1. Montana Digital
Academy
Online Learning with Montana Digital Academy
Jason Neiffer, Curriculum Director
http://montanadigitalacademy.org
http://www.neiffer.com http://www.techsavvyteacher.com
Twitter: MontDigAcad Twitter: TechSavvyTeach

2. Paperless Handouts
http://www.workshophandouts.com/etcmtda11
(etcmtda11 is case sensitive)

3. Today’s Session
• My agenda:
– Sorry… a lot of me talkin’
– MTDA 2010-2011
– MTDA 2011-2012
– MTDA Innovations
– MTDA Test Kitchens
– “Ideal” Online Student

4. Briefing
Statewide
Virtual School
Moodle and Exists/Serves
Other Learning Through Local
Environments Schools
Montana
Digital
State Standards
Academy “Original Credit”
and “Credit
Based
Recovery”
Certified
Teachers with
Association with
Montana Public
School District

5. Program Timeline
2009 2010 2011
• HB459 passed and funded • Additional hires: Curriculum • February: MTDA Connect
• Initial board named, chair Director, 76 teachers, credit recovery rolls out
and vice chair elected Instructional Manager • Summer: Full, two tiered
• Director hired • Initial Summer pilot program summer program
• Fall 2010: Full program • Fall: Expanded program
begins begins

6. Who are the partners?
Montana
School Boards
Association
Montana High School
School Administrators
Association of Montana
Board of
Public MEA-MFT
Education
Office of Montana Rural
Public Education
Instruction Association
Montana
University
System

7. Online Learning in
Context - 2010
Source: Keeping Pace, iNACOL 2010

8. Program 2010-2011

9. 2010-2011
MTDA Courses

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

11. MTDA 2010-11
Enrollment
Fall Spring Summer Total
Students Number 2751
of
unique
students
Enrollment 1951 2109 1470 5530
Teachers 67 76 28 76
Schools 137 165 122 165

12. Successes 2009-2011
• Successful recruitment of administrative and
program staff
• Rollout of two distinct programs: Original Credit
and Connect Credit Recovery
• Adoption of cutting edge tools to enhance online
learning
• Passage rates on par with other statewide
virtual schools
• Developed working relationships with 160
schools across the state of Montana
• Offered dual credit/dual enrollment courses
from three units of the MUS

13. 2011-2012 Program

14. Internal Improvement
Efforts
• Teacher training and professional development
• Partnerships and alliances in and out of Montana
• NCAA Non-Traditional Provider Eligibility
• Accreditation
• Quality control – teacher performance, course
quality
• Research and professional development by MTDA
leadership on evolving issues in online pedagogy:
– Open education resources
– Credit recovery
– Flexible time courses
– New technologies
– Mobile learning

15. New High School Courses

16. Expanded Credit
Recovery
Open-
Entry,
Open-Exit
Self-Paced
Pre-Test
Available
Module
24/7
Exemptions

17. MLS: Middle School
Multi-Language Sampler
Programs in Innovative,
Aimed at the
Seven-Week French, Spanish, Game-Based
Middle School
Program Latin, German PowerSpeak
Learner
and Mandarin Curriculum

18. I n n o v a t i o n @ M T DA

21. Open Educational
Resources

22. Virtual Environments

23. T h e M T DA Te s t K i t c h e n

24. Mobile Learning
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrhode/4721437813

25. Professional Development
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrhode/
4721437813

26. Support for
Blended Learning
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dccentralkitchen/5238518044

27. Ideal online student?

28. Who is the
ideal online student?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zappowbang/524195904

29. Independent “Smart”
Tech-Savvy Motivated

31. What makes up
that gap?
Source: Library of Congress