Talladega City Schools Case Study
THE DISTRICT
Talladega City Schools serves over 1,800 students with 250 teachers across seven campuses in Talladega, Alabama. As a district, Talladega’s mission is to “create a culture of learning that provides opportunities for high achievement, a foundation for lifelong success, and to instill pride among our students, parents, employees, and community.”
A major district focus is to “support growth in instructional practice that will ultimately lead to continuous improvement and increases in student performance.” Talladega’s emphasis on sustainable professional growth is a perfect fit for MobileMind, a professional learning hub designed to help teachers integrate technology into the classroom to improve student outcomes.
This Google Workspace for Education district recently set a new goal to get all of their teachers Google Certified, so they began searching for a PD platform that would support continuous growth and help them achieve this new Google goal.
THE MAIN GOAL
When the new Superintendent, Dr. Quentin Jerome Lee, started at the district in the summer of 2021, he had a goal in mind that he wanted to implement quickly: get all teachers Google Certified by the end of the 2021 - 22 school year. However, this goal was not just for teachers; the Superintendent himself, along with other district leaders, wanted to become Google Certified as well.
Talladega City Technology Director, Matt Fuller, began searching for the best way to achieve their district’s new goal and scheduled a call through an email that he had previously received from MobileMind. Matt met with the MobileMind team and quickly realized that this professional learning hub was the solution that would help them reach their ultimate goal.
“We have a new Superintendent, and his goal is to have all teachers Google Certified by the end of the school year. The purchase of MobileMind was to support that and to provide a platform that teachers could engage in professional learning at their own pace without it being intimidating or overwhelming to them,” said Danyell Butler, Curriculum Coordinator.
LAUNCH TIMELINE
Matt did not know what to expect when he first met with MobileMind. However, when he saw the professional learning hub’s Google Certified Level 1 and 2 learning paths and micro-courses, he knew it would accelerate the district's efforts.
“When MobileMind showed us that we could make our own courses, and included other courses like Nearpod and other technology partners we use, those things were icing on the cake,” explained Matt. “We moved very quickly, got a PO, paid, and rostered in 12 hours.”
Once the initial demo was complete on August 18, 2021, Talladega’s district leaders knew they wanted to move swiftly, as the new school year was kicking off. Talladega City Schools submitted MobileMind for approval to leadership on August 20, and their educators were in the learning hub by August 25. The district had completed the entire launch process in just a week.
“We moved very quickly, got a PO, paid, and rostered in 12 hours.”
MATT FULLER
Technology Director
Matt simply uploaded a list of Talladega professional learners into the learning hub via a .CSV file, and all of their educators were on the platform with just a few clicks.
MobileMind and Talladega held a kick-off call that included 100 available teachers. This call gave teachers a chance to ask questions about the platform and micro-courses. “MobileMind helped a lot with questions learners had, and teachers are jumping right in and using the platform.”
As a district that uses ClassLink, Talladega plans to leverage the integration between ClassLink and MobileMind going forward. This will assist leaders in segmenting learners into specific campus groups, simplifying the rostering process, and streamlining the addition of new learners into the platform.
SURPRISING USES & GOALS
Though getting all 250 teachers Google Certified was the catalyst that brought Talladega City Schools to MobileMind, it certainly won’t be their only use for the gamified, asynchronous learning hub.
As Matt shared, “I see MobileMind being a large part of our ongoing PD. I would like to put together an onboarding course for new teachers and use MobileMind to strengthen and streamline our onboarding process with new employees.”
MobileMind allows districts to consolidate all new employee training and even allows them to track and report when a new employee completes training on any topic. Districts can include topics like new COVID policies, mandated reporting, technology training, and anything else of importance for new teachers and staff.
As a Curriculum Coordinator, Danyell found MobileMind’s customization and goal setting especially helpful. “I thought that it would be just one person pushing the PD down, but all admins can assign specific tasks to specific groups of people, it's not just one way. I can create learning goals for myself or other groups of people.”
“MobileMind can fill gaps, especially with COVID, switching between virtual and in-person classes. It’s a way to provide meaningful support to teachers and staff without allowing the current situation is derail their professional learning”
DANYELL BUTLER
Curriculum Coordinator
A NEW WAY
Before MobileMind, the district mostly implemented professional development through synchronous webinars or filling an auditorium with teachers for an instructor-led presentation. PD was generally completed three times per year- during the preplanning, winter break, and post-planning.
Danyell wants to keep teachers focused on continuous learning even during a pandemic. “As a platform, MobileMind can fill gaps, especially with COVID, switching between virtual and in-person classes. It’s a way to provide meaningful support to teachers and staff without allowing the current situation to derail their professional learning”.
"I like this model [MobileMind] better. It's ongoing, keeps their attention, and enables us to actually make goals. It's not just a box to check. We actually see pragmatic improvement from our teachers."
MATT FULLER
Technology Director
“Everyone learns differently and this is a platform that allows you to learn at your own pace,” Danyell continued. “I like how intentional it is. Tasks that are given are valuable to what you are looking to learn. As you are learning, you are creating along the way.”
Finally, Matt stressed that as a Technology Director, he plans to use the learning hub to create micro-courses on questions he is frequently asked, which will save him time and give teachers and staff a place they can regularly return to for FAQs.
In the short time - less than a month - that Talladega City Schools and MobileMind have partnered together, the district’s educators have jumped headfirst into the platform and already have some fierce competition on their district-wide leaderboard - which includes the Superintendent!