Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley
\nSeptember 2007 Issue
\nAugust 11, 2007<\/p>\n
Schools Going Online<\/strong><\/p>\n Maybe you remember \u201cforgetting\u201d to give a report card to your parents or you might have tried to change a minus to a plus. In a few short years, paper report cards are likely to be as unknown to students as rotary phones.<\/p>\n Colleges have already moved grades and course schedules online. The College of the Sequoias posts grades and transcripts online, where a student can view and print his or her records at any time. The CSU and UC systems also allow students to check their progress online.<\/p>\n Some school districts are putting records and schedules online, too. These systems allow parents to check current class work, attendance, and overall grades. Imagine the ability to see what your son our daughter is doing and compare that to the \u201cold days\u201d before computerized grades. You can\u2019t change a grade or lose a report card if it is online for your parents to see.<\/p>\n While most Central Valley schools aren\u2019t posting assignments and grades, you can get a lot of information about what is expected of your child. The Internet definitely makes it easier to be an involved parent. One of the easiest things to do is ask teachers if they mind exchanging e-mail addresses. My uncle told me that he asked some of his son\u2019s middle school teachers if it would be okay to ask about grades each month \u2014 and more often during big projects. The teachers were thrilled.<\/p>\n Most teachers want involved parents, within reason. Asking to exchange monthly e-mails is not only reasonable, but helps the teacher. If a students knows that a parent is contacting the school regularly, he or she is much more likely to be a positive member of the classroom.<\/p>\n I teach college, but I have still had parents of 18-year-old students ask for copies of my syllabus. I cannot give an adult\u2019s grades to a parent, but I can say, \u201cThis week we will be working on video presentations.\u201d It\u2019s amazing how powerful an informed parent is.<\/p>\n When I use Blackboard to record grades, the Web-based teaching tool at Fresno State and many other universities, I know that some students won\u2019t have easy access at all times. I admit this isn\u2019t ideal, but I also realize that the time I can spend helping one student online is offset by the time I can spend helping other students in my office. Even though parents cannot access the system, I find students do share their online work with their families.<\/p>\n Every grade I give appears in a \u201cspreadsheet\u201d window, along with class averages on assignments so a student knows if his or her work is comparable to that of others. Assignment requirements are also online, with grading checklists, so a student cannot say that expectations weren\u2019t clear. I can require students to go online because the universities where I have taught have computer labs open to all students. Nothing should come as a surprise to my students, thanks to the Web.<\/p>\n Just as I post my syllabus online, Visalia Unified and other school districts have posted class information on the Web. High school courses are outlined, in detail, on the VUSD site (http:\/\/visalia.k12.ca.us\/curriculum\/outlines\/). For general information relating to all grade levels and instructional goals, the state and district \u201ccurriculum map\u201d is online (http:\/\/visalia.k12.ca.us\/curriculum\/).<\/p>\n Now, just to make sure students really dislike this column, I want to encourage parents to visit another great resource: the California \u201cRecommended Literature\u201d Web site (http:\/\/www.cde.ca.gov\/ci\/rl\/ll\/). Nothing seems to improve writing skills more than reading, but it is hard for a parent to know what books are age and ability appropriate for a student. The California Department of Education provides summaries of more than 2700 books, including information on reading and comprehension difficulty.<\/p>\n Teachers need parents to support reading lists and homework assignments. Students will try to tell parents that a book or an assignment is \u201ctoo hard\u201d for a variety of reasons. However, an informed parent can honestly respond, \u201cThousands of other students read this book each year.\u201d Having a Web site support you is a great thing. No longer can a student suggest his or her teacher is particularly tough or even \u201cmean\u201d for assigning Of Mice and Men or Lord of the Flies.<\/p>\n While exploring the VUSD Web site and the pages for specific schools, I did have some problems. These might be because of my browser or the larger screen I use. I also had some problems with one California DOE site. I suggest using the FireFox Web browser for the best online experience.<\/p>\n In some ways, this points to a challenge facing our local schools. Central Valley schools have limited resources to meet those challenges, but I believe a move to more online services would appeal to many parents and teachers. True, not every parent will have access to the Internet, and people have suggested this isn\u2019t fair to all students and parents, but we need to adopt technologies for the future.<\/p>\n I do want to discourage teachers from trying to implement online technologies outside their school-sanctioned systems. Last year, I stumbled upon courses being hosted via Yahoo Groups and even one course on Blogger. This exposes student discussions and teacher comments to the entire Internet community. I know I would never want comments from a course posted for anyone to see.<\/p>\n Instead, teachers interested in technology should join with parents to help our local districts develop reasonable and cost-effective Web applications. Maybe we start with simple \u201cfeedback\u201d and \u201ccontact\u201d e-mail forms for schools. Eventually, full-featured systems could be employed when parent demand justifies the expense.<\/p>\n I encourage parents and educators to learn to about PowerSchool, Blackboard, and other systems our schools might consider. Any system licensed by a school district should meet the needs of parents and teachers first; administrative tasks can be supplemented by almost any of the major Web tools for schools. If parents don\u2019t use a system, the system isn\u2019t worth any amount of money.<\/p>\n When report cards finally become a memory, I won\u2019t be the least bit nostalgic. Online records will give parents and teachers new lines of communication. As long as the parent-teacher conference isn\u2019t conducted via a chat program or Web camera, I think the future holds a lot of promise for educators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley September 2007 Issue August 11, 2007 Schools Going Online Maybe you remember \u201cforgetting\u201d to give a report card to your parents…<\/p>\n