Welcome to the Digital Learning Plan (DLP) monthly newsletter.
This newsletter will explore the Wyoming Department of Education’s (WDE) DLP, its goals, and suggested strategies to ensure equitable access to opportunities and success in postsecondary, career, and civic life.
GETTING STARTED
The Five-Step Planning Process is designed to help educators with creating sound, research-based action plans to implement personalized, student-centered learning. Embarking on this work takes leadership, time, patience, courage, collaboration, trust, and some trial and error to get it right. With that in mind, this planning tool guides district teams through collecting and analyzing data on their readiness across each gear in the Future Ready Framework, identifying specific strategies and next steps for implementation, and producing a comprehensive action plan for implementing their specific initiative.
Congratulations on completing the fourth step of creating a Future Ready Action Plan. A few more meetings and then it’s time to celebrate with the team on a job well done.
Catch up on Steps 1-4 in previous newsletters here.
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Address, Assign, Export, and Share
Task 1: Review By Gear and as a Team Assign Tasks (estimated time: 30-90 minutes per gear)
This portion of the process can be done independently among gear leaders. The goal for this task is to develop a full section of the action plan reflecting on stakeholder input, in-depth goal setting, strategy review and allocation of responsibilities.
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Recommended Process:
- Each gear manager should monitor the gear section for which they were responsible in the "Assign Tasks" section to ensure all of the desired goals and strategies are included. This may include adding new goals or strategies to address the stakeholder input received in Step 3 in meaningful and substantive ways.
- Each gear manager should fill in the responsibilities, timeline, expected budget, and any pertinent notes for each goal before the plan is complete.
- The Future Ready Project Manager should meet with each gear manager to review each gear-specific section of the action plan.
- As a team, review the action plan in its entirety to identify inconsistencies, missing pieces, or necessary alterations.
Task 2: Export, Customize, and Jazz Up the Plan (estimated time: 30 minutes)
It’s time to export and celebrate the Future Ready Action Plan. Once complete, teams are able to download the action plans as a text-based (.rtf) file. As such, action plans can easily be edited in whatever way best serves the leadership team. Use the text file as the “guts” of the plan and customize it by adding a district logo, infographics, images, etc. This information can now be used as the digital learning transformation guidelines, as part of the strategic or comprehensive planning process, for budget needs, future district visioning, and for implementing the Future Ready Action Plan.
Recommended Process:
- Click on "Action Planning” in the Menu.
- Click "Review and Export."
 Task 3: Share, Connect, and be Recognized Nationally (estimated time: TBD by district’s desired involvement)
The action plan is something for which the district should be extremely proud. Share it internally and with stakeholders – letting them know how to stay up-to-date with the latest progress. Also, make sure to stay connected through the Future Ready Website, where districts can get help with gear-by-gear implementation any time along the way. Please support the Initiative by sharing promising strategies with other districts – and send Future Ready a note using the "Help" button throughout the Dashboard. Finally, don’t be shy. Suggest improvements to the Dashboard and if willing, share the district’s plan with Future Ready so they can celebrate the success. Simply email asmart@all4ed.org with the subject line Sharing our Future Ready Action Plan.
Professional Development Opportunities
Wyoming Digital Learning Guidelines
In November, the WDE released the Wyoming Digital Learning Guidelines, based on the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Students to support education technology use in PK-12 classrooms. The Guidelines are one of the recommendations in the DLP (page 13) under the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment gear. To support educators in implementing the Guidelines, the WDE is offering a free, online course that includes:
- Self-paced, interactive modules in the WDE Canvas learning management system which takes about eight hours to complete.
- One-half (.5) Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB) credit available upon completion.
- Open enrollment, so educators can join and complete the course at their convenience.
Visit the Wyoming Digital Learning Guidelines web page for more information and the online registration form.
For more information, contact Lori Thilmany at 307-777-7418 or lori.thilmany@wyo.gov.
STAY TUNED
Next month's Digital Learning Plan Newsletter will include state initiatives focused around the Future Ready Framework gear Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.
For more information on the Wyoming Digital Learning Plan or the Future Ready Framework, contact Robin Grandpre at 307-777-5315 or robin.grandpre1@wyo.gov.
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