Module 11 Reflective Post

Computer Troubleshooting for Teachers and Students Summary:     

      

                This website is dedicated to help teachers and students solve common technical difficulties that occur in the classroom.  The website provides possible ways of troubleshooting problems with hardware and software, like Microsoft office, speakers, keyboards, etc.  The website breaks down each “topic” and provides general steps to take when experiencing a problem.  The table format is used to provide teachers/students with step by step instructions on fixing a certain problem.

A Computer for Every Student and Teacher: A Lesson Learned about Planning and Implementing a Successful 1:1 Learning Initiative in Schools Summary:

                This article summarized the results from twelve North Carolina Schools that implemented a 1:1 learning initiative.  This article shares the necessary factors including: deployment, wireless network, hardware and software tools, policies and procedures, support personnel, professional development, school leadership, and sustainability to successfully implement a 1:1 learning initiative.  The feedback from both teachers and students was used to help other institutions implement a system similar to the ones observed in the study.  The article recommends that at least six months of planning should be completed prior to implementing a system like this, and often times, it will help to adopt policies and procedures used by another school, and adapt them to your own school’s system. 

One of the negatives for teachers was the fact that not all students had their laptops every day.  Sometimes, students’ laptops were being repaired, were left at home, or they didn’t have it because they didn’t have the money for the insurance policy.  These factors limited teacher use of laptops, and made it difficult for teachers to utilize the full potential of their lessons.  Students also had some negative reports regarding where to keep laptops stored during downtimes (such as lunch).  Schools had to develop places to store the laptops so they were safe and secure during the downtime in the classroom and elsewhere throughout the building.

Reflection:

                After looking at the website, I feel this is a website every teacher should be exposed to before the school year.  During my mentorship for EDFI585, I’ve been working with our technology coordinator.  It is amazing to me to see some of the things teachers complain about being broken that are easily fixed by following the guidelines on this site.  Often times, our coordinator will walk in, check one or two wires, and the problem will be fixed.  I know most teachers don’t think to look at those types of things, but students can be very clumsy around wires at times and accidently unplug or loosen an important wire.  By looking at this site, teachers can save themselves and the technology coordinator valuable time.

                The next article was very interesting in terms of implementing 1:1 learning initiatives.  I hadn’t really thought about all the planning that needed to take place prior to implementation.  It was very eye-opening and helpful to see some of the struggles and successes of other schools that were implementing this.  One of the biggest problems I would foresee in my own district is the insurance policy.  A lot of the families in my district would have a very difficult time trying to find the funds to cover the insurance cost for their children’s laptops.  I’m sure we could tweak and develop different terms to help them out, but this would be a consistent problem for our district.