How to Break Up with Skills Tutor in 6’ish Easy/Hard StepsBreak Up (and other helpful DL information) Summer Institute 2016 Renada Rutmanis Adam Kieffer Tom Cytron-Hysom

Outline of the Steps Accept the the inevitable - the relationship is over, it can’t be salvaged! Grieve as needed Begin to realize there’s a whole world of exciting new possibilities to be explored Make the decision to leap into a transitional relationship, with Burlington English or Plato (or both, if you want to be non-monogamous!) Get to know your new partner(s). Get training Ask for support

Warm-up Quiz What does BE and PLE stand for? Burlington English, and Plato Learning Environment When does Skills Tutor end? December 31, 2016 Whose fault is it that Skills Tutor is ending? Not the DL Supplemental Services Team! HMH is sunsetting the program. What platforms will replace Skills Tutor as state- supported platforms? Burlington English and Plato/Edmentum (both are available as of 7/1/16)

Warm-Up Continued How can I get training on the new platforms? Training is available at Summer Institute and via webinars throughout the fall. Support desk: and Who can help me with this transition? We can! (your friendly DL Supplemental Services team)

Breaking up is hard to do But there are new possibilities around every corner! How to say goodbye with respect, and embrace new opportunitiesnew opportunities

Step 1: Transition from Skills Tuto rSkills Tuto r Make a plan that works for your program. Some suggestions: – Stop using Skills Tutor with new DL students – Dedicate staff and plenty of time to learn how to use Plato and/or BE – Start using the new platform(s) with hybrid classes this fall (if possible) so staff can become familiar with both content and admin side – Dedicate staff to DL (if you haven’t already)

Transition continued... – As DL-only students need to post-test, transition them to one of the new platforms – Contact students (a couple times) about the transition before December – Provide regular orientations for PLE and BE for your DLers Table Talk: How do you plan to transition? What help do you need?

Step 2: Choose a Rebound PlatformRebound Platform Evaluate your program needs: – Who are your students? What are their academic needs? – How much staff time can/should you dedicate? – How much DL have you been doing? – What process do you have in place for DL student retention/follow up/communication? Table Talk: How would you answer these questions?

Step 2 - Continued Decide whether you will use one or both platforms – Burlington English seats have already been distributed for the year Do your research – What do you already know? True/False quiz

Plato seats We purchased Plato Edmentum seats based on the average number of students using Skills Tutor at any given time. We can have up to 175 active users at any time. We do not expect access to be a problem. Allows for unlimited accounts created

Burlington English Seats We had funds to purchase 525 seats Each seat can be used by only one student. When a student is exited, that seat can be reassigned to a different student. We received more than twice as many seat requests as we had seats. We tried to ensure each requesting consortium received some number of seats.

Table Talk Which platform(s) do you plan to use? What challenges do you see with using these platforms?

Step 3: Set Reasonable Expectations for the New Relationship It takes time to get to know a new platform. Plan for DL hours to be down the first year. Know that it may never be ‘the same,’ but there’s always a chance this relationship will be better.

More on Expectations Check in with staff and students frequently to see how they’re doing, and to answer questions See this as opportunity to increase hybrid class offerings and aim for quality over quantity of DLers

Step 4: Access Ongoing SupportSupport PLATO/Edmentum Webinar trainings Introductory webinars offered: Sept. 12, Oct. 17, November 14, and Dec. 9 from 1-4 Advanced webinars offered Oct. 24 and Dec. 19 from 1-4 Staff from the publishers (Margo from BE; David from Plato) DL Team support through Zendesk Susan Wetenkamp-Brandt

Step 5: Know there are other (free!) fish in the sea Investigate other free platforms – Go to the DL website - distancelearning.org/ distancelearning.org/ – Ask for more training (Susan WB: Some free platforms include : Core Skills Mastery (CSM), Khan Academy, Mindquest, USA Learns Table Talk: Have you used any of these free platforms?

Step 6: Provide Feedback This is a trial year with these two platforms. Please keep us informed about: – What is going well – What are some challenges – Do you see any unmet needs? We will gather formal and informal input to inform our choices next year

Other useful DL InformationInformation New this year Zendesk Help with re-compete applications Alignment with CCRS Reminders about ongoing offerings: DL Basics online course Digital Literacy online course

Zendesk/DL User Support Improved response to questions from the field New system to submit questions on any DL topic: The DL team will monitor helpdesk requests constantly and reply quickly!

Support on Re-compete Technology, distance and digital literacy planning and facilitation for ABE consortia preparing their WIOA re-compete applications We will work with staff and managers of these consortia to develop plans for using technology to support instruction

CCRS Alignment We will be aligning sections of state supported platforms to CCRS and Adult Diploma competencies/content standards…more to come on this.

Online Professional Development Distance Learning Basics – Required for all staff working in distance learning in MN – Covers the basics of DL and differentiates for teachers, managers and support staff – 3-5 CEUs Digital Literacy Integration – Introduction to integrating digital literacy in the ABE classroom – 3 CEUs (plus an additional 1 for completing Northstar assessments) Courses available at:

Questions and DiscussionDiscussion