• Overview
• ETTC Slot Table
• FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about ETTC Slots

Overview

The Atlantic County ETTC will begin its third year of operation on July 1, 1999. In the last two years, the ETTC has provided school districts with free training through "training slots":

• First introduced during 1997-98 Turnkey Training Program, slots were assigned separately for the 1998 Summer Training Institute and the 1998-99 Winter Calendar.
• The ETTC has offered a total of 8,093 hours of free slot-based training to the county's teachers.
• At a market value of $50/hr, the ETTC has provided $404,650 worth of professional development through the slot system alone. (Significant additional training has been conducted on a fee-basis).

Beginning this July, the Atlantic County ETTC will provide an annual allotment of free training to member districts. Districts can spend their ETTC Slot Hours as they wish throughout the summer, fall and spring training calendars as well as using them for any ad-hoc workshops that the ETTC may hold.

As with our previous calendars, the slot allocation approved by the ETTC Steering Committee is based on the following principles:

1. Each district receives free training that is directly proportional to the number of students in the district.
2. 50% of the free training is made available to the eight economically disadvantaged districts in the county.
3. Smaller districts receive sufficient free training allotment so that a "critical mass" of staff can benefit from professional development. (A minimum of 40 hours is provided for the 1999-2000 year.)

The Atlantic County ETTC is very pleased to announce that, in comparison to the last two years, we will be providing 25% additional training time to districts at no cost through the slot system.

Check out our packed Summer Calendar !

Question: How do these ETTC Slot hours work? How many ETTC Slot hours do we need for each workshop?

Answer: Simply look at the class time taken up by each workshop to see how many ETTC Slot hours are needed.

• If a teacher takes a 3-hour or half-day ETTC workshop – such as our popular Welcome to the Computer series:

• your district would spend 3 ETTC Slot hours.

• If a teacher takes a full-day ETTC workshop – such as our well-known "Digital Cameras and Scanners" class:

• your district would spend 8 ETTC Slot hours.

• If a teacher takes a many-day ETTC camp:

• your district would spend 8 ETTC Slot hours per each full day of training.

Question: How should our district spend its ETTC Slot hours?

Answer: Your district’s staff members are the best judges of their professional development needs. Here, however, are some general suggestions to help your district maximize the impact of its ETTC Slot hours:

1. Space them out – don’t spend them all at once! We recommend that your district spend 40% of its ETTC Slot hours during the summer 1999 session, and 60% during the school year.
2. Plan them out – don’t send just the beginners or just the experts. Your district will benefit most if your staff receives a variety of training experiences from the ETTC. Send us some of your most nervous beginners or hardened skeptics, as well as some of your ground-breakers and techno-enthusiasts.
3. Spread them out. Send teachers from a variety of grade levels and subjects to ensure that all levels of your district benefit from our professional development offerings.
4. Keep track of them. The ETTC will always know how your district has used its ETTC Slot hours – call us to find out your "slot balance". Districts that have coordinated the assignments of slots by school in an organized fashion have benefited the most from our training. We recommend that the district choose one person per school – typically either the principal or technology coordinator – to have the authority to approve the use of ETTC Slot hours.
5. Follow-up can be crucial. Once a staff member completes an ETTC course, he or she should have an easy regular way to share what they have learned with colleagues. Ask them to share materials or present a brief summary at the next staff meeting!

Question: Can we use the ETTC Slot hours for any ETTC class?

Answer: Almost all ETTC courses will be made available for registration through the slot system. The only exceptions will be an occasional advanced or special course - such as our spring 1999 Windows NT Certification course through Wave Technologies. In general, the ETTC Slot hours can be used unless the flyer or poster explicitly states otherwise. This summer, slots cannot be used for the TI Algebra with Graphing Calculators course.

Question: What is the ETTC planning to offer this year?

Answer: The ETTC has ambitious plans for the 1999-2000 year.

1. Our extensive Summer Calendar is posted here. The Calendar includes over 40 workshops that are half-day or full-day in length, as well as several multi-day training camps.
2. In-service workshops will be held throughout the school year on days that are chosen to match the in-service calendars of the 24 school districts. Three-day certification sequences are planned where a teacher will complete three in-service days of training over the course of the school year with project work and follow-up provided between training sessions as well.
3. During-school, after-school and weekend workshops will be offered throughout the year on a variety of topics. Custom workshops will be designed and offered if 8 people are registered.
4. Custom workshops can be requested on-site by any district. So, for example, if your district has eight or more staff members struggling with Windows 95 file management, call the ETTC for an on-site workshop that can train up to 20 of your staff at a single sitting! We have developed many specialized workshops, so call us with your training needs.
5. Check our website to see the details of courses we have offered in the past and courses that are currently scheduled.

Question: How can our district get more free training?

Answer: Host an ETTC workshop! When a district hosts a workshop, the ETTC will provide twice the number of slot hours in appreciation. So if the ETTC holds a three-hour workshop in your district’s computer lab, your district staff can benefit from 6 hours of ETTC training at no cost! Many districts have found that their staff members are more interested in attending training when it is held at on-site.

Question: Can we save our ETTC Slot hours for next year?

Answer: Your district must use up its ETTC Slot hours prior to July 1, 2000. Contact us if your district is not able to use its ETTC Slots through our standard course offerings and special arrangements can be made for custom on-site workshops to meet your needs.

Question: How does a teacher register for a workshop using the ETTC Slot hours?

Answer: Send in the completed registration form by fax or mail, or register on-line through our website. A school district administrator’s signature is needed to approve the use of ETTC Slot hours, so a form with signature must be faxed or mailed to us in order to complete online registration.

More questions? Please contact Anu Vedantham, Director
Atlantic County ETTC