When most people think of technology and education, it is usually the software their kids will be using on the classroom computers. As in many towns, Westfield’s educational technology has become much more varied, ranging from PDA’s to presentation devices, to possible fiber optics between schools and long-distance learning with the need to teach the students, teachers and staff how to use all of it.

 

The Board’s chief technological focus should be on curriculum. The basic way we learn is influenced by technology, with internet access giving our children an overload of information they must be able to analyze, edit and present. The Board has set a policy that all new curriculum revisions should have a technology component, but there is still a need to improve the integration and use of technology across courses, especially at the intermediate school level.  I think our children should master word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software by the sixth grade before going on to more interesting topics such as web site design or digital photography.

 

One software program that meshes well with the district’s differentiated instruction effort is PowerPoint, which can be effectively used in elementary school, with children having the option to do simple or complex presentations of varying length. Every student ends up with a presentation that is customized to their abilities.

 

Westfield was one of the first districts to make school information available on the internet, and has recently made good choices with the Naviance college selection web site and improved software to implement for the District’s own web site. But when curriculum listings are several years old on the web sites of Roosevelt Intermediate School and Westfield High School along with inconsistent information on the elementary school sites, the Board needs to set policies for updates and content. I would love to be able to see homework assignments or the course of study online for any of my children’s classes.

 

Naviance is software that can chart a district’s “matrix” of college admissions based upon SAT score and grade point average for a particular college. To see how it works, use the guest password “bluedevil” and you can then see how Westfield’s college admissions fared for the last three years. Perhaps even more interesting is comparing how other similar districts do applying to the same schools. One similar district is Ridgewood – their guest password is “mis”. To get more schools, google “naviance” and “password”.

Westfield’s college guidance site: http://www.westfieldnj.com/guidance/gcollege.htm

Ridgewood’s Naviance site: https://tcci.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=ridgewood

 

 

Many parents’ first impression of technology is what they see at back to school nights or might read in an email. However, present computers in kindergarten through second grade are a hodgepodge of older hand-me-down systems and those purchased by PTO’s.  The district’s email lists will often reject messages or not send to certain addresses without notice. The Board needs to consistently deploy computers at all grade levels and insure that email communications are reliable.

 

To solve some of the problems with email, the District needs its own dedicated email list server.  The current lists, split between its own servers and those of Westfieldnj.com, have had a variety of problems sending email for years.  Current email list servers can allow subscribers to see which lists they are on, allow administrators to send a single urgent message to all list subscribers and even see who has read it. The last feature alone would allow a great reduction of “snow day” calls.

 

I have a variety of perspectives on technology in education, as I’ve taught computer programming in an elementary school and operating systems to corporate employees. I have managed technology for a number of financial institutions, and I have designed seminar series for technology symposiums. I have used that expertise as a volunteer in the district, including coordinating district-wide library computer installations, evaluating the proposals for the high school’s network and updating the district’s technology plan. If you elect me, Gary McCready, I will continue that work at the Board level.

 

For more ideas, please visit www.mccready.com.