Sprinkle Innovation: December 2013

Notes from the Instructional Materials Coordinators' Association of Texas (IMCAT) Conference

Instructional Materials 101

Pre-Workshop Description: A general overview of the Instructional Materials Allotment.

Agenda:

1. Administration (Presenter: KK Korelick, District IM Coordinator, Judson ISD)

This year the distribution is 50-50.
The TEKS Certification must be done yearly; comes out in February and usually goes to Board in March.
EMAT - Educational Materials Administrative Technology
This is the system that each district uses to ask for IMA funds from the State.
EVI Materials is still funded by the state - Amy Flores from TEA is in charge of this.
TEA pays publisher directly on materials ordered and freight charges. This money still comes out of your allotment.
Disbursements allow districts to order non-state adopted IM, technology equipment, and technology services from the IMA
Lori Lee from TEA is in charge of disbursements
Each district may have 4 users in the EMAT system (2 users place the orders; 2 users have read only access)
There is an online form where you can request a login ID for the person needing access.

2. Curriculum (Presented by Lea Bailey, Director of Learning Resources, Irving ISD)

IMA Teams usually consist of Finance, Purchasing, Superintendent, Technology, District IM Coordinator, Instructional Staff, Curriculum

Finance: Monitor IMA Funds and ensure funds are allocated to the correct amounts; need "view-only" access to EMAT; create a budget to cover district needs regarding IMA
Purchasing: Ensure district purchasing procedures are followed
Superintendent: Certifies that district is following TEA's requirements regarding the use of IMA
Technology: What are the district goals for technology in the classroom; what is needed to meet these goals in regards to IMA; what, if any, personnel positions may be needed to meet these goals?
Instructional Support: Input from campus level
Curriculum: Input from administrative level as to the needs at the campus level; write curriculum to meet the TEKS or STAAR standards

Reviewers must thoroughly understand new TEKS and STAAR/EOC issues.
Use as resources or focus on the curriculum? Does the material compliment IM already in use in the district?
Check appeal/engaging lessons
Depth of curriculum
Diversity of resources
Questions to ask for review:

Determine if district has policies or procedures that support electronic IM use school or at home

Is digital content the best format for both portability and student use and comprehension
Ensure teachers understand the implications of using electronic textbooks
Get everyone on board - Teachers, students, and parents will need to fully embrace the idea of "going paperless"
Teachers will need time and training to learn new curriculum strategies, implement in the classroom, and modify to meet individual student needs.

3. Technology (Presented by Ann McGruffey, IM Coordinator, Duncanville ISD)

Things to Focus On:
What devices are needed in district?
Are the new devices compatible with current district software?
Did you purchase online accessible materials? Not only with EMI but also with home?
What is the cost?
Is there a warranty?
Is the life of the equipment cost effective to justify purchase?
Does your district have enough servers?
Do you have enough licenses, assist with staff, parent, and student access, training and maintenance?
Is the material fully compatible with all devices used in your district?
Is the management system easy to use?
Is the student information system used to determine what resources can be accessed?
Who loads the student data?
What video rights do we get with implementation?
What printing rights do we get with implementation?
What additional resources does the district need to partially and fully implement?

4. Purchasing & Finance

Each district is responsible for ordering materials directly from the publisher or vendor specified on the allotment disbursement request.

IMA purchases valued at $50,000 (check local policy) for a 12 month period must be made using one of the purchasing methods below:

Unless "sole source" exception applies, meaning the items is available from only one vendor
New editions of state-adopted IMs would be covered by sole source exception
If there is excess disbursement money, a district must account for overage
Having a correct quote or bid will eliminate any excess dollars

5. Revenue & Expenditures

Beginning with the 2013-2014 FY fund code: 410 State Instructional Materials Fund (formerly state textbook fund)
Revenue Object Code:

6. Warehousing (Presented by Greg Wright, IM Coordinator, Leander ISD)

A Distribution Center is not the final destination for a product - it is merely an intermediate stop en route from a source of supply (vendor) to the ultimate user
Basics to Warehousing:

Organization: Control the inventory-know who has access; have a tracking system - pencil or paper or software tracking system
Staff
Supplies & Tools

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