[Assessment_Advisory_Committee] TIDE Focus Groups

[Bill Stewart]

All,

I agree with Brian's comments re diverse representation - schools of all
shapes, sizes, location, prosperity and color need to be represented, as
well as multiple levels of users.  Will the number/size of the focus groups
suggested really allow that?

Re this statement - *"...**offer feedback on a redesign of the current TIDE
system designed to improve the user experience."*   This implies TIDE is
somehow 'broken', which might be true....are you going ASK if there is a
need for change or is that a foregone conclusion?

I presume (hope) that the focus groups will get more specific / focused
tasks to address...otherwise you might end up with such a broad array of
responses that any conclusion could be hard to consider as a mandate for
change.

ALSO...I wonder/worry about the time & date slots indicated.

Effective communication TO schools will likely not be possible until Jan 4
or after.  By the time the necessary exchanges take place, it seems like
starting on Jan. 11 could be unrealistic.

"After school" could work well for some, but might not for others... and
the actual 'after school' time when folks in different districts could
start might vary a lot. Quite few districts use after school time for
standing meetings (both teacher and admin).  I urge some degree of
flexibility re timing so that the breadth and diversity of representation
is not hampered.

 Overall, I agree that taking a look at potential / essential upgrades to
TIDE is worth doing!

Thanks for asking!

Bill

On Wed, Dec 23, 2015 at 8:32 AM, Bain, Brian <bbain at ttsd.k12.or.us> wrote:

>
>
> *To help ensure that Oregon users are effectively represented, ODE
> requests your input on how best to recruit STCs, DTCs, and other district-
> and school-level users of TIDE.*
>
>
>
> Obviously recruiting through the regular channels, DTCs, AA update, and
> the Superintendents is useful, but make it clear that it's intended to
> reach STCs as well as DTCs.  (ie: Forward this email to your School Test
> Coordinators.)  I think you would want to gather participants from a range
> of districts based on size, geographic distribution and how they're
> supported with this tool through their ESD.  (I imagine there are smaller
> districts where the ESD does much of the work for them.)
>
>
>
> I would certainly volunteer mine or Theda's services.  Theda Pansevicius
> is our assessment assistant, who does a majority of the work with TIDE and
> STCs.  She also has great ideas about how to make systems and business
> processes more thorough and efficient.
>
>
>
> To help in your distribution: Tigard-Tualatin is a suburban district of
> about 12,500 students and 18 STCs in the Portland Metro area with
> demographics that are very similar in distribution to the state's
> demographics, though slightly higher social-economically.
>
>
>
>
>
> Brian Bain
>
> District Assessment Coordinator
>
> Tigard-Tualatin School District
>
> 6960 SW Sandburg St, Tigard, OR 97223
>
> 503-431-4120 - bbain at ttsd.k12.or.us
>
>
>
> *From:* Assessment_Advisory_Committee [mailto:
> assessment_advisory_committee-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] *On
> Behalf Of *CARTER Holly
> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 22, 2015 4:33 PM
> *To:* assessment_advisory_committee at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
> *Cc:* Greenberg, Elizabeth
> *Subject:* [Assessment_Advisory_Committee] TIDE Focus Groups
>
>
>
> To: Assessment Advisory
>
> Subject: TIDE Focus Groups
>
>
>
> AIR is recruiting TIDE users at the school and district level to serve on
> focus groups between January 11 and 22 to offer feedback on a redesign of
> the current TIDE system designed to improve the user experience. Based on
> logistics, participants can either join an in-person focus group or be
> interviewed one-on-one. Some of the interviews will be conducted remotely
> using conferencing software.
>
>
>
> Participants will be asked about their current TIDE use, including the
> types of activities they perform using TIDE, how they batch these
> activities, and which activities are most time consuming. They will then
> view and comment on prototype pages from an updated TIDE interface designed
> to address the most common issues raised by users in the past.
> Participation by TIDE users in Oregon will help to ensure that the updated
> TIDE system meets your needs. Below is additional information about the
> scope of the proposed focus groups:
>
>
>
> *Sample*
>
> AIR is looking to talk with the people who use TIDE the most. The mix of
> school-level versus district (or area) level users can be adjusted based on
> your understanding of how Oregon schools and districts use TIDE. However,
> AIR would like to avoid mixing people with different levels of
> responsibility, i.e., district- and school-level, in the same focus group.
>
>
>
> AIR also wants to represent large districts with full time staff assigned
> to test coordination and smaller districts and schools, where test
> coordination is only one part of a person’s job.
>
>
>
> AIR is currently planning to conduct two focus groups, each with 4-7 STCs,
> and 2-3 interviews with DTCs or district-level TIDE users. (Note: Focus
> groups with STCs would need to be done with STCs from schools that are
> close to each other so that the STCs could travel to a central location for
> the focus group.)
>
>
>
> *Duration*
>
> One-on-one interviews are expected to last 90 minutes; focus groups will
> last 90 to 120 minutes and will be scheduled after school at convenient
> locations.
>
>
>
> *Incentives*
>
> Where appropriate, AIR will provide a $50 incentive for each participant.
> Thank-you incentives (in the range of $100) can also be considered for
> schools that host focus groups or for agencies that allow their employees
> to participate during work hours.
>
>
>
> *Scheduling*
>
> AIR would like to complete all the interviews and focus groups between
> January 11 and January 22.
>
>
>
> To help ensure that Oregon users are effectively represented, ODE requests
> your input on how best to recruit STCs, DTCs, and other district- and
> school-level users of TIDE. Of course, if you have individual
> recommendations, please feel free to share those as well. So that AIR can
> meet its timeline, we request that you please provide your input (or
> nominations) to Jordan Heide at jordan.heide at state.or.us by *Wednesday,
> January 6.* Thank you for any help you can provide us with this!
>
>
>
>
>
> *Holly Carter*
> Interim Director of Assessment
>
> Office of Learning | Inst., Stand., Asmt, &Acc. Unit | Oregon Department
> of Education
>
> Phone: 503.947.5739 | Fax: 503.378.5156 | *holly.carter at state.or.us
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Bill Stewart
Special Projects
Gladstone SD
stewartw at gladstone.k12.or.us
503-805-8680 - cell
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