Reflect on the work you did to collect information for the Brick work. What value do you see in this tool?
The work to collect information for the NIH format brick was extensive. Initially, I focused on Middle School X’s website as an area to improve. Since this is not the school where I teach, there were a series of back and forth emails to the school’s Technology Resource Teacher to get the information I needed. She stated: “All of the websites in our district are hosted by a company called Schoolwires. They have a website creation online software that is used to create the websites. In 2010, a classified staff member in the district office made templates for each school and each teacher on each campus. Then, school office managers received training on how to maintain the overall school website and teachers received training on how to add content to their teacher website, if they chose to - it was optional, and still is. We communicate with parents via JupiterGrades so much that teachers, including myself, began dropping the use of the teacher pages on the website.” She taught me that “websites are becoming an outdated technology (web 1.0).” She stated that they may be here for awhile, but most schools use websites to point people to their Learning Management Systems or gradebook portal. LMSs, like Schoology of Haiku, are becoming preferable for communication. Their teachers use Jupiter Grades to send messages to parents/students. With this input from the Technology Resource Teacher, I decided to take a different approach to this assignment. I changed my focus from the website itself to Social Media. I used the broad definition, which includes websites. I used research from online sources to predict what direction the school might go in order to share information with parents, guardians, students, and other stakeholders. In my research, I discovered Ping.fm, which I’m excited to try out. Using this analysis tool is helpful for any technology leader at a school. The brick analysis helps to map out what type of applications are currently used, decide what should be eliminated, and decide what new applications should be implemented short term (0-2 years) and long term (2-5 years). It concisely summarizes the current state and future state of a certain technology aspect. This simple chart is a way to display/communicate a large amount of information in an easy to understand format.
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AuthorPassionate Adult ESL Instructor and TOSA at Grossmont Adult School. Former Adjunct at San Diego Community College District. Seeking the best ways to utilize technology in the classroom and in professional life. Archives
April 2016
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