District Administration - February 2011 - (Page 55)

SPONSORED sions today. “We don’t even know what devices will be available in a few years, but we still have to be prepared to use those tools when they are,” says Dysart’s Pletnick, explaining why the district is allowing students to use their own devices. Strategies for Success So what should administrators do today to take advantage of mobile learning now and allow for it in the future? “Pilots are crucial,” says Soloway. “Get your cuttingedge teachers out in front, getting some experience, so you can gently transition the whole district to a mobile environment. You can’t wait; we’re about to go through cataclysmic change.” Blackboard’s Frazier agrees. “Mobile is happening, so embrace it. Don’t try to boil the ocean. Even a small start will enable more broad adoption.” e Dysart, Arlington County, Long Beach and Keller districts are all following this strategy. “It’s in its infancy right now, but our goal in the future is to ﬁnd more avenues to use mobile devices, to continue gathering data, doing training, and eventually implement mobile learning evenly across the district,” says Pletnick. “As this iPad pilot succeeds, we will expand mobile learning out to other schools,” says Gagliolo. “We have ﬁve campuses, from elementary to high school, all piloting mobile programs,” says Keller’s Griﬃn. “Our plan is to test, take it slow, and work the kinks out. en next year we’ll roll out mobile programs in all 38 campuses in the district.” Overall, experts and educators agree on putting instruction ﬁrst. “Ultimately it’s not about mobile in isolation. e technology needs to support the instructional strategy and not vice versa,” says Frazier. “ e device is just an enabler. e differentiation is the quality of the instructional program that maximizes their use,” advises Pearson’s Cohen. “It goes back to your strategic plan. ese tools have to be used for improving instruction,” says Grifﬁn. “If your intention is to just put mobile devices into the same old way of thinking, you aren’t going to be successful.” DA Kurt Eisele-Dyrli is products editor. For ongoing coverage of mobile learning, read DA’s blog and monthly column by experts Elliot Soloway and Cathie Norris, Going Mobile. www.DistrictAdministration.com NEW YORK STATE SCHOOLS EASE INTO THE FUTURE Four New York State school districts made history this past May and June when they utilized a new, state-of-the-art electronic scoring system developed by Optimum Solutions Corporation (www.oscworld.com) for the grading of their Grades 3-8 ELA and mathematics and Grade 8 Social Studies assessment tests. In fact, the Yonkers School District, the Nassau and Eastern Suffolk BOCES, and the New York City Charter Schools are the first in the state to utilize electronic scoring in general and the OSC EASE™ (Educational Assessment Scoring Environment) in specific. According to John Harrison, Executive Vice President of OSC the EASE System makes highly customizable, state-of-the-art data capture and scoring technology available to all size school districts for the very first time. “EASE is completely customizable to meet the unique needs of every size school district that uses it.” The process involves scanning student test booklets and using the EASE scoring software to view the test images online and assign scores electronically. The images are then saved and are retrievable using electronic archiving. The EASE system has 17 integrated components, including a scoring environment that facilitates faster, more efficient test scoring; a workflow interface for assessment processing that assists in managing the scoring process; OSC’s proprietary Closed End Mark Sense Processing software; and embedded data cleaning, formatting and reporting Ctype programming language that allows for user customization. Joan Flig, an Educational Assessment Consultant who has been involved in New York State test scoring for years and who supervises the scoring site of 25,000 New York State ELA and Math constructed response test booklets for the New York City Charter Schools Collaborative noted that, “The EASE System enables school districts to rapidly convert their traditional manual scoring systems into a completely automated system that functions faster and better, on-site or remotely, involving fewer teachers, while reducing costs. It is precisely the solution budget strapped schools need.” The EASE System is based on the same patented data capture technology being used by the United States Census Bureau for the 2010 Census, leading market research firms, and leading Fortune 100 and multi-national corporations, all of whom have relied on OSC’s technology for more than 20 years. In November 2010, the EASE system was named one of 2010’s Top 100 Products by District Administration magazine. February 2011 55 http://www.oscworld.com http://www.oscworld.com http://www.oscworld.com http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - February 2011

District Administration - February 2011
Contents
Going Out of Print
From the Editor
News Update
Technology Update
Safety & Security
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Successful Strategies for English Language Learners
Mobile Goes Mainstream
Virtually Possible
Problem/Solution
New Products
Product Focus
Superintendent’s Insights
Crisis Response
Student Counsel

District Administration - February 2011