Think of using Google Docs or a wiki as simply putting up a sign-up
sheet on the web. We haven't had any problems in two years. To be
fair to folks, I also keep the lists "closed," until an announced
"start" time so every parent has the same chance to snag the choice
slots. The pros are numerous:
Cons
- families without web access. I try to compile a list of those at the
beginning of each year, and I am careful to be sure to call them to
set appointments up for them.
- You need to publicize well as it lives away from the school website,
which is where folks will instinctively look for it. We send an email
or two and put a big link to it on our division page.
-It's open so anyone (i.e., students) can mess with it. (But it hasn't
happened yet, and if it did, it is all easily reversible by just
rolling back the document to any of its previous states.)
Pros
- It takes me just a few minutes to set the whole thing up for the year
- Parents can check, change, and make their own appts.
- Teachers can do the same (and it gets them to dip their feet into
technological waters they might otherwise not)
- Teachers can also block out times for breaks, insert additional
times, and add notes, if they wish
- Everyone's conference schedule is visible to everyone else so, for
example, a math teacher who might want to talk to a particular parent
(homeroom teachers run our conferences) can see when they are coming
in and be there
- It's absolutely free and does not involve releasing information to a
third party company
-It's simple, and you can change how it works or looks at any time
without calling a tech support person or paying an additional fee.
As you can see, I'm a fan. If you want to see ours, look here: https://upperschool.wikispaces.com
(Because I wanted to remove all student names before giving out the
link, I took this opportunity to set up the lists for the coming year,
and it took me under five minutes from start to finish.
Steve Cohen
Assistant Upper School Head
The Allen-Stevenson School
New York City
On Jul 10, 2009, at 8:12 AM, Doug Fodeman wrote:
> Greg,
> We used software from Virtual Paragon last fall after reviewing
> several
> online solutions last year. Although the folks there were very
> helpful
> and the software did exactly what we wanted it to, we found it (and
> all
> online software) to be very burdensome to set up due to the number of
> teachers we have who wear many hats. Having so many people who
> crossed
> divisions (we're PK-8 elementary) and were advisors and teachers, we
> had
> to set up waves of parent signups. Also, it isn't cheap. As a
> result, we
> actually scrapped using it in the spring. It might be better suited
> to
> high schools.
>
> I'm intrigued to hear of some folks using Google Excel or their own
> wikis.
> I would like to hear more about the pros and cons of this
> solutions....
>
> Doug Fodeman
>
> A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
> writes:
>> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:47:36 -0400
>> From: "Smith, Greg" <SmithG@notredameprep.com>
>> Subject: Parent/Teacher conference software
>> Is anyone using a Parent/Teacher conference system that has been very
>> successful. We would like to host it in-house if possible but would
>> look
>> at hosted options also. We currently use PTConferenceMaker from
>> Graphtech which we are happy with but would like to bring in-house if
>> possible
>> Thanks
>> Greg Smith
>> Notre Dame Prep
>> Towson, MD
>
> ChildrenOnline.org
> ================================
> Douglas Fodeman
> Director of Technology
> Brookwood School
> Manchester, MA 01944
> http://www.Brookwood.edu
> (978) 526-4500 X6233
> ================================
>
>
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