Using Technology in the Classroom

1. Using Technology in the Classroom Coventry Public Schools Vision Statement: “Technology serves to ease the managerial burdens of the district and improves instructional capabilities of our faculty and the learning of our students.”

2. What are the possibilities? 2.What can we do now? 3. What obstacles do we need to overcome to truly provide our students with what they deserve?

3. What are the possibilities? • Interactive School website • Student Email • Student Accounts • Student proficiency/training • Technology support/liaison • Supplemental learning, such as Web quests and math games

4. School Website Interaction www.knottyoakms.net

5. Student Email Accounts Every teacher has an email account they can access from anywhere (sometimes)…WHY NOT STUDENTS? (This would eliminate the need to use commercial sites with advertisements)

6. What Student Network Accounts Make Possible • Student Portfolios accessible on the web (password protected) • Develop skills needed to create digital portfolios required by new high school regulations • Student desktops, printer settings, etc. could be saved so as to “save” time for more learning.

7. Student Proficiency/Teacher Training • Students take computer class to develop proficiency at word processing, creating spreads and PowerPoint presentations • Teacher Training – Professional development designed to meet needs identified by teachers in annual survey, such as designing webpages design and using Excel

8. Supplementing Learning • Online videostreaming PBS Videostreaming • Video Conferencing (Link) • Website resources – News, Research, Tools, Downloadable Assignments, Blogs, and more! • Interactive Homework!!! Email revisions, practice, further readings, video, etc.

9. Technology Support/Building Liaison to District Technology Department • Technology support personnel at each school • Responsibilities – Administrative access to install software, updates, debugging, etc. • Result = More integration of technology in daily instruction

10. What can we do with current resources? • Each teacher has one computer with Internet access • Two computer labs – One has 16 new computers, one has 14 older computers • Each student can access Internet, save files to their folder (Sometimes this doesn’t work) • PowerPoint lessons via Team TV’s & Two Projectors • School website administered by Mike Convery.

11. What obstacles do we need to overcome to provide students with what they deserve? • Student Account Problems can only be solved by one person in the district, the Technology Department Director • Technology Department of 2 staff members serve 3,000? students in nine schools • Updates & software downloads require administrative privileges that are held by the District Technology Director only • Ability to debug problems requires Technology Director • Lack of Consistency in programs on computers in building • 2 hour per week Technology Liaisons in each school have no administrative rights • Lack of in-building technology support discourages teaching staff from staff using technology in the classroom.

12. Student Account Problems • Students have to search for Microsoft Word and install a printer every time they log on • Student desktops are inconsistent. • Students, teachers and technology liaisons cannot download free and safe programs (i.e. NASA WorldWind, Java script, updates for QuickTime, Adobe Reader, and more)

13. Updating Computers • Virus definitions are not updated regularly • Teachers and students cannot update Windows or Office • Free and safe software like Real Player, Macromedia, Java are not accessible. • Teachers cannot install software for their classroom printer! (Ex: We cannot scan homework assignments into our computer for students to access from home)

14. Paralyzed Tech Liaisons • Do not have any Administrator Rights needed for solving majority of daily problems such as students' forgotten passwords • Technology Liaisons do not have “administrative rights” and are unable to solve many problems. • Solution: Give Technology Liaison or other designated person the ability/access to fix frequently occurring problems

15. Minimal Tech Staff • There are only 2 full-time staff to service the entire district • There is no schedule for when or where technology staff will be on any given day. • Dozens of donated computers are not being added to the network for students to use as intended • Result = Our students are going without them.

16. Lack of Leadership and Organization • Many reports and requests from KOMS and other schools have been made but issues have not been addressed. The same problems still exist. • There is no list, schedule or database to access to know when a technology staff will be in a building. There is no regular response time for requests sent by email.

17. Lack of Support Result: Students and Teachers Underutilizing Technology • Teachers and students can plan ahead to use technology for teaching and demonstrating learning and then it doesn’t work because of a technology problem that only a person with administrative rights can • Students hesitant to count on school computers because it takes too long or work gets lost. • Teachers eliminate integrating technology in their lessons because too often it doesn’t work. • While it is inevitable for technology problems to exist, timely in building technology support could solve the majority of daily problems

18. What can we do? • Organize! – Demand that your children receive the education that they deserve, but is being impeded by our current system. • Professional/Objective Evaluation – Have network expert assess more efficient and effective ways of setting up our network . (Ex: Mr. Petronio – URI) • Total Cost Ownership – Assess the cost and needs for future purchases using a formula established by our parents, staff, and administration. (Ex: Mike Convery’s paper) • Technology Support Staff in each school with enough access/capabilities to troubleshoot daily problems. • Transparentsystem that itemizes debugging issues to be fixed posted on server. Most problems could be solved via the network rather than at each individual computer

19. Solutions: 1.In-building Technology Support Staff with administrative rights 2.District Technology Staff needs to be increased 3. User friendly network setup for all students, such as all student profiles having easy access to Microsoft Word and printers 4.User friendly network setup for all teachers, such as having easy access to Grading Program 5. Daily email communication from District Technology Staff when network will be down, drives inaccessible, files deleted inadvertently, etc.

20. Thank You!