenge: Expanding Access while Decreasing CostsIncrease enrollments and reduce costs for their summer school program.
Blackboard Solution: Anytime Anywhere Access to Learning
Deer Valley switched from face-to-face to online summer school by leveraging Blackboard Learn.
• Increased enrollments from 250 to 1,500 during the first online summer offering
• Decreased operating expenses by 80% and still charges the same affordable tuition
• More than 4 times as many classes are now available to students during the summer
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Blackboard Learn
Common Challenges:• Expanding course offerings for all students• Keeping students engaged in their learning• Operating within limited and declining budgets
• Raising graduation rates
Solution:
Blackboard Learn provides the foundation for a district-
based virtual school that engages students with
personalized and connected learning opportunities and
optimizes district resources.
Quick Start Solutions: Virtual Schools
Challenge:“Developing online courses takes time and resources but I need to make the courses available right away.”
--Director of Instructional Technology
Solution:• Blackboard Quick Start Solutions will
help you get started quickly and achieve early success
• Enroll up to 50 students in Florida Virtual School courses
Quick Start Solutions: Virtual Schools
Challenge:“I don’t know how to start an online program at my district. Who can I turn to?”
- Director of Instructional Technology
Solution:• Participate in the Florida Virtual Leadership
Course (1 seat)• Become certified to teach and learn online
with 1 seat in 3 Blackboard Training Courses: Teaching and Learning Online Certification Series (Building Courses, Enhancing Communication, Assessing Learners)
www.k12perspectives.com
“Online learning is about extending class days
and class time for struggling students who many not have gained competency across the
curriculum and for students who need
additional courses that are not locally available.”.
Susan Patrick, President and CEOInternational Association for K-12 Online Learning
Thank you! Questions?
Audie Rubin
Director, 21st Century Virtual Academy
Jeffco Public Schools
303-982-8744
www.jeffcopublicschools.org/online/
www.blackboard.com/k12/learn
(866) 424-9299 ext. 2427
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