District Administration - June 2012 - (Page 26)

AdministratorProfile a rural school was connected via video. However, parents and students told Johnson that this format didn’t give kids on the receiving end enough interaction with the teacher or with the kids in the teacher’s physical classroom. All he had done, Johnson admits, was replicate the traditional “talking-head” teacherdirected approach to instruction. “Students were as disengaged virtually as they would be in the actual classroom,” says Johnson. “Clearly, there was a need to create a new model.”In the next two years, Johnson began using Elluminate—another technology for creating virtual classrooms and holding virtual meetings with staff—to teach an entry-level Alutiiq language class (the language of the native community). With success still falling short of expectations, Johnson realized something about what he had observed during classroom instruction: KIBSD’s delivering a VTC distance program effectively depended less on the actual technology and more on the students’ comfort level with the technology. “At the time, secondary students were significantly less likely to virtually interact with their peers and teachers than their younger counterparts,” says Johnson. “The little ones loved the camera and were generally eager to virtually interact with their peers.” He realized that if virtual learning were going to work, he would need to raise students from a young age within this model of learning. Focusing purely on secondary students was not serving the program for the long term. By the end of the district’s first ANEP grant, Johnson began with a hybrid approach to delivery which he tested out on his staff: he connected all eight rural schools for virtual staff meetings via VTC, and then used Elluminate and Moodle so teachers could interact rather than simply sit in different locations connected by a video monitor. Using the tools during the virtual meetings allowed Johnson to address one site with a specific issue, while other sites communicated both socially and profession26 June 2012 Johnson (right), with a teacher at the North Pacific Fish Cannery during an in-service day. In-services have included tours of the local Alutiiq Museum and the local wildlife refuge. ally in realtime. Elluminate allows teachers to message and share pictures, desktops and applications while Moodle became the staff’s information warehouse. Teachers were communicating. Things were looking positive. Technology Used Today In 2007-2008, distance learning became a KISBD priority, specifically to address rural schools’ declining math scores. In August 2008, KISBD was awarded its second ANEP grant, and the extra dollars let Johnson and the district offer stipends to teachers and provide staff development to support distance education. In spring 2009, Johnson created a hybrid model for mathematics, science and music delivery involving VTC, Elluminate and Moodle, all of which were supported by interactive whiteboards, desktop cameras, Bamboo tablets and projectors. Johnson also introduced the concept of lead and co-teachers: VTC classes would be taught by a highly qualified teacher in a Kodiak Island-based classroom with a certified co-teacher or aid in a rural-based classroom. “Soon, students who were typically isolated and working alone now felt connected to a part of a larger learning community.” The connection is reflected in Accuplacer scores: Of the 2008-2009 math students (juniors and seniors), 11 percent were identified as performing “below college-level prealgebra,” whereas in 2009-2010, no student was identified as such. In 20102011, 10th-grade students who had taken virtual math for two years outperformed their previous year’s 10th-grade counterparts who were in their first year of virtual math by 22 percent in terms of overall math proficiency. Additionally, classes never before accessible to rural students have become the norm. In 2009-2010, pre-algebra, algebra 1 and 2, and geometry were all brought to students for the first time through the virtual learning program, as were journalism, band and orchestra. In the following years, pre-calculus, human anatomy and physiology, chemistry and natural resources, advanced composition and literature, and American literature have been added. A Partnered Approach “Everyone believes in what we’re doing,” says Johnson, who attributes the virtual learning success to willing partners like Bill Watkins—principal of Kodiak Island High School—and every teacher willing to teach into a camera or to use a screen. “Typically, in rural schools there’s a higher rate of turnover, but our turnover is incredibly small. People don’t want to leave. “Watkins, on the other hand, attributes the virtual learning program’s success to Johnson. “Phil is just one of those people who is a risk taker and is not afraid to do what it takes to move forward in education,” says Watkins, who since 2003 has worked closely with Johnson on all aspects of KISBD’s virtual learning program. “We look at ourselves now as one big school.” DA Jennifer E. Chase is a contributing writer for District Administration. District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2012

District Administration - June 2012
Contents
From the Editor
News update
Arts update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Geography Ed for a Flat World
Her Own Brand of Education Reform
Finding a Cure for Senioritis
Principals as Instructional Leaders
CIO news
One Tablet Per Child?
Changing Lives With Assistive Technology
Going Mobile
Student Counsel
New Directions
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - June 2012