Dear Trainers,

We are pleased to announce some upcoming changes to the Verizon Thinkfinity national professional development program that will help streamline the program, and simplify the tracking of your training activity using Thinkfinity's online course management system.

As of February 1, 2010, the following changes will be in place:

New Training Course Designations

• TCH-P: PARTIAL Verizon Thinkfinity Training for End Users/Teachers, TCH-C: COMPLETE Verizon Thinkfinity Training for End Users/Teachers and Verizon Thinkfinity Awareness Sessions will be replaced with a single new course designation: "Thinkfinity User Training."
  
  At a minimum, trainers will need to complete the 2-step process (register and follow up) to track Thinkfinity User Training using Thinkfinity's online management system. The 4-step process is also available, and provides even more information about these sessions for accountability purposes. In states with a Thinkfinity State Partnership, Training Administrators will be in touch with further information about tracking this training activity.
• TRN-1: BASIC Verizon Thinkfinity Trainer Training and TRN-2: ADVANCED Thinkfinity Trainer Training courses will be replaced with a single new course designation: "Thinkfinity Trainer Training."
  
  "Thinkfinity Trainer Training" will continue to require the 4-step process for data collection when using Thinkfinity's online management system.*

National Program No Longer Conferring Trainer Status:

• Effective Feb. 1, the national program will no longer confer the designations of "Thinkfinity Field Trainer" and "Thinkfinity Certified Trainer." However, trainers who had "Field Trainer" or "Certified Trainer" status prior to Feb. 1 will not lose any privileges or access to the Thinkfinity online management system or to the Trainer Toolbox.
• State Education Partners will have the flexibility to develop their own guidelines and models for their state trainer networks that are rolling out Verizon Thinkfinity PD. If you are in a state with a Thinkfinity Partnership, your Training Administrator will provide this information. (To contact your Training Administrator, please select your state from the State Education Network section of the Thinkfinity site at http://www.thinkfinity.org/rollout/rollout_progress.aspx).

Trainer Activity Guidelines

Prior to 2/1/10:

• Trainers with "Thinkfinity Field Trainer" status could register TCH-P, TCH-C, or Awareness sessions for end users. Trainers who had "Thinkfinity Certified Trainer" status could register the above 3 end-user courses PLUS TRN-1 and TRN-2 (train-the-trainer) sessions.

Starting 2/1/10:

• Trainers who had "Thinkfinity Field Trainer" or "Thinkfinity Certified Trainer" status prior to Feb. 1 will continue to be identified as trainers in the Thinkfinity database. They will NOT lose any abilities or privileges in using the Thinkfinity online management system or accessing the Trainer Toolbox.
• All trainers in the Thinkfinity database will be able to register to deliver both "Thinkfinity User Training" and "Thinkfinity Trainer Training" using the Thinkfinity online course management system.
• Any training participant who rosters into and successfully completes a "Thinkfinity Trainer Training" will subsequently be identified in the Thinkfinity database as a "trainer" and will be able to register training sessions for other trainers or users using the Thinkfinity online course management system.

Training Resources

Over the next few months, we'll be updating the information in the Trainer Toolbox to align with the new course designations. In the meantime, resources labeled for the old course designations can be matched to the new course designations using the table below.

More Information for trainers with sessions on the Thinkfinity Training Calendar that are scheduled to begin on or after Feb 1st:

If you have already registered a session on the Thinkfinity training calendar under an "old" course designation, you will receive a notice that the session is being cancelled and replaced with the appropriate new course designation - either "Thinkfinity User Training" or "Thinkfinity Trainer Training."

If you have any further questions, please contact your State Training Administrator or use the "contact us" link from any Thinkfinity.org Web page.

Sincerely,
Verizon Thinkfinity Professional Development Team

* To learn more about these upcoming changes, including course designations and the data collection process using the Verizon Thinkfinity online course management system, register for the FREE 1-hour Webinar, "How to Manage Your Training Data."

We are excited to announce the upcoming launch of some much-needed changes to our data collection reporting system in myThinkfinity. The launch is expected to take place next week and we will post another update once the changes are live. To prepare you for the changes, we have outlined them below.

1. The four-step process for data collection will be easier to navigate. Separate links to "Register New Session," "Sign-in on Roster," "Complete a Survey," and "Trainer Follow-up" will be available in the main navigation along the right-hand side of the page.
2. A new "View My Activity" tab within the My Profile section will allow users to see training sessions they have attended or conducted.
   • Training participants will be able to view any upcoming training sessions they registered for, and any past training sessions they rostered into. There will also be links to the certificate of participation for any training session they successfully completed and for which they submitted a training survey.
   • Anyone who has conducted a training will be able to see information about those sessions, including date, time, location, training score and more. A link to session-specific survey data will also be available from this page.
3. In an effort to collect useful information about the types of professional development trainers offer and how professional development and outreach efforts are affecting new account creation, a few additional questions have been added to the profile creation:
   • Are you setting up an account as a result of a professional development or training experience? (Yes/No)
   • If yes: Which of the following types of professional development or training activity is prompting you to create an account? (Presentation, Hands-on Workshop, Distance Learning, Coaching/Mentoring, Professional Learning Community, Other)
   • If no: What prompted you to create an account? (An electronic communication, A Web site or Web-based forum, A printed document, Conference, Colleague or friend, Browsing or searching the Web, Other)
4. The lead question for profile creation now asks for date of birth. Please note that this information is used only to verify that the account creator is at least 18 years of age.

We hope these changes make training data-collection easier for you and your training participants.

If you need a refresher on the four steps of data collection inside of the portal, please sign up for the FREE webinar, How to Manage Your Training Data. If you have any other questions, please feel free to use the Contact Us link at the top of any Verizon Thinkfinity page.

Thinkfinity has just released our new Thinkfinity "21st Century Kid" poster, featuring artwork by noted author, illustrator and educator Peter Reynolds of FableVision--and we would like your help getting it into the hands of educators.

Training participants who create a myThinkfinity account as a part of the rostering process will have access to a free download of the 81/2" x 11" mini-poster on the last page of their profile. The mini-poster will also be available to those who review/update their myThinkfinity profile. If training participants cannot be online to create an account or review their profile during your training session, they can do so at any time and still roster into your session for up to two weeks after the training is complete. Look for the "Roster Instructions" document in the Trainer Toolbox for directions on capturing this important information. Please also feel free to download the instructions document and place it on your own site or provide it as a handout to your trainees.

If you have any questions or concerns related to any of the 4 data collection steps, we invite you to attend our free "How to Manage Your Training Data" Webinar. For more details and to register for the training, visit our Free Training page.

Thinkfinity's revised Professional Development paradigm was launched on November 1, 2007, and since then our trainers have spread the Thinkfinity word to over 20,000 people across the country! Congratulations and thank you, Thinkfinity Trainers!

Now that we are about to enter a new year, and the 2nd year of our new training paradigm, we want to take this opportunity to review a few components of the new paradigm with you.

MAINTAINING FIELD TRAINER STATUS (CREDENTIALS)

To maintain Field Trainer status:

• Field Trainers*** must conduct at least one official* Thinkfinity Training for at least 5 total attendees (can be in multiple sessions), and receive a survey average** of at least 4.0 out of 5.0 within the previous 12 months for each session counted.

HOW TO CHECK YOUR STATUS (CREDENTIALS)

We encourage you to check your status (credentials) in the Thinkfinity Professional Development Database, myThinkfinity:

• Login to myThinkfinity and click on the "View My Credentials" link in the Credentials section on the right.
• You will see your Active Credentials, any Expired Credentials that you have, the Renewal Requirements for your current credential, what the next credential level is, and how to achieve that next credential level.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR STATUS (CREDENTIALS)

• In order to earn Field Trainer status, an educator must successfully complete the on-site Thinkfinity Train-the-Trainer Basic session (TRN-1) conducted by a Thinkfinity Certified Trainer or Cadre Trainer. Upon successful completion, Field Trainers earn a Field Trainer 1 credential, which is recorded within the Thinkfinity database.
• Field Trainers who successfully complete the (optional) on-site Thinkfinity Train-the-Trainer Advanced session (TRN-2), conducted by a Thinkfinity Certified Trainer or Cadre Trainer, earn a Field Trainer 2 credential, recorded in the Thinkfinity database.
  
  NOTE: Field Trainers who successfully complete the online Train-the-Trainer session (TRN-O), which is the equivalent of the on-site TRN-1 and TRN-2, automatically earn a Field Trainer 2 credential.
• Field Trainers who successfully complete TRN-1 and TRN-2, or TRN-O, and also meet the following requirements, earn a Field Trainer 3*** credential, which qualifies them for participation in Thinkfinity Certified Trainer workshop.
  
  After completing TRN-2 OR TRN-O, successfully deliver at least two official* sessions to a minimum total of 10 teachers and earn a Trainer Score** minimum of 4.5 out of 5.0 for each session counted.
  
  NOTE: Additional steps are required to become a Thinkfinity Certified Trainer; interested Field Trainers should contact their State Education Partner Training Administrator for details.

QUESTIONS???

After checking your status (credentials), if you have any questions, please contact us and select "Training Questions."

And if your Field Trainer status has lapsed due to not meeting the training requirement, don't worry! Keep an eye on Thinkfinity.org's "FREE Training Page" for "Field Trainer Refresher" training, which will be open for free registration in early 2009.

This information and more is discussed in the FREE 1-Hour Webinar-"How to Manage Your Training Data"-which we encourage you to register for to learn more about using the new Thinkfinity Professional Development Management System (inside of myThinkfinity). To sign up for the Webinar:

• Click on FREE Training from any Thinkfinity Web page
• Click on the "Register" link for "How to Manage Your Training Data"
• Select the desired date and time (times listed in Eastern time zone) and click the "Webinar" link
• Log in to myThinkfinity using your Field Trainer or Certified Trainer login
• Click the "Roster" button

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT EARNING AND MAINTAINING FIELD TRAINER CREDENTIALS

* Official Field Trainings are defined as Awareness Sessions, TCH-P or, TCH-C sessions that have the following components:

• Trainer has Registered the session.
• Attendees have completed the Roster within two weeks of the session end date.
• Attendees have completed the Survey within two weeks of the session end date.
• Trainer has completed the Trainer Follow-up Form no later than two weeks before his/her credential expiration date.

** Training Session Survey Averages

Survey requirements state that the training session survey average must be at least 4.0 out of 5.0 for Field Trainer 1 and 2 credentials, and 4.5 out of 5.0 for Field Trainer 3 credentials.

The Trainer Score average for all TCH sessions is calculated by averaging the scores from all participants for the following survey questions:

• How effectively did the trainer design and facilitate activities throughout the training?
• Please rate the trainer's presentation skills.
• How effective was the trainer at providing useful answers to direct questions?
• How effective was the trainer at creating energy and enthusiasm for Thinkfinity?

The Trainer Score average for Awareness Sessions is calculated by averaging the scores from all participants for the following question:

• Please evaluate the effectiveness of the trainer.

*** Field Trainer 3s must conduct at least one official* Thinkfinity Training for at least 5 total attendees (can be in multiple sessions), and receive a survey average** of at least 4.5 out of 5.0 within the previous 12 months for each session counted to keep their credential current. If the session(s) conducted have only a 4.0 out of 5.0 survey average, the Field Trainer 3 credential will expire and the Field Trainer 2 credential renew.

Thinkfinity's Professional Development Management Database, also/previously known as Rusticello, will be temporarily unavailable as it undergoes an upgrade the weekend of June 21-22, 2008. Therefore, trainers will not be able to register sessions or complete Follow-up Forms on those days, and attendees will not be able to roster in to sessions or take the training survey. In addition, the Trainer Toolbox will not be accessible on those days.

Due to these restrictions, Certified Trainers will not be able to conduct TRN sessions on June 21-22.

We also recommend Field Trainers and Certified Trainers not schedule any TCH or Awareness sessions on these dates, however, if a TCH or Awareness session on June 21-22 cannot be rescheduled, please use the following work-arounds:

1. Register the session ahead of time for the correct date.
2. "Quick roster" participants after June 22^nd.
   NOTE: You will need to collect a name, e-mail address, and an identifying city and state for each attendee in your session.
   NOTE: Directions for "quick rostering" will be available from the Training Materials area of the Trainer Toolbox after June 22^nd. Look for a document named "Four Step Process - How-To's."
3. Once your attendees have been rostered into the session, they will be sent an email with a link to the training survey.
   NOTE: Training surveys are only accepted for 2 weeks after the session has taken place. It is vital that you quick roster your attendees as soon as possible beginning on June 23^rd.
4. 4. Make sure that all training materials needed for your session are downloaded and saved on your personal computer prior to June 21^st.

When the new PD Management Database launches on June 23, 2008, the look will be significantly different from the current Rusticello. While all of the Training Materials currently available in the Trainer Toolbox may not be updated to reflect the new system by the 23rd, an updated "User's Guide" will be available as soon as possible after the new system launches, as well as an updated version of the "Four Steps" PPT, used to walk trainers and participants through the process of registering, rostering, surveying and reporting on training sessions.

If you have any additional questions, please use the Contact Us link from the Thinkfinity homepage.

Science NetLinks has an outage scheduled for Friday, August 15^th - Sunday, August 17^th, 2008 .

We highly encourage you to schedule any TCH-C, TRN, or science-specific training sessions around this outage.

ReadWriteThink is proud to announce the relaunch of Learning Beyond the Classroom, which was designed to help children continue to build on their literacy learning outside of school. Please visit the site by clicking on the logo on the ReadWriteThink homepage (http://www.readwritethink.org) or directly at http://www.readwritethink.org/beyondtheclassroom/summer/ .

Here you will find a collection of 50 summer activities for children and teens. New activities have been added since last summer as well as podcasts and videos, which can be accessed at http://www.readwritethink.org/beyondtheclassroom/summer/podcastsvideos/index.asp.

A flyer about the Summer Activities page explaining the importance of summer learning and a link to the site is available for download - great for those who want to share this site with others! http://www.readwritethink.org/beyondtheclassroom/summer/research/index.asp

As part of our Program enhancements, Thinkfinity will launch a new and improved Thinkfinity.org Web site in early February! The high-quality content (lesson plans, interactives, resources, etc.) you have come to know and love will not change, however the look, feel, and functionality of the site will be greatly improved and will feature:

• Additional content the redesigned site will include the addition of 21st Century Skills, as well as content and resources for students, parents, and afterschool programs.
• An updated "look and feel" user-friendly and intuitive navigation will allow users to get where they want to go more quickly and simply. Fewer text pages and additional graphics will provide more information in a cleaner format.
• An enhanced search engine an improved user interface will add the ability to see related content more easily. The search results will be improved with easier-to-read information, including clearly defined grade level and resource type information, as well as an icon-based view to see other types of related assets.
• Integration of resources resources from the Thinkfinity Literacy Network will be seamlessly integrated into all areas.

Due to this redesign of the Thinkfinity.org site that will launch in early February:

• We are recommending that you postpone any Thinkfinity sessions that you have scheduled for late January and early February to the last week of February or later, as appropriate. However, you will be able to deliver training during the redesign period, so feel free to make the professional decision to continue with scheduled training if you feel the redesign will not negatively impact your session. In March we will be posting a link to a self-guided tour of the redesigned site that will familiarize youe with the new navigation and features.
  • Certified Trainers can edit training session dates by e-mailing your training administrator, requesting the change
  • Field Trainers can edit training session dates in Rusticello
    http://rusticello.mped.org/PDS/pds_login.asp
• Bridge Training will be revised and updated. If you are registered for Bridge Training:
  • Section 3 (Jan. 16, 2008) You MAY withdraw from the Jan. 16 section and re-register for a later section of Bridge Training that will be revised to include components from the new and improved Thinkfinity Web site. You MAY stay in the Bridge Training 3 section, if you wish, but please be aware that it will not reflect the Web site redesign changes.
  • Section 4 & 5 (Jan. 30 and Feb. 13, 2008) please re-register for a later section of Bridge Training as these two sections have been cancelled.

In March, we will post a link to a video tour of the redesigned site that will familiarize you with the new navigation and features.

We apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause you and hope that you are able to make any changes that work best for your schedule and training needs.

If you have any further questions, please use the Contact Us link from the Thinkfinity homepage.

Throughout 2007, the Verizon Foundation has been leading the charge to transition MarcoPolo to the new and improved Thinkfinity paradigm! This online course, Bridge Training for Field Trainers, will guide you through all of the changes and upgrades to Thinkfinity content and the Professional Development Program, and provide you with information that will help you effectively train end users. By completing this course, you will retain your Field Trainer status and "cross the bridge" from being a MarcoPolo Field Trainer to being a Thinkfinity Field Trainer. All Field Trainers interested in retaining trainer status will be required to participate in Bridge Training prior to April 1, 2008.

The online course Bridge Training for Field Trainers is now accepting registrations.

To register for Bridge Training:

1. Click on FREE Training from the Thinkfinity home page.
2. Locate the Bridge Training for Field Trainers course and click on the link to register.
3. You will then be asked to log in. Please use your Field Trainer login (e-mail address).

NOTE: If you dont remember your password, first try the Forgot Password link. If you are still unable to log in, click on contact us at the top of the page, and select Technical Support from the drop down list.

This course is self-paced and self-moderated. Each course section is open for two weeks and participants can expect to spend 5-15 hours to complete the course. Questions? Contact thinkfinitytraining@verizon.com

Effective Friday, October 26, 2007, a Thinkfinity trainer and/or state administrator login will be required to access our Trainer Resource Center. To access the Trainer Resource Center from the Thinkfinity.org homepage, please click on the Trainer Resource Center!

As we re-launch our Professional Development program, we are excited about providing a trainer/administrator-only section to our Web site. This new section of our site is aimed at providing trainers and administrators with the most current training materials and information. The newest items in our Trainer Resource Center include flyers to announce your training sessions, a Thinkfinity Awareness Session PowerPoint and Facilitator Guide (for conducting 15, 30, or 45 minute awareness sessions), and a revised PowerPoint containing our registration, roster, survey and follow-up procedures. In the upcoming months, we will continue to add new worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, instructional Flash-based tutorials and more! We hope you will enjoy this newly revised trainer/administrator-only section and continually check back in to see what has been added!

One change on the horizon will affect Field Trainers eligibility to train various audiences. Starting October 1, 2007, Field Trainers will be eligible to conduct Field Training of end users only. Field Trainers will no longer be eligible to train other Field Trainers. However, Certified Trainers and Certified Trainer Candidates will be eligible to train both end users (TCH) and Field Trainers (TRN).

We feel that this change will streamline the role of Field Trainers and that the content and quality of training that Field Trainers receive will be much more consistent across the board. This change will ensure that all end users receive a high quality training experience from Field Trainers who are best equipped to deliver Thinkfinity training.

If any Certified Trainers or Certified Trainer Candidates have planned to conduct any Field Trainer training (TRN) this summer or fall, we ask that you please communicate to your attendees that they will be eligible to train end users only, and that you make revisions to your training agenda, as appropriate, to reflect this change.

In late fall, you will receive additional communication, regarding the launch of the new Thinkfinity training curriculum, including new content, site redesign and Rusticello redesign. At that time, Field Trainers who are interested in continuing as Thinkfinity Field Trainers of end users, will have the opportunity to take "Bridge Training" which will provide all the necessary updates for Field Trainers to "cross the bridge" from training using the old curriculum and MarcoPolo site to using the new curriculum with the Thinkfinity.org site. This Bridge Training will be free of charge and will be delivered in a self-paced online format.

Similarly, Certified Trainers and Certified Trainer Candidates will be asked to take "Bridge Training", to receive updates on both end user curriculum (TCH) and Field Trainer training (TRN).

More specific information about Bridge Training will be provided as late fall approaches.