Day Three of the National Charter Schools Conference in Chicago, IL, begins early at 6:30 am.  With a breakfast of burritos and fruit we get started greeting folks at 7:30 am in the exhibit hall.  I was already anticipating my busy afternoon of closing down the booth at 3:30 pm, getting the display shipped off and packed properly, hitting the cab to the subway, and the subway to the airport.  With my plane taking off at 6:25 pm and it being an hour away from my hotel, I was sweating it!

The day was a busy blur of passersby asking for a trinket to take home to their child, grandchildren, or as one lady put it, "oh, my dog will love this frisbee".  Although not exactly what you want to spend your marketing dollars on, I kindly obliged with a smile and a quick run through of our 30 second elevator speech about our services.  Making a few more connections from the virtual charter school world, I watched the clock as it quickly approached 3:30 pm.  I had my booth packaged up and ready to go within 30 minutes.  As I hurried up the breezeway making my trek to the hotel entrance and my awaiting cab, I saw an angel.

Yes, that's right.  I saw an angel jogging towards me trying to flag me down.  At closer glance it was "Bob" from a neighboring booth with my Blackberry in his hand.  He asked me if I had forgotten anything!  Shew!  What a relief.  For anyone who's ever almost left, lost, or has left or lost their blackberry can really relate to my deeming him an "angel".  With a quick thank you I was soon off in a cab on my way to the "Blue Line".

Not an experienced traveler, riding a subway would be a brand new experience for me.  Hurrying through to buy my ticket I made sure to have correct change this time.  Waiting on the train, it was hot, humid, and smelly.  The train ride was uneventful and arriving at the airport with 45 minutes to spare, I felt a sigh of relief.  Grabbing a pretzel from Auntie Anne's for a quick dinner I was looking forward to getting home.

Connecting in Charlotte, I enjoyed a few relaxing moments of "people watching" and was soon headed home to the small town of Montgomery, AL.  Driving home around 10:30 pm, I thought back over my trip to the big city of Chicago, IL.  I laughed out loud at the irony of my ideals of how my trip to Chicago would go and the reality of how things played out.  Adding insult to injury I remembered the A-list of keynote speakers including Bill Gates, none of which I had the pleasure to hear speak. 

Arriving home safe and sound I thought back to my childhood dreams of living large in the big city and realized that I am truly a small town girl at heart.  Conference going can teach you that kind of thing, you know.

Small Town Girl Big City Living' Day 3

Challenged with meeting the expectations of their 21st century learners, teachers are constantly trying to find ways to make their instruction more engaging in order to ultimately increase student achievement. Districts are also striving to increase teacher efficiency through organizational and planning tools, including aligning content with state learning standards. For ideas of what you can do, watch this webinar called New Perspectives on Engaging Students and Teachers In the Classroom and Beyond-2010.  The webinar is sponsored by Blackboard and features panelists Robert Leo, Model Schools Coordinator, Central New York Regional Information Center, Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES, Jed Friedrichsen, CAO, blendedschools.net and Pam Willingham, Teacher on Assignment, Volusia County Schools.

Engaging Students and Teachers in the Classroom

Many of our clients have requested enhanced reporting features in READI.  We now have a new feature available that allows you to choose additional data points to be included in the student data report.  To see how this feature works watch the 90 second tutorial below.

New READI Reporting Feature

In 2010, what is your strategy to improve retention, strengthen student engagement, and stay within shrinking budgets? Sounds like it’s time to get creative!  We suggest three pieces of advice. These old adages are holding true in 2010, and could hold the key to your school’s success!

1.       A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

2.       Put your limited money where your mouth is.

3.       Remember there is strength in numbers.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush should remind us how much easier it is to keep a registered student than to find a new one.  Students who are already enrolled in classes, have made a decision to get an education on some level.  Whether it is to increase their job skills, earn a promotion, or just explore what they want to do with the rest of their life, some driving factor brought them to your door.  These students should be treated as priority customers, given attention and support.

Put your money where your mouth is.  If you do believe that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, it’s time to use the funds you have to back up your claims.  Investing in resources to help our current students be successful is crucial in keeping them.  Keeping them enrolled, engaged, and encouraged. All students have different levels of readiness, ideas of necessary skills, and life situations.  These components should be considered when delegating funds to pay for student services.  Decide what the major players are and make sure your budget dollars back-up each initiative.  If necessary spend time putting together a ROI plan to help sell your plan to school officials who sign the checks.

Lastly remember, there is strength in numbers.  With increasing budget constraints, pooling resources is becoming more important now than ever.  Communities, Networks, and Support systems are growing in response to the open technology and accessibility.  Schools are stepping up their “human resources” and inviting talented folks to get in on redesigning the way students learn and are taught.  Buying power is something that many states and organizations are using in their favor.  School officials see a window of hope in consortiums.  Consortiums have been around for a long time and seem to be increasingly popular.  It only makes sense.  When everyone chips in knowledge, resources, and money great things can happen.

As companies provide deep discounts for consortiums or group purchasing, it becomes a win-win-win situation.  Schools find their students having access to a multitude of necessary resources, while paying much less than if they purchased it on their own.  Companies benefit from having many schools to add to their client list, along with exposing a larger audience to the product or service.

eLearningToolBox has recently noticed an influx of interest from consortiums about our distance learning solutions.  Currently we are working with VCT, University System of Georgia Board of Regents, MCCVLC, ETOM, WTCS, NILRC, GVTC, MOL, Texas NetNet, MSVCC, and TXVSN.  Other organizations that represent multiple schools or school districts have also recently voiced an interest in using READI including k12, Insight Schools, and TRECA.

Not only are schools recognizing the need to retain students and help them succeed, but they are playing it smart financially and getting on board with the masses to make the most of their limited budgets. In 2010, make a commitment to evaluate your priorities and make things happen that will take your distance learning program into the new decade!

Reaching New Heights Using Old School Ideas?

Calling all K12 schools, recently iNACOL sent out a request to participate in an important study.  The U.S. Department of Education is sponsoring the Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Online Courses for Secondary Students, which will include a series of rigorous studies to determine the effectiveness of different models of online learning relative to traditional face-to-face courses. For more information about qualifiying or nominating a school, visit iNACOL's wiki. 

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