TTL 2002

TTL NEWS

Office of the Governor
For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 30, 2002
For More Information: Nicole Nordbye 773-3661 or Tammy Bauck 773-6118

Nearly 2,000 Teachers Flock to TTL Academies to Further Their Own Education

(Pierre) – Beginning June 3 and continuing through July, nearly 2,000 of South Dakota’s educators will head back to the classroom to learn how to better integrate technology into their teaching. This year’s participants in the state’s Technology for Teaching and Learning (TTL) academies will join the ranks of 4,800 graduates of the program who have already been trained since Gov. Bill Janklow launched the program five summers ago.

"We began the TTL academies in 1997 with 135 teachers and now, with this summer’s academies, we will have reached 54% of the teaching force in South Dakota with Basic TTL," Janklow said. "We have to make sure every student is able to gain the maximum advantage from the technology that is available to them. Teachers won’t be able to fully use technology in their classroom if they aren’t trained properly and that means some kids won’t have the opportunity to make the most of what’s available."

Regional TTL academies will be held in June and July at Beresford, Bon Homme, Brandon Valley, Brookings, Canistota, Castlewood, Chamberlain, Custer, De Smet, Dell Rapids, Eureka, Florence, Freeman, Groton, Hanson, Huron, Irene, Lemmon, Madison Central, McIntosh, Meade, Milbank, Mitchell, Mount Vernon, Pierre, Platte, Rapid City, Redfield, Sioux Falls, Sioux Valley, Shannon County, Spearfish, Sully Buttes, Tri-Valley, Vermillion, Viborg, Wagner, Wall, Watertown, West Central, Winner and Yankton.

TTL participants are immersed in technology training for 200 classroom hours during the course of the four-week academy. They learn basic computer applications, including word processing, desktop publishing, spreadsheets, databases, web authoring, and presentation programs. Each TTL participant receives a $1,000 stipend for attending the academy and $1,000 to take back home for their school district to buy technology.

No other state has a program similar to South Dakota’s TTL academies. Janklow started them as a key part of his systematic approach of infusing technology into education: wiring the schools for technology, connecting the schools to each other and training the teachers to integrate technology into lesson plans and daily classroom activities. The comprehensive approach to technology in education has won South Dakota national awards and recognition, including being ranked No. 1 in the nation in use of technology for education in the Digital State annual survey.

The TTL menu of teacher training also includes Advanced TTL, a two-week course at Dakota State University in Madison, Northern State University in Aberdeen, Black Hills State University in Spearfish, and the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. These advanced sessions focus on higher-level technology skills, including advanced web design, video editing, classroom use of personal digital assistants and global positioning units, and digital photography and editing. The Advanced TTL sessions will be held at DSU, NSU, and BHSU June and again at DSU and USD June 17-28.

Other specialized TTL courses include, Distance Teaching and Learning (DTL) for teachers to create, implement, and deliver distance courses using the state’s Digital Dakota Network; and courses for network administrators (TTL NA) and school administrators (TTL SA).

Regional DTL sessions in June will be held at Canton, Dupree, Faith, Hamlin, Meade, Parker, Parkston, Sisseton, and Wessington Springs and in July at Bristol, Dupree, Hamlin, Sisseton, and Spearfish. TTL NA sessions will be at Mitchell Technical Institute and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. TTL SA sessions will be held at Black Hills State University and the University of South Dakota.

The TTL academies are staffed by K-12 teachers who serve as instructors, with leadership provided the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs, the Governor’s Office, and Technology and Innovations in Education (TIE).

For more information, visit the South Dakota TTL web site at http://www.sdttl.com/. An Issue Brief that provides a deeper look at the TTL academies can be found at www.state.sd.us/news.

Note: The Dept. of Education and Cultural Affairs will hold a news teleconference at 10:15 p.m. (CT) on Friday, May 31 to answer reporters’ questions about the TTL academies. Reporters can participate by calling 1-888-809-4012 and entering access code 7733213.

Issue Brief Synopsis: In 1997, Gov. Bill Janklow began a statewide program to train the state's teachers in new and emerging technologies, and will have reached nearly 6,800 educators by the end of Summer 2002. Technology for Teaching and Learning academies (TTLs) teach educators how to use technology and integrate it into their classrooms. The academies are held every summer, providing educators with 200 hours of intensive training. It is estimated that by the end of the 2002 academies, approximately 55% of South Dakota teachers will have graduated from a TTL Academy.

To save you unwanted download time, I have not attached the file to this email. The full issue brief is available at the state news under the heading "Issue Briefings." It is posted there in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. You can go directly to the document at <http://www.state.sd.us/news/issues/26.pdf>.

If you would rather receive the .pdf file as an e-mail attachment or want a copy faxed to you, please email me back or call me at 605-773-3212.

ACADEMY STAFF TRAINING COMPLETED

As of May 6, instructor training for TTL (Basic and Advanced) and DTL has been completed. Overall Academy goals and standards were addressed, and software/hardware training was accomplished.

Advanced TTL Instructors, Site Facilitators, and Network Administrators were trained at Riggs High School in Pierre April 5^th and 6^th. Microsoft Office XP, 3-D Vista, DV Studio, and ArcView were the new software products introduced. A new strand for 2002, GPS (Global Positioning System,) was taught by GPS ‘Guru’ Kelly Lane. Palm model M125’s were selected after an exhausting process to be the units presented to participants.

DTL instruction was held on the University of South Dakota campus in Vermillion April 28^th through the 30^th.

Instructors, Site Coordinators, Network administrators, and Lab Assistants received training on WebCT, DDN and Vtel operations, Dreamweaver, and Understanding by Design as well. Doreen Gosmire headed up the training.

TTL site Business Managers and Network Administrators have met several times over the DDN for clarification and instruction. Harris Haupt of TIE, Mark Gageby, Grants Manager for DECA, and Melody Schopp headed the discussions.

TTL Instructor training was held in Pierre April 25^th and 26^th and also on May 3^rd and 4^th. Marlene Rothermel of TIE and Melody Schopp of DECA headed up the instruction along with special guest appearances by Mike Waldner of the K12 Data Center, and Dallas Thompson and Patrick McCluskey from the Bureau of Information and Telecommunications. Understanding by Design, course syllabus, and scheduling were the focus of instruction.

On-going training and conferencing will continue throughout the summer over the DDN.

Projected enrollment for the summer *subject to change
TTL Academies – 1997-2002
Year	Basic TTL Teachers	Advanced TTL Teachers	Network Admin	School Admin	Distance Teachers
1997	134	na	na	na	na
1998	609	na	na	na	na
1999	765	na	170	88	na
2000	982	na	183	98	128
2001	1203	184	51	88	150
Total	3693	184	404	274	278
2002 Projected	1317	385	59	83	122
Total after 2002	5010	569	463	357	400
No. in State	9200	9200	400	613	9200
Percent	54%	6%	110%	58%	4.3%