This past Friday, I attended an event about the Massachusetts LTI that was hosted by METAA (Massachusetts Educational Technology Administrators Association).  The full-day event included presentations from Hewlett-Packard (HP), Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Prior to the event, Technology Directors from our member school districts compiled a laundry list of questions to ask of presenters. My full notes from the day are in this Google Doc.  (Our domain permissions are pretty locked down, so just ask for permissions and I’ll share the Doc with you.) Here are the highlights:

Massachusetts LTI stands for Learning Technology Initiative. LTI is a national initiative designed to increase 1:1 programs in schools. Though LTI is a national initiative, the terms and conditions are negotiated on a state-specific basis, hence Massachusetts LTI. 

In general, LTI is a services-based contract that is priced on a per-pupil cost over a certain number of years. Schools are districts are able to purchase or lease bundled equipment, 1:1 implementation support, professional development, and service through one of two vendors: HP or Apple.

Massachusetts LTI does not currently have a signed Participating Agreement, but all the presenters hoped that this would happen in the coming few weeks. Because the terms and conditions haven’t been finalized, many details (including pricing) weren’t discussed. (New Hampshire & Vermont have signed Participating Agreements.)

When it is in full swing, districts or schools will work directly with either HP or Apple to arrange the details of their initiative. Districts that go with HP have the choice of 8 machines including 2 Chromebooks & 2 tablets. With HP the implementation support and Professional Development will be provided by Educational Collaborators, an organization based in Missouri. Districts that go with Apple have three options:

• Apple iPad Solution: iPad Air 32GB for each student and teacher
• Apple MacBook Air Solution: 11″ MacBook Air for each student and 13″ MacBook Air for teacher
• Apple Blended Solution: iPad Air 32GB for each student; each teacher gets 13″ MacBook Air and iPad mini 2 32GB

In both cases, the Professional Development structure is set and is directly tied to the number of student seats.

Massachusetts LTI is completely designed for districts that want to go 1:1 across a grade, school, or district and want to purchase (or lease) the equipment as well as implementation support and professional development. Folks interested in separating these pieces were encouraged to use the current state contract, not Massachusetts LTI.

The Collaborative for Educational Services offers many of these technology-related Professional Development services to our member and non-member school districts. The Collaborative’s technology-related Professional Development services are tailored to the individual needs and budgetary constraints of the contracting school or district. Some examples of our technology-related Professional Development services are listed below. We are happy to discuss other services that schools or districts need.

A Partial List of CES’s Technology PD:

• 1:1 Implementation Planning & Support
• Google Apps Deployment
• Chromebook Deployment
• Custom Google Apps for Education Workshop Series
  • Creating a Google Site for your Classroom
  • Using Google Classroom
  • Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced Workshops for any Google App
  • Collaborating in the Classroom with Google Apps
  • Collaborating with Google Apps for Administrators
• Technology Plan Audit
• Web Tools for the Classroom
• Instructional Design for Online Learning