- 1. Rethinking college prepManal Abbas, Collin BentleyBlount
County SchoolsWilliam Blount HSClass of 2015
2. Outreach Meeting with Mr. Britt & Dr. Morton (March 2014)
To discuss possible ways to advance the AP program 92% of Americas
qualified low-income students do not apply to colleges thatmatch
best with their abilities Concluded that low-cost improvement
opportunities can be exploited Commissioned a college application
guide Commissioned the testing of a Learning Management System
(LMS) Vision of the final result was still very abstractSource:
QuestBridge Organization, 2014 3. Creating a mission Solutions need
to be easy to implement and low-cost To discuss possible ways to
advance the AP program To create a fully comprehensive online
college application resource Relatable yet comprehensive companion
through grades 9-12 Hosted independently of the Blount County
School System webpage Address the 92% epidemic To identify a free
state-of-the-art Learning Management System (LMS) Enhance not
encumber AP and Honors courses Small learning curve and easy to
implement 4. Learning Management System (LMS) What exists?
Blackboard, Moodle, and Edmodo Why was the choice so difficult?
Cost of system vs. versatility and relevance of system Blount
County schools will graduate students who are college and
careerready and prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st Century
workplace. The School System prioritizes a relevant
educationSource: Blount County Schools, 2014 5. Appalachian State
University Austin Peay University Auburn University Belmont
AbbeyBerea College Bridgewater College Carson Newman College
Catawba College ClevelandState Community College Cumberland College
East TN State University Emory andHenry College Gardner Webb
College Hiwassee College Hollins University ITT TechJohnson Bible
College King College Lee University Liberty College Lincoln
MemorialUniversity Maryville College Memphis College of Art Mercer
University Miami UniversityMiddle TN State University Moraine
Valley Community College Mt. Union CollegePresbyterian Radford
University of Tennessee Knoxville University of Chicago Wheaton70 %
of all U.S. colleges utilizeBlackboard, including allschools in the
University ofTennessee systemJacinto College Sewanee, The
University of the South Sullivan University TennesseeWesleyan
College Transylvania University Tusculum College University of
AlaskaUniversity of Georgia University of Kentucky University of
Montevallo University of Carolina University of Northern Arizona
University of Notre Dame University of TNChattanooga University of
TN Knoxville University of Virginia University of Wisconsin Force
Academy Vanderbilt University Walters State Community College
WesternCarolina Westmoreland College Wofford College Xavier
CollegeSource: Blackboard Organization, 2014 6. CourseSites (LMS)
Blackboard is the most versatile, relevant LMS Through the iReach
program, Maryville City Schools has implemented a
district-wideinstallation of the Blackboard LMS This sounds like an
impossible problem! We told you that our solution is free! The
Blount County School system can have all of Blackboard (and more)
for free.Source: Maryville City Schools, 2014 7. CourseSites
(LMS)Source: Blackboard Organization, 2014 8. CourseSites (LMS)
Always the most recent version of Blackboard Created as a way to
test new versions of the Service before public rollout Created as a
philanthropic extension of the Blackboard Organization Used by
74,200 instructors across 159 countries No limits on number of
students or number of teachers per district No option to pay or
upgrade Not a marketing tactic Is it easy to implement?Source:
CourseSites by Blackboard, 2014 9. CourseSites (LMS) Famous
five-minute teacher set up Two pilot teachers have been
successfully using the CourseSites by Blackboard sincelate-March
2014 Four pilot teachers began successfully using CourseSites by
Blackboard for the 2014-2015 school yearSource: CourseSites by
Blackboard, 2014 10. CourseSites (LMS) Two-minute student set up
Students enter an email address, username, and password, which are
protected byindustry leading privacy and security protocols One
account on CourseSites.com works for all classes throughout high
schoolSource: CourseSites by Blackboard, 2014 11. CourseSites (LMS)
Discussion Board Excellent Phone, Chat,and Email Blackboardsupport
8-9 M-F. Free unlimited Voice,Text, Email notifications Free iPhone
and Androidapps Instant space for content PowerSchool
Gradebookintegration in late-2014. Host digital
professionaldevelopment for staff Free Turnitin.complagiarism
detection on allassignments [SafeAssign] Create instantly
gradedmultiple choice tests Create essay tests (withtext box and
Worddocument submission) Create student blogs Create flipped
classroompodcasts and videos Complement HHS WBHSvirtual video
classroomSource: CourseSites by Blackboard, 2014 12. CourseSites
(LMS)WBHS pilotrunDistrict-wideAP opt-inDistrict-wideHonors opt-in
13. Online college application resource Average Private Counselor
to Student Ratio : 1 to 6 Private admissions counselors guarantee
low ratios with expensive fees Private admissions counselors can,
therefore, provide individualized support tostudents Blount County
Schools Counselor to Student Ratio : 6 to 4000 Limits on how many
students can be reached No easy way to disseminate vital college
information How do we reach more students? 92% of low-income,
qualified students dont apply to a school that matches
theirabilitiesSource: QuestBridge Organization, Blount County
Schools, AreaPrivate Counselor (Knoxville), 2014 14.
soarcollege.org Cohesive, comprehensive resource (one-of-a-kind)
Written to aid students bound for private and public 4-year
institutions ANDstudents bound for 2-year institutions Relevant
planning information for grades 9-12 Leverages a unique platform to
which you may easily post Did we mention that it is free? Hosted
independently of the Blount County Schools webpage Serves as a
resource for students at high schools across the country The
website is available and complete today 15. soarcollege.org Essays
Standardized Testing Summer Research Financial Aid Transcripts
Letters ofRecommendation Common Application Virtual College Tours
Teacher Talk in whichteachers may post advice Guidance Talk in
whichguidance counselors maypost important scholarshipinformation
and advice Ability to accept digitalrecommendation requests(Brag
Sheets) 16. soarcollege.orgAdoption byHHS and
WBHSguidanceDistrict-wideendorsementContinuedmaintenanceand
contentgeneration 17. Support CourseSites and soarcollege.org What
do we need to make this happen? Blount County School Board
endorsement of rollout of CourseSites Blount County School Board
endorsement of soarcollege.org Yes! Thats really it! With your
support of our cause and our solutions, we will be able to
speedilyadvertise soarcollege.org and integrate CourseSites into AP
classes and Honorsclasses. 18. Manal Abbas, Collin BentleyBlount
County SchoolsWilliam Blount HSClass of 2015Thank you! Any
questions?Board of Education MembersMr. Rob Britt, Director of
SchoolsDr. Jane Morton, Supervisor of InstructionMr. Rob Clark,
Principal, William BlountMrs. Brenda Keller, Teacher, William
Blount
