Learn more about all of these opportunities in this March AEA Update for Districts!
Pear Deck
Thanks to the overwhelming use and positive feedback from educators across the state, Iowa’s AEAs are planning to continue to fund district access to the Pear Deck platform for the 2021-22 school year. AEAs will monitor usage, future costs and factors to determine AEA involvement in the purchase of Pear Deck beyond 2021-22. Future funding options will be communicated in early 2022.
Seesaw
To support the high usage of Seesaw for Schools across the state, Iowa’s AEAs are negotiating a statewide pricing model to reduce the costs for districts interested in utilizing Seesaw for Schools during the 2021-22 school year. By aggregating Iowa districts under one contract, Seesaw for Schools can offer their service for significant per student savings.
Districts new to Seesaw for Schools or whose contracts expire before Dec. 2021 can opt in and be eligible for consortium pricing that includes a significant discount off of the standard $5.50 per student rate. (Districts who have prepaid subscriptions and are under contract past 2021 can transition their agreement and opt into the statewide pricing per student when their contracts are up for renewal. This can be coordinated through your AEA contact when they reach out to you.)
ClassLink OneClick
The AEA system has purchased AEA ClassLink OneClick for Iowa districts. AEA ClassLink OneClick is a launchpad that provides district teachers and students single sign-on access to AEA resources, such as the Professional Learning System, AEA Learning Online, Online Resources and more. AEA ClassLink OneClick is managed entirely by Iowa AEAs, this resource is a low maintenance solution for school administrators—no on-site district support is required to use this high-impact resource.
Teachers and students around the state have started using this intuitive interface to organize and display the online applications and resources they use. The AEAs are working on an implementation plan that includes access for ALL districts by early fall 2021.
BrightBytes
For several years Iowa AEAs, in partnership with BrightBytes, have provided tools to assist districts with collecting actionable data to aid in decision making. Districts currently have access to several BrightBytes modules including Technology & Learning, Modern Learning Solution and Digital Privacy, Safety & Security.
The AEAs want to help ensure districts do not miss out on the opportunity to collect this important data as AEA financial support for these BrightBytes tools will end June 30, 2021. This spring is the last opportunity for Iowa districts to collect data for FREE.
Learn more about all of these opportunities in this March AEA Update for Districts!
Learn more about all of these opportunities in this March AEA Update for Districts!
Pear Deck
Thanks to the overwhelming use and positive feedback from educators across the state, Iowa’s AEAs are planning to continue to fund district access to the Pear Deck platform for the 2021-22 school year. AEAs will monitor usage, future costs and factors to determine AEA involvement in the purchase of Pear Deck beyond 2021-22. Future funding options will be communicated in early 2022.
Seesaw
To support the high usage of Seesaw for Schools across the state, Iowa’s AEAs are negotiating a statewide pricing model to reduce the costs for districts interested in utilizing Seesaw for Schools during the 2021-22 school year. By aggregating Iowa districts under one contract, Seesaw for Schools can offer their service for significant per student savings.
Districts new to Seesaw for Schools or whose contracts expire before Dec. 2021 can opt in and be eligible for consortium pricing that includes a significant discount off of the standard $5.50 per student rate. (Districts who have prepaid subscriptions and are under contract past 2021 can transition their agreement and opt into the statewide pricing per student when their contracts are up for renewal. This can be coordinated through your AEA contact when they reach out to you.)
ClassLink OneClick
The AEA system has purchased AEA ClassLink OneClick for Iowa districts. AEA ClassLink OneClick is a launchpad that provides district teachers and students single sign-on access to AEA resources, such as the Professional Learning System, AEA Learning Online, Online Resources and more. AEA ClassLink OneClick is managed entirely by Iowa AEAs, this resource is a low maintenance solution for school administrators—no on-site district support is required to use this high-impact resource.
Teachers and students around the state have started using this intuitive interface to organize and display the online applications and resources they use. The AEAs are working on an implementation plan that includes access for ALL districts by early fall 2021.
BrightBytes
For several years Iowa AEAs, in partnership with BrightBytes, have provided tools to assist districts with collecting actionable data to aid in decision making. Districts currently have access to several BrightBytes modules including Technology & Learning, Modern Learning Solution and Digital Privacy, Safety & Security.
The AEAs want to help ensure districts do not miss out on the opportunity to collect this important data as AEA financial support for these BrightBytes tools will end June 30, 2021. This spring is the last opportunity for Iowa districts to collect data for FREE.
Iowa's AEA system has partnered with BrightBytes to bring you a tool that will help you proactively address growing concerns of safety in 21st century classrooms. This research-based framework collects, stores and updates formative data from diverse experts within each district. The Digital Privacy, Safety and Security module helps organizations create relevant policies to ensure a safe learning environment.
BrightBytes has also created a resource to help support you and your teachers in creating and nurturing a healthy digital culture. The Top 10 Student Privacy Tips for Educators highlights best practices for gathering, communicating and protecting student data, and much more.
If you would like to learn more about using the DPSS module in your district, contact Sheila King, Chief Information Officer or Jeff S. Weinberg, Director of Technology. For your reference, here are the BrightBytes Module Options & Pricing 2019-20.
Iowa’s AEAs is continuing its partnership with BrightBytes through 2020. The renewal of our agreement allows educators in Iowa to access resources to help them use data to make better decisions for students. Please refer to the BrightBytes Module Options & Pricing: 2017-2020 flyer for information about the resources. And make sure you check out the Technology and Learning and the Digital Privacy, Safety and Security modules! For more information or support with using the tools and planning actions with the data it generates, contact your Heartland AEA Instructional Technology Consultant (for Tech and Learning) or Heartland AEA Director of Technology Jeff S. Weinberg (for DPSS).
Heartland AEA is pleased to invite districts to participate in a pilot of the BrightBytes Early Insights Suite. The BrightBytes Early Insights suite is designed to provide education organizations with a comprehensive system to ensure students in need of extra support are connected to the most effective programs to drive success. To be considered for this pilot, please complete this form.
For 2018-19, Heartland AEA will provide access to the Early Insights Suite to a somewhat limited number of districts in our AEA. This pilot will fully fund the implementation of the full suite, which includes two modules: Student Success and Intervention. The Student Success module is about identifying students at risk of dropping out, and ensuring all students are prepared to thrive in postsecondary learning environments. The Intervention module helps coordinate interventions, track fidelity and frequency of services, and document all efforts in a centralized location.
General information about this module in the BrightBytes system is available on their website: BrightBytes Early Insights Suite. We will also schedule more detailed introductory webinar sessions for interested districts. In the meantime, these slides might also be helpful in your decision-making process: BrightBytes Early Insights Suite Introduction.
We are aware of many conversations happening in our state related to identifying and supporting the use of student data systems to help with instructional decision-making, including efforts at the state level led by the Department of Education. Heartland AEA believes this pilot will help with short and long-term planning as we consider the best options for how we support this work. As you may know, we have offered the HEART database for many years, and while this has been a very helpful tool for instructional decision-making, we believe resources like the ones offered by the BrightBytes Early Insights Suite capitalize on the latest research and technology advances to use predictive analytics to further our abilities to improve outcomes for students.
If you are interested, please complete this form in its entirety. We will contact you about an informational webinar and to confirm your intent to participate in the pilot. Capacity is somewhat limited, but we will do our best to accommodate as many districts as we can. If you have questions, please contact Sheila King, Chief Information Officer, sking@heartlandaea.org.
AEA Media Directors across the state updated the contract with BrightBytes and there are now more options for districts to choose from. Information was shared with Curriculum Directors last Friday. Here is a link to the slides that were shared and a brochure with more information. If you have any questions, contact the Regional Director or Instructional Technology Consultant who serves your district.
