Cloud Computing

If schools are going to use technology to improve organizational processes, it’s important their leaders consider moving many of the school’s daily operations onto a cloud-based network. This enables the sort of communication that can only be accomplished by utilizing the  networking and information sharing power of a cloud system. I enjoyed a post on this topic from a few months ago, entitled “Heads in the Cloud.” The author discusses a few ways his school uses Google to communicate more effectively. Here are a few ideas I really liked:

1. Noticeboards– “[the author's school] no longer use a noticeboard in the staffroom as all staff log into our Google site from anywhere in the world and the first thing they see is our ‘virtual’ noticeboard and a staff calendar, which outlines what’s going on over the next few days.
   All staff can add events to the staff calendar or add announcements on the Virtual Noticeboard.  Although we are a small school, there are, on average, 4-5 announcements made each week.  These range from reminders about meetings to announcements about new resources.  Teachers often post up announcements that they have uploaded new resources to our resource sharing section.  The calendar also gets used for smaller events that don’t generally make it on to traditional staffroom noticeboards.  For example, people can see who’s gone on EPV days, if the principal (me) is at a meeting or if a psychologist is in.  Another cool feature of the “Announcements” section is the ability for staff to comment.  For example, last week I made an announcement on the site asking staff which week they would prefer parent-teacher meetings and gave a date to answer by.  50% of the staff left a comment on the site and the dates were chosen.”
2. Staff Meetings– “ ‘Will you stick x on the agenda please?’ is an often forgotten job, which can lead to disgruntled staff members.  In my school, if a staff member wants to add something to the staff meeting, we have a “live” agenda document which can be added to by anyone.  A few days before the meeting, the document is “closed” and the agenda is set.”
3. Learning Support– “I have found the “cloud” one of the best things for Learning Support.  One of my aims of Learning Support was to have weekly booster sessions for children who might not have grasped a concept during class, for whatever reason.  I wanted to free up a 15 minute session for 5 days so the support staff could teach that concept to get them back in the fold.  Sometimes a child doesn’t need a long period of Learning Support so this was ideal.  However, it would be almost impossible to manage without my cloud.If a teacher feels that a child (or small group of children) require a boost in a certain area of the curriculum, they can book a “catch-up session”.  This involves them filling out a simple form.  The Learning Support team then “grab” and book a particular session for a particular week.  The teacher can then, at a glance, see when their child will be given this session.  It works on a first come first served basis.  It’s working really really well in my school.
   Another cool thing for our Learning Support team is to have access to any of our assessment results.  Our Micra-T and Sigma-T results can be seen in a table so that we can pinpoint and prioritise who will be allocated Learning Support.”

If you are using cloud computing at your school, please share your ideas!

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In the “good old days,” dealing with cheating seemed much easier, didn’t it? Instill the fear of God in your students (This is the where we gave the big pep talk about honesty!); implement effective classroom management procedures (especially during exams); keep your eyes peeled, and for the most part student cheating seemed to be minimized to the usual suspects, right? Unfortunately, due to new technology circumstances have changed.

In recent years, it seems the minds of our students have changed in a significant way. Today’s students spend dozens of hours a week on the Internet– playing video games, constantly chatting with friends, and religiously cultivating their Facebook accounts. It appears as students spend more time communicating with their peers using mobile and social media technologies, their minds are being wired differently. I suppose this is why we, the digital immigrants, refer to our students as being digital natives. But, it’s not only their minds that are changing. Their perspectives are changing, too.

Today’s students have developed different learning needs based on the way they process information, particularly the digital kind. As they spend much of their crazy adolescent years navigating through the Wild, Wild West we call Web 2.0, these kids are developing different ethical perspectives, new perspectives formed by their youthful experiences with this new technology. I suppose what is most concerning is this new perspective is much different than that of the educators who are entrusted with the duty of teaching them every day. One particular area where the difference is startling is in how today’s students view cheating.

Perhaps this is why a recent poll conducted by Common Sense Media suggests that students are using mobile technology at an alarming rate to cheat in school. I suppose this isn’t terribly shocking for those of us who are still in the classroom. But what is disturbing is another aspect of what the poll found: The number of students who think it’s okay to cheat. It’s not that students cheat using technology that bothers me. It’s that they don’t think it’s a big deal.

Here’s a few results of the polling:

1. A little more than a third of students with cell phones admit to cheating at least once with their cell phones.
2. Twenty-six percent of the students who admit to using their cell phones to cheat also admit to storing information on their phones to use during tests.
3. Twenty-five percent text friends during test to get answers.
4. Seventeen percent take pictures of tests to cheat.
5. Twenty percent search the Internet during tests for answers.
6. Nearly fifty percent of students call or text their friends to warn them about pop quizzes.
7. A little over half of students surveyed admit to using the Internet in some way to cheat.
8. Twenty-one percent say they’ve downloaded a paper to submit for an assignment.

I could keep going with the statistics, but I think you get the point. Things aren’t looking good for our kids. I think what is most disturbing about the survey, aside from the extent of cheating in school, is the following statistic: Only half of students polled think using their cell phones during tests is a serious cheating offense! Only thirty-six percent of students who have downloaded a paper from the Internet to submit for an assignment think their behavior represents a serious form of cheating.

I can hear the student now. “What’s the big deal?”

After reading the report, I was left wondering why so many kids think it’s okay to use technology to cheat. Perhaps part of the reason has to do with the fact that kids have spontaneous access to all sorts of mobile technology while at school. This makes monitoring students terribly difficult. In other words, cheating is so darn easy! But, why do kids think it’s okay to cheat?

This is where the student “wiring” comes in. After talking to dozens of kids about cheating, whether texting during tests, getting answers from the Internet, or illegally downloading music, etc., I think I might know the reason. Today students think very differently about information (i.e., the stuff they’re putting together to form knowledge and understanding during class.) because of how they interact with it on a day-to-day basis. Unlike the educators who teach them, students see the Internet as a seamless part of their youthful reality. It’s not simply a tool or a form of communication. It’s a social experience based on digital democratization– i.e., total openness, few rules, and little personal accountability. While on the Internet, many students feel it’s okay to do whatever they want, say whatever they want, and there really shouldn’t be accountability for them or their peers.

I think there’s another reason, too. Unlike the “brick and mortar” communication where students have been taught the various protocols of appropriate communication, this hasn’t happened yet for the digital natives. Very few schools implement coordinated efforts with parents and teachers to inform students about the ethical parameters of not only online communication but using technology in general. Just as in any other area of their lives, kids need to learn the rules of the game.