Training the Masses: Large scale Implementation of Blackboard Training for Teachers Presented By Stacey Davis Baltimore City Public School System April 13, 2005

2 Background BCPSS is First Urban K-12 to adopt Blackboard Teacher Support System Used mainly to share learning activities and to share professional development resources

Evolution In Fall, 2003, BCPSS joined the Learning Management Systems Grant Identified a need to store learning objects in a repository Evaluated various solutions –BB Content System –Desire 2 Learn –Moodle

Selecting the Content System Familiarity History of quality Cost of application Cost of ownership

Implementation of Mass Training Summer 2004 Initial planning included an overview of Blackboard, but with no thought to presenting the Content System at that time. Missed Opportunity?

Planning… Grant Funds –Total Budget of $544, –Determined how many teachers we could support in a summer training series –Materials –Facilitators/Trainers

Planning… Marketing – ed principals –Mass to district –Sent out mass mailing –Looking at qualifications Hiring –30 Facilitators and Trainers –Teacher Leader/Program Manager

And More Planning… Developed Curriculum Training Sites –15 sites throughout the city Infrastructure –Assigning staff and teachers School groups or by proximity Group size Training Calendar

Curriculum BCPSS Acceptable Use Policy Copyright and Fair Use MSDE Standards –Teacher Technology Standards –Library Standards Library Resources TSS

TSS Curriculum Logging In/Out Customizing the Portal screen Courses created by the Snapshot tool Control Panel Access –Customizing a course –Uploading documents and adding course content Learning Units Assignments Assessments/Surveys –Gradebook features

Educational Resources SIRS Knowledge Source and SIRS Discoverer Proquest Professional Journals World Book Online Our Documents Cable in the Classroom United Streaming e-Books

Participant Evaluation Numeric Rating of Workshops Week Number 1 (High) %2%3%4% 5 (Low) % None Given % Total Responses % %66.59%11.10%00.00%55.49% % %44.12%00.00% % % %00.00%33.00%00.00%55.00% %77.14%00.00% %88.16% %67.23%00.00%11.20%00.00%56.02%83 Total % %102.14%51.06%10.20%296.17%469 Percent indicating satisfaction level of "1" or "2" %

I learned… that for the past six years, I have been working HARD. Now with my TSS training I can work smart. I learned so much. I truly believe that this course needs to be taught to every teacher in the system. My expectations for this session were more than met. what a wealth of technology we have available to us, and I am very excited about using it to work smarter and not harder. how to access Blackboard and its various components to enhance my teaching and professional growth and development how to develop my course on Blackboard and how the use of Blackboard would meet the standard of integrating technology in the classroom. so much that I may not retire this century!!

I learned… how to use blackboard and the TSS effectively. It's wonderful! I can't wait to finish building my course and share this information with other staff members. how to create a course to teach teachers about adapting to learning disabilities. a ton! The Blackboard capabilities for Baltimore City teachers are great. I have taken away many tangible things/info!! too much to list here, this was the best training I've taken in 7 years that this program is a teacher support system. There are many educational resources that the teachers can use to enhance their academic program. how to use the internet to gather resources beyond the curriculum for my students. how Blackboard creates a new way to find teaching materials needed for my students. so much useful information!! How to use the gradebook to make life easier. how to use Blackboard to create tests and keep track of grades by using the computer

the small group which enhanced almost a one-on-one learning situation. The hands on was excellent. The amount and depth of information was awe-inspiring. the informal but professional manner of the instructors and their willingness to assist and give directions and assistance when necessary. all the info presented. Blackboard is such a great resource! I wish I would have known its capabilities earlier. learning new things about the computer that I am able to use in the classroom to help differentiate learning for my students. the constant help by the instructors. Having 2 was very helpful. United Streaming! I really enjoyed…

the presenters and the small class size. The content and purpose was well conceived. the camaraderie of the attendants and the comfortable atmosphere. The class didn't intimidate me. how the facilitator) was able to answer my questions. They used examples for all grades. the workshop, but there is a lot more to be learned. literally everything - I feel more empowered to plan and manage a more effective and time efficient course. using the different headings under Blackboard. I didn't know we could access so much information on the computer.

I would change… not one thing. In all my six years with BCPSS this is the only training where I felt that I gained a tool that can really help me be more effective and efficient inside and out of the class. I would mandate the training for all new teachers in BCPSS. nothing! I gained so much helpful information – Information gained that I will be happy to use with my peers, students, parents, and administrators. nothing! It was excellent. Even I, as computer illiterate as I am, was able to comprehend the materials and the work presented. the amount of time spent on training. This workshop has a lot of information to share. Make time (couple of weeks) for training in technology for the classroom.

I would change… the number of days to 5 days so that I could practice and use that time to plan for coming school year. provide a follow up workshop Fix Blackboard to support more users. the technical difficulties that were beyond the control of the presenters. They handled it well. nothing at this time regarding the training I received, however, it should be given to all teachers, students, and interested parents. the length of time the course was taught. I feel that I could have been proficient in all areas if the class was for one week instead of 3 days. the length of the training to a full week so a novice person like me can get an in-depth lesson on the TSS

Other comments I thoroughly enjoyed taking this course. I have never had a course that was so helpful, and the facilitators' knowledge was EXCELLENT! I'm excited. This is very useful. I think we need even more professional development on it. All levels of administration should use it. I now have a much better understanding of how to use the T.S.S. and I actually enjoy using the computer more now! I will definitely use this information next year. The manual was very useful. I was very intimidated at the beginning of the workshop. But as we progressed I found out that I knew more than I realized.

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