Today’s episode features a discussion between Tom Vander Ark and Dr. Caitlin McMunn Dooley, Deputy Superintendent for teaching and learning at the Georgia Department of Education. Dr. Dooley’s been involved in education for over 20 years. She has worked in schools and has led a number of initiatives.

 

When her husband’s career took them to Texas, Dr. Dooley’s only requirement was that she go back to school to obtain her Ph.D. and learn more about how to be a better teacher and thinker about everything she was learning as technology expanded in education. Their next adventure took them to Georgia, where Dr. Dooley got a job as a professor at Georgia State, educating new teachers at their schools. Fast forward 12 years later, Dr. Dooley is now leading a statewide effort to supercharge virtual learning with an open technology architecture that will improve learner experience, credit transfer, and more. In addition to that, Dr. Dooley and her team are working hard to integrate computer science into every Georgia school using a framework she co-authored.

 

Listen in to this week’s episode of Getting Smart to learn more about the work Dr. Dooley is doing in the state of Georgia, GVL’s new learning architecture, their new online learning platform TOOL, the importance of computer science, and their various partnerships that aid them in continuing to improve learning and education for all Georgia State students.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:41] Caitlin Dooley runs down the list of things she is currently working on, starting with Georgia Virtual Learning.

[5:54] About Total Learning Architecture.

[7:10] Their partnership and involvement with the Advanced Distributed Learning lab.

[9:48] Georgia Virtual’s use of the IMS CASE: Competencies & Academic Standards Exchange; One of the elements of the Total Learning Architecture.

[10:20] The improvement on the old-fashioned, pdf transcripts and other parts of the Architecture.

[11:46] What a Learning Record Store (LRS) is and how students and teachers will use it.

[12:39] GVL’s new, online learning platform, TOOL, and how it is benefiting teachers.

[15:05] How Caitlin sees TOOL benefiting teachers compared to traditional forms of PD.

[17:14] Other states and peers moving in the direction of adopting a new learning architecture.

[18:51] The importance of computer science for students.

[22:52] Computer science is more than just coding; it’s about a broader set of competencies.

[24:48] What Caitlin sees for the ideal high school sequence.

[26:18] How the Department of Education in Georgia is working to advance computer science education.

[28:15] Caitlin's colleagues in other states that are also working to advance computer science education.

[29:53] The importance of outside support and partnerships.

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Georgia Virtual Learning

Total Learning Architecture

Advanced Distributed Learning

IMS: Competencies & Academic Standards Exchange CASE

Georgia Virtual Learning’s TOOL

National Science Foundation

Computer Science Teachers Association Code.org

National Math + Science Initiative

K12cs.orgCS for Georgia

GADOE.org

 

Suggested Listening:

If you’re enjoying this podcast, you may also enjoy:“S2: E7 The Future is Here: Artificial Intelligence & What it Means for our Kids”

 

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