Members Present: Joe Backer, Superintendent Letchworth Bev Ouderkirk, District Supt GV BOCES
Gary Hammond, Asst. Supt. GV BOCES Bob Smith, Superintendent Elba
Chuck Kortz, Superintendent North Rose-Wolcott Camille Sorenson, Director EduTech
Jack McCabe, Associate Supt WFL BOCES Steve Uebbing, Superintendent Canandaigua
Members Absent: Tiffany Phillips, Superintendent Bloomfield
Joe Marinelli, District Supt WFL BOCES
1. Cisco Academy Program Overview, Ed Turkowski
EduTech is the Regional Academy for the area.
The Internet is Changing the Way We Work, Live, Play, and Learn.
Cisco Networking Academy
* This two year networking academy program combines lectures and online learning with hands-on
laboratory exercises in which students apply what they learn in class while working on actual
networks.
* From basic to advanced networking skills, the Networking Academy curriculum prepares students
for lifelong opportunities in the real world.
* The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification exam is available upon successful
completion of the Networking Academy program’s 280-hour curriculum.
Program History
* Launched in Oct 97 (64 academies, 7 states)
* Created as solution for schools (schools becoming wired, lacked financial and human resources to
manage networks)
Site offers Curriculum, Labs, Instructors' Guide, Assessment, Training, and Support
2. On Line Courses for Students – Jack McCabe Current State, Possibilities and Applications
Current State
- Researched and benchmarked current offerings for student online courses and online learning
- Operating pilot activities with an array of online learning applications.
Pilots
-98 students from six districts taking courses through Class.com in a variety of applications
-Evaluation being conducted by Alfred
-20 students taking Physics online to augment teaching by non-certified teacher
-1 homebound handicapped student completing HS degree
-3 students short courses w/no time in schedule completing degree
-Rest of students taking courses for credit
More Possible Applications
- Home tutoring - Summer School
- AP courses - Contents as Tutorials
- Embedded in ALT Middle & HS programs - AID
Internal Regional Capacities
- Project ACCELERATE has created all the leading edge tools in an operational form to create online learning opportunities for students--from tutorials -------
National and State Positioning
- NYSCATE President
- ISTE executive Board
- NYS Electronic Learning Community; NYS Title III committee
- Congressional Commission
- Recognized through National Publications- Converge Magazine and Curriculum Administrator - Drafting COSER language for elearning
Preferred State
- The cost effective acquisition, access, delivery and/or creation of quality online student content supporting district initiatives and problem solving in an environment of mandates, new accountabilities and teacher shortages.
Class. Com
- Certified Course content - Web and CD-ROM based
- Flexibility and Adaptability - Fairly extensive course list
- Full multimedia-based course content - Strong local district interest
- Reasonably priced
Assessing the "added value" Equation
- Utilization of NYS teachers
- A formula that would generate aid through the Distance Learning COSER
- ACCELERATE Consortium
- Our distribution capabilities
- Reduced pricing
- Navigating "labor issue" waters easier
Thinkwell.com
- reinventing college textbooks for the 21st Century
- Mission: Use technology to revolutionize the way students learn
- Demo (speaks for itself)
Ability to bring the best teacher to the student
Making the K-12 Transition
- As independent study courses allowing a student to set for AP exams in Sciences, Math and Economics
- As AP Review and Enrichment
- Augment current Regents course study and review
- As Next Generation textbook for current AP course study
- Use as model to develop K-12 content (i.e. earth science) to serve multiple applications from online student courses to tutorial to AIS.
- Entrepreneurial potentials.
Next Steps
- Assess District interest
- Commit resources through Research and Development
- Pilot for Fall with interested districts in one or more of possible applications of Thinkwell content and delivery
- Develop K-12 prototype for high need area (earth science?)
- Market and distribute in K-12 environment
Proposal
That you support us committing additional resources within the current bounds of the EduTech budget
for R&D to:
1. Pilot and develop Thinkwell in terms of state apps and adv. Tech implementation.
2. If there is an added value for us with class.com then we move forward there and begin to develop with both BOCES the training of teachers this summer.
Want to see us experiment in the delivery of online courses not in the development of content for the courses.
Joe Backer wants it to report back to superintendents so they are aware that leftover money goes to R&D and that EduTech is looking at on-line courses.
Steve Uebbing moved, Joe Backer seconded, all in favor. Motion passed.
3. Outstanding EduTech Budget Items - Networking - Camille Sorenson
- Networking pricing
- Changing the model in pricing
Many of the schools over the past 18 months have been working to improve their network. We currently are not set up to charge for this service.
We charge one time installation for file server/workstations
Change one time fee to address charging for switches, routers, terminations.
Gain more revenue for the work we are doing and to simplify the pricing process. Network support fee would be higher than existing server charge. Larger fee would take in all the areas we are putting the resources into but not receiving revenue.
4. Outstanding EduTech Budget Items - Training
4. Outstanding EduTech Budget Items - Training
Changes in training model
Proposed
- Reduce Base Fee by 50% (2950)
- Individual charge points for every aspect of the service
- Districts pay for what they use in the current year
- Phase out previous usage charge over next 2 years
- Create improved office efficiencies
4. Escholar/Data Warehousing Update - Camille Sorenson Statewide agreement EScholar put out by IBM and Vision Associates. Hooks in with COGNOS. COGNOS allows for us to take data and put into cubes so that someone on a workstation can do what if scenarios. 47 districts - 35 districts have access to COGNOS. Working with districts teaching them how to use the tool. Working with BOCES curriculum experts taking data and making curriculum adjustments.
Growth extension of COGNOS is EScholar. Will develop extracts that will take data from the information and will serve for trend data within the school and region. Will help in state reporting. Will have a common database that we can extract information to satisfy state reporting.
Next Meeting: April 6, 2001 at the “Lodge at Woodcliff” from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon