The district wants to move to the forefront in using technology in the classroom. The district will pick among two finalists – eduro and Discovery Education – to help them do that. Both gave presentations to the school board this week.

Jeff Utecht of eduro said to get the most out of technology the goal is to provide new learning experiences, not just rehash things the old way using technology. Instead of teachers teaching all students the same thing, they will need to help students create projects that are personal learning experiences that they are passionate about.

He gave an example about a student who loved to skateboard, but didn’t like anything about school. By the time he was done with his project, he had improved his skills in research, math, presentation and more.

Teaching teachers to do things in a different way is one of the biggest challenges.

“It’s a shift in the mind of teaching,” Utecht said. “It’s tough to get there. It’s a slow process.”

School Board member Pete Lundberg said, “They (students) will get it before the teacher does.”

Utecht agreed, adding students have grown up with this technology. Teachers become facilitators, helping students learn what information on the web is reliable and things like that.

“Youtube might be the best education platform ever,” Utecht said, adding teachers take control of their own personal development.

He said eduro would help the district set up professional learning communities. They would learn about what tools are available and develop a philosophy on how to use them. He said eduro offers 24-hour help, and 1.2 million teachers worldwide who share information.

“We have one heck of a network,” he said. “It does not matter where we are on the planet.”

The company showed that by having the other five top members of the company participating in the meeting via the internet. Utecht said even if one of them can’t be there physically, they can be there visually.

“The internet is about connecting people and ideas,” he said.

Kim Cofino of Connecticut said most of the members work or have worked at international schools and that perspective is important and would benefit students in Marysville.

“The world is a global place,” she said, with different backgrounds and cultures.

Utecht said more than an education company, eduro is a Cultural Shift Company. It wants to get all of the stakeholders involved, including parents and the community. In Bankok, he said as an example, it was set up that if parents went to all five meetings they received a certificate.

After the meeting Utecht said if Marysville were to sign on it would be the first in the state to do so.

“They would be ahead of where schools in the state have been,” he said.

Discovery Education is an older company with 10 years of experience. Its goal also is to transform teaching and learning, and to lead the district through its digital transition. It offers more diversity in its educational offerings, but its goal is the same – to inspire student achievement.

Spokesman Todd Pellegrino said it works to collaborate and have quality interactions with clients.

“We’re more of a friend than a vendor,” he said.

Professional development for teachers is first and foremost.

“We teach the teachers before giving them the tools,” he said. “Teachers are hungry for professional development.”

Toni Robinson, director of professional development for the company, said with the Marysville district they would align instruction to Common Core standards. The teaching would center around high-yield instruction and digital tools for personalized learning.

The Discovery Education training would take place over five years, compared with three for eduro. The district’s 450 teachers would be broken up into 150 taking the course each year. Professional Learning Communities would be set up with teachers sharing information to learn from each other.

“We continue to improve our model,” Pellegrino said.