Part IV- Weathering the Storms

By Lori Menger, Reading teacher

Weathering the Storms

Like any long voyage, this plan certainly encountered some storms along the way. In order to effectively evaluate at the end of the school year it was necessary to look closely at the challenges to effectively chart the course for the next year.

In Florida late summer and early fall is peak hurricane season, and barely after leaving port on this journey SJEDS was hit with a massive storm. One of the key players in this plan, the network administrator, became ill and was on extended leave, eventually not returning at all for the school year. This position was responsible for keeping up with all the hardware, as well as being in charge of the school’s electronic grade system, GradeQuick.

So before the plan had gained cruising speed, the two TIF positions had to shift gears and help with the hardware and the GradeQuick program. Eventually a part time contract person was hired to work at night; however there was no one available during the day, to assist with equipment difficulties. The vice principal assumed the responsibilities for the GradeQuick program.

This situation created a lot of tension for the teachers and administration. However, the integration plan was not abandoned. The plan had been blown off course somewhat, with a key position missing, but the damage was repaired as best as could be. The plan remained afloat, everyone pulled together, the teachers practiced a great deal of patience, and this storm was eventually weathered.
In order to integrate technology, reliable internet access must exist and in the fall of the year the school experienced a great deal of difficulty with the internet service. Many days the entire school was without connectivity or it would wane in and out during the day. This proved to be a great source of contention and even the most ardent supporters of the integration plan became frustrated. It was recognized that this could quickly sink the plan, so the problem was handled fairly quickly. A back-up service provider was contracted, so if the main connection went out there was another source.
Teacher and parent surveys done at the end of the school year provided valuable insight.

• Teachers reported that weekly planning with the TIF and drama coach were consuming too much of the teacher’s planning time, although planning was needed.
• There were also a small number of teachers that remained resistant to the use of technology; because it was not something they were comfortable with.
• Several teachers ended up only doing the minimum required by the plan, and this often with prodding by the administration.
• Parent and teacher surveys also noted a concern that students were not learning keyboarding skills, using proper finger placement. By directly integrating technology into the curriculum, and not having a stand alone computer class, this skill had been overlooked and students were using the hunt-and-peck method.
• Teachers reported that doing integrated projects took more time than they had anticipated and that time for reflection and editing must be built into the planning. This would require more availability of computers. Scheduling the computer lab had been difficult.
• The plan had called for teachers to schedule the lab via an online calendar in order to implement projects. The lab was often booked and teachers were unable to book the lab when they needed to complete lessons. This would throw off their lesson plan schedule and produced a great deal of frustration. Additionally grades three through six are on a rotational schedule changing classes, while pre-k through second grades are self-contained classes. So the lower school would often schedule the lab during times that did not coincide with the class period times of the upper school, resulting in the upper school teachers sometimes only able to book the lab for a partial period. There was a mobile laptop cart, but there were problems with the cart and it was not always available. There was also a class set of AlphaSmart Neos®, but they were in demand, and the same scheduling conflicts arose as with the Tech Connect lab.

Continue reading  Part V: Charting a New Course for the Upcoming Year