Technology Applications for Schools Districts (EDU 615)
Fall 2012
Quiz 1
1. Why should a school district have a website? What should be on that site?
The main reason a school district should have a website is for communication. To stay connected with staff members, students, parents, community members, and potential new families coming into the district. There are many important things that should be on a school website. Some of those things include school calendar, lunch menu and a place to check account balances, building specific information, district information, school board information, polices, test data and scores, and pictures and videos that showcase your student talents. The school website is where most people go for any type of district information. As a teacher I am constantly on the website looking at data, policy, etc. Potential new students will also use the website to check out the district and see how it compares to other districts in the area.
2. Describe the concept of Total Cost of Ownership? What implications does Total Cost of Ownership have for technology planning/budgeting/purchasing?
When looking at cost of technology for a district there are many things to be taken into consideration. How much will it cost the district to implement the new technology and what will the gain be from using the technology? Will it be worth the cost to the district? Districts need to be aware of the start-up costs of new programs and then how much it will cost to maintain the technology. Meaning, how much will the program licensing cost, how much to train staff members, how much time will it cost the district to train and effectively implement the program, and how much will system updates cost the district. Another important thing to keep in mind is often districts are given a rock bottom start up cost and then in a few years the cost of keep the technology skyrockets. A school district definitely needs to do their homework to make sure a program will work with their budget not only for this year but years to come.
3. What school board-approved technology policies does your district currently have? Are these policies adequate for your district? What policies do you need to update or add?
All of our technology policies are listed on our school website which I listed in a prior post. One thing I really took from class this morning is that our technology policies are kind-of forcing us to be web 1.0 instead of 2.0. Most of our policies are not geared toward interactive Internet usage. We don't allow social media sites unless you have been pre-approved to use it in your classroom. We are not uploading videos or having live chats. Our policies could definitely use some updates. I do think that we should start allowing the use of cell phones and social media in the classroom. If we did this we would need to set a specific cell phone and social media usage policy for the protection of both the teachers and the students.
4. What implications are there for students using mobile devices (cell phones, ipads, and ipods) at school? How should schools handle social media with students and staff?
First and foremost if you are going to allow the use of mobile devices the district has to put together a well thought out usage policy. This way both staff and students will know what is considered acceptable usage and what will not be tolerated. They also need to have in the policy what will happen if the technology is not used correctly for the protection of both the staff and the students. There are so many cool things that teachers could be doing with cell phones/ipads/ipods in the classroom. I know I love playing the trivia games where you buzz in to answer with your cell phone so why not use this sort of system in our classrooms? I think the kids would love it and probably get a lot more out of it. Also for students to be able to quickly look up information and look it up for themselves instead of the teacher spoon feeding it to them is going to make the teaching/learning more interactive, authentic and more effective. I think the use of social media websites should be allowed again as long as there is a policy in place to protect students and staff. I really like the idea of having a facebook website for my kindergarten parents where I could post pictures, videos and it could be an interactive dialogue between myself, the parents, and the parents with each other. I think school districts need to be more open to the idea of this.
5. How do administrators and school boards keep a current vision of technology and the future?
Administrators and school boards keep a current vision of technology and their future because people will follow their lead. If the administration places importance and value on having up to date technology and using technology in the classrooms the staff and community members will buy into the importance of it as will. If the administration does not value technology and it is the first thing to get cut or the last thing on list of importance it will not be of value to staff members and community members. The administration and school board members need to set the example for everyone else that they value the use of technology in their school district and everyone else will follow suit.