All I can say is "Amen". On all points. I think we've made the point about
behaviour vs. technology issues, but it's good to have someone with
credentials from OUTSIDE the school saying the same thing. So I'm taking
all these wonderful suggestions and putting them up in a document for use
with administration, faculty and trustees.
Steve Taffee from Castilla has already emailed me letting me know that that
is indeed the model they use. We'll be in touch with him on that. And I
am in complete agreement about the four things we need to have in place.
I'm optimistic that we will have someone on site to deal with issues as they
come up; the others are equally important.
Thank you so much for your quick response.
Ellen
On Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 11:17 AM, Renee Ramig <rramig@sevenhillsschool.org>wrote:
> I want to comment on the inappropriate use leading to taking away
> technology. I know I probably sound like a broken record (if anyone knows
> what a record is anymore), but inappropriate use of technology should be
> dealt with as a behavior issue. If a student tears out pages from a
> textbook, I doubt they would be banned from using books in school anymore.
> If a student is caught on Facebook, then there should be consequences
> related to the behavior. This is NOT a technology issue. This is a
> behavior issue.
>
> There are several schools that have gone 1 to 1 using student laptops. I
> know that Castilla School in Palo Alto recently did this. My recommendation
> is to contact schools that have this type of program in place to see what
> things they use to get it started, and what obstacles / issues they have had
> and how have they dealt with it.
>
> In saying that, I think there are four things you need in place for this to
> be successful: an onsite tech support person, a solid wireless network,
> board / administrative support, and solid professional development program.
> Teachers will only use technology on a regular basis in their class if the
> technology works. If there are constantly issues with the wireless, issues
> with students not being able to print, issues with students not having
> working computers, then they won't use it. There needs to be someone to
> help with tech issues available on campus everyday, and there needs to be a
> solid and robust wireless system in place.
>
> The two final areas that I find are key to a successful technology program
> are administrative / board support and money available for professional
> development. The most successful pd we have used is mentoring. We pay
> teachers to mentor other teachers. My TIM (Technology Integration Mentor)
> program mentors meet with their mentee once a week for 30 minutes. The
> mentee knows they always have a teacher (rather than a tech person) they can
> go to for support. The board / administrative support needs to include the
> funding to support the program. There needs to be for the technology
> (infrastructure), an on site person, and for ongoing and significant
> professional development.
>
> I hope all this helps. Good luck.
>
> Renee Ramig
> Seven Hills School
>
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--
Ellen Nodelman
Director of College Guidance & Testing
Rockland Country Day School
Tel. (845) 268-6802 NY Office/(860) 767-8014 CT Office
Fax NY: (845) 268-4644/( CT: 860-767-8014 - for CT, please call before
faxing so I can turn on fax receiving in CT)
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