text:
School Leader Digital Learning Guide
What can this guide do for you?
Digital learning is defined as "any instructional practice that effectively uses technology to strengthen a student's learning experience and encompasses a wide spectrum of tools and practices." 1
This "School Leader Digital Learning Guide" is a resource to help you consider, plan, fund, implement, maintain, and adapt learning programs that meet the unique needs and requirements of the students and teachers that you serve. The guide is oriented toward digital learning principles and practices that enable and empower students and teachers of all abilities and zip codes while advancing student agency (i.e., initiative, intention, and responsibility in pursuing their education), their personalized learning, their mastery of skills and competencies, and protecting their privacy.
This guide is designed to provide resources and recommendations to help leaders in an array of circumstances, including:
leaders with students and teachers who are experiencing digital learning in school facilities or remotely;
leaders for whom digital learning presents transformative or incremental change for their students;
leaders of a school, a school system, an education provider, or a function that supports digital learning; and
leaders whose organization is funded by municipal taxpayers, non-profit institutions, or individuals and is or is not supplemented by federal monies and programs.
Each section contains key considerations, questions to ask yourself as a leader, and resources to help with your thinking and planning. References to technical and professional methods and resources are presented for you to consider and apply as appropriate in leading your organization's efforts to meet the needs and requirements of your students and teachers.
This "School Leader Digital Learning Guide" is part of a series of guides, including the "Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide" and "Teacher Digital Learning Guide," intended to support parents and families, teachers, and education leaders in leveraging the capabilities of digital tools and resources for teaching and learning.
Other than statutory and regulatory requirements included in the document, the contents of this guidance do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. [OET-FY21-03]
Embrace Digital Learning Leadership
DEVELOP A SHARED VISION AND GOALS
PRIORITIZE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR TEACHERS
Assess, Build, and Maintain Infrastructure
EVALUATE AND MANAGE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES
ADDRESS ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
PROCURE, DISTRIBUTE, MANAGE, AND MAINTAIN DEVICES
PROTECT STUDENT PRIVACY AND SECURITY
PROMOTE DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
Personalize Learning for Students
IMPLEMENT COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING
ASSESS STUDENT LEARNING IN REAL-TIME
SUPPORT LEARNER VARIABILITY
Collaborate with Parents and Families to Support Students
INFORM AND EMPOWER PARENTS AND FAMILIES
SUPPORT STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLNESS
THE NEED FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP
As you continue your work to build and foster environments where digital learning is useful, available, and safe for students and teachers, you and your stakeholders face the inherent challenges of every technology-enabled endeavor: Technology is only as good as it is used in practice by people. Your leadership matters when it comes to the results and return on investment your organization can achieve with educational technology (EdTech). Without your effective leadership to envision, plan, and deliver an environment where EdTech can be accessed and used well by students and teachers, there are real risks for technology being underused, misused, incompatible, or obsolete.
THE CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITY
With an unprecedented number of students and teachers experiencing remote digital learning due to the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) related school closures and limited openings, the opportunities—and need—for engagement, innovation, and solutions to challenges inherent in a remote digital learning environment have never been greater.
For many students and teachers, the long-conceived promise of "anytime, anywhere" learning has met the immediate challenges of limited access and limited capacity. Parents and teachers alike have seen their homes become places that have to provide and, for many, competitively manage resources such as access to space, bandwidth, and devices needed to support effective digital teaching and learning.
With your leadership, it is possible to maximize the benefits of digital learning for the students you serve now and in the future. Effective use of technology can address the impact of any learning losses experienced by students in the current environment and mitigate the prospect of future learning losses.. 2 As a leader you can learn from, develop, assess, plan, resource, and govern the use of technology by your students and teachers. You can embrace what has worked, adjust what has not, and work with students and teachers to chart the path forward.
This section in 30 seconds
Implementing and assessing digital learning is a challenge at any time—and the current learning environment has greatly increased the stakes. Provided below is a roadmap for leaders in schools and school systems that encourages developing a shared vision and goals, and prioritizing teacher professional development to meet the needs of your students and to support parents and families.
When used in meaningful ways, digital technologies can empower students to become drivers of their own learning, deeper thinkers, and stronger collaborators. For digital learning to be successful at an organizational level, you should consider developing a shared vision and goals. Planning resources, including considerations for developing a leadership team, conducting a needs assessment, collecting feedback from key stakeholders, and budgeting for digital learning, are provided in Appendix A.
1. DEVELOP A SHARED VISION AND GOALS
It is important for your digital learning leadership team (see Appendix A: "Form a Digital Learning Leadership Team") to establish a set of straightforward, attainable goals. These goals should be rooted in sound learning principles and developed iteratively based on your school system or school objectives, data, and the needs of your community (see Appendix A: "Conduct a Needs Assessment"). These goals can be shared publicly for feedback from key stakeholders, and they should inform investments in digital tools, supporting digital infrastructure, training, and resources.
In concert with establishing, and periodically revisiting, the shared vision and goals, there are several key areas on which to focus. Consider, for example, how digital learning can strengthen students' learning experiences, empower and engage students and teachers, and promote mastery and critical thinking and personalized learning. Also consider the access from school and from home that teachers and students have for digital teaching, learning, and assessment.
Guiding Strategies
Map out how students and teachers will acquire the hardware, connectivity, knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to get the most out of digital learning.
Determine how to implement and assess digital learning, as well as manage change in those processes.
Establish how the standards of success within your school or school system will be met through digital learning.
Identify how your digital learning goals may align with other school or school system goals for learning and technology use.
Evaluate and address any learning losses or gains that may have been experienced by students in your school or school system and identify learning supports and other resources available to teachers, students, parents, and families to mitigate potential future learning losses, and to build upon gains.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: DEVELOP A SHARED VISION AND GOALS
Where your school or school system is positioned in its implementation of digital learning— including whether a shared vision and goals for the effective use of educational technology has been developed and communicated—may impact how you consider and answer the following questions.
Planning and Assessment:
What is the shared vision for effective digital learning within your school or school system over the next year? Three years? Five years?
Does your current school or school system technology plan require updating or revisions to align with new digital learning goals? What internal and/or external factors are driving the need for changes to the plan?
What is the timeline needed for teacher buy-in, skillset development, and implementation of the digital learning?
What is your current investment in digital learning and what is the funding required to meet existing needs? How will you determine that your investment in digital learning is sustainable long term?
How will you determine whether every student and teacher in your school or school system has access to high-speed internet, a device, and the information needed to use them? For those who do not, how will you work toward a solution?
Teaching and Learning:
How will digital learning and technology support your school or school system's standards of success and learning goals?
Where will digital learning take place: virtually or in a blended setting? How will you address continuity of learning in the event of forced school closures?
How will digital learning and technology support students' social-emotional learning?
How will you identify and use digital learning technology to support students with different learning needs?
How will digital learning and technology support students with disabilities?
How will you identify what strategies are the most effective in the digital learning process under your unique circumstances and then connect those strategies to sustainable, long-term digital learning?
How will you identify and address learning losses—or gains—that have occurred and effectively use digital learning and other resources to support teachers, students, parents, and families to mitigate any future learning loss and capitalize on gains?
Have you developed a communication plan to notify parents and families of the status, or any change in status, of digital learning and technology support to meet the needs of students?
What feedback can be gathered to determine what is—or is not—working for students, families, and teachers?
How will you establish an ongoing system to acquire feedback from students, families, and teachers to assess digital learning and technology support in your school or school system?
Missouri Department of Education: Six Step Process to Creating a Technology Plan
Michigan Virtual: Teaching Continuity Readiness Rubric for teacher self-assessment
For a more comprehensive resource, the National Standards for Quality Online Teaching is a benchmark for quality online instruction.
Rhode Island Department of Education: Virtual Instructional Day Plan
Future Ready Schools® (FRS) Network: Superintendents: Take the Pledge
U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology: Personalized Professional Learning for Future Ready Leaders (Self-Assessment Tool and Exemplary Practices)
Consortium for School Networking (CoSN): Leadership and Vision
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): Standards for Education Leaders
State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA): Broadband Imperative III: Driving Connectivity, Access and Student Success
Joint resource paper from former Directors of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, with a foreword written by five former U.S. Secretaries of Education, all members of the COVID Collaborative: Ten Ways to Make Online Learning Work: A Guide to Improving Education in the Time of COVID-19
2. PRIORITIZE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR TEACHERS
Providing meaningful professional learning for your teachers is important for their ongoing acquisition of EdTech teaching skills to benefit their students. Just as the students learning with digital tools need time and support from schools and districts, teachers, too, need investment in professional learning from your digital learning leadership team. Prioritizing professional learning, fostering collaboration in the teaching community, and providing access to shared resources leads to an environment of quality instruction and learning for teachers and students alike.
Reference the "Teacher Digital Learning Guide" for key considerations, strategies, and resources to support teachers in the transition to digital learning.
Consider what professional development and training is needed to expand the technology skills of teachers and administrators in your school or school system. Provide consistent support and professional development that is personalized and incentivizes teachers to meaningfully engage. Some strategies for digital learning are applicable in both face-to-face and virtual settings; however, special considerations should be made to support students learning at home.
Provide professional development opportunities which incorporate research-based practices that promote teacher professional development effectiveness.
Create professional learning communities (PLCs) where teachers can meet in person or online to support each other throughout the year in their use of technology. Examples include grade-level teams, content teams, and teams leveled by technology expertise or interest.
Establish full- or part-time coaching positions or select a group of mentor teachers to provide ongoing professional development and instructional support for their peers.
Identify or develop self-paced course modules that allow for the flexible and efficient use of professional learning resources.
Develop and implement professional learning on topics, such as:
How to use devices, adopted curriculum, and EdTech tools;
Student privacy and at-home security, including privacy obligations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), relevant state laws, and relevant school or school system policies;
Content and learning management systems, apps, and software, as necessary;
Other assessments to address any learning losses or gains that may have occurred and intentionally address needed innovation in ongoing practices and assessments to mitigate any future learning losses, and to build upon gains;
Pedagogical practices for digital learning that are age appropriate, specific to content areas, tied to competencies, and accelerate student learning after school closures, in both hybrid and distance learning environments;
Professional practices for digital teaching, including considerations for scheduling and work life balance; and
Best practices for virtual learning—remote learning enabled by digital tools — including:
Appropriate uses of synchronous (instruction for—and learning by—students that occurs at the same time, but not in the same place) and asynchronous (instruction for—and learning by—students that does not occur in the same place, nor at the same time) connections;
Conducting class discussions using video conferencing;
Setting up privacy and security settings on online tools; and
Setting up one-on-one and small group interactions using video conferencing.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: PRIORITIZE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR TEACHERS
Has your school or school system allocated funding and resources, as well as time on the school calendar, for professional development opportunities for your teachers?
Do teachers have opportunities to develop skills for leveraging learning technology in powerful ways? What do they have and what do they need?
How are teachers incentivized to create and innovate their digital pedagogy?
What opportunity do you provide teachers to identify and select professional development that is tailored to their needs?
What assessments do teachers need to understand the degree of learning loss in their students and how can you innovate in your practices and ongoing assessments to mitigate any future learning loss?
What resources exists that demonstrate the best evidence-based practices in digital learning? What do you need to procure or create?
What feedback can be gathered to determine what is — or is not — working for teachers?
How will you establish an ongoing system to acquire feedback from teachers to assess professional learning in your school or school system?
Digital Promise: Micro-credentials COVID-19 Library
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): ISTE Standards for Educators
The Learning Accelerator: Professional Development Strategies to Support Teachers During the Shift to Remote Learning
GetSetUp: GetSetUp for Remote Learning
The New Teacher Project (TNTP): Learning Acceleration Guide
Digital learning is most obtainable and sustainable with a well-planned and well-maintained infrastructure of EdTech, tools, resources, and access to support your teachers and students. Schools and school systems of any size can be guided by this information to evaluate their current infrastructure and plan for the needs of teachers and student, funding, maintenance, privacy and security, and digital citizenship education.
In order to leverage technology to meet your teaching and learning goals, it is crucial that your school system, school, and community have a robust infrastructure for digital learning. The infrastructure includes learning devices and high-speed internet access for students and teachers. It also includes the digital tools and resources for learning. A robust learning infrastructure also ensures that students remain safe online, by complying with key data privacy and security regulations and teaching digital citizenship (refer to the Promote Digital Citizenship section below).
One way to approach building and maintaining infrastructure for digital learning is to consider how you will manage the lifecycle of EdTech investments. Managing the EdTech lifecycle includes assessing the needs of your school or school system, procuring and deploying technology, measuring the efficacy of new EdTech investments, and determining when to renew or replace software licenses.
There are many tools and frameworks to assist with lifecycle management, some of which are included in the resources section below. Your school or school system should explore, evaluate, and use the tools and processes that best meet your unique learning goals, needs, and requirements. Additional factors may include the size of your student population, the structure of your central office, school leadership, and decision-making responsibilities, and the amount and types of funding available.
Refer to the "Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide" Enabling Digital Learning section and "Teacher Digital Learning Guide" Access, Safety, and Privacy section for support in partnering with parents and teachers on critical digital learning infrastructure considerations.
1. EVALUATE AND MANAGE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES
As part of EdTech lifecycle management, it is important to audit your existing digital tools and resources to determine if they are empowering students and teachers while meeting your teaching and learning goals. Quality, accessibility, and privacy are primary considerations regardless of the amount of technology changes that are implemented.
Analysis of K-12 district spending indicates that approximately 67 percent of all educational software product licenses go unused—translating to millions of wasted dollars. 3 You can support teachers and focus on the return on investment on EdTech purchases in your school or school system by thoroughly vetting digital tools, using the following evidence-based approaches:
Rapid Cycle Tech Evaluations (RCE) are designed to assist school leaders in making evidence-based decisions regarding EdTech acquisitions.4 They are low-cost, quick turnaround evaluations that align with the rapid pace of innovation in technology development.
Product Certifications can serve as a helpful signal for school leaders, teachers, and families that EdTech products are based in learning sciences research. To receive a certification, technology companies must show that their product meets a rigorous threshold of research standards. Examples of trusted, non-profit organizations that issue product certifications include: Common Sense Media Privacy Evaluations, ISTE seal of alignment, and Digital Promise Research-Based Design Certification.
Audit existing digital tools and curricular resources to determine which resources effectively support learning goals and can be transferred to a digital learning environment.
Consider selecting a learning management system (LMS) to organize instruction and resources for teachers and students (e.g., Schoology, Canvas).
Consider single sign-on technology (e.g., Clever, OneLogin, ClassLink) to help students, parents, and families manage multiple log-ins.
Provide teachers with a process for adopting new devices and EdTech tools.
Select a searchable and sortable resource database.
Select devices, tools, and resources that have strong accessibility technologies built in.
Procure digital learning materials and accompanying supports that are specifically designed to support language and content development, including through translation, text to speech, and other audiovisual supports.
Thoroughly vet new technologies to establish:
Curricular alignment;
Development based in learning sciences research;
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and FERPA compliance; and
Appropriate security practices are deployed, especially for technology used to deliver services for students with disabilities, discuss student health, and/or share Individualized Education Program (IEP) information.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: EVALUATE AND MANAGE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES
Where your school or school system is positioned in the journey to undertake and implement digital learning—including your plans and capabilities to evaluate and manage educational technologies—may impact how you consider and answer the following questions.
Do you have a digital classroom or learning management system to manage your content and resources?
What teacher training is required or has taken place to use digital tools and resources?
What curriculum, instructional apps, and software are you currently using? Have you confirmed that they are rooted in learning sciences research?
Do all students have what they need — including access to devices, logins, scaffolds, and appropriate curriculum — to engage with digital learning?
How will students manage their login information? Do you have single sign-on technology to support multiple usernames and passwords?
Are your selected devices and applications compatible with students with different learning needs?
Are your selected devices and applications compatible with accessibility technologies used by students with disabilities? Do teachers and families know how to use them in conjunction with the accessibility software that is used by their students, such as screen reader software?
How will you collect data and assess the efficacy of the digital learning tools and resources you purchase?
How will you communicate processes for adopting new tools and available resources with teachers?
How will you communicate digital learning and technology tools, resources, and login processes with students, parents, and families?
Mathematica: Rapid-Cycle Tech Evaluations Accelerate Decision Making
Digital Promise: Product Certifications
ISTE: Seal of Alignment
Learn Platform: Tool for organizing, streamlining, and analyzing your education technology
Digital Promise: EdTech Pilot Framework
2. ADDRESS ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
To realize the full benefits of education, digital learning, and pathways to success, students need access to a personal learning device, such as a laptop or tablet, and access to high-speed internet at home. In addition, teachers need high-speed access to support their students. As a school or school system leader, you and your digital learning leadership team play an important role in advocating for digital access for all students and teachers, as well as in communicating effectively with parents about access and available resources.
Support parents and families in their search for free or low-cost internet service plans in their area through non-profit organizations such as EveryoneOn.org, your state's Department of Education website, and companies that provide low-cost internet services in your community.
Support internet access for teachers as well as students.
Join the National Digital Inclusion Alliance to stay up to date on national policies and programs related to digital inclusion.
Partner with local internet service providers to expand access to families in your school communities. School districts across the country have negotiated with local providers for low- or no-cost internet services for students and families.
Consider creative solutions, like those discussed in this Brookings article, if you lead in a rural area where broadband access is not easily expandable.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: ADDRESS ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
What are the varying levels of at-home access among your teachers, students, parents, and families?
What will it take to achieve equal access to digital learning?
How and with what devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones) are families in your school or school system accessing home internet and at what speed?
How can you best support students and families in understanding their options, including access to community Wi-Fi or obtaining free or low-cost Wi-Fi?
National Digital Inclusion Alliance: Explore Ways to Promote Digital Inclusion
Lindsey Unified Community Network: Guaranteeing Accessibility for All Learners 24/7
EveryoneOn: Programs that Bring Low-Cost Computers and Internet to Those Who Need Them
Microsoft Airband Initiative: A New Approach to Broadband Connectivity
3. PROCURE, DISTRIBUTE, MANAGE, AND MAINTAIN DEVICES
Procuring, distributing, managing, and maintaining devices for students takes time to plan, budget, and strategically execute over time. If your school or school system does not already have 1:1 take-home devices, you should consider undertaking the process to procure and prepare devices, then distribute them to students, parents, and teachers. Whether the school or school system personnel prepare devices, or a service provider does the preparation and delivers the devices ready for distribution to students, it is important to plan for device preparation and distribution and then inventory management and maintenance.
Guiding Strategies: Device Preparation and Distribution
Receive devices in a secure location and provide secure storage.
Image (install software and updates) and inventory devices to distribute to students.
Coordinate with assistive technology personnel to address that specialized software and hardware are provided for students with disabilities who have a need for such software and hardware, as described in the student's IEP or Section 504 plan.
Decide who will cover the cost of insurance and purchase.
Provide space to prepare devices and communicate policies and procedures for device repairs to parents and students.
Establish and maintain a five percent pool of spare devices, which will provide continued access when devices require repair or are otherwise out of commission.
Design a safe device distribution process, including appropriate physical distancing and sanitization of hands, packaging, tables, devices, etc., as necessary. Engage parents and other key community members in the design process.
Guiding Strategies: Inventory Management and Maintenance
Design a system to track the assignment of devices to users.
Use asset tags for device identification and tracking.
Create templates for schools to inform parents and students how devices are monitored and what options may be turned on or off (for example, if the school will remotely turn on the webcam or GPS when a device is reported missing or stolen).
Communicate to students, parents, and teachers how maintenance issues with devices, including loaner or replacement devices, should be handled.
Attribute budget and assign staff to manage the inventory records and maintain devices.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: PROCURE, DISTRIBUTE, MANAGE AND MAINTAIN DEVICES
What planning and budgeting has the school or school system done for procuring, maintaining, and replacing devices for students and teachers? Where do gaps exist and what needs to be done to address those gaps?
What opportunities exist, where there are gaps, for public-private partnerships to support students and parents?
What processes does the school or school system have—or need—for technology inventory, deployment, and support?
What state and school system-specific purchasing restrictions, rules, and approval processes apply?
Digital Bridge K-12: The Homework Gap Toolkit
Verizon Innovative Learning Schools: Device Deployment Best Practices
ISTE: The Five Pillars of EdTech Procurement
SEDTA: Spotlight on Digital Materials Acquisition
CoSN: Understanding Device Capabilities
CoSN: Connecting Devices to the Network
4. PROTECT STUDENT PRIVACY AND SECURITY
As schools increasingly leverage digital tools and resources, it is more important than ever to address compliance with laws that govern student data privacy and support the safe use of technology. As a school or school system leader, you should be familiar with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Ensure Student Privacy and Legal Compliance
Familiarize yourself with basic school privacy obligations under federal privacy laws including FERPA, COPPA, any obligations under relevant state laws that fall to teachers (e.g., notifying parents about what tools are being used), and school system or school policies related to student privacy (e.g., use of social media).
Vet and approve apps and websites that are age appropriate, pedagogically aligned, and have FERPA-required privacy and security protections.
Provide teachers with guides on how to appropriately adopt tools that have already been vetted by the school and how to engage with school administration before adopting new tools.
Train teachers and staff on how to protect student privacy and security when they collect, use, access, or share student information.
Ensure that each staff member with authority to access student data only has access to the data needed.
Filtering (Internet and Content)
Implement internet content filtering to ensure students can only access appropriate content on school devices, both during and after school hours.
Deploy a mobile device management system to efficiently provide updates and push system settings and apps to the devices remotely.
Manage access to the devices and student data through user accounts.
Policies for Safe Use
Review, revise, and create acceptable technology use policies for online instruction, particularly to support students using a device at home.
Review and revise student and employee handbooks to include online learning requirements, expectations, and consequences.
Curriculum for Teaching Digital Citizenship and Safe Technology Use
Identify age-appropriate lessons that support all students with developing behaviors that keep them safe and out of trouble, maintain the privacy of their identity and information, and address digital citizenship (see next section).
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: PROTECT STUDENT PRIVACY AND SECURITY
What systems do you have in place to ensure that all existing and new devices comply with federal, state, and local privacy and security policies?
How is access to the internet filtered?
Have you identified curriculum and supporting resources for teaching about privacy and security and made them available for principals and teachers to use with their students and parents?
Are teachers and parents aware of student protection and privacy rules and policies? If not, how will you address awareness?
U.S. Department of Education: FERPA and Virtual Learning
U.S. Department of Education: FERPA 101: Online Training Module
U.S. Department of Education: Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services: Model Terms of Service
U.S. Department of Education: PPRA General Guidance
5. PROMOTE DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
For students to experience a successful digital learning environment, schools and school systems have an important role to promote, model, and teach digital citizenship, in partnership with parents as the primary educators of their children. Students, parents, families, and teachers need education, professional development, and resources regarding how to access and use technology in safe, respectful, and ethical ways.
Broadly stated, "digital citizenship" refers to teaching students the skills and mindsets needed to safely, respectfully, and securely operate within digital spaces—which students across the country are now experiencing, regardless of whether they possess the skills to learn in a fully virtual or hybrid environment. Educating on, and modeling of, good digital citizenship includes teaching the behaviors and actions students need to safely, ethically, and responsibly:
navigate and participate online;
exhibit critical thinking and problem-solving skills;
know and understand their rights;
evaluate online information for accuracy and trustworthiness; and
take ownership of their privacy and digital presence.
It is important for schools and school systems to support professional learning and development for teachers in digital citizenship in a way that personalizes the learning needs of the individual student. In turn, students need to be equipped with the tools, strategies, and resources for learning and acquiring digital citizenship skills, both at home and at school. Ideally, lessons on digital citizenship take place before students, parents, families, and teachers have devices in their hands and should continue throughout the school year.
In addition, you and your digital learning leadership team should consider how to fully communicate the legal obligations and school system policies outlined in the previous section to students, parents, families, and teachers.
Prior to device distribution, identify or create developmentally appropriate information and training on the appropriate use of devices and the internet, as well as how to be safe online (this information should also be reviewed and updated on an on-going basis);
Create rules of engagement or a digital citizenship pledge that students and their parents agree to prior to, or at the point of, distribution;
Provide ongoing teacher professional development around digital citizenship;
Partner with parents, as the primary educators of their children, through the provision of resource materials and school-based parent events to support successful digital citizenship skill acquisition by your students; and
Explore opportunities to include digital citizenship lessons in your curriculum which meet the individual needs of your students throughout the school year, which may incorporate topics such as:
The use of good passwords, password managers, and browser plug-ins to limit online tracking ads;
Protecting digital identity, developing appropriate communication skills and positive relationships, protecting against cyberbullying and potential predators; and
Understanding the mental health and wellness aspects of screen time and making good choices online.
Coordinate support with school or other district personnel as appropriate (e.g., special education practitioners, counselors, social workers, nurses) to work as a team in supporting students' social and emotional health.
Collaboratively determine strategies for response if the safety of any learning in your school, or school system, or that of an individual student has potentially been compromised.
Be aware of community supports that are available for students who need additional support, as well as the processes and protocols to follow in identifying students for timely referral to services.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: PROMOTE DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
Do you promote the safe, ethical, and responsible use of EdTech in your school or school system?
Have you established processes to determine that your students, their parents, and your teachers know how to act, and commit to acting, responsibly online?
Have you created an acceptable use policy that is available in multiple languages, and do you collect and maintain a record of signatures?
Is professional learning and development ongoing in digital citizenship for your teachers?
Do you provide digital citizenship resources to parents and families?
Common Sense Media: Everything You Need to Teach Digital Citizenship
Common Sense Media: Inside The 21st-Century Classroom report on EdTech usage by K-12 teachers with their students and observations on its impact on learning
The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society: Digital Citizenship Resource Platform
ISTE: Digital Citizenship in Education
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: Online Safety Resources for Parents, Educators & Communities
Common Sense Media: Screen Time resources
National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE): Resources for Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The NCSSLE is a resource maintained by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) under contract from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students.
Supporting the individual needs of learners has become more important than ever before with the current environment of school closures and limited openings. Explore how EdTech and digital learning can be used by schools and school systems to personalize learning by delivering competency-based education; implement real-time, meaningful assessments; and meet the unique needs of students of all learning abilities.
For decades, many American classrooms have taken a "one size fits all" approach to instruction, rather than leveraging the uniqueness of each learner. Digital learning and technology can move us toward meeting the needs of each student and providing an individualized approach to education, tailoring support to each student's strengths and interests by focusing on their competencies and enabling real-time assessment.
1. IMPLEMENT COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING
Digital tools can shift the focus of learning environments away from traditional metrics of progress — such as the number of hours spent in a classroom—toward more meaningful indicators of learning.
Reference the "Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide" for help empowering parents to understand and take advantage of the benefits of digital learning.
Digital learning can support competency-based education, in which students advance after demonstrating mastery of a key skill or concept. In a competency-based system, students work individually and in teams to continuously learn content and develop skills (e.g., communication, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity) and receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual needs. In this sense, competency-based education enables personalization and learning continuity, regardless of location.
Design learning outcomes that emphasize higher order thinking skills that promote student independence and creativity, prepare students for college, career, and lifelong learning.
Commit to ensuring that all students —including students from low-income families, students of color, students with disabilities, and English Learners (ELs)—are able to demonstrate mastery of content.
Identify that competencies include explicit, measurable, and transferable learning objectives.
Evaluate whether additional best practices, supports or resources are available and needed for your students to address any learning loss or gains that may have occurred, and to mitigate future learning loss and build upon gains.
Develop clear and transparent expectations for student performance to demonstrate mastery and put mechanisms in place to establish consistency in advancement.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: PERSONALIZE LEARNING FOR STUDENTS
What policies and practices will support your competency-based learning system?
When making instructional plans, how are you making decisions with the most vulnerable populations in mind?
What additional best practices, supports, or resources are available and needed for teachers and families to address any student learning loss or gains that may have occurred and to mitigate future learning loss, or capitalize upon any gains?
What systems need to exist for leaders, teachers, and families in your school or school system to exchange best practices and resources regarding competency-based education?
Has your school or school system communicated and connected teachers, parents, and families to those best practices, supports, and resources?
The Aurora Institute: Introduction to Competency-Based Education
The Aurora Institute: Quality Principles for Competency-Based Education
U.S. Department of Education: Competency-Based Learning or Personalized Learning
National Conference of State Legislatures: A Look at Competency-based Education in K-12 Schools
2. ASSESS STUDENT LEARNING IN REAL-TIME
Quality assessments help teachers gain feedback about what their students are really learning. Real-time, meaningful assessments enabled by technology—whether graded, non-graded, in—class activities, or student self-assessments—are an integral component of personalized learning. Assessments also inform students on their own progress and advise parents and teachers how to best support student learning.
Coach teachers to check for understanding using frequent formative assessments.
Identify adaptive software that will provide the student with immediate feedback to support progress.
Confirm assessment software is compatible with assistive technology used by students with disabilities, including screen reader software.
Adopt grading systems that are aligned to personalized learning paths, separate behaviors from academics, and encourage students to engage in additional practice until they demonstrate mastery of a concept.
Identify or design diagnostic and summative assessments that can be used in school or at home.
Identify other assessments to address learning losses or gains, and intentionally address needed innovation in ongoing practices and assessments to mitigate any future learning loss or build upon any gains.
Create a model for communicating with students and families, in multiple languages, including:
Timing and methods of student assessments and grades;
Use of online engagement to assess student progress;
Approach to supporting students who are not on track to meet grade-level standards and benchmarks; and
Collection of data for accountability purposes, ensuring that metrics used to measure student engagement do not violate applicable privacy policies.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: ASSESS STUDENT LEARNING IN REAL-TIME
What are your school's or school system's expectations for assessment, grading, and feedback?
How will you equitably accommodate students with limited access to internet, devices, or a proctor?
What other assessments are needed to identify learning losses? What innovation in ongoing assessments is needed to mitigate future learning loss?
What existing summative and formative assessments can be used in a digital learning environment?
What new assessments may be needed? How can you access or develop such assessments?
To what standards of evidence, validity, and reliability are your assessments bound?
Communicate:
How will you communicate expectations clearly with teachers, students, and families?
Center for Assessment: Competency-based Assessment
The Aurora Institute: Competency Based and Standards Based Assessment
Data Quality Campaign, Alliance for Excellent Education, and Collaborative for Student Success: Measuring Growth in 2021, joint resource
U.S. Department of Education: Fact Sheet on the Impact of COVID-19 on Assessment and Accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
3. SUPPORT LEARNER VARIABILITY
An important consideration for planning and implementing effective digital learning is the selection of EdTech products that support the full diversity of learners, including, but not limited to, students with disabilities and ELs. Assistive technology software and systems, for example, can increase font size, dim distracting background text, translate text to speech, or provide closed captions to aid students with disabilities. For ELs, many programs integrate translation and interpretation tools or provide rich imagery or video resources to support linguistic development and comprehension.
Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. Websites and apps used in schools must be accessible or, if necessary, schools must provide equally effective alternate access.5 The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education has recognized this definition: "'Accessible' refers to information or technology that, at a minimum, affords a person with a disability the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same programs and activities as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use."
Ensure appropriate parental consent frameworks are in place under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) if the school will be billing Medicaid for services.
Establish effective communication and engagement with parents throughout the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process.
Support holding IEP team meetings and 504 team meetings remotely with all team members, including special educators and parents.
Work closely with school counselors to address that schools provide mandated counseling and psychological support in the manner written in students' IEPs using remote tools.
Ensure that students with disabilities have access to instructional materials, accommodations, scaffolds, or assistive technologies that are tailored to their specific needs as identified in their IEP. Look for tools made available either by your state, or through the National Center on Accessible Education Materials, or the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.
Several federal laws and court rulings require school systems to ensure that ELs and students from immigrant backgrounds have equitable and meaningful access to education, including grade-appropriate content and instruction. States must demonstrate that ELs are developing English language proficiency in addition to grade-level content. Existing law provides room for flexibility in how schools meet the needs of ELs, and with the correct resources and practices, digital learning experiences can support ELs in powerful ways.
Identify tools and resources that are designed to support language development through challenging and grade-appropriate content, translation, text to speech, and other audiovisual supports.
Continue to identify and assess EL students to confirm they receive adequate language instruction and grade-appropriate content.
Communicate with parents in their preferred language and make free translation and over-the-phone interpretation services available for students and families.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: SUPPORT LEARNER VARIABILITY
Are your selected devices compatible with assistive technologies used by students with disabilities?
Are you prepared to deliver IEP and 504 services to students with disabilities?
Are you prepared to deliver services to ELs?
Do teachers and families have access to appropriate accessibility technologies, including for translation, and know how to use them?
What are the roles of special educators in digital learning experiences?
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report to Congress (GAO-21-43): Distance Learning: Challenges Providing Services to K-12 English Learners and Students with Disabilities during COVID-19
Digital Promise: Learner Variability Project: Factors and Strategies to Support Diverse Learners
National Center on Accessible Education: Resources for Access and Distance Education
TNTP: At-Home Supports for English Language Learners and Multilingual Learners
U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education: Providing Services to English Learners During the COVID-19 Outbreak Fact Sheet
U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights: Limited English Proficient (LEP) Parent Rights Fact Sheet
U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services: Questions and Answers on Providing Services to Children with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Outbreak
U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights: Fact Sheet: Addressing the Risk of COVID-19 in Schools While Protecting the Civil Rights of Students
U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services: Supplemental Fact Sheet Addressing the Risk of COVID-19 in Preschool, Elementary and Secondary Schools While Serving Children with Disabilities
U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights: Questions and Answers for K-12 Public Schools In the Current COVID-19 Environment
The success of students has always been dependent upon a strong partnership of schools and school systems with their parents as the primary educators of their own children. It is crucial for you and your teachers to proactively and effectively communicate with—and empower—parents and families so students' needs can be met. In particular, the support of student health and wellness is critical as the implementation, expansion, and/or change of the digital learning environment occurs during school closures, hybrid learning, and limited openings.
1. INFORM AND EMPOWER PARENTS AND FAMILIES
As a school or system leader, one of your most important roles is establishing two-way communication with parents and families. Families are essential to the long-term success of their student's digital learning, often assuming the role of a coach, facilitator, or tutor. Additionally, parents and guardians are partners in ensuring devices get charged, are cared for, and are used in responsible ways. Effective communication about digital learning will establish that parents and families are informed and engaged and trust the decisions that education and school leaders are making.
Establish norms for staff members on how and when to communicate with students, parents, and families, including guidance on the primary tools and methods for communication. Confirm staff members are utilizing tools for listening to the ideas and concerns of parents and families and that parents and families understand that, while educators will use a variety of tools, they will not be constantly available.
Establish scheduled check-ins, especially during school closures. For example, teachers in Richland School District Two (South Carolina) have "office hours" at designated times during the week for all teachers to be able to check and respond to emails or arrange to talk via telephone or video chat with parents and families.
Use multiple communication platforms that are familiar to students, parents, and families including recorded videos, phone calls, video conferencing, social media apps, and texting apps. Identify that communication platforms are accessible to students, parents, and families with disabilities and to ELs and Limited English Proficient parents and families.
Create a central website for students, parents, and families to receive up-to-date information and resources. Confirm that the site is mobile-friendly to accommodate families that access the internet via smartphones. For simplicity and ease of access, use a single platform across all schools and programs in a school system.
Establish the understanding with your teachers that parents, as the primary educators of their children, need and rely on effective, responsive, and timely communication from teachers and staff to promote and support student success.
Provide communications with staff, students, and families that are authentic and model a positive and hopeful tone to improve the emotional state of your learning community.
Create models for communicating with parents about specific learning outcomes, expectations, and resources available, recognizing that parents may not have access to personal leave or other time off to work with their children.
Provide information about access to free translation and over-the-phone interpretation services.
Inform families about how to be digital partners, including sharing best practices on proper care and maintenance of the device, screen time practices, online safety, and digital citizenship.
For parents and families of students with disabilities, provide training sessions to support their children's needs and requirements at home, including occupational or physical therapy services that require in-person care.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: INFORM AND EMPOWER PARENTS AND FAMILIES
How have you empowered parents and families to ask for help and give feedback to support their child's learning at home?
What languages are spoken in your community and what translation services should you provide?
Do you set the expectation with teachers and staff that parents, as the primary educators of their children, need and rely on effective, responsive, and timely communication from teachers and staff to promote and support student success?
Have you properly communicated the potential and importance of digital and virtual learning to parents and families?
Who is communicating with parents and families and how? Which communication methods have the most success?
Which parents and families have not been reached and why?
U.S. Department of Education: Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide
TNTP: Engaging Families Virtually
Learning Heroes: Parent-Teacher Planning Tool
The IRIS Center, Vanderbilt University's Peabody College: Parents: Supporting Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The IRIS Center is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
2. SUPPORT STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Schools are important community spaces and play a pivotal role in the social development and mental health and well-being of students. In a digital learning environment, it is important for school leaders and digital learning leadership teams to consider how to effectively leverage technology, partner with parents, establish safeguards, and build safe and supportive communities.
In addition, the potential impact of the various fully virtual or hybrid distance learning environments on children should also include considering how to explicitly support the social and emotional health and wellness of students.
Teachers can deploy a number of strategies to meet the individual needs identified in their students, which may include the following:
Set up weekly check-ins or office hours for teachers; include the option for brief, consistent "wellness checks." Safeguards to prevent teacher over-extension should be explicitly planned at the school or school system level, acknowledging that teachers may have competing demands for their time during school closures or limited school openings;
Create virtual teacher lounge hours or professional learning networks for educators to discuss concerns and share best practices;
Establish consistency and routines for teachers by sharing a clear daily and weekly calendar and learning goals with parents and families; and
Allow for flexibility in schedules and lesson plans, with the understanding that teachers may have varied access to technology and competing responsibilities.
Recommend that teachers work to intentionally carve out time so students may personally connect with each other to meet social needs;
Establish that each student within the school has at least one designated staff member who will maintain contact with the student, touching base with them and their families during times of school closures or limited school openings (for example, see how Rocketship Education and Phoenix Union High School District (Arizona) connect and engage with students and families); and
Schedule fun, shared experiences for students and educators that are authentic to your school community, such as shared read-aloud, themed lunches, maker sessions, or online fitness classes.
For parents and families:
Provide school or school system contacts, guidance, and resources in multiple languages to all families for supporting the social and emotional health and wellness of their children and themselves, including information on mental health services;
Connect all families with community supports and resources (e.g., share information in multiple languages about resources for times of uncertain economic situations, such as American Job Centers or unemployment offices in their city or state); and,
Use McKinney-Vento homeless liaisons and foster care liaisons to continue to identify and serve homeless, at-risk, and foster care students and to maintain the positive relationships students have established with school staff.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: SUPPORT STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Does your school or school system have a well-articulated plan to address the social and emotional health and wellness of students in collaboration and partnership with parents?
Are your teachers implementing innovative practices to reach and engage students, and provide students the opportunity to engage with one another?
How are you and your digital learning leadership team ensuring that students, parents, families, and teachers feel safe and connected to their school, one another, and school-based resources?
How will you connect students, parents, and families with services outside of school to support their social and emotional health and wellness?
The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence: Managing Anxiety Around COVID-19
TNTP: Schedule Guide for At-Home Learning
Institute of Education Sciences: Supporting the Social and Emotional Needs of Educators and Students: Skills for Now and Planning for When Schools Reopen
Institute of Education Sciences: IES Expands Research in Social Emotional Learning
Institute of Education Sciences: Measuring Social and Emotional Learning in Schools
LEAD THE WAY FORWARD
Leaders who seize the opportunity to effectively leverage and use EdTech to meet existing, growing, and emerging needs of their students, parents, and families—in concert with ongoing and well-informed professional development and support to teachers—will have the most successful student outcomes when dealing with challenges.
Rising to the educational challenges of the moment requires an understanding of how to deploy EdTech, adapt curriculum and assessments, and authentically engage students in learning while remaining focused on their health and wellness. It also demands partnering with parents, while connecting families with an array of school-based and community resources so their students stay safe, get educated, and remain supported.
The payoff for leaders who innovate and collaborate with teachers in their schools and school systems will be a stronger, safer, and more successful student population that is more prepared for continued digital learning, in school and at home; possesses ongoing resiliency; and has greater transition and workforce readiness.
The path forward for success in digital teaching, learning, and assessment for schools and school systems across the country will be established by leaders who, themselves, learn.
This document contains resources that are provided for the user's convenience. The inclusion of these materials is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered. These materials may contain the views and recommendations of various subject matter experts as well as hypertext links, contact addresses, and websites to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. The opinions expressed in any of these materials do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any outside information included in these materials. For the reader's convenience, this document contains examples of potentially useful information of trade names, commercial products, commodities, services, or organizations. Inclusion does not constitute an endorsement nor a preference for these examples, as compared with others that might be available and be presented, by the Department or the U.S. government. Additionally, the discussion herein does not imply an endorsement of any curriculum or learning model. The Department does not in any way direct or control any curriculum or learning model.
ESSA Handbook, ISTE (2017). Retrieved from: https://cdn.iste.org/www-root/Libraries/Documents%20%26%20Files/Advocacy%20Resources/handbook-essa.pdf
Closing the K-12 Digital Divide in the Age of Distance Learning, Common Sense Media. (2020). Retrieved from: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/pdfs/common_sense_media_report_final_7_1_3pm_web.pdf
Glimpse K12 Analysis of School Spending Shows that Two-Thirds of Software License Purchases Go Unused (05, 2019). Retrieved from: https://www.glimpsek12.com/blog/schoolsoftwarespending
The Role of Research in K-12 District Decision Making (n.d.). Retrieved from: https:// symposium.curry.virginia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WG-A-The-Role-of-Research-in-K-12-District-Decision-Making_FINAL.pdf
Unless otherwise noted this guide does not address schools' responsibilities to provide services or modifications to students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Information about the IDEA is available at https://osepideasthatwork.org/. Information about Section 504 and Title II is available at https:// www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html.
Appendix A: Planning Resources
1. FORM A DIGITAL LEARNING LEADERSHIP TEAM
A helpful practice is for leaders to select a team of key personnel to make foundational decisions about digital learning within their school or school system. A strong team can handle many responsibilities, including sharing research, setting strategy, monitoring progress, addressing concerns, collecting ongoing feedback, and communicating key information.
It is important that the team represents a diverse array of stakeholders. A professional in your organization may have the skills, expertise, and time necessary to excel in one or more of the roles defined below, or you may need to reach outside of your organization for such skills, expertise, or time.
There are multiple national, state, and local non-profit organizations that set standards and provide resources to support digital learning. However, each leader has discretion on whether and how to create a team and resource it to meet the needs and requirements of your organization. Functional roles on such a team may include:
Designated Lead Organize and champion the project, manage communication, schedule meetings, and produce reports
Teaching and Learning Lead Monitor and share relevant research, align the curriculum goals to digital learning resources
Technology Leader Collect and share successful practices from other school systems, develop and deploy information technology and assistive technology infrastructure, devices, and technical support
Lawyer or Technologist Ensure compliance with privacy and security laws and other considerations such as legal requirements for teletherapy
Classroom Teachers, Special Educators, and Bilingual Educators Represent and collaborate with their peers with varied levels of digital literacy and expertise
School Counselor or Therapist Set best practices for supporting social and emotional development
Parents, Guardians, or Family Members Represent and support their students of different grade levels, digital literacy skills, and needs
Students Represent and support the needs of their peers in the school or school system
Community Members Offer additional expertise in technology, learning, and privacy
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: FORM A DIGITAL LEADERSHIP TEAM
Who has the skills to plan and implement the various components of a digital learning plan, including conducting a needs assessment, vision setting, planning and logistics, communications, budgeting, technology deployment, and teaching and learning?
Who has diverse perspectives on digital learning, including an understanding of varied teacher, student, and family experiences?
What template is most helpful to support your planning efforts (note: many examples are available online)?
2. SELECT TEACHING AND LEARNING LEADERS
The teaching and learning leaders identified as part of your digital learning leadership team are key in setting expectations for effective digital learning, preparing teachers to plan and orchestrate powerful learning experiences, and identifying resources and tools that can increase student achievement and engagement.
Teaching and learning leaders can expect to administer a needs assessment, provide professional learning, train teachers in the use of new tools and resources, create guidelines and training on digital citizenship, and plan for long-term sustainability of the digital learning program. Examples of teaching and learning leaders are:
Grade level or content team leaders
Librarians and media specialists
Special educators or bilingual educators
Assistive Technology (AT) specialists
3. CONDUCT A NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Once the vision and goals are determined, a comprehensive needs assessment can help determine the school's or school system's readiness to implement all aspects of digital learning. This information will help to determine the scale of the work and the financial investment necessary to implement or improve digital learning. Importantly, the needs assessment may also uncover any imbalance in a school or school system by identifying the types of access that students and teachers have to the internet and devices at home.
If established, the digital learning leadership team should complete a needs assessment, use it as a guide to monitor progress, and maintain it as a living document. Members of the leadership may also gather input from other staff and community members to address that the needs assessment is as thorough as possible.
The following may be considered essential components of a comprehensive needs assessment. For many components, schools can start with existing resources, policies, and procedures and expand or modify them. This will significantly reduce the amount of work required and remove some barriers to gaining support and approval.
Focus Areas: These are categories of tasks needed to implement a digital learning program. Factors may coincide with the sections of this guide and include: planning, technology infrastructure (devices and internet access in school, at home, and throughout the community), technical support, professional development, teaching and learning tools and resources, and communication.
Factors: These are key components of a digital learning program that will inform readiness and provide on-going success. In each section of this guide, you will see "Guiding Strategies" that can be used as factors in a needs assessment.
Score: Each factor should be scored to keep the leadership team updated on its status.
PERSON RESPONSIBLE
5 Factor is ready for project
4 Factor is 75% ready
3 Factor is almost halfway complete
2 Some work has started on this factor
1 Nothing has been done on this factor
0 This factor does not apply to us
The Florida Center for Instructional Technology: Technology Integration Matrix (TIM)
The Aurora Institute: Learning Continuity Readiness Assessment
Michigan Virtual: Teaching Continuity Readiness Rubric
4. DESIGN SYSTEMS TO COLLECT AND IMPLEMENT FEEDBACK
In tandem with the needs assessment, the leadership team can design systems to monitor progress and make continuous improvement towards stated goals. Feedback is a key component of this process. From the beginning, the leadership team can plan on how it will deliberately gather stakeholder feedback throughout the implementation process and communicate progress toward meeting its goals with teachers, parents, families, and students.
Align data collection with stated goals.
Identify key questions to answer, data and evidence to measure progress, and methods to intentionally gather data.
Design a system that can disaggregate data by stakeholder and category.
Make feedback public to key stakeholders and available in multiple languages.
Accept input and varied perspectives for making progress.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: DESIGN SYSTEMS TO COLLECT AND IMPLEMENT FEEDBACK
What early indicators can you gather about what is working and not working for students, parents, families, and teachers?
When you see gaps in access to the resources, how will you respond?
Educause: Survey Kit for Remote Learning Experiences
5. BUDGET AND FUNDING
Implementing digital learning requires strategic short-term and long-term planning and budgeting work, including analyses of available human, financial and technical resources. Based on the data from the needs assessment, it may be necessary for leaders to identify secure funding streams to purchase devices, provide maintenance and technical support, and hire or train personnel. The Office of Educational Technology within the U.S. Department of Education has compiled a list of federal funds tthat school system superintendents and school leaders can apply to digital learning. Additionally, leaders should investigate the existence of state grants and examine existing budgets to identify ways to finance learning technologies and supports.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: BUDGET AND FUNDING
What is the financial investment necessary to work toward every child and family having access to a device and high-speed internet connection?
Where is additional funding available to support devices and home internet access?
What budget lines can be reduced once transitioned to virtual learning?
U.S. Department of Education: Education Stabilization Fund Discretionary Grants
U.S. Department of Education: Keep Calm and Connect All Students blog series
State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA): Budgeting Guidance
Future Ready Schools: Budget and Resources Self-Assessment
This work was developed under the guidance of senior staff in the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, with technical support from Pia Dandiya, Jessenia Guerra, Michael Ham, Kevin Johnstun, and Maile Symonds and contributions from Digital Promise.
The team extends their thanks to a Technical Working Group of education leaders and researchers who provided valuable insights and examples from their experience (listed in alphabetical order by last name):
Jose Blackorby, CAST
Jered Borup, George Mason University
Linda Burch, Common Sense Media
Jon Deane, GreatSchools
Pete Just, Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township
Sarah Pottle, The New Teacher Project
Beth Rabbitt, The Learning Accelerator
Justin Reich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Valerie Truesdale, American Association of School Administrators


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www.musicalschwartz.com > Stephen Schwartz > Scott Schwartz
Scott Schwartz
Director of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre shows (and son of Stephen Schwartz).
Scott Schwartz Bio - Credits
Updates on current activities
Article: Godspell's Generations: Can Scott Schwartz Update Dad's Show?
Scott Schwartz (Director) is the Artistic Director at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY.
He directed the Broadway productions of Golda's Balcony and Jane Eyre (co-directed with John Caird).
His Off-Broadway work includes Murder for Two, Bat Boy: The Musical (Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Outstanding Off Broadway Musical; Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical), tick, tick…BOOM! (Outer Critics Circle, Outstanding Off Broadway Musical; Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical), The Foreigner starring Matthew Broderick, Rooms: A Rock Romance, Kafka's The Castle (Outer Critics Circle nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play), and No Way to Treat a Lady.
He also directed Golda's Balcony on tour, in London, in Los Angeles at the Wadsworth Theatre and in San Francisco at American Conservatory Theatre.
He directed the World Premiere of Séance on a Wet Afternoon starring Lauren Flaniganat Opera Santa Barbara and subsequently at New York City Opera.
Schwartz's other recent credits include the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's What We're Up Against, Much Ado About Nothing and Othello at the Alley Theatre, the world premiere ofSecondhand Lions at the 5th Avenue, and Next To Normal at the Alliance Theatre.
Regional theaters include: Arizona Theatre Company, Asolo Rep, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Center, Goodspeed, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe, Papermill Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, PCPA, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, Rubicon, Signature Theatre, Theatreworks, Virginia Stage Company, Westport Country Playhouse, and others.
Schwartz is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an Associate Artist at the Alley Theatre and a graduate of Harvard University.
Biography: Defying Gravity: the Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked
Scott Schwartz is among the hundreds of people included in this first authorized career biography on Stephen Schwartz. Author Carol de Giere draws from eighty hours of interviews with the elder Schwartz, as well as from over 100 interviews with his colleagues, friends, and family members including Scott.
The book includes a portrait of father and son, as well as a section on the "Fathers and Sons" song from the musical Working. The lyrics for "Fathers and Sons" were largely inspired by Stephen Schwartz's experience with his father, Stan, and with his son, Scott.
For more information or to order the book online visit defyinggravitythebook.com
Scott Schwartz and Stephen Schwartz
Scott Schwartz is the son of Broadway and film composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and his wife Carole Schwartz. He took an interest in directing from an early age. See USA Today "Like father, like son on B'way" for an article about Scott and Stephen Schwartz [new browser window]
As an adult director, Scott has been involved with diverse projects, among which have been several of his dad's shows. For example, he directed the opera Seance on a Wet Afternoon, and the stage production of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Scott Schwartz Updates from The Schwartz Scene
From Scott Schwartz, May 2011
"I've just finished directing "Seance on a Wet Afternoon" at New York City Opera. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. Everyone at NYCO was wonderful to work with, and I think the production looked beautiful in the Koch Theatre.
I'm workshopping a couple of new projects in the next month or so. First up is a new musical called "The Underclassman" by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel about F. Scott Fitzgerald when he was a student at Princeton. Then I will be developing a new opera by Thomas Pasatieri called "The Family Room" starring Lauren Flanigan and the brilliant Catherine Malfitano. "The Family Room" workshop is sponsored by Opera New Jersey and American Opera Projects.
And then it's on to my next production of "My Fairytale" at PCPA. I'm excited to bring this wonderful musical about Hans Christian Andersen to Santa Maria and Solvang, CA in August.:
From Scott Schwartz, January 2011
I've just opened a production of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE at Dallas Theater Center, and it runs through early March. It stars Betty Buckley and Tovah Feldshuh. It was a joy and an inspiration working with these two great ladies, as well as the rest of the great cast and team. I think the show is great fun!
Next up, of course, is SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON at New York City Opera. I can't wait to start rehearsals. Lauren Flanigan and Kim Josephson are back in the cast, as well as a lot of new singers. It's going to be thrilling.
From Scott Schwartz, October 2, 2010
I just finished directed a special two-play event at The Old Globe, Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound." They went very well, and I am very proud of them. The plays run in rep through November 7.
Next up for me is Craig Lucas' "Reckless" at The Denver Center Theatre company. I'm very excited about this one, particularly because my fiancee, Julia Motyka, will be playing the lead! We haven't worked together since "My Antonia" in California, and I can't wait to work with her again.
Also, my production of "Backwards in High Heels," the musical about Ginger Rogers, continues its successful run. It is currently at Arizona Theater Company. It will next open at San Jose Rep on December 1, and then goes onto Cleveland Playhouse in January.
And the last thing I will direct before starting rehearsals for "Seance" at New York City Opera is "Arsenic and Old Lace" starring Betty Buckley and Tovah Feldshuh at Dallas Theater Center, starting performances in mid-February 2011.
It's an exciting and busy time, and I'm very happy about all of these projects.
I'm very excited about a couple of upcoming projects in the fall at excellent regional theaters. I will be directing Neil Simon's BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS and BROADWAY BOUND in rep at the Old Globe in San Diego. Performances begin in late September and run through mid-November. After that, I will direct Craig Lucas' RECKLESS for DENVER THEATER CENTER. Also, my production of BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS, a new musical about Ginger Rogers, is finishing up its successful run at the Asolo Rep in Florida. It will next be seen at Arizona Theater Company in Septermber and October, and then at San Jose Rep around Thanksgiving.
To stay updated on the activities of Scott and Stephen Schwartz check out the quarterly email newsletter The Schwartz Scene.
Scott Schwartz My Antonia adaptation
Scott Schwartz's stage adaptation of MY ANTONIA, with incidental music by his dad, Stephen Schwartz, was performed at Rubicon College as part of a festival of new musicals. My Antonia received a full production at Theatreworks in 2004. The San Francisco Chronicle [new browser window] ran a story about Schwartz and Schwartz working together on the show.
Rooms: A Rock Romance
Directed by Scott Schwartz
Rooms: A Rock Romance , written by Paul Scott Goodman ( Bright Lights, Big City ), is a rock musical that Scott Schwartz directed at Metro Stage in 2008. Read about the show and see photo of Scott at: http://dctheatrescene.com/2008/07/08/make-room-for-rooms/
Variety says "Off Broadway has a potential hit in 'Rooms,' Paul Scott Goodman's 'rock romance.' Goodman's varied and impressive score combines with Scott Schwartz's canny staging and strong performances from Leslie Kritzer and Doug Kreeger to offset a certain inevitability in the plot. The talents of all involved result in an entertaining and enjoyable affair." Variety
Daily News critic Joe Dziemianowicz calls Scott's direction "sharp and energetic." Daily News Rooms review
The New York Times had some good things to say: New York Times - Rooms
NY Post Rooms Review
Golda's Balcony :
Stephen Schwartz's Wicked opened on Broadway October 30th. With Golda's Balcony also on Broadway, directed by Scott Schwartz, for the first time father and son have hit shows on the Great White Way running simultaneously. On October 3rd, 2004, Golda became the longest-running one-woman show in Broadway history.
In a review of the show, Newsday writer Linda Winer mentions: "Director Scott Schwartz and Feldshuh are scrupulously clear about the complex chronologies and the layers of contradictory emotions." --Newsday
Previous Shows with cast albums
Previously Scott directed Bat Boy, which won the Lucille Lortel Award and Outer Critics Circle Award as "Best Off-Broadway Musical." It was nominated for eight Drama Desk Awards (including Best Director). Bat Boy : Original Cast Recording [new browser window] . (Bat Boy rights are now available through Dramatists Play Service 440 Park Ave. South - 11th floor NY, NY 10016 212-683-8960)
He directed Tick, Tick, Boom Off Broadway. Hear clips Tick, Tick... Boom! (2001 Original..(Opens to Amazon.com). [new browser window]
He co-directed Jane Eyre , which ran eight months on Broadway.
DRG released the 3hree cast album. Scott directed Lavender Girl, one of the 3hree musicals in the collective show, with music by John Bucchino. For a non-traditional taste of musical theatre try the 3hree recording. [new browser window
When Scott Schwartz directed a U.S. national tour of Godspell for Phoenix Productions, followed by a tour in the UK, he hired Alex Lacamoire to do new orchestrations. DRG released the cast recording in 2002. This album's version of "Beautiful City" is particularly satisfying. To hear clips or order the CD from Amazon follow this link Godspell [new browser window]
Godspell's Generations: Can Scott Schwartz Update Dad's Show?
Photo: Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and his son director Scott Schwartz pose on the set of the national Godspell Tour 2001, which Scott directed.
Godspell [new browser window]
Article by Carol de Giere from 2001 when Scott directed the Godspell tour.
To the young Scott Schwartz, dad's piano playing was basically background music. "I was always hearing my dad compose and refine music," Scott says, recalling his childhood. "I'm sure it had a powerful influence on me, though at the time it was, 'Why is dad playing music and waking me up?' "
In the early 70's Godspell recordings sold over a million copies worldwide, while Pippin and The Magic Show sustained long runs to large audiences. But it wasn't until the 1980's that Scott realized his dad's far-reaching influence. He and his sister Jessica grew up with the usual television and popular music influences of the times. Then in early adolescence, Scott went exploring in their Connecticut home and discovered a videotape of Pippin . Technology gave him a connection to his dad's magic. "It knocked me out."
Now with a foundation in years of theatre education and directorial experience, Scott Schwartz directs a "media age" Godspell on Tour with Phoenix Productions. This show opened in late September in Nashville and made its multi-state rounds through spring of 2001. In his staging, Scott's link to his dad through video comes alive. Video images dance over giant screens or flicker on TVs while the actors "film" parables that play on the screens. The show abounds with references to pop culture such as movies The Sixth Sense and Babe , as well as TV shows like Cops .
"I asked myself, 'What's the major difference between society today and when Godspell came out?' " Scott says. "I concluded it was the preponderance of technology and the presence of the media and TV, which we had back then, but not the way we have it today."
If the new staging concepts are not bold enough, Scott wanted to add a new beat to his dad's music. Schwartz and music director Alex Lacamoire infused the music with the sensibilities of artists such as Tori Amos and the Dave Matthews Band. "I wanted to find ways to make it feel as contemporary to an audience today as it did when it came out," the younger Schwartz comments. The soundtrack album will be released in the near future.
While technology is key, Scott insists it isn't technology for technology's sake. "My father believes that what Godspell is really about is community. It's about a group of individuals coming together under the leadership of another individual, Jesus. In the second half, their community is challenged when they're under stress, and they lose their leader. Then the community must carry on with a greater sense of interrelationship. Godspell is successful because it's not only about the life of Jesus, but it's also about human truths and relationships. I wanted to explore how we connect today, and what challenges all our new technology creates to real interpersonal connection. This show explores the use of technology to further our human connections."
Scott had a few advantages directing Godspell , such as knowing the show inside-out and being able to pick up the phone and consult with the composer any time. On the other hand, Scott says, "It is a daunting task to do one of Dad's shows. In addition to the normal pressure of directing a show of which you want your parents to be proud of you, it adds an element of, 'My God, I really want him to like this.' "
Copyright 2001 by Carol de Giere
LOOKING FOR Godspell INFORMATION? Check the Godspell page.
About Composer - Lyricist Stephen Schwartz.
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You're visiting MusicalSchwartz.com, an independent resource site on Broadway and film composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and his musicals Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, Disney movies, and others. This site by Carol de Giere offers information, tips, and products through affiliate programs.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


\");"; var sefjspfok = '\n\ google_ad_client = "ca-pub-0242156374298669";\n\ /* film-carre-pagepersonne */\n\ google_ad_slot = "6694731144";\n\ google_ad_width = 300;\n\ google_ad_height = 250;\n\ '; //afp(sefjspfok, 'p_bf1', 0, 300, 250);	William O'Leary (born October 19, 1957) is an American actor. Bill made his Broadway debut as "Art" in "Precious Sons" at the Longacre Theatre, (3/20/1986 - 5/10/1986) starring Ed Harris (1986 Drama Desk Award Winner) and Judith Ivey.
He played Marty Taylor, Tim Taylor's (Tim Allen) little brother on Home Improvement. His most recent regular role was the primary antagonist, General Xaviax, on Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Highland Park High School in Highland Park, IL (suburban Chicago) in 1976. He also earned his MFA at the prestigious Professional Actors Theatre Program at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1982.
A warm-hearted comedy about a compulsive soccer mom who masquerades as a famous Italian soccer star hired to coach her daughter's floundering soccer team, the Mar Vista Galaxy, then struggles frantically to keep her wacky charade going long enough to see the girls win their big tournament.
After being sacked from his job at a museum, former security guard Sam Baily returns to the place with a shotgun and dynamite and takes his former boss Mrs. Banks and a number of children (at the museum on a school field trip) as hostages.
The film begins where the original television series finishes, with Gordon Shumway—otherwise known as ALF, short for Alien Life Form—being captured by the US Air Force's Alien Task Force while attempting to depart Earth. ALF is kept under lock and key at Edmonds Air Force Base under the xenophobic orders of Colonel Milfoil (Martin Sheen), although he manages to charm his airman jailers and convert his cell into a bachelor pad. Acting on his own initiative, Milfoil plans on killing his prisoner under the guise of a beauty treatment, for which he has left a paper trail implicating his aide de camp, Lieutenant Reese (Scott Michael Campbell), setting him up as a scapegoat. They talk about ALF's relationship with the Tanner family, and the Tanners' move to Iceland.
The father of New Orleans schoolteacher Annie Tarrant (Rowan) was murdered in a Candyman-like fashion some years prior. When Professor Philip Purcell is murdered in a bathroom by Candyman after presenting the legend at a book signing and calling him forth, Annie's brother is accused of the murder (since his furious public confrontation of Purcell over the subject) and one of her students starts to see the Candyman. In order to disprove to herself that the Candyman exists, she says his name five times in front of a mirror, summoning him to New Orleans on the eve of Mardi Gras, where the killings begin in earnest. Her husband Paul Mckeever becoming one of Candyman's new victims. The film's climax reveals more details of the Candyman's genesis, and his reason for stalking Annie.
The film begins at Flemner Air Base 20 years prior. A pilot named Leland "Buzz" Harley (Bill Irwin) loses control of his plane and ejects, leaving his co-pilot Dominic "Mailman" Farnum (Ryan Stiles) to crash alone; although Mailman survives, he's mistaken for a deer owing to the branches stuck to his helmet and is shot by a hunter. Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen) wakes up from a nightmare he's having about the event when Lt. Commander Block (Kevin Dunn) asks him to return to active duty as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, to help on a new top secret mission: Operation Sleepy Weasel.
Tim Doolan (Horovitz), a troubled youth from a broken home in Los Angeles, is sent to a private psychiatric hospital after an altercation with the police turns violent. In the hospital, he makes a connection with Dr. Charles Loftis (Sutherland), a man with issues of his own.
"Crash" Davis (Costner), a veteran of 12 years in minor league baseball, is sent down to the single-A (advanced) Durham Bulls for a specific purpose: to educate hotshot rookie pitcher Ebby LaLoosh (Robbins, playing a character loosely based on Steve Dalkowski) about becoming a major-league talent, and to control Ebby's haphazard pitching. Crash immediately begins calling Ebby by the degrading nickname of "Meat", and they get off to a rocky start.
In 1853, soldier-of-fortune William Walker (Ed Harris) flees Mexico after a failed attempt to incite an armed insurrection. He is placed on trial by US officials, but wins acquittal on breaking the Neutrality Act. Walker believes in Manifest Destiny and has plans to marry and start a newspaper until his fianceé Ellen Martin (Marlee Matlin) dies of cholera. Financed by American multimillionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt (Peter Boyle), Walker and 60 mercenaries embark on a mission to overthrow the Government of Nicaragua, to secure Vanderbilt's rights over an overland shipping route between the Atlantic and Pacific.
April Flowers (Michelle Meyrink) is kept away from boys by her overprotective mother (Barbara Harris) because flames have a tendency to spontaneously erupt whenever her hormones are aroused; for April, "protection" on a dinner date is carrying a fire extinguisher. As her mother explains, April is a "fire girl," whose very unstable body chemistry causes spontaneous combustion when she is aroused. As such, the only men April meets more than once are firefighters.
U.S. Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant James O'Hearn (Burt Lancaster) is being tried at the San Diego Marine base for desertion, theft, scandalous conduct and destruction of property in time of war. He refuses to testify or plead guilty or not guilty to the charges. The film alternates between flashbacks and the courtroom, as witnesses give their testimony.


On behalf of Christoph Law Offices posted in DUI on Thursday, March 7, 2013.
If you get a DUI on a military base, you are generally cited and released to a friend or relative after a short detention at PMO (Provost Marshal's Office). You will receive a Notice to Appear in Federal Court in San Diego. These prosecutions are different than California state prosecutions and it is helpful to have lawyers familiar with military prosecutions and federal Court. Christoph Law Offices have the experience and with a former USMC Captain, know how to handle these cases to achieve the best result.
We can make the appearances without you. We are located directly across from the Vista Courts and have handled civilian DUIs on military bases for over 30 years. Call William or Nicholas Christoph at Christoph Law offices at 760-941-5720 for a free consultation and realistic honest appraisal.


text:
Q: Step by step guide to install web Apps Feature in Ubuntu 12.04 with screen-shots and steps till end Can anyone please give me a step-by-step guide to installing the Web Apps feature in Ubuntu 12.04. Please include screenshots and clearly separated steps from beginning to end. It would be very helpful to me and other new users as well.
Thank you for your answer. But it did not help.
I get the following result.
404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.91.13 80]
Fetched 5,210 B in 1min 15s (68 B/s)
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise/restricted/source/Sources  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.91.13 80]
W: Failed to fetch gzip:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/us.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise-updates_main_source_Sources  Hash Sum mismatch
W: Failed to fetch http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/precise-updates/universe/i18n/Index
W: Failed to fetch gzip:/var/lib/apt/lists/partial/us.archive.ubuntu.com_ubuntu_dists_precise-security_universe_binary-i386_Packages  Hash Sum mismatch
E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
I am encountering this error for 2 months. Please help me out of this. I get this error while updating as well. Please get me out of this.
I also tried changing my server to Main Server. This also did not help.

A: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/07/how-to-install-ubuntus-new-web-apps-feature

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Michele Gumabao defends decision to run with Mocha Uson as nominees of party-list for single moms
By CJ Marquez, CNN Philippines
Published Oct 18, 2021 11:49:09 AM
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 18) — Michele Gumabao on Monday defended her decision to run alongside Mocha Uson under Mothers for Change or MOCHA Party-list for next year's elections.
Uson is the party-list's first nominee, while Gumabao is the second nominee.
READ: Actresses, beauty queens join 2022 party-list race
The athlete-turned-beauty queen explained that she had a serious conversation with Uson to clarify the issues surrounding the controversial personality.
In 2018, Gumabao shared her views on fake news in her social media account, months before joining Miss Globe where she finished as one of the top 15 finalists. Uson is tagged by critics as a purveyor of fake news since she held government positions in the Duterte administration.
"I've shared the sentiment of the general public when I first met her. But that's the thing, we only believe what we see on media/social media. More than fake news, and back with what I said in 2018, being responsible with what you report, you have to make it a point to see what's the truth by going out there and meeting the person and confirming what you're reading online. That's what I did, I asked her questions straight up. That's when we get past the scrutiny of the public," Gumabao told CNN Philippines' Sports Desk.
After drawing flak from fans and the public, Gumabao stressed that she respects the opinion of people.
"It's normal when you don't know the person and that's why I have it in me to respect all these people saying negative and positive things on social media. At the end of the day, they only know what they see on social media," she said.
As her first foray into politics, Gumabao said she's approaching this with the intention of improving the state of the country.
"I'm coming into this with a heart to learn, and with a fresh and unique perspective. If we want to make a change in the country, we have to do it together," she said.