CILC eNote - December 2008

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Tips for Site Coordinators
December 2008

FEATURING

Janet Adams
Curriculum Technology Consultant
Kings County Office of Education
Kings County, California

Best Experience
My best experience with videoconferencing was watching teacher program requests jump from 3 to 130 in one year! To simplify the process for managing the scheduling and payment of programming, we set up a Content Dollar Bank with CILC. This service eliminated our need to pay multiple bills and still oversee and approve all our programming. In fact, I review the schedule daily to keep abreast of what we are doing.

A Lesson Learned
To my surprise, the Content Dollar Bank also simplified the process for teachers. They quickly realized that dollars were already allocated for videoconferencing programs. All they had to do was choose the program and send them to me for a stamp of approval. Now they could focus on their units and the California Academic Standards.

Funding the Project
Jerry Waymire, Assistant Superintendent of Information Systems for Kings County Office of Education (KCOE), actually provided the dollars for this project, so I asked him about the funding.

The following was captured, transcribed and edited from a discussion Jerry had with Edward Bonham, Systems Manager for KCOE and David Goldsmith, Director of Information Systems for Hanford Elementary School District.

"Because the barrier to a lot of things in education is the funding; that's the barrier. Until they really see the value in it themselves, they're not willing to risk their money on a new pilot project. It's more like demo software - they give it to you and if it's worth it, you can start paying for it.

I believe that if we put the money in it, once they saw the richness of the content, and how it did impact the students in the classroom, that then they would want to continue on -- and we've seen that with Pioneer Elementary.

But this isn't a lifetime case of us sponsoring it for everyone, it was a pilot to kind of show them what's available out there and allowing them to use it to see how it would benefit them in their classroom and then they can take it from that point forward.

What would be the vision? The long term vision, I think, is that the students would have the opportunity to see things outside their local environment and enhance their learning experience -- all correlating with their standards in California. So we find something out there, whether it's the Cleveland Museum of Art that has some math programming or a Mote Marine that has your science -- it's aligned with the California content standards and then in the long term, we could actually see some improved learning.

It's interesting. Kids learn through TV, XBox - the interactivity of it. This interactivity draws them in and keeps their attention; even the ones that have trouble paying attention in class normally. It's like watching a TV show or video game; they're just in their element. If they're engaged, then they're learning. It doesn't feel like school. When their watching it's like, 'Oh, a break, alright!' It just doesn't feel like a regular school day. It feels like something special.

It's real easy for them to get excited about. When we had the Mystery Quest these kids were so excited. We did a rehearsal the day before. The next day we had kids, 5th graders, come to school in suits. They were so excited about it, they dressed up. These kids normally can't afford suits. It brought that out of that type of classroom, out of that type of demographic. We've talked about it before. Now you're not just learning from a teacher who read about this stuff and maybe has a somewhat limited knowledge of it. You're learning from the experts. These are the people that devoted their careers and lives to want to do this and you're learning from them! You're bringing the expert into the classrooms, where the students don't even have to get out of their chair, instead of having to putting them on a bus.

There are no geographic boundaries. The expert lives in Minnesota and we can't get them to Minnesota. Not only no geographic boundaries, but in the example of disable kids, a lot of them can't go anywhere even if the money was there.

Your physical boundaries and your geographic boundaries... gone."

About Janet
Janet Adams, Curriculum Technology Consultant for Kings County Office of Education, is currently working for 14 districts, and 6 county schools, serving to bridge classroom curriculum with Kings County Office of Education's high speed Internet. Janet has created a county-wide organization that plans for learning through innovative technology, providing both students and teachers opportunities for learning through connections around the globe. In addition, she provides resources, training, information and support to districts, schools, classrooms in the areas of technology, curriculum and school development.

Janet also established Kingsburg's fifth school in the district, and served as a key player in all facets of the school's organization. She designed one of California's first public charter home school's independent study organization (K-8). Bringing the school into the technological age, Janet established a web presence and website which encompassed online testing, a first in the the district.

Final Comments: A Tip from Janet
Become a pioneer in the 21st Century. For instance, pioneers traveled to the frontier and blazed new trails while the settlers came later. I decided to blaze trails right now with educational videoconferencing here at Kings County Office of Education. Students can experience live, practical, meaningful, and important lessons from content experts right in their classroom without any travel. It's like the frontier is coming to them!

Thank You
CILC thanks Janet for sharing with all of us and wishes her the best as she continues to help promote student learning through videoconferencing.

Janet Adams
599-589-7077

Do you have a Best Experience, a Lesson Learned, and a Lingering Question?

Contact
Dawn Colavita
866-474-5226