Digital Content Conversation

Spent the morning in a round table discussion with 16 publishers, open-source content creators, mobile device manufacturers, district staff, and members of Governor Schwarzenegger's staff relating to modularizing textbook content for distribution to California students in ways not previously delivered in the State. Things are really getting interesting...

Much conversation surrounded developing a common understanding of what defines "modular" (is it a chapter? is it a concept? is it something else?) and how it would be delivered to the classroom level. Other topics of focus included maintaining consistency of school programs (as if...) and ensuring that all students receive access to a common curricular program ("faithful implementation") and have common outcomes ("teach to the test"). That presupposes that all students come prepared to receive a common curriculum (they don't) and that all teachers stick to agreed to pacing guides (good teachers would when, how, and why to deviate in order to meet student needs). Obviously, there is much more talking that needs to be done.

i3 Validation Grant Submitted

The California Open Campus Initiative application for i3 funding was submitted on behalf of the sixteen school district consortium. The University of Southern California has prepared a stellar quasi-experimental research design that is the backbone of the project. Random assignment of established academic interventions (the classroom level) and a large sample size make this project fit well within the Department of Education's criteria for funding. Congratulations to all who worked collaboratively to bring this vision forward.

eLearning in EdWeek

Constance Gustke's article in Education Week (5/3/2010) addresses the issues holding back efforts to promote online schools and courses in the United States. In "E-Learning Hits Barriers to Expansion: A national e-learning framework would require lifting state policy restrictions now in place", Gustke asserts: "The trick is navigating a U.S. school system diced into some 15,000 districts and 50 states, characterized by distinctive academic requirements and varying policy barriers. The resulting silo effect slows down the expansion of online learning across state borders, globally, and even outside local districts, according to experts."

This is so true in California and a key reason for our initiative among districts throughout the State. The rest of the world is not waiting for us to "get out act together". California continues to lose competitive ground as we work to find our own separate ways. While much of the technologies that fuel the educational power inherent in the Internet were born in California, we continue to struggle with taking full advantage of them in our schools.

CAOCI in "The School Administrator"

The California Open Campus got some good press this month in the April edition of AASA's "The School Administrator" magazine.

"Students in several other California school districts have the opportunity to enroll in these Riverside courses through partnership agreements between the districts. Riverside has brought in limited revenue so far, but the 2010-11 school year shows considerable promise because of pending contracts. The expanding collaboration is at the heart of the California Open Campus Initiative, a federally supported program to expand access to online courses."

It is exciting to see the work continue to grow and feel the impact of the collaborative work of forward thinking school districts.

i3 Grant Proposal

The California Open Campus Initiative (CAOCI) is a consortia of 16 California school districts that are leveraging time, resources, and opportunity to expand online learning opportunities for California students and teachers with the overarching goal to increase college readiness. Funds are being sought to leverage virtual learning environments to distribute effective teaching and learning resources via the Internet, to support extended online learning opportunities to school districts and students attending consortia schools, to expand access to rigorous, online Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning resources to high-needs students, and to implement college-readiness programs that support student success and increase high school graduation and college entrance rates. The i3 grant request (Validation Level $30 million), proposes to fund the California Open Campus Initiative, providing time and resources to support student success in STEM related courses, develop inquiry-based activities, and collate digital course materials to be distributed online. This work will produce high-quality content that teachers throughout the consortia will bring to their classrooms (both traditional and virtual) and share with peer teachers in an online community of practice. This reform-minded strategy, at the grassroots level, will support teachers in becoming agents of change within their schools, while providing them with access to a powerful online network through which to propagate best practices for STEM educators throughout the consortia. The Riverside Unified School District, the Riverside Virtual School program, and the partners identified within the i3 application are uniquely positioned to serve a wide-range of students across multiple school districts and represents a scalable model for replication throughout the State.

The research and evaluation components of the proposal is supported by the University of Southern California and will produce scientifically-based evidence relating to the impact of program components on multiple student achievement outcomes. It is a model that is built on a strong research base and could be replicated in other states. Due to the “high bar” evaluation demanded of validation level i3 grant application, the USC team has developed a comprehensive research design. In order to qualify as scientific research, the proposal will need to incorporate random assignment and use of control groups. While this will dramatically enhance the validity of findings, it will impact the implementation of curriculum programs in each district. For example, during the Algebra I focus, some Algebra I teachers/students will need to be exposed to one treatment (e.g., ALEKS Math, My Math Lab, I Can Learn, or UCCP content), while other groups are exposed to another intervention or no intervention. For comparison purposes, and to support generalizability, it will be important to have classrooms in each district using each intervention. Obviously this has implications for district programs; hence the potential for resistance. The California Open Campus Initiative represents an innovative effort to build collaboration between districts and expand access to college preparatory classes to home schooled students and students enrolled in under-performing public schools, including those located in rural areas of California.

District Partners.

• Alvord
• Chino Valley
• Conejo Valley
• Covina Valley
• Glendale
• Lake Elsinore
• Los Alamitos
• Mariposa
  
• Merced
• Palm Springs
• Palo Verde
• Pomona
• Riverside
• San Gabriel
• Walnut Valley
• Yucaipa Calimesa

Other Partners:

• University of Southern California
• University of California College Prep
• The College Board
• CK12 Foundation
• Blackboard
• Pearson