Preparing Devices for One-to-One

This summer we took a step forward in our one-to-one program by welcoming 150 Dell 2120 netbooks to our 6th Grade Campus. As last years 6th graders take their 2110 models with them to the 7th grade, we now have over 300 devices that we have to prep for the new school year. We went back and forth trying to find a convenient and efficient way to manage these devices especially as we continue our program through middle school and eventually through high school.

The Technology Department along with Dan Verwolf, our previous Network Admin, sat down and discussed some possibilities and we came up with the perfect solution. We decided to use Linux Ubuntu as our main source for deployment. We figured we will start deploying this build on all of our incoming netbooks.

We made the decision to go with a open sourced Linux operating system rather than a Windows OS for many different reasons. We feel that this solution would save money for the district in the long run which will allow us to purchase more sturdy and reliable devices. We also feel that the web resources that we have available for the district will allow us to work in the cloud and not rely on software applications. We also feel that our Technology Integration Support and Professional Development led by Sarah Wood was more than adequate to support our needs.

The issue that we ran into was how we would efficiently deploy this build to the lot of netbooks. We tried many different options until we came across Ubermix. Ubermix is based off of the Linux Ubuntu operating system, but comes with a mix of user applications that are effective for school use. Jim Klein, Director of Information Services and Technology for the Saugus Union School District in California and his team are responsible for this wonderful solution to our deployment problem. Their SWATTEC program has inspired us to use Ubermix and I can personally attest to the effectiveness and quality that this build brings to our program.

In less than 5 hours, Melissa Gill (6th Grade Teacher) and myself inventoried 150 netbooks and imaged 330 devices with 15 usb flash drives. This has certainly been the quickest and most efficient deployment we have had. Not to mention the clean and easily customize-able look the dashboard has. We sincerely offer Jim Klein our thanks and appreciation for his continued efforts to bring quality technology into our classrooms.

Please feel free to read more about Jim and Saugus Union School Districts work.

~Dan Townsend

District Technology Coordinator

Moving Forward

Last week, the Technology and Media team said goodbye to one of its valued members. Our Network Administrator, Dan Verwolf, accepted an opportunity at another institution and will no longer be working for Godfrey-Lee Public Schools. This is certainly a bittersweet ending to the week as we say farewell to our friend, yet we know that he is moving on to another level of his career. We are extremely happy for Dan and his family as they make this transition.

Working alongside Dan has been a rewarding experience for me, through the years we have shared many conversations that I will remember for a lifetime. He has openly shared his knowledge with me and I am grateful for that today. Even through our disagreements I feel that my beliefs and ideals have strengthened because of him. Dan’s creativity and innovative thinking has been a contributing factor in the growth of Godfrey-Lee’s Technology program and the success that has come from it. We were blessed to have him as a part of our team and he will be truly missed.

With that being said, we must continue to move forward providing quality support for the Godfrey-Lee School District and its stakeholders. We are determined to deliver a level of continuity for our staff and students as we come to the end of a tumultuous school year. We know that none of us are perfect; we all fall short sometimes. However, we are willing to strengthen the areas in which we are weak, embrace our failures and use them to take us higher. In a time where K-12 education is fighting to stay afloat, teachers and students need support more than ever. Our Jobs go beyond providing technology support. We must let our teachers know that we support them in every way.

The Godfrey-Lee Technology and Media Team is ready to go above and beyond expectations. We are ready to be more than a voice on the other end of the phone. We are ready to stand on the front-lines and prove that Godfrey-Lee is a community worth fighting for, because our kids are worth fighting for. We have some of the best students in West Michigan because we have some of the best Educators in West Michigan. Standing together, there is nothing we can’t do.

Here’s to a new frontier.

Student Views on Technology in the Classroom

As the end of the school year is upon us, I decided to send out a survey to students asking their thoughts about using technology as a tool in the classroom and their preferred learning habits. The survey was sent via e-mail to all 6-12 students and 66 students responded to the survey over a week's time period. Some of the responses were what I expected to see, but others were a bit surprising. Some of the questions and responses collected are listed below.

Most of the time I enjoy participating in class.

I enjoy working with classmates on class assignments.

I enjoy applying things I learned in class to real-life problems.

I like thinking about problems with no obvious "right" answer.

I like using technology to help me learn.

I like looking for answers to problems instead of my teacher giving me the answer.

I feel comfortable asking my teacher if I can complete an assignment a little bit differently.

I also asked the students several open-ended questions about the online resources they use to complete their work and how using online resources has changed the way they do their work. The students provided honest answers and I was surprised that outside of our district's web portal, the main resource they used was Google. The students use Google to not only search engine for information, but also as a way to be directed to specific web sites. This proves the necessity for information literacy to be an integrated component of content instruction.

The question that provided the most interesting information was that of, "If you could give your teachers a message about using technology in the classroom, what would it be?". Some of the responses included:

• "I would tell them to let us use computers and laptops more so we can study."
• "Make everything on the computer."
• "Let us use computers more to take notes rather than hand writing them."
• "This Is The Message I'd Give Them: Dear Teachers, Using netbooks in class helps us very much so I think you guys should let us use them more."
• "To put more assignments on the computer."
• "To allow us to use it to our advantage. "
• "To let us use our phones."
  

What does this say about our students and their thoughts on their learning? The biggest thing that speaks to me is that they want to have a voice. The students had no problem sharing ways that would help them learn in a manner that is more efficient and effective for them. The responses varied based on individual student learning preferences, and not everyone was in favor of using technology (one student responded with, "I HATE using computers they separate the connection and help a teacher gives."). This statement alone speaks to the important role that teachers will always play in the learning process, regardless of the technology used and how often it is used.

While reading the responses of this survey, what I enjoyed most was reading the honest responses from students. The evaluation piece of implementing technology in the classroom is critical, but is some times overlooked in lesson planning and implementation. If you are using technology in your classroom, how do you use student feedback to guide your re-teaching or future instruction?

MACUL 2011

This year, members of the GLPS Technology and Media Team will be presenting at the MACUL conference in Detroit.  We are excited to be part of this great conference and feel there many great things happening in education with regards to technology.  If you will be attending MACUL, feel free to stop into one of our sessions!

• Dan Townsend (Audio Visual Technician)
• "Migrating to Google Apps for Education"
• Friday, March 18, 11:30 am
   
• Dan Verwolf (Network Administrator) 
• "Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device"
• Thursday, March 17, 1:00 pm
   
• Kelly McGee (District Media Specialist)
• "Collaboration Through Video Production"
• Friday, March 18, 8:30 am
   
• Sarah Wood (Technology & Media Integration Specialist)
• "Getting Connected with Google Sites"
• Friday, March 18, 8:30 am

RebelNet on a Snow Day

Last week's blizzard required the school district to close for two consecutive days. In the past, this kind of unexpected break in the middle of the week before conferences would make it difficult for many students and teachers to stay on track with their daily tasks. However, with more staff and students now familiar with RebelNet, getting access from home was easier than ever before.

We sent out a short survey (using Google Forms, both easy and free) to all staff in the district and students in grades 6-12. The survey simply asked if they used RebelNet at all during the snow days and if so, what prompted them to. Here are some of the results:

Of the 173 responses, 129 were from staff members and 44 were from students. That's more than half of staff members and about 1% of students with access to RebelNet. That's not a great sample, but the survey also included a place to submit comments and suggestions which together, gave us some strong insight into how they use RebelNet.

Of the staff members who responded, 83% accessed RebelNet during the snow days. Their primary reason for logging in was to check Google Mail. After that, over half of the staff members were also accessing Google Docs and Infinite Campus (for grades, reports, etc.). Only about 20% of these staff members used RebelNet to access files stored on the district network.

Of the students who responded, only 25% had accessed RebelNet during the snow days. The primary reason given for not accessing RebelNet was that they had no reason to. Some students mentioned that they did not have an available internet connection.

Probably the most helpful information gathered from this survey can be found in the comments and suggestions section by the students. One student commented, "I had no reason to use RebelNet. Have more teachers give work on-line for us to do at home."

Another student commented, "I love RebelNet. It makes it easy to talk to my teachers and my friends."

In order for students to learn how to utilize technology as a tool rather than just a distraction, they need to be given the opportunities to use it properly. What is stopping teachers from posting more assignments online? What is keeping students from being engaged inside and outside of the classroom? Feel free to post your comments here.

Who are you? Do you even care?

Photo by Hay Kranen

As technology grows day by day, methods of communication seem to become more advanced at the same time. Not only is it important to make your presence known in person, it is now equally important to make your presence known online. This leads me to my first question; who are you and do you even care? Of course you know who you are, but as we move forward to become digital citizens, we have a responsibility to inform the world as to who we are.

This idea is sometimes overwhelming to think about especially when most people are worried about privacy, and rightfully so. However, in terms of your web presence, you have the power to create the information that is displayed about your persona and offer up words of wisdom to someone seeking it. Think of it like this, a student sits in the back of his robotics class for the entire school year and never says one word to anyone. The student just sits there and blends in with the rest of his classmates. No one knows that this student is somewhat of an expert in robotics. The teacher and the rest of the class already have an impression of this student. They think the student is quiet, anti-social and has little to offer. If only the student was to speak up and talk about what he knows, he can be of more help to his classmates and the impression that the class has of him will ultimately change.

This is no different when it comes to your impression online. When we lay dormant, keep to ourselves and blend in with the rest of the web users, we withhold all of the information, knowledge and true potential we have to offer. If we don’t leave an impression of ourselves, someone else will do it for us. Think of all the endless possibilities life has when we are all connected sharing valuable information and ideas.

The internet is a scary place sometimes but it is just a tool, how we use it will determine its value to us. It is sort of like the rest of the world, if we want to change the way the internet works we need to start with that person in the mirror. We should make our presence known, offer our knowledge and ideas and learn from others who are doing the same. Give it a try, start a blog for yourself. See how easy it is here.

Rebel U 2011 Planning Underway!

"Innovation Through Collaboration"

http://rebelu.godfrey-lee.org

The planning has begun! The Technology and Media Team have started planning for Rebel U 2011 and working to provide a dynamic professional development day. The theme for Rebel U 2011 is "Innovation Through Collaboration." We hope that as a district, we can provide collaborative support to one another to build learning environments where students are engaged, empowered, challenged and foster a love of learning.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available!