MASA RDI Mobile Technology Participants,

We at MASA are very excited about how this project is progressing. As you know we are less then a month away from our Fall Conference, with a theme of Transformational Leadership: Building a culture of educational growth. The orders for the Technology Bundles have arrived and a team is working on making sure you receive what you ordered and that equipment is as prepared as possible before you pick them up at the conference.

We are very appreciative of those who helped us to get the funding needed to provide transformational  tools at such a great bargain. The two main sources are the SE2T2 grant and the Regional Data Iniaitive (RDI) project. Our goal for this work is to support integrating technology to facilitate communication, provide experiences with the use of real-time data, promote interdistirct collaboration, make possible ongoing professional development, model innovative uses of technology and allow distirct leaders to be at the vanguard of technology leadership. We know that all of this will take time. This is more than  a one conference or even a one school year effort. We are planning to support you as we move forward.

Your next steps

You will be able to pick up your iPad 2, as ordered, beginning at 7 :00 a.m. through 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21, 2011; and 7:00 a.m. until  4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 22, 2011. When you receive your equipment or anytime during the times mentioned above, you will then meet with a member of the Apple team. They will go over set up and next steps. The distribution and Apple Set Up and Help Desk area will be located outside the Exhibit Show on the lower level. To make this go smoothly, you will need to bring the following:

• District e-mail settings from your technology staff: To enable your email and calendars on your iPad, you will need the following four things;  your email domain, mail server address, username and password.
• Apple iTunes account name and password: If you already use iTunes or another Apple product, bring your Apple ID and password. (If you do not have one, an Apple representative will help you to obtain it. You do not need or want to have a second account; use the same account for all Apple products, i.e. iPod, iPhone, or other computers.)

Getting started at Fall Conference

Representatives from Atomic Learning will be located next to the distribution and help area. They will help you gain access to your  Atomic Learning license. The program will be available to you for the next fifteen months. This tutorial program will support not only your iPad training but many other technology related tools and programs. MASA will be setting up a RDI Mobile Technology Learning Community in addition to what you can do independently with this powerful 21^st Century Professional Development and Tech Integration Collection.

At our conference the following will be taking place to support the Mobile Technology Initiative:

• Information about RDI will be shared at MASA Region meetings on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m.
• During each of the three break out/clinic session times  there will be a Member Support and Share Area located at the Governor’s Mezzanine. MASA colleagues will be available to share, chat, answer questions and guide individuals and small groups through effective use of iPads as administrators.
• An Apple Theatre will feature a series of demonstrations just outside the Exhibit Show during exhibit times on Wednesday and Thursday.
• A panel discussion at our General Session on Friday morning with superintendents from Wayne RESA who have already started their iPad and RDI project.

 As mentioned earlier, this effort will be ongoing with plans for professional development, more “Peer to Peer” sharing sessions at the MASA Midwinter Conference, Professional Learning Community communication, and other opportunities to meet your needs. Jerry Jennings of MASA is the overall RDI Mobile Technology Project Director. After the Fall Conference, Jerry will be communicating with you regarding next  steps and future opportunities.

We thank you for your willingness to grow in your learning and to model transformational leadership through the use of technology. Also, we are appreciative of your patience as we attempt to roll out this project for 300 of our members at the Fall Conference. We want this to be of value to you and those you serve, and a model of Transformational Leadership and Building a Culture of Educational Growth.

On behalf of the Conference Planning Committee and the MASA Staff,

Dan

Daniel G. Pappas
Associate Executive Director MASA
Executive Director MIEM

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