Public vs Private
It feels good to be back at ISM. There are great people, great kids and a really great school with incredible resources. However, not all schools are as lucky as ISM. Having come back from a public school in British Columbia, Canada, I know that we are extremely lucky to have what we have.
Using technology sounds great and it can connect teachers around the world, but it depends on the level of technology a school has. In my school in Canada, it was often very frustrating trying to use technology in the classroom. We were considered the ‘techology’ school in the district and did have better access to technology compare to other schools, but things did not always work.
We had laptop carts but it sometimes took half the period to get everything working properly. It might be connection problems, taking too long to load a program. We had two computer labs to service over 800 students. Those who were really keen seem to monopolize the labs and those not sure stayed clear.
This is old, on-going discussion but funding still dictates the level of technology that can be implemented in the ‘real’ classroom.
The next question is, “Does web 2.o take some of the funding pressure off schools?”
Good point Wayne, I would imagine that less well funded schools may now have possibly equal access to information as do the more financial better off schools. I don’t know what other costs are invoved other than buying computers but I can see that students in poorer schools can communicate and discuss issues with their more financially better off peers elsewhere and be on equal footing.
hey, you’re telling me! We were without wireless at school for the last couple of days! 30 new emails this morning!
I hear you. My last school was 120 students K-12, small town, one part time IT guy, self taught, not a teacher – I learnt to avoid the ‘one’ computer room as most of the lesson was fixing (or not!) the hiccups that seemed to occur. The IT person was only one step ahead of the rest of the teachers and we were all 3 steps behind most 12 year olds. It’s great to have these AMAZING resources here at a private school – including the support and professional development but they do not exist in all public schools that’s for sure. If you have not taught in a broad spectrum of schools, an awareness of the struggles other schools have with technology would need to be taken into account when collaborating with other schools – it may not always be smooth sailing at the other end of the ‘online’
Having the hardware and the internet connection is still not enough to run a successful IT program. You need people like Stale and Jen as resource people to support the teaching staff. I remember when I was the ‘computer’ guy in my ES school because I knew little more than the other in the school and that wasn’t much. If you’re lucky enough to have a geek or two on staff, sorry Stale and Jen, then you are in good hands. If you don’t, start treading water.
I agree, it is definitely a huge advantage having a Tech person in each of the departments. What with how technology and new initiatives arise so quickly nowadays and as teachers we get swamped with every change that is made to the curriculum. It is good to know that you have the support in the school to help you understand the programmes and suggest appropriate ways to use the tools. Being in a public school with one computer suite and no guidance or professional development does make a huge difference to how often teachers use the suite and to what the students are learning.