Why This Mid-Sized North Carolina District Is Rethinking Its Approach to Edtech Procurement
Caldwell County Schools is a mid-sized public faculty district in northwestern North Carolina. Dr. Katrina McEllen, Assistant Superintendent for Educational Program Services, oversees curriculum for a pupil inhabitants of about 10,500. While edtech isn’t explicitly inside her purview, she works hand in hand with the district’s know-how division as a result of, as she says, “in this day and age, it’s hard to do much without some form of technology in the classroom.”
Here, she explains how Course of Mind helps her district strategically incorporate studying know-how into their curriculum.
EdSurge: What led you to enroll within the Launch into Learning Sciences course?
McEllen: Actually, it was our Director of Innovation who discovered Course of Mind. So, I regarded on the program and thought of the place we had been, what our talent units had been, what our wants had been. And this type of dovetailed with what we had been making an attempt to do to enhance our providers for college kids.
We hoped to study not solely in regards to the studying sciences, however about edtech and what to search for if you’re taking a look at edtech—to be extra educated about all of those totally different merchandise and corporations. We’re grateful for ESSER funds; they definitely have helped us bridge the hole and buy lots of units and software program that we could not have been ready to. But it is onerous to actually sift via and determine what’s greatest for our college students. We need to guarantee that we’re good stewards.
We’re simply making an attempt to be conscious, methodical and analytical in why we’re selecting what we’re selecting, ensuring that it’s a good match. We’ve obtained to actually pair curriculum and know-how collectively to be certain that we’re getting the software program that works for our district and achieves what we would like to obtain. We even have to be certain that it meets the know-how necessities.
How would you describe your district’s strategy to edtech procurement prior to enrolling on this course?
We’ve tried to be strategic. There are some procedures in place earlier than colleges can exit and simply buy one thing. It has to undergo an approval course of. So, we now have created one thing, however we’re nonetheless fine-tuning that to some extent.
And we’ve made some concessions that we’ll buy sure packages for everyone within the district to create some commonalities. Some of that call making was based mostly on our experiences throughout COVID—what was used, how efficient it was, wanting on the utilization stories after which price. While ESSER funds have helped, there’s nonetheless not a limiteless finances. And then we now have to suppose long-term about sustainability; when ESSER funds usually are not there, what can we nonetheless afford as a district with out sacrificing different issues? We’re about 60 p.c economically deprived right here within the district. So, we do strive to have a look at fairness. Certainly, we would like to guarantee that we’re not advantaging one inhabitants or one space above one other.
Something that hinders us right here in Caldwell County is the geography. Not all of our properties have web or the potential to even get web due to the place we’re. They cannot essentially even get a cellphone or wifi sign to have the opportunity to get on a tool. It’s no fault of the mother and father or the households or the communities. There are simply areas within the state that may’t have web.
Can you share a few of your most significant takeaways from the course?
There are lots of programs you soak up schooling to change into a trainer, however I do not know that anyone ever broke down the science for me earlier than. When I took this course, we began actually digging into how the mind works—the storage processes, and how one can solely maintain a lot data, after which the way it transfers from the working reminiscence into the long-term reminiscence, issues like that. It’s good to perceive, for instance, why it is a good suggestion that you simply chunk the data that you simply give your college students. Don’t overwhelm your college students. Don’t overwhelm yourselves.
In schooling, it is so typically in regards to the technique, however typically understanding the analysis behind the technique is important. “This is why you set up your class on this approach,” or “This is why you go through this concept in this manner.” It kind of brought back to me the science of teaching. There is an art to it, but I think knowing the science behind it helps.
What was nice about this course was that you had the research behind it. You have that knowledge, and then you are able—through some of the exercises that they ask you to do—to kind of apply it in real life. “How does this work for you?” and “What would you do from there?” That’s what we would like our college students to do; we would like them to take their data and apply it. You study a lot extra by doing than simply by sitting and listening. And I feel this course simply reiterated a few of these issues.
How will this allow you to refine your edtech procurement course of?
Now, we now have all this data and a spot to come again to and reference. So, a number of the subsequent steps for us, as a district, will likely be to take this data and construct it into one thing that we will share with all of our lecturers to assist them notice there’s a rhyme and purpose to why you do sure issues, or to why sure methods work higher than others.
I feel all of us have a look at price, and that is a think about our selections. But does the instrument actually meet the wants of all of our college students? How accessible is it for a pupil that’s visually impaired or listening to impaired? Will it meet the wants of our English language learners? When we take into consideration accessibility and usefulness, we do not essentially at all times soar to all of these totally different angles. The course introduced a few of these issues into the forefront. Talking via these issues and listening to views from different districts, that was a useful a part of what we did as nicely.
Let’s talk about your expertise with Course of Mind’s teaching. What do you hope to obtain with this help?
We are wanting ahead to having the prospect to work with somebody one on one—an out of doors individual with totally different views, a special perspective, with experience and data within the space of edtech and procurement. Because there are a lot of firms that do principally the identical factor. And how do you sift via and just remember to’re discovering the best ones to select from? I feel having that exterior lens can assist us be a greater district, make higher selections. And in the event that they see one thing that is flawed, I count on them to inform us.
We’re working towards consistency. So for me, it is fine-tuning that course of, arising with a rubric, after which the understanding that goes together with it. We need assistance framing that dialog and getting a pathway for making these selections. We’re actually making an attempt to do what’s in the very best curiosity of all of our college students. Let’s make it simpler on the mother and father and the scholars and all people else to get down to that one piece of know-how, no matter it could be, in order that we’re transferring in the best route. I’m hoping to have some conversations to assist us drill down and ensure we’re making that greatest choice for our college students and for our lecturers right here.
This program is nicely definitely worth the effort. You acquire such useful data and perception that you do not get via a standard schooling program. And then to have the opportunity to take what we have realized right here and rework it into one thing that we will share with the lecturers in our districts—I feel all people can stroll away with one thing from this course.
