Blog Assignment #4

After talking to my building’s technology coordinator, I found out that our school district’s computer network does have a shared storage area. This shared storage is only available for faculty use.  However, students do have a place to store their information on the “H Drive”; they cannot share this information with others. The students can only access their own information via the H Drive, through computers hooked up to the network system.  Neither the students nor their parents have access to this information from home. 

To be honest, I did not know that the district had a shared storage area because the physical education teachers in our building do not have our own computers; therefore if we want to utilize a school computer, we must go across the building and use the computer lab during our planning period.  This is a bit of an inconvenience because there is usually a class occupying the computer lab and it’s often difficult to get work done.  Therefore, the physical education teachers often bring our personal laptops to school to do work.  By bringing my own computer to work, I can create mini exit exams, do graduate work, and search the internet for information and lesson plan ideas.  I must admit, I hate lugging my laptop to work, but it does save me a lot of time.  Utilizing a zip drive would be more convenient, however I am just a lot more productive in the comfort of my own office.

Also, after talking to some teachers that do utilize the shared storage, they claim it’s important to always back up their work via a zip drive.  They use the zip-drive as a back-up because there have been instances when their saved information has been erased because of issues with the network.  Using precautionary measures can save them a lot of time and aggravation later.

Blog Assignment #2

When it comes to purchasing new technology equipment and software for the district, I've never had the opportunity to fill out a software selection form.  Therefore, I had to do a little research and ask the CFF coach in our building.  She said that our district does not have a specific form for software evaluation, there is only a general request form that is supposed to be available via the MyLearningPlan website.  However, when I checked the website to view the form, there is no such form.  Our district just started using MyLearningPlan this school year so therefore perhaps that might be why it's not available yet via the web.  Needless to say, I think that when it comes to purchasing software, a specific software evaluation would prove to be more useful when deciding whether or not to purchase a specific software.

By utilizing asoftware evaluation form, teachers/ techology coordinators can compare the pros and cons of various software options.  The district can also compare the effects of the various costs within the technology budget.

According to Frazier and Bailey, to be a succesful technology coordinator, it is important to possess skills in the four following areas: general education and dedication to lifelong learning, knowledge and support for the educational system, good interpersonal skills, and adequate technical knowledge.

These four classifications of skills are all needed to address the diverse needs of a school district or company. Administrators, teachers, students, and parents all have different needs that the network must meet. The technology coordinator is responsible for meeting these needs. I believe that teachers turned into technology coordinators possess the best knowledge on how to meet these needs due to their previous experience in the classroom. By providing staff development workshops, optimizing the school's current infrastructure, and utilizing strong leadership, communication, writing and speaking skills the technology coordinator will be able to ensure that the district's resources are being utilized effectively by everyone.

However, some challenges that technology cordinators often face include: lack of funding, lack of technology support staff, lack of patience, frustration, and desire to change from teachers.