Summer Technology Professional Development for 400+ Minnetonka Teachers

Over 400 individual Minnetonka teachers attended one or more technology professional development classes this summer! That's a lot of learning! On average, teachers took between two and three different tech classes. 

In the past I've written about the need to differentiate teacher training in order for a 1:1 iPad program to be successful. Summer is one of the ways we make this happen. For the past ten years we have offered a number of summer technology training options for our teachers. Options have grown from just eight classes over four days in August 2005 to almost 90 sessions available over three months this summer, including online. 

In addition to technology classes, there are also many non-technology sessions offered for Minnetonka teachers each summer, too, such as new curriculum training, classes on assessment, engagement, special needs, and much more. We use My Learning Plan to manage this--teachers can sign up for and drop classes, automatically be notified and reminded of classes and locations, and we can track rosters, waitlists, and CEUs. Teachers receive a stipend for up to 12.5 hours of pay for the time they spend learning in summer technology sessions. More details about this summer's technology options are below:

In June, 80 Minnetonka teachers attended one or more of 53 technology sessions over two days along with teachers from all over the Midwest. More info about our June Institute.

Once again this summer we offered online options for learning, allowing teachers to work at their own pace and at a time of their choosing. This summer we had 35 teachers choose to learn more about Screencasting with iPads or the Formative Assessment Toolkit.

August Teaching & Learning Academy

This year we had five days of classes in August starting two weeks before school begins. View the August schedule here and read all the class descriptions. Over 200 different teachers took at least one or more technology classes.

New this year, we held the first Minnetonka Wayzata Tech Summit at Wayzata Central Middle School. Wayzata is a neighboring school district to our north, has had a 1:1 iPad Program for Grades 4-12 for three years, and uses iPads and Google E-12. Minnetonka and Wayzata staff collaboratively led 25 sessions focused on ways to use iPads and Google tools in the classroom in all subject areas.  It was a great opportunity for teachers to collaborate with colleagues from both districts! Over 100 teachers from each district were on hand for this inaugural event.

New Teachers

Each year we welcome a number of new teachers to the district. New teachers take a number of classes prior to beginning in Minnetonka, including technology classes. This year 70 new teachers were hired and learned how we integrate technology into Minnetonka's classrooms.

It's been a busy summer of learning for teachers in Minnetonka! Now the students will benefit!

Tip #1 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation: Execute the Rollout Carefully and Deliberately

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to present at the Ed Tech Teacher iPad Summit in Boston with my colleague Ben Stanerson.  We presented the Top Ten Tips for a Successful iPad Implementation.  Our first tip is to Execute the Rollout Carefully and Deliberately.  It is something I'm continually thankful for as I meet educators from other schools and hear their stories, which quite often seem to be the opposite method--buy everything all at once and implement it at the same time.  Rarely do I hear much about that method that works successfully. Sometimes this disastrous implementation method even makes the news.

Four years ago, Minnetonka Public Schools launched a 1:1 iPad pilot in September 2011 with half of our ninth grade students (out of 750) at Minnetonka High School to create a seamless and dynamic 24/7 educational experience. Because we started small, we were able to focus on just 16 teachers in math, science, and English who worked with these iPad students. The pilot used digital curriculum materials, student collaboration tools and individualized instruction in math, language arts and science — all with the goal of enhancing student learning.  

The goals of our iPad program were to:

• Enhance and accelerate learning.

• Leverage existing and emerging technology for individualizing instruction.

• Promote collaboration, increasing student engagement.

• Strengthen 21st century skills necessary for future success.

After a successful pilot, the second half of the freshmen class received iPads in January 2012. The program has continued to expand each year thereafter. In year two, all ninth and tenth grade students had iPads. Year three was an expansion to our middle schools, with grade eight through eleven students and over 150 teachers using iPads.  This year we added two more grades, so we currently have 4,500 students in six grades (seventh through twelfth) using iPads.

We attribute this careful, deliberate, and well-planned rollout to our success. Rather than implementing a massive change that affected thousands of users at once in multiple locations, we began at one site with a small group and worked out the glitches.  This allowed us to fine tune our processes, training, and procedures before bringing the project to scale.  

Looking ahead to the future, we also allocated funds to give the entire faculty iPads one to two years ahead of student distribution, which allowed professional development to begin one to two years ahead of schedule. Running the pilot as a controlled experiment enhanced buy-in from all stakeholders. This systematic approach created benchmarks for success and channels for honest feedback. As a pilot, the goal was to learn fast, adjust accordingly, and establish processes for full-scale implementation. I attribute our success to this careful planning and execution. Come see for yourself at our Tenth Annual Technology Site Visit, March 4 & 5, 2014!

You can learn more about our 1:1 Program at tinyurl.com/iPadTonka