Montana Digital Academy (MTDA) is a statewide online public school created by the Montana Legislature in 2009. It serves K-12 students throughout Montana by offering online core academic courses as well as electives and dual credit college courses. MTDA is overseen by a governing board and employs licensed Montana teachers to teach the online courses. In recent years it has also begun offering a credit retrieval program called MTDA Connect to help students recover credits and stay on track for graduation.

1. Montana Digital Academy You can learn anywhere in Big Sky Country!

2. Created by the Montana Legislature in 2009

3. Serve K12 Students in Montana through Public Schools Governing Board Director (CEO) Curriculum Director (Vice CEO) Montana licensed teachers Core subjects, dual credit enrichment Created by the Montana Legislature in 2009

4. K-12/Higher Ed. Partnership

5. Unique Educational Partnership

6. MTDA Governing Board

7. 45 core high school courses, including electives and AP offerings 9 dual credit college courses New MTDA Connect - Launched February 2011 Courses available at 9-12 levels; 2010-2011 courses available at no cost to Montana students/parents and schools MTDA Program Overview

8. MTDA Enrollment Data 2010-11

9. MTDA Courses

10. Licensed in Montana Employed by Montana school districts Trained by MTDA on course development and online pedagogy Monitored and mentored by MTDA staff MTDA Teachers

11. MTDA Teachers

12. Red = Teachers Purple = Students MTDA Teachers and Students

13. What Students See

14. Mathematics – AP Calculus simulation

15. Resources – Video Science Labs

16. Moodle Discussions, Audio, Video and Text Chat Communication

17. MTDA Online Delivery Tools GENIUS SIS

18. Usually defined as an in-school opportunity for students to earn academic credits that they have lost, or are about to lose, by failing a regular course. –edweek.org 10/20/2008 Credit Recovery or Credit Retrieval

19. MTDA Can Help Your Students Make-Up Credits! MTDA Connect Credit Retrieval Program Connecting MTDA Coach-Student-Local Site Facilitator Credit Retrieval

20. Examples of MTDA Connect Courses

21. Charged by Montana to do so Requests before and after original credit rolled out High cost of solutions, especially for small schools Why credit retrieval to keep pace?

22. Focused Learning Efforts K-12 After school programs Saturday or summer School Block scheduling Academies Early ID of at-risk population College Fast-track/focused programs Adult Basic Ed Veteran’s Upward Bound Types of Credit Retrieval

23. Commercial Products Aventa PLATO NovaNET Apex Florida Virtual K-12.com Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/) Commercial Computer-Based Solutions

24. Time-based model Based on Caroll (1963) “Quality instruction is defined by a structure based on knowing what objectives are, access to content and carefully planned and specified wide range of instructional events” Mastery Learning Model Based on Bloom (1987) Bloom preferred self-paced learning or adjusting the time to the student’s aptitude ---Loupa (2010) PLATO Learning Environment (PLE)

25. Notify of objectives Organize into small units Materials and strategies should be identified and used consistently Each unit has pre-test Allow for/provide supplementary instruction Bloom’s 5 Steps For Mastery Learning

26. Combine intrusive, focused, supported mastery learning With individualized/computer based solution MTDA Connect- home-grown attempt to:

27. Assess individual learner gaps Individualized instructional path Self paced Flexible Internet Resources Offline activities Regain lost academic ground MTDA Connect

28. Accessible/secure/comprehensive solution Purchased centrally, shared widely Technical support Enrollment management Curricular oversight Integrated solution? Coming Soon MTDA Connect Charge

29. District Rep contacts us Fills out enrollment form(s) Go through short orientation Figure out how to support students locally How Schools Get Involved

30. MTDA + local facilitator + academic coach Online access 24/7 to curriculum Modular, individualized, self-paced Module tests open for 2 tries Post-tests unlocked manually and monitored locally How MTDA Connect Works

31. PLATO Vocabulary Tracking and communication Pre-test, module exemption or module mastery, post-test Grade reports How MTDA Connect Works

36. Wide variety of programs at local level Balance with local needs to provide support Grading or teaching needs Changes equation for students Subject matter certified – Math, Science, Social Studies, English, Computers, Health Can make modifications to curriculum Why use coaches?

37. Monthly meeting with MTDA and Coaches PLE messaging Email to facilitators and students Google docs and dropbox.com for shared files Toll free fax to email service for written work Phone calls Communication

38. Analysis of curriculum/prioritize offline activities Support Site Teacher Materials Curriculum maps Suggestions for improvements Modifications and Planning Monthly Update Meetings Taking Content Retrieval to the Next Level

39. Class management Local eyes and ears for MTDA Connect Passwords Enrollments Tracking and Management Help logging in then making students do it Working on curriculum Formative assistance Conduit for communication Tracking work Grades and final assessment Facilitators

40. Great conversations happening now! Wide variety out there Sometimes none Poor past experiences/mixed results Resource hurdles - technology, staffing, time Potential for us to share/create a model Creating A Solution for Montana

41. Do get “intrusive” in Credit Retrieval Don’t expect different results without changing the variables Do’s and Don’ts

42. Rolling for first time from Spring to Summer Modifying curriculum Research adding alternate systems or courses Full integration with SIS for enrollment and enhanced data tracking/reporting Training and presentations to propagate best practices with facilitators/coaches, etc Future

43. Roles State

44. The Status of Online Learning (Fall 2009)

46. http://www.kpk12.com Keeping Pace with Online Learning

47. SIZE- Range from a few thousand to about 16,000 course enrollments 2009-10. Funding - Funded primarily by legislative appropriation, sometimes supplemented by charging course fees. Grade level - Primarily high school, although half offer middle school courses. Full -time students Most provide supplemental courses to students who are enrolled in another school full time. Attributes of State Virtual Schools

48. Organization type - Run by or within the state education agency. Accountability for student achievement - Most state virtual schools work in partnership with local school districts, which grant the credit for the online course. The state virtual school provides the grade for the course. Attributes of State Virtual Schools

49. Questions and Comments

50. Contact Ryan Schrenk ryan.schrenk@montanadigitalacademy.org 406-243-6122 Skype: ryan.schrenk Twitter: ryanschrenk This presentation is available at slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/rschrenk Questions? Interested in discussing or partnering?