year•end•report 2013

making music

networknebraska

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year•end•reportJuly 2013

2012-13 esucc distance-learning review

Plus

with New York

how its growN

sustaiNiNg iNNovatioNs that eNhaNce learNiNg

coNNectioNs

the BleNded iNitiative

is so imPortaNt

A Vision SharedSafarii Rollout

LDAP & InCommonIncentives Work

Participation up! Usage Increased! Bandwidth costs down! Collaboration - IMPRESSIVE!

2 • year•end•report magazine • esucc.org

Features04 blendeD initiative Dr. Matt Blomstedt

06 making music with nYc Molly Aschoff

20 why incentives are important John Stritt with Beth Kabes

dl rePort

08 network nebraska Tom Rolfes

16 the Year in review Gordon Roethemeyer

22 top 5 Virtual Field trips Gordon Roethemeyer

the Year ahead 07 identity management Scott Isaacson

15 Learning objects repository

18 Desktop & mobile Videoconferencing Linda Dickeson

24 artists residencies via DL Gordon Roethemeyer

coNsider this03 Disruptive? Yes Gordon Roethemeyer

27 the nebraska way Dr. Bob Uhing

year•end•report magazine • esucc.org • 3

disruPtive? Yes!by Gordon RoethemeyerI read with interest anything that is written by Clayton Christensen,

Michael Horn or Heather Stalker because they are probably the

most respected researchers on innovative trends and they have

given us the most accepted definition for blended learning along

with guidelines for what those of us in K-12 education can do to

foster innovation. They are also MBAs so I regard what they write

with what I consider to be a healthy bit of skepticism because I

am not convinced that models that are intended to reduce cost

and maximize profits in the corporate world ought be, or can be,

directly applied to K-12 education. Nevertheless, I am for disrup-

tive innovation in education so I am attentive to the gurus.

In their fourth, most recent, white paper titled Is K–12 blended learning disruptive? An introduction of the theory of hy-brids they make this prediction-

“We predict that hybrid schools, which combine existing schools with new classroom models, will be the dominant model of schooling in the United States in the future. But within secondary schools, the disruptive models of blended learning will substantially replace traditional classrooms over the long term.'

In Nebraska K-12 distance-learning is becoming more and more

a hybrid model that combines face-to-face instruction with both

synchronous and asynchronous instruction and there is disrup-

tive innovation occurring in areas of nonconsumption just as

Christensen and others say are the most likely areas for innova-

tion to occur first. I see innovation occurring first is in the Arts

and in courses that are not currently offered in many schools such

as Robotics, Principles of Engineering and perhaps also in career

education courses. This report highlights some examples of inno-

vation that are occurring.


Nebraska is a diverse but, somehow cohesive place. We enjoy many amenities across the

state including wide open spaces in our sand hills, art museums, urban centers with rich

traditions and civic pride, small towns, big cities, cultural and historic sites that demon-

strate that this land is rich with stories. I often find myself in awe of the beautiful scenery

the enchanting towns and cities and constant sense of pride in “our” accomplishments.

Among these critical accomplishments is the vision for an education system that recogniz-

es Nebraska’s unique needs across the school districts across the state. Educational Service

Units have long served to help establish equitable opportunities across regions of the state

and help ensure that school districts, ultimately students, have the best resources possible

to enhance educational offerings and educational outcomes. However, in this new digital

BleNded iNitiative

Place aNY

text heRe, imaGe

descriPtioN

or aNYthiNg You waNt

ESUs have sought to build the modern infrastructure and have done that with many partnerships. Perhaps best of which is the infrastructure partnership of Network Nebraska.


“There is far more to come.

This can get really technical

and its easy to get lost in

such discussions.”

world this job gets bigger, more complex,

and more important.

Educational equity in the 21st Century is

something educators and policy makers

have been talking about for two decades.

ESUs were legislatively charged with

bringing the Internet to school districts.

They were also charged with organiz-

ing educational opportunities through

instructional materials, distance educa-

tion, and the professional development

that is the glue to connect opportunities

with learning.

Early in our state’s history, the necessary

infrastructure was built on the ground…

railroads, highways, interstates, freeway-

spublic power lines, and the landscape

was also dotted with towns and school

buildings. We created educational oppor-

tunities, almost out of the air. Urban places

focused on scaled and modern education

systems while much of rural Nebraska

carved out a niche and sought scale over

time through reorganization and, eventu-

ally, regionalization.

Now our education infrastructure is being

built in the sky… Or perhaps you’ve heard

of the “Cloud”… That is where educational

opportunities are increasingly being built

across the state. ESUs have sought to build

the modern infrastructure and have done

that with many partnerships. Perhaps best

of which is the infrastructure partnership of

Network Nebraska. This “information super-

highway” continues to develop lanes, on-

ramps, off-ramps, and wide shoulders. You

can get to one of the state to the other in a

video conference meeting or perhaps sit in

an Omaha classroom and take a class with

a student in Ainsworth. Teachers can team

teach students and never meet face-to-face.

With technology you can be in the same

place at the same time or in the “same place”

at a different time. Our education system is

changing and we in Nebraska are uniquely

able to adapt this change to our local needs.

The ESU Coordinating Council, over the

last year, established a vision for “BlendEd,”

blended education that unites our ESU

skills and talent to begin to organize edu-

cational media, content, courses, and sys-

tems that allow individual school districts,

teachers, and students to realize the bene-

fit of the “Cloud.” The ESUCC took the steps

in March to begin to implement a substan-

tial element of the BlendEd plan. Over the

next few months ESUs across the state will

be working in concert to organize a “learn-

ing object repository” powered by Safari

Montage. This “LOR” is the beginning of

a powerful system that will allow school

districts to unite in developing and shar-

ing educational content. Additionally, this

educational content system is enhanced by

the ability to link to other educational con-

tent systems that make sharing resources

across the state a reality.

Building this BlendEd system on the “back-

bone” of a very successful distance educa-

tion system is critical from an educational

philosophy of local uniqueness as well as

accounts for scalable systems. Allowing

every school building and student in the

state to tap into a shared set of rich edu-

cational resources while also ensuring that

local school districts maintain their own

perspective and control has been the phi-

losophy established in distance education.

The system allows districts to collaborate

to enhance their own offerings rather than

somehow abdicating local control. I would

have it no other way. This is not a “build

it and they will come” approach. After all,

we are not Iowa. (“Field of Dreams” refer-

ence in case you missed it). Instead, the

build out of this system has been based on

actual needs of school districts, the coordi-

nation of ESU systems and services already

in place, and the vision to unite efforts that

enhance local educational opportunities.

There is far more to come. This can get

really technical, (mind boggling) and it

is easy to get lost in such discussions.

Just know that such systems are built to

connect to and unite other digital materi-

als systems. They are built to connect to

national, state, and local resources. They

are designed to accomplish both scale in

the acquisition and retention of materials,

and deliver them efficiently and effectively

to your classrooms and your students’

homes.

The ESUs remain dedicated to building

systems for this future vision. However, it

is the whole state, the human network of

educators that is most critical to a system’s

success. We appreciate your partnership in

all such efforts.


Nam ut massa turpis, ac blandit justo. Nulla ultri-ces, odio com-modo faucibus commodo, mi nisi tempor”


ideNtitY maNagemeNt& iNcommoN: what it all meaNsAs our electronic lives continue to expand, we access increas-

ing numbers of resources via our computers and mobile devices.

These resources, such as e-mail, student information systems,

learning management systems, media, and reference materials to

name a few, are typically protected by a username and password

combination, often referred to as login credentials. These systems

in many cases are not linked to each other and maintain sepa-

rate collections of usernames and passwords. As a user, it can

become difficult to track which username and password applies

to each system. Password management tools such as LastPass

and others have proliferated to help users with this problem.

From a systems perspective, maintaining these parallel identities

makes it more difficult to correlate data, for example between a

learning management system and a student information system.

Technical administration and support efforts are higher when

creating and maintaining separate accounts on multiple systems.

Multiple accounts can be less secure because there is a higher

possibility an account will be left active longer than necessary, a

password not changed when needed or a compromised account

not detected as easily. Students or staff attending or delivering

a class via distance learning may need to have yet another set

of credentials with another school or ESU to gain access to the

resources needed for that class.

Identity Management principles address the concerns of overall

security of identities, synchronized and appropriate access to sys-

tems and resources, crossing the boundaries of school districts,

ESUs, states and even nations. Technical leaders at a number

of ESUs have been working to solve these challenges and their

efforts are taking another step forward this year through a pilot

project involving InCommon. InCommon is an organization spon-

sored by Internet2 to bring together educational institutions

and resource providers with a common framework for Identity

Management and to support the sharing of resources in educa-

tion and research in the United States. InCommon has tradition-

ally only been available to colleges and universities, but this

year will be allowing a limited number of K-12 networks to par-

ticipate in their federation. In Nebraska, the NNNC (ESUs 1,2,7,8

and 17) and the GNENC (ESUs 10,11,13,15, and 16) are planning

to federate with each other and with the InCommon federation.

Federating means agreeing to a framework to exchange identity

information with another system in a secure and controlled way.

Once federated, systems in Nebraska will be able to provide

identity information to other systems to gain access to those

resources and to accept identity information from others to

allow access to Nebraska resources. In many cases, the identity

information shared is limited, such as “this is a 9th grade biology

student from Nebraska.” That limited identity is sufficient for a

remote system to allow access to appropriate course materials

for that student. If a staff member needed access to a collabora-

tive project in another state, more information can be shared:

“This is John Smith, a 9th grade biology teacher at Omaha Public

Schools.” In both scenarios, the service provider chooses to trust

that the identity provider has verified the user is who he claims

to be (authentication). The identity provider chooses to expose a

limited amount of identity information and trusts the service pro-

vider to use it appropriately and give access to shared resources

(authorization). InCommon reviews and approves federation

member applications, expecting members to publish and follow

best practice Identity Management operating procedures. The

same technical framework will allow the ESUs to federate with

each other and other organizations who aren’t part of InCommon.

High-level components of the ongoing identity management

projects are:1. An identity store—a system to hold identities and asso-

ciated information. Typically this is an LDAP directory.

2. User account management (provisioning)—systems for

creating and managing user identities in ONE place and

delegating that responsibility to district and building

personnel as appropriate

3. Federation—connecting the identity management sys-

tem to others to exchange identity information in a

controlled, secure way

4. Service provider integration—connecting internal and

existing services to the identity management system

5. Statewide integration—promoting and aligning with

best practices to build optimal interfaces between

directories at all K-12 levels.

by Scott Issacson


It is often very challenging for students

with a passion for music to get the kind

of support and nurturing they need in

order to more fully develop their talents.

Many times if a student wants to pursue

a musical instrument that is not of the

mainstream, they must travel many miles

to find lessons. The music teacher in the

local school is often both the vocal and

instrumental teacher and not schooled in

all musical instruments. The high-speed

Network Nebraska IP network has cre-

ated the answer for this problem, oppor-

tunities for connecting highly experienced

teaching artists from Manhattan School

of Music and students in rural areas of

Nebraska.

The easiest, most enjoyable, most effec-

tive way to learn any instrument is with

the personal guidance of a teacher who’s

already developed the skills you want

to learn. Video conferencing brings that

method up to date, the two-way system

allows the student to see and hear the

teaching artist as they keep a watchful ear

and eye on the student’s phrasings and

postures, among many other things.

This partnership with Manhattan School

of Music (MSM) and Nebraska schools in

this area started as individual cello lesson

for a young Neligh student named Abby

Erwin. Abby has taken two years of private

lesson and plans to continue those lessons

through the summer months before she

heads off to college. Speaking to a group

of interested music teachers Abby said,

“I think Manhattan has definitely opened

alot of doors for me as far as the cello

and my outlook on music.” Abby plans

to attend UNO in the fall and play in the

orchestra and try out for their symphony.

makiNg musicmanhattan, neW YoRk

dl coNNectioNs to

50+ sign up for special DL summer music classes


This past year the number of schools

participating in this area, with the help of

a Nebraska Arts Council Grant, increased

to four; a Jazz Ensemble group from

Pierce, cello lessons to Norfolk, Neligh,

and Stanton, and double reed lessons to

Norfolk and Stanton.

The project grew into ten weeks of summer

classes with the lessons being just one

component of the instruction. Students are

responsible to log their practice time and

perform for their local instructors often in

preparation to audition for District or State

competitions. The schools earn Distance

Education Incentive dollars by putting

together these special music classes. The

incentives help offset the cost of the

lessons. The project recently blossomed

into 11 classes involving five schools

and 50+ students for the summer. Part

of this growth was due to Neligh High

I think Manhattan has definitely opened a lot of doors for me as far as the cello and my outlook on music”Abby Ervin Neligh - Oakdale graduate.

aBout this model

Music teacher, Nate Metschke, spreading

his enthusiasm for the program to other

music teachers. Nate believes that every

school in the state of Nebraska has an

Abby that could benefit from the special

distance-learning music classes that result

out of the partnership with the Manhattan

School of Music. The classes are an exam-

ple of innovative uses of videoconferenc-

ing that are part of Blended Learning.

The special distance-learning classes fit

the definition of “qualified distance-learn-

ing class” even though the classes break

the mold for traditional distance-learning

instruction, which is typically no different

in its concept than face-to face instruction.

For the MSM Special Music Classes the

teachers decide on what the students will

learn and specify the class requirements

and then assumes the role of course facili-

tator with the MSM lessons being a main,

but not the only, component of the course

requirements. Ultimately, the students are

evaluated by their teachers based on their

performance of assigned pieces of music.

The main difference between these spe-

cial classes and other distance-learning

classes is that instruction is planned by

the local teacher but lessons are deliv-

ered by an MSM teacher/artist and then

student performances are assessed by the

teacher. The beauty of this approach is that

students can be paired with teacher/art-

ists with the appropriate knowledge that

is needed. Teachers have been thrilled, for

example, to find bassoon, french horn and

oboe lessons. Getting students lined with

special online instruction, especially when

it is synchronous online instruction, frees

the teacher up to work with other groups

of students and raises the level of what is

learned for all students. One school is even

providing vocal lessons in Spanish for two

talented sisters. Where would this instruc-

tion come from except through a problem

like this?

The special DL music classes will serve

as a model for other classes that bring

new opportunities to students without

adding greatly to a teacher’s workload.

Similar types of classes could probably be

designed for drama, speech, debate, finan-

cial literacy, programming or any subject.

The concept is to introduce new things to

the curriculum without adding more teach-

ers or more work for teachers that already

have a full load of classes. Lessons in any

of the afore mentioned subjects could

be taught by retired teachers, pre-service

teachers, professional artists, actors, or

programmers that would be willing to fol-

low the MSM model we developed.


he Office of the CIO, assisted by the University of Nebraska, achieved its legislative benchmark of “providing access (the ability to connect) to each school district, each educational service unit, each community college, each state col-

lege, and the University of Nebraska on July 1, 2012” and can thus declare the project completed and entering into maintenance mode.

Above the ability to connect, the measure of actual par-ticipation in this completely voluntary, self-funded net-work includes:

•Public School Districts: 222 of 250 (89%)•Educational Service Units: 15 of 17 (88%)•Community Colleges: 6 of 6 (100%)•State Colleges: 3 of 3 (100%)•University of Nebraska: 1 of 1 (100%)

In addition, seven independent colleges, two tribal col-leges, three private schools, and one public library also are participating in Network Nebraska-Education.

Over the past six years, by aggregating demand and working together, Network Nebraska has decreased the unit cost of commodity Internet by 97% to one of the lowest rates in the nation, and through state procure-ment, dropped the statewide average price of WAN cir-cuits by 39%. Nebraska education entities have respond-

ed by turning those dollar savings into higher bandwidth access for their schools and campuses. Not only has the cost of commodity Internet decreased, but the reliance on commodity Internet has decreased as well through an intelligent core routing system. Each of Network Nebraska’s core routers are programmed to find the fast-est, most reliable data transport route in the following priority order: 1) Intranet cloud exchange; 2) statewide backbone within the State; 3) Internet2 SEGP routing to other education entities in other statewide networks; 4) Internet2 Content Peering Services to 60,000 commer-cial companies; and finally, 5) Commodity Internet ser-vice at $2.50/Mbps/month ($ .77/Mbps/month for E-rate entities).

By uniting public school districts and intermediate ser-vice agencies on a single statewide IP network, it has permitted these entities to form regional consortia for technical support and commodity Internet purchases. For example, in northeast Nebraska in a 21-county region encompassing 27% of Nebraska’s land area, 90 K-12 entities (mostly small rural districts) have joined togeth-er to cooperatively purchase 1,860Mbps of commodity Internet from the State master contract. This enables the regional I.T. staff to jointly manage the intrusion prevention, content filtering, and traffic shaping so that each district may burst above its allocated share without penalty. This consortium purchasing and management model has been replicated successfully in three other

NetworkNeBraska

tBY tom rolFes

Note: The ESUCC works closely with Network Nebraska and its advisory committee to help meet the needs of members and school districts. The ESUCC requested the following update from the Network for this publication.


consortia on Network Nebraska, thereby saving tens of thousands of dollars per year.

Between 2007 and 2013, Network Nebraska has assisted in increasing the number of fiber-connected K-12 districts from 93.2% to 99.6%. The successful and reliable imple-mentation of the State’s K-12 online assessment system over the past four years in four core subject areas has been a key cornerstone of Network Nebraska’s success. The number of video distance learning classes between and among high schools and colleges has grown steadily to over 500 semester courses per year, with many unique offerings being delivered to our most rural and sparsely populated areas, enabling more students to graduate with the required coursework for college admission.

Network Nebraska’s creative approach to labor allocation includes the purchase of “hours needed” from current full-time professionals rather than hiring new under-utilized, full-time employees that would create excess overhead costs, both at the State and University. This indirect cost-savings principle is applied within the areas of accounting, legal, billing, purchasing, help desk, network manage-ment, E-rate filing, and administration. This practice has contributed to keeping the participants’ administrative costs low and affordable and assisted in the recruit-ment and retention of education entities onto Network Nebraska.

A significant intangible benefit of Network Nebraska is the degree to which the local education agencies have begun to trust state-sponsored services that tend to be more enterprise-based or centralized. The parochial-ism of local control often contributes to higher costs when telecommunications and application services are purchased individually. Slowly, over time, the mind-set of the local education entities has shifted to “What can we do together?” Examples of this evolution have been the move to statewide procurement for commod-ity Internet, WAN circuits, backbone transport, traffic shaping, intrusion prevention, and network manage-ment tools. Over time, even E-rate filing has become more centralized and now, all of the State’s commodity Internet is purchased off of one statewide master con-tract and jointly filed as a statewide consortium with a 70% discount rate from the Federal Universal Service Fund (E-rate).

Most recently, the Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council, which encompasses the 17 regional service units of Nebraska, approached the Nebraska Legislature for funding for statewide learning management, statewide content management, and statewide directory services for 250 K-12 districts and 300,000 students. Their project proposal mentioned Network Nebraska as the necessary transport and hosting service to make their project suc-cessful, which echo the National Association of State CIO’s (NASCIO’s) priorities of Shared Services and Budget and Cost Control.

NatioNal view how does NeBraska comPare

The 2012 Digital Learning Now! Report lists Nebraska as 46th out of 50 states when scored on 39 descriptors that measure the usage level and policies that encour-age digital learning. Yet, when scored on the ACT Exam among states that have 50% or more of their high school graduates taking the test, Nebraska scored fifth with an average composite score of 22.0 and 78% of graduates tested (2012 data). In the area of high school graduation rates, Nebraska is tied for 4th behind Iowa, Vermont, and Wisconsin, with 86% of all students graduating on time (2010-11 data).

According to the 2009 Wainhouse Report, Nebraska is sixth in the country when it comes to the number of Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC)-enabled classrooms and second in the country when it comes to statewide pen-etration of videoconferencing, trailing only Hawaii. And, in the period from 2006-2009, Nebraska was the ninth fastest growing state when it came to the adoption of vid-eoconferencing in schools. Network Nebraska, named by the Legislature in 2006 and implemented in July of 2007, is considered the 39th statewide network of the 40 currently attached to the nationwide Internet2 Research and Education network [See Table]. Some statewide networks like Idaho serve only one subsector like higher education and some, like


Illinois, serve all community anchor institutions through a converged data network. In Nebraska, Network Nebraska-Education serves K-20 education. Network Nebraska-Government serves all the state agencies and county court-houses. The University of Nebraska Computing Services Network serves the four main campuses of the University, UN-Lincoln, UN-Kearney, UN-Omaha, and UN-Medical Center, and the county extension offices. Nebraska also has a separate Telehealth Network that serves the critical access hospitals in rural areas and the hub hospitals and public health clinics.

One service that is fairly consistently provided across all statewide networks is commodity Internet. Commodity Internet is the medium by which most data transfer occurs across the globe. Commodity Internet is sold by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in a unit cost of megabits per second per month or Mbps/month. In Nebraska, we are fortunate to have almost all of K-12 and higher education aggregating their Internet demand into one large purchase, which attracts the attention of larger providers and lower unit prices. By using WAN circuits and the statewide back-bone, Network Nebraska-Education is able to purchase its entire Internet supply from one or two main egress loca-tions (e.g. Omaha or Lincoln), which further drives down the cost. Network Nebraska-Education also has elected to pay the provider for all of the State’s Internet and then do the rebilling as part of the Network Nebraska-Education monthly invoice, which further decreases the indirect costs for the provider, enabling lower supply prices. All of these techniques combined together has allowed Nebraska education one of the lowest commodity Internet rates in the country at $2.50/Mbps/month, or $ .7750/Mbps/month after the E-rate discount is deducted [2013-14 rates]. Network Nebraska-Education is also considering a Commercial Peering Service (CPS) for 2013-14 through the Great Plains Network that would allow an additional amount of faster Internet connections at approximately $ .25/Mbps/month.

network nebraska-education historical Development

Legislative Bill 1208 (2006) was the impetus for the statewide network called Network Nebraska-Education, although much regional K-12, state, and University of Nebraska networking was in place prior to the bill. LB 1208 was co-introduced on January 18, 2006 by Senators Raikes, Pederson, Baker, and Stuhr. This bill embodied many of the rec-ommendations contained in the final report of the Distance Education Enhancement Task Force, which met from July to December, 2005. (listed under Education Committee reports; 20MB, 103 pgs). http://nebraskalegislature.gov/pdf/reports/committee/education/LB689_2005.pdf

On 4/13/06, LB 1208 and LB 1208A were passed by the Legislature and were signed into law by the Governor (Search ‘Final 1208’ under the 99th Session; 72 pgs). http://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/search_past.php

The distance education improvement plan crafted by the legislature education committee was centered on three gen-eral principles. First, the plan recognized the responsibility of school districts, ESUs, and public postsecondary edu-cation institutions to make decisions related to participation in distance education. Second, the plan encouraged and incentivized the exchange of distance education courses using a statewide network, known as Network Nebraska. Third, the plan provided for statewide coordination through a new entity, the Distance Education Council (renamed ESU Coordinating Council, 7/1/08).

Prior to Network Nebraska (1992-2006), video distance education was provided by 12 separate consortia of school districts and ESUs that were isolated technologically from each other, with no interconnecting network.

MEMBERSHIP GROWTH

Major responsibility for the implementation of Network Nebraska was tasked to the State Office of the CIO, and assisted by the University of Nebraska Computing Services Network. An implementation plan was developed that would enable as many as 330 public K-12 and higher education entities to connect to the Network Nebraska backbone


over a three-year time period (i.e. summers of 2007, 2008, 2009). Below is a table showing the actual years, num-bers of entities, and fees paid. The network is still expanding in membership, although the benchmark for providing “access” (the ability to connect) to all public education entities was 7/1/2012. On that date, 100% of public higher education and 88% of K-12 entities had connected to the network with 252 total entities.

Performance Year Network Nebraska Participation Fee Number of Entities2012-13 $203.48/month/entity 252 entities2011-12 $190.21/month/entity 244 entities 2010-11 $195.13/month/entity 226 entities2009-10 $192.47/month/entity 232 entities2008-09 $197.80/month/entity 182 entities 2007-08 $200.00/month/entity 94 entities

Performance Year Network Nebraska Interregional Transport Fee Number of Entities2012-13 $18.67/month/K-12 entity ($ 61.28/month/college) 252 entities2011-12 $31.69/month/K-12 entity ($101.09/month/college) 244 entities2010-11 $36.45/month/K-12 entity ($115.78/month/college) 226 entities 2009-10 $34.48/month/K-12 entity ($ 92.72/month/college) 232 entities2008-09 $34.21/month/K-12 entity ($ 93.35/month/college) 182 entities2007-08 $ 0.00/month/K-12 entity [no backbone in service] 94 entities

Performance Year Network Nebraska Internet Access Unit Charge Number of Purchasers2012-13 $.7905/Mbps/month for K-12 ($2.55/Mbps/month for colleges) 15 entities

GOVERNANCE & OVERSIGHTThe Collaborative Aggregation Partnership (CAP), chaired by the State CIO, was formed in 2002 at the request of then-Lt.GovernorHeineman,chairoftheNITC.ThechargetoCAPwastofindwaysfortheStateofNebraskaandUniversityofNebraskatocooperatetowardmoreaffordableandefficienttelecommunications.Thefirstinitiative,called the Scottsbluff Pilot Project, proved that large agencies could collaborate on common infrastructure initiatives. The CAP is comprised of staff from the three state agencies empowered to purchase and provide telecommunications services:StateOfficeoftheCIO,UniversityofNebraskaComputingServicesNetwork,andtheNebraskaEducationalTelecommunications Commission. Policy and constituent guidance is provided by staff from the Nebraska Department of Education, Public Service Commission, and the Nebraska Information Technology Commission.

In July 2009, the NITC Education Council chartered a new ad hoc group called the Network Nebraska Advisory Group (NNAG) to provide input to the State CIO. The purpose of the NNAG was to assist the State of Nebraska Chief InformationOfficerincraftingthevisionandstrategicdirectionforNetworkNebraska—EducationbasedontheNITCEducation Council marketing survey and the needs and requests of the participating entities. The NNAG is composed of eight members from K-12, eight members from higher education, and liaisons from the CAP entities responsible for the network. The NNAG elects its own co-chairs, one from K-12 and one from higher education.

SERVICESThefirstmajorserviceofferingavailabletoNetworkNebraska-EducationparticipantswasInternet2SponsoredEduca-tion Group Participation (SEGP), sponsored by the University of Nebraska. As a SEGP, every K-12 and non-research college and university connected to Network Nebraska-Education is also connected to approximately 66,000 other edu-cation entities in 42 other states through prioritized routing over a 100Gbps nationwide backbone. Network Nebraska-Education pays $36,000 per year for SEGP status.


Table: 40 SEGP Networks attached to Internet2 (2011 data)

State R&E Network4-year

Colleges2-year Colleges K-12 Libraries Health-care

Government / Public Safety

1 Alabama Alabama REN • • • • • •

2 Alaska AK20 • • • 3 Arkansas ARE-ON • 4 California CENIC / CalREN • • •

5Colorado

EAGLE-Net / Front Range GigaPOP

• • • • • •

6 Connecticut CT Education Network • • • • •

7 Florida Florida LambdaRail • • 8 Georgia PeachNet • • • 9 Hawaii HERN • • • •

10 Idaho ID Education Network •

11 Illinois ICN • • • • • •

12 Indiana I-Light • 13 Iowa ICN • • • • • •14 Kansas KanREN • • • • 15 Kentucky KyRON • • • •

16 Louisiana LONI • • 17 Maine MaineREN • • • •18 Maryland SAILOR / UMATS • • • •

19 Michigan Merit Network • • • • • •

20 Minnesota Learning Network of MN • • • • •

21 Missouri MORENet • • • • •

22 Nebraska Network Nebraska • • • •

23 Nevada NevadaNet • • • •

24 New Jersey NJEDge • • •

25 New Mexico CHECSNet • • •

26 New York NYSERNet • • • •

27North

CarolinaMCNC / NCREN • • • • • •

28 North Dakota STAGENet • • •

29 Ohio OARNet • • • •

30 Oklahoma OneNet • • • • • •

31 Oregon NERO / Oregon GigaPOP • • • •

32 Pennsylvania MAGPI / PAIunet • • •

33Rhode Island OSHEAN • • • • •

34South

CarolinaSouth Carolina LightRail •

35 South Dakota REED • •

36 Texas LEARN • • •

37 Utah UEN • • •

38 Virginia Network Virginia • • • • • •

39 Washington K20 Education Network • • • •

40 Wisconsin WiscNet • • • • • •


AFARI Montage is a Learning

Objects Repository (LOR) that

provides K-12 school districts

with a comprehensive solution

for their digital media distribution and

visual instruction needs. The full suite

of integrated products gives educa-

tors and administrators a single inter-

face for accessing all visual resources

from inside the school district intranet or

from home. The award-winning SAFARI

Montage Video-On-Demand and Digital

Media Management enterprise solution is

designed to cut costs for school districts by

utilizing intelligent digital media delivery,

while facilitating visual instruction and

learning in the classroom.

The repository is being populated with

content and wull grow over time. Currently,

links to the Learn 360º content have been

placed in Safarii Montage and users will be

able to search that content. Other collects

are being considered and may be added

to before the start of the school year. Over

the summer Safarii Montage servers are

being installed at several ESUs and vari-

ous levels of training for both users and

database managers have been scheduled.

With SAFARI Montage CreationStation,

school districts have the ability to easily

upload and manage their own digital video

and other content, and to disseminate it to

all classrooms throughout the district.

With the introduction of its new Pathways

SM module – the road to the future of

classroom communications – SAFARI

Montage now gives districts the ability to

control, manage and schedule classroom

and district devices. The Pathways SM

module is a powerful new addition to the

SAFARI Montage suite of products, which

forms a total enterprise solution that

provides System Administrators with the

tools to manage all of their digital media

intelligently throughout the district while

improving teaching, learning and achieve-

ment for 21st-century students.

A statewide content repository has been

talked about for several years with many

large districts already having Safarii

Montage or some other system in place.

Having a common repository for all

schools in Nebraska gives digital learning

a big boost.

BleNded iNitiative will use

saFarii moNtage For lor

s

Over the summer Safarii Montage servers are being installed at several ESUs and various levels of training for both users and database managers have been scheduled.


the Year iN reviewebraska schools exchanged

588 unique courses with

total enrollments of 7578

students. Although the

total number of courses

exchanged increased the total enrollment

was down from 8223 recorded in 2011-

12. The decrease was due in large part

to significantly lower number of elemen-

tary classes than were exchanged in 2011-

12. The number of elementary courses

dropped from 129 in 2011-12 to just 76

exchanged this year. There were also

less dual-credit courses exchanged this

year, 110 compared to 127 in the previous

year. However, the number of high school

classes exchanged grew from 346 in 2011-

12 to 394 in 2012-13 according the NVIS

clearinghouse reports.

NThere are surprises each year when

reviewing trends and comparing num-

bers from the year just completed to the

previous years. One concern this year is

that there was a decline in the number of

teachers teaching distance-learning cours-

es although it did not come as a complete

surprise because it was already known

from survey results that many teachers

were close to retirement. Consequently, a

comparison of 2012 -13 data to that from

2011-12 indicated that 57 teachers that

had taught classes in 2011-12 did not

teach in 2012-13. Thirty-five teachers

joined the ranks of those that teach dis-

tance-learning classes leaving a net loss

of 21 teachers. Another concern was the

decrease in the number of students taking

dual-credit courses, which stood at about

1700 students in 2011-12 but dropped to

1438 this past year. This is partially attrib-

utable to decline in the number of dual-

credit courses from 127 down to 110 this

past school year. Both the drop in enroll-

ment and the number dual-credit courses

may be due to new testing requirements

for enrollment into dual-credit courses.

A nice surprise has been increased inter-

est in the Special Distance Learning Music

Classes described elsewhere in this pub-

lication. Eleven Special Distance Learning

Music Classes with three schools enrolled

in each class had to be scheduled this

summer to meet the demand. Music teach-

ers in five Nebraska schools are working

with each other and with the Manhattan

School of Music in New York to provide

advanced level instruction to students who

love music and performing. These classes

also introduced students and teachers to

blended learning through the self-blend

model of instruction, which appropriately

gives students more responsibility for their

own learning.

Two-way interactive (synchronous) dis-

tance-learning continues to be impor-

tant to schools for different reasons often

depending on the size of the school. For

some small districts distance-learning is

vital in order for these small districts

to offer students foreign language and

advanced math classes along with other

courses that they would not able to

offer on site. For other schools enabling

students to take dual-credit courses

such as College Algebra and/or English

Composition is most important. Large dis-

tricts such as Lincoln and Omaha Public

Schools continue to participate in state-

wide distance-learning by sending courses

that are popular with out state schools.

NVIS shows that there eighteen courses

sent to out state schools by LPS and OPS

offered eight courses.


John Stritt the DL Coordinator for ESUs 10 & 11 was chosen to receive the 2013 NDLA’s Wayne Fisher Award for his leadership and service.

Although the clearinghouse is not able

to track the frequency of events that

enhance and enrich the curriculum such

as virtual field trips or bringing experts

into the classroom via videoconferencing

there is anecdotal evidence that there

was an increase in special events. See the

article titled Top Five Virtual Field Trips

on pages 22 -23 for an overview of sites

that schools like to visit. However, schools

also participated other impressive events

involving the use of videoconferencing

to bring students together, such as a

Holocaust Survivors presentation held at

Wahoo High School that was shared with

over 1100 students, about 600 were on

site and more than 500 students from 15

other schools throughout the state partici-

pated through high definition videoconfer-

encing. Students at the host school as well

those at all the remote sites were able to

ask questions of the presenters.

Another engaging use of videoconferenc-

ing by schools were live discussions with

State Senators about current issues faced

by the legislature. Administrators, coaches

and teachers also found video conferences

to be a good way to avoid travel and time

away from school. Over 250 superintendents

and school bookkeepers gathered at 19 ESUs

and schools’ sites across the state to listen

to a presentation on the Patient Protection

and the Affordable Care Act. This event rep-

resented the most simultaneous connections

between sites at one time on the distance-

learning network and it worked perfectly with

high-definition connections at all locations. It

has been estimated that by conducting this

event as a statewide conference with every-

one that needed the information attending

at a remote site close to their school about

$47,855.00 was saved in travel costs, pre-

senter fees, and time away from school.

More and more professional development, ath-

letics rules and seating meetings, and committee

work, is now conducted over videoconferencing

made possible through the purchase of mul-

tipoint conference units (MCUs) bridges that

were purchased by ESUs who secured USDLA

RUS-DLT grants. Since 2006 Nebraska ESUs, and

schools have secured over eleven million dollars

in grants in support of distance education.


desktoP aNd moBile videocoNFereNciNg

oNe district’s storY BY liNda dickesoN

n 2010, the search began for videoconferencing solutions for

the Lincoln Public Schools, the second largest school district

in Nebraska with approximately 37,000 students in over 60

school buildings. The motivations for the implementation

were to serve educators, staff and students through 1) pro-

viding synchronous course exchanges (within the district and with

schools throughout Nebraska); 2) adding enrichment activities like

virtual field trips and classroom collaborations; 3) allowing staff

members to hold or attend meetings over videoconferencing to

reduce driving time and expenses; and 4) expanding professional

development opportunities.

Videoconference solution quotes for the Lincoln Public Schools

were required to include these two components: recording and

streaming of videoconferences; and having videoconferencing

available on the desktop, laptop or mobile device on multiple

platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS or Android). Lifesize endpoints along

with the LifeSize Video Center provide the recording/streaming

solution, and the desktop/mobile solution chosen was Scopia

Desktop (and Mobile) from Radvision, since Scopia was the only

desktop application ready for cross-platform (Mac and Windows) at

the time of the purchase. Since then, many other desktop solutions

have come to market (discussed later).

The benefits and uses of desktop and mobile videoconferencing

for the district are numerous. It was soon after the successful

i

implementation of the district’s Radvision bridge (MCU), Firewall

Transit, iView Server (for Scopia and meeting management),

LifeSize Video Center and eight initial LifeSize endpoints that

the videoconference concept got its first real test. In late May of

2011, the Lincoln Public Schools District Office building burned

to the ground in the worst fire in Lincoln’s history. The estimated

$20,000,000 in damages included the district’s data center, turn-

ing the district’s technology infrastructure (including the video-

conferencing components) into melted pancakes and ashes. The

building’s 250 employees, with laptops on loan from mobile labs

at various schools, were divided between several different rented

or leased sites all across the city. With help from the videoconfer-

encing solution vendor, temporary Scopia Desktop “rooms” were

sponsored and set up so that immediate planning and collabora-

tion could take place between employees, no matter where in the

city they were located. The happy ending to the story is that the

infrastructure has been successfully rebuilt, and videoconferencing

with laptops or tablets using Scopia Desktop has become second

nature to many in the district.

•Professional Learning Communities and Department Chair meetings—One Tuesday each month, district-wide PLC groups

meet, and one Wednesday each month, Department Chairs

from each curricular area at each of six high schools meet.

In the past, teachers would take turns hosting these meet-

ings at their school for face-to-face discussions. Now, many

PLC groups and Department Chairs regularly arrange to

meet “virtually” using their laptops and Scopia Desktop. They

easily share their screens and present ideas to each other

during the discussion, also using a text “chat” area for further

comments. Their testimonials tell us that by using videocon-

ferencing, they start the meeting faster (avoiding end-of-day

traffic nightmares around schools), are less tired from the ex-

tra driving, are more on-task, and end their meetings on time.

And the undocumented benefits include the gas savings and

reduction of environmental greenhouse gasses from so many

educators in the city driving extra distances on those days.

• Statewide meetings—Many district leaders collaborate with

colleagues around the state in quarterly or monthly meet-

ings. In the past, many participants found themselves driving

successFul uses iNclude:


With help from the videoconferencing solution vendor, temporary Scopia Desktop “rooms” were sponsored and set up so that immediate plan-ning and collaboration could take place ...”

from one to six hours to attend these

meetings. Now, many statewide

groups meet through videoconfer-

encing. And rather than having to

schedule special equipment or a

certain room to do videoconferenc-

ing, participants can use a laptop,

a tablet, or even a smartphone to

attend the meeting. The desktop and

mobile technologies blend nicely

with traditional end-points. Attend-

ing a statewide meeting with Scopia

Desktop on a laptop computer looks

something like the image shown bot-

tom right:

• Synchronous High School Course Exchange –(either within the district,

or with schools across Nebraska)—For

several years, Principals and Counsel-

ors across Nebraska have been able

to enroll students in courses offered

synchronously through videoconfer-

encing. The statewide clearinghouse,

called NVIS (Nebraska Virtual Instruc-

tion Source: http://nvis.esucc.org),

typically has hundreds of courses

listed each semester from schools all

over the state that students can take

without leaving their home school.

It’s not unusual for a student to use a

laptop or tablet to dial in to a course

delivered from a school many miles

away. A large school district like

Lincoln’s can benefit from allowing

students to attend a course across

town that is not offered at their home

school. The sending school’s class-

room is supplemented by video-

conferencing technology so that the

remote student can attend sitting in

front of a laptop or tablet.

•Virtual Field Trips—With insufficient

funding to allow classrooms to all have

videoconferencing equipment, more

and more providers of Virtual Field Trip

programs are working with schools to

allow them to connect using desktop

videoconferencing. With a higher

quality webcam with microphone and

speakers attached, a laptop computer

connected to a projector can work

quite well to bring programs or experts

into the classroom. Scopia Desktop

and other H.323 protocol desktop

videoconference applications provide

a higher quality experience than Skype

or other similar applications.

The list of possible solutions for desktop

and mobile video conference applications

is growing, and those available are chang-

ing and updating frequently to add new

features. The list includes:

• LifeSize ClearSea

•Cisco Jabber

•Polycom RealPresence


whY iNceNtives

are imPortaNt

by Beth Kabes with John Stritt

aNd how theY caN Be reFocused

LB 1208 - What’s next?

In the spring of 2013, a survey was sent out to Nebraska’s superin-

tendents to gather insight on the importance of distance learn-

ing in providing educational opportunities for K12 students, the

importance of funding in supporting videoconferencing technol-

ogy, and the impact of eliminating incentive dollars as outlined in

LB 1208. Fifty-six Nebraska administrators completed the survey.

The survey provided support for this article.

As funds from LB1208 for equipment upgrades and incentive pay-

ments will sunset in 2015, what will be the impact on distance

learning in Nebraska? Will schools be willing to update and/

or purchase videoconferencing equipment? Without incentives

will schools be willing to share classes? Will schools who send

classes pass on higher costs for sharing classes? Will receiving

schools be willing to pay more for classes? More importantly will

educational opportunities for Nebraska’s K12 students shrink in

numbers?

Upgrading Video Conferencing Technology

LB 1208 along with USDA grants and district contributions pro-

vided the necessary funding for updating videoconferencing to

an IP based system. The IP system in turn allowed all Nebraska

school districts the ability to interact statewide for the purpose of

sharing courses. As this updating process began in 2006-07, the

conferencing technology purchased at that time is already reach-

ing near the end of its life. How are schools planning to deal with

aging equipment and networks?

From the 2013 Nebraska Superintendent Survey on Distance Learn-

ing, administrators responded as follows to the following question.

“As videoconferencing technology has a limited life expectancy what

are your future plans (hopes) for updating your VC technology?”

As noted in the results, 53% of respondents plan to rely on grant

with some contribution. Twenty-four percent indicated that with-

out additional outside funds they would limit all upgrades.

Authors’ Comment: Videoconferencing technology has improved

in quality and the cost of outfitting a video cart system is about

one-fourth of original classroom systems. The future of video-

conferencing may also lend to other less expensive options such

as desktop systems. Portability and lower costs could enable

districts to maintain and even upgrade their video conferencing

capabilities. Other funding support options may be the key to

maintaining and improving the network by which K-12 courses

are offered.

Future of Incentive Funding

The 2013 Nebraska Superintendent Survey on Distance Learning

asked administrators questions regarding the impact incentives

pay in support of K12 student opportunities.

Q1—With no incentives, what is is the likelihood that the number

of courses offered over videoconferencing will stay the same.

On a four point scale with 1 being no change and 4 being signifi-

cant change, administrators rated this as 2.9.

Administrator Comments:

• The loss of incentive funding will likely jeopardize offerings

as districts struggle to fund those areas that are required by

law.

• Incentive funding makes it fiscally palatable for schools

to partner and offer students opportunities that are avail-

able through DL. Without the incentives, there will likely be

regression or stagnation in offerings.

•With a limited and tight budget the incentive program is very

important for our school district if we are to continue provid-

ing classes through videoconferencing.

Q2—With no incentives, what is the likelihood that sending sites

will raise fees for sending classes.


cant change, administrators rated this as a 3.5.

Administrator Comments:• I do believe that it is appropriate to charge fees to receive

a class. That being said, loss of the funding will certainly

increase costs and may limit some participation. The very


nature of your remote location will lead us to rely more

heavily on videoconferencing in the future.

•We have been able to offer our classes at no cost. Without

the incentives, we may have to begin charging a per course

or per student cost.

•Not as important unless sending schools want a lot of money

to send.

Q3—With higher per student fees, what is the likelihood of de-

mand changing for classes by receiving sites.


cant change, administrators rated this as a 3.2

Administrator Comments:•We are currently at the $1.05 levy limit and have made

several cuts. There is no room in our budget for additional

videoconferencing cost.

•We are not currently sending or receiving because it was

unavailable and/or getting too expensive to do so. That will

only become more expensive and restrictive.

•No incentives will decrease availability of courses for our

small district.

Authors’ Comment: In education it is not uncommon to pur-

chase technology prior to having a plan to implement its use. In

LB1208, incentive payments based on using the technology in

support of course offerings for students led to 240 schools par-

ticipating in course work.

As noted in the responses of the superintendents, there is a con-

cern that with no incentives there will be higher costs charged by

sending sites for classes and ultimately fewer course offerings.

Modification ideas to consider for a future incentive policy might

include:

•Only sending sites receive incentives based on the number of

students enrolled at receiving sites

•Receiving sites would not be obligated to pay any additional

fees for students in the class (exception would be for college

credit tuition for dual credit/college courses)

•Online courses would be eligible for receiving incentive dollars

• Sparse district funding provision would no longer be part of

the incentive formula

•Approved special projects would be eligible for incentive funding

• Incentive dollars for videoconferencing and online teachers

who participate in a continuing education program.

The one thing that is clear is that incentives do provide support

for those districts willing to create and send classes which then

provides additional opportunities for Nebraska’s K-12 students.

Importance of Distance Education

Distance education in Nebraska has largely been through the

videoconferencing median. The importance of distance education

has been of extreme importance for small rural districts. The fol-

lowing comments from administrators address that importance.

• It is imperative that Videoconferencing technology is avail-

able to our school, as we would not remain open if it were

taken away.

•Videoconferencing has saved our district many dollars in

travel and greatly increased course offerings to our students!

• This is absolutely crucial in areas of minimal population. I

am so impressed with the course offerings that our students

are able to choose from that would not be available to them

in any other feasible manner.

Authors’ Closing Comment: Videoconferencing has provided

Nebraska’s students with educational opportunities not limited by

rurality or size. As we look to the future, we need to insure that

these opportunities aren’t limited due to funding. Rather we need

to look to expand the opportunities for students while seeking to

improve the quality of delivery.


The National Archives and Records

Administration comprises the richest record

of America’s past. Nebraska native, David

Rosenbaum, introduces audiences to prima-

ry sources through its documents. Primary

sources such as Joseph Glidden’s patent

for barbed wire, FDR’s “Date Which Will Live in Infamy” speech,

photographs from the Civil War, and the check for the purchase of

Alaska provide students with exciting learning opportunities. All of

these documents and millions of others are held by the National

Archives and Records Administration. Education specialist , David

Rosenbaum, will introduce participants to documents, and resours-

es available from the National Archives. Efforts by other Federal

agencies to make valuable government resources readily available

for educators and students will also be described.

toP Five virtual

Field triPs

NeBraska’s Picks

Nasa’s dlN sites

NatioNal archives

rock & roll hall oF Fame

cosi’s virtual autoPsY

durham museum omaha

1.


In April 2013, the Rock and Roll Hall of

Fame reached a milestone by connect-

ing to over 25,000 students. 25,000

kids who, without videoconferencing

technology, would possibly never get

the chance to experience the programs

the Rock Hall has to offer. Students are always eager to partici-

pate in programs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Teachers

have commented about how - “The lyrics that are presented dur-

ing the program are rich in evoking the social concerns of that

time period and the educator did an excellent job of helping the

students discuss the poetic metaphors contained in a pretty chal-

lenging song, ‘All Along the Watchtower’.” Programs like - Ball of

Confusion: Rock Music and Social Change in the 1960s and 1970s

- discusses how rock and roll reflected the challenges faced dur-

ing the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement and the Women’s

Liberation movement. By listening to other examples (such as

the Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion” and the Jefferson Airplane’s

“Volunteers”), participants explore how rock and roll musicians

were really tuned in to what was going on around them and how

they often used their songs as vehicles of social protest and/or

empowerment.

In Depth: Autopsy - Students watch a vid-

eotape of an actual autopsy accompanied

by live narration by a forensic pathologist.

Participants must work through the “case”

and solve for cause of death. The autopsy

is shown from the Y-incision to the removal

of the brain and is 90-minutes long. In Depth: Autopsy is a multi-

point program that connects up to 5 schools at one time, including

an audience at COSI for groups and individuals. Questions will

be asked in a round robin, facilitated format. This program meets

the Grade 9-12: Commonn Core Standards for Science Inquiry and

Application.

NASA’s Digital Learning Network™

provides science, technology, engi-

neering, and mathematics or STEM

content featuring NASA missions and

research. Register for free, interactive

events listed in our catalog or watch

our webcasts listed below. Learn more about us at : About

DLN . Our DLiNtro video will guide you through our web-

site, show how to register for modules, and explain other

services.

Other VFT events to consider include

having your ESU DL coordinator arrange

a visit by your state senator or maybe an

amazing eMission from the Challenger

Center. Visit the Henry Doorly Zoo or the

Homestead National Moument or take

students on a virtual field trip to the Joslyn

of MONA Art Museums.

The Durham Museum’s award winning dis-

tance learning program offers unique oppor-

tunities for students of all ages throughout

the country. The classes are highly engag-

ing and interactive programs that teachers

can take advantage of without leaving their classrooms. Taught by

educators, these classes are aligned with national and state social

studies standards and are filled with primary sources such as

artifacts, videos, and photographs. Each session lasts one hour and

includes pre-visit and post-visit activities to enhance your experi-

ence. The Durham Museum also has multi-site capabilities and can

add your school to an already scheduled session. 3.

2.

5.

4.


y former life as an art teacher started tugging at

me again this spring and I decided I needed to

visit some art teachers and pitch an idea that I had

been thinking about. First I visited Paul Beranek at

Ravenna who teaches several art classes over dis-

tance learning and I ask Paul what he thought of embedding art-

ists residencies into distance-learning classes. My concept is that

classes can be team-taught by art teachers at two, three or four

schools with each school hosting one on-site residency. During

each residency remote sites would participate virtually through

videoconferencing when each of the other schools hosting their

artist. The artists, I explained, would be artists that participate in

the Nebraska Arts Council’s Artists in Schools (AiS) program.

Paul’s reaction came without hesitation he thought the project

is a good idea that will be good for kids and he wanted to be

involved. Next, I communicated through email with Ann and Ben

Darling, husband and wife art teachers in Sidney. Ben teaches at

the middle school and Ann at the high school. As an art teacher

myself back in the early nineties I had Ben do a residency on

landscape painting with my students in Nelson, Nebraska. Ben

was on-board immediately but Ann was a little more cautious

and concerned about what they might be getting themselves

into. I told them that I had already pitched the idea to the

Nebraska Arts Council and then to Paul Beranek and that the

Arts Council wanted me to invite some teachers to Omaha for a

meeting with NAC staff members and with some of the AiS art-

ists. A meeting was setup and took place in late April with the

art teachers and included Anne Alston, and Suzanne Wise of the

Nebraska Arts Council, Laura Huntimer of the Joslyn Art Museum

and artists Kirstin Pulhacek and Marcia Joffe-Bouska.

The concept of embedding residencies into distance-learning

classes was explored and concerns were raised about whether

hands-on instruction that is typical of art classes could be facili-

tated over distance-learning. Teachers worried about scheduling

conflicts and several had reservations about whether the tech-

nology would be too hard to use. Mr. Beranek allayed the fears

about the technology by explaining that within a week of using

videoconferencing the teachers would be at ease with it.

Despite the inherent challenges of the project, the overwhelming

sentiment was that this project can work and getting more expo-

sure to art into schools is worth doing. The group is enthusiastic

to proceed with a pilot project in fall with the hope of recruiting

four other schools besides Ravenna and Sidney. Ravenna will

send one class and Sidney will send another. The classes will

be one semester in length with each participating school hav-

ing one on site residency. Because art is project based learning

by nature with lots of hands-on with different materials it was

dl art classes& artists resideNcies

m

Pilot PRojectS aRe PlanneD foR the fall, six schools

iN two seParate dl art classes will host artists


decided that schools must have a certi-

fied art teacher to participate in these

special distance-learning art classes. The

art teachers will work together along with

artists, Nebraska Arts Council Staff mem-

bers and Education Outreach specialists

at both MONA and Joslyn Art Museums to

plan the class during a workshop to be

held in July.

The Virtual-Residencies classes will

focus on portfolio development plus

understanding and appreciating art. The

classes will be team taught with flexible

scheduling since the participating schools

will have differing class start and end

times. The technology will be used as tool

to bring experts into classroom and as

the ultimate tool for social media for a

community-of-learners that love art. Since

art classes in most Nebraska schools are

comprised of a mix of beginning, inter-

mediate and advanced students this class

will be a class that intentionally ignores

seat time and traditional scheduling.

Beranek pointed out that within his own

classroom sometimes part of the students

are involved in interacting with students

at the other schools on an art assignment

while others might be devoting time to

their creation of their own artwork. The

bell may ring at one school but students

at remote sites can stay connected and

engaged. In fact, the group talked about

making this class an example of blended

learning with much enthusiasm and the

artists and teachers are excited to learn

about a mode of blended instruction

known as flipped learning where lessons

are recorded and posted for viewing by

students time and again.


he Nebraska way is part of the heritage of this great state.

With the formation of the Nebraska Territory, homestead-

ers would settle on an acreage, and neighbors would

come together in support of each other.

The Eastern image of farm life on the prairies emphasized the

isolation of the lonely farmer and farm life, but, in reality, rural

Nebraskans created a rich social life for themselves. They often

sponsored activities that combined work, food, and entertain-

ment, such as barn raising.

The BlendED initiative is a modern version of barn raising as

technologists from across the state have committed time and

work to boosting the use of technology as a tool to positively

impact teaching and learning in our state.

The BlendEd initiative started in the summer of 2012 when

Dr. Matt Blomstedt, ESUCC Executive Director — working with

partners from higher education, school districts, NDE, state gov-

ernment, and the ESUs — began discussions on an educational

model of the future for Nebraska schools. The new model they

developed and shared across the state was called the BlendED

initiative.

BlendED learning is often defined as a formal education program

in which a student learns, at least in part, through online learning,

with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/

or pace. The learning should take place, at least in part, in a super-

vised brick-and-mortar location away from home.

The key components in Nebraska’s model include a Learning

Object Repository (LOR), Identity Management System (LDAP),

and Learning Management System (LMS), all coordinated into a

statewide system that will impact educators and students across

Nebraska.

This project was unique in many ways, including the fact that

no state had undertaken a technology initiative of this magni-

tude. Thus, no blueprint existed on how to proceed. Initial steps

included establishing a BlendED committee and requesting sup-

port from various stakeholders on the project. Additional issues

included inviting ESU, K-12, and higher education personnel with

strong technology skills to work on the project. Individuals who

already had full-time jobs at their respective institutions took on

the added responsibility of working on the various projects.

Finding ways to fund the BlendED initiative also proved to be a

significant hurdle, given the amount of equipment necessary for

the various projects and the amount of programming necessary

coNsider this

t

statewide imPlemeNtatioN oF BleNded:

the NeBraska waY BY DR. BoB UhinG


The BlendED initiative is a modern version of barn raising as technologists from across the state have committed time and work to boosting the use of technology as a tool to positively impact teaching...”

for implementation. Finally, in the case of

the LDAP project, information for identity

management for K-12 institutions was very

limited, and statewide developers found

emerging, cutting-edge technologies, as

well as organizations that support identity

management, were nearly non-existent.

The 17 ESU administrators approved the

BlendED initiative in April. This commit-

ment included having personnel for the

ESU affiliates — specifically Instructional

Materials Affiliate (IMAT), Network

Operations Committee (NOC) and the

Technology Assistance Group (TAG) — uti-

lize their expertise in moving the BlendED

initiatives forward. For the individuals

from the various affiliates, it meant work-

ing in their specialty area outside the nor-

mal workday and coordinating the efforts

with related staff across the state.

Staff working on this project continued to

coordinate efforts with the help and sup-

port of the aforementioned organizations.

Each ESU also agreed to financially sup-

port the BlendED project, redistributing

funds from other projects when necessary.

So what’s next? Implementation of

BlendED is moving forward at a rapid

pace. The LOR project is expected to be in

place when school starts in August 2013.

Professional development with school

staff to help them adapt to and utilize the

new systems will need to take place dur-

ing the school year for all of the projects,

along with populating the LOR. However,

the actual statewide system will be up and

running and should be in full use during

the fall semester.

The LDAP project is close to completion,

even though this is groundbreaking tech-

nology. By early fall, school districts in

about 11 of the 17 ESUs will have a system

implemented. Having the LDAP in place

with the single sign-on will be very helpful

for educators when accessing the LOR. We

will also see a change in the LMS system,

along with the growth and use of digital

learning systems.

The stage is set in Nebraska with a com-

mon goal and focus that will provide a

framework for interoperability of emerging

technologies to meet the needs of educa-

tors and students in the 21st century.

Step up teachers! You know students and you know what is best for kids. You are already doing some

blended learning so double your commitment to kids and dial-it up a notch. Let us team you up with

sponsors in the private sector, help you get Vex Robotics kits and the curriculum for your school and

two other schools and get you started teaching a blended course on robotics. The course will combine

face-to-face instruction with the VEX online curriculum, it will incorporate flipped learning and will be

shared with two other schools via high-definition videoconferencing. Could be zero hour class, after

school class, summer class, doesn’t matter, BUT LETS GET STARTED. Step up business & industry, state

government, non-profits, kits are expensive! Step up and help us make this happen. It’s a start.

c a l l 1 - 3 0 8 - 8 6 5 - 5 6 6 4 e x t . 2 9 4 o r v i s i t n v i s . e s u c c . o r g

waNted: BleNded learNiNgroBotics course

t e a c h s t u d e N t s a N d t h e i r t e a c h e r

w o r k w i t h B u s i N e s s & i N d u s t r Y

year•end•report 2013

Documents

learning objects repository

yearendreport magazine

gordon roethemeyer27

gordon roethemeyeri

hybrid schools

disruptive innovation

existing schools

secondary schools