Frasher Feb. 6, 2014

VELEETA TANKSLEY

Requirements: 21years in school system

                        Classroom Teacher for 12 years

                        Media Center Specialist 9 years

Works for two schools: The Alternative Center &Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School

Question#1: At the magnet school being that it is a technology based school, what all types of technology do you all have? Question#2: How do you all keep track of the devices at the school, is there any safety protocol? Question#3: What type of technology can students look forward to bring to school? Question#4: How do teachers monitor what is going on in these highly advanced classes? Question#5: Can a teacher request a certain type of technology or is it strictly up to the student what they decide to bring in?Question#6: How do the children connect their devices to the internet?

TRANSCRIPTION:

            We have everything, everything, then everything depends of the school. Technology very from school to school. At that school it very from program to program. At the technical school we are actually a bring your own technology school. Bring your own technology using however and whenever they want to that’s not really what it means. It is bring technology that supports the curriculum. It goes from extremes, if you are in a core class the teacher may not allow technology. Like in the video class they (have) got everything. MacBooks, MacPros, MacServers, recently new chrombooks. All the kids have Google Accounts for the purpose of school. So students will use their phones for after hours of course, because during the school day there’s no access to talk. They take advantage of Google Chat. I have used a website called Kick, it will send homework out on that. So they are allowed to bring any types of device that they have at home that can support the curriculum. The only thing they have to have is written permission. We have to have it documented on a form. Any device you are bring. So if you have an iPad and iPhone I need to have it on paper. We have to have the serial numbers for all device just in case they are lost or stolen. Basically if they are signed for and it can support the curriculum. Primarily we are a desktop school. Many of the programs we use are programs like Carnegie Math, Galileo High School and another called Khan Academy. These programs are different platforms and the use of these desktops help guide the kids through these platforms. It on slots emerging technology. In several years we look to see more emerging technology. For the past several years we’ve seen I want to say iPads or some other hand held devices. There may be some instances where we’ve seen different types of cameras, but mainly its different phones. Generally we just see some of the most expensive phones being brought in. I don’t know if they have brought any kind of technology anybody else wouldn’t have. Not to my knowledge anyway. I haven’t seen any of the smart watches or google glasses yet. I don’t think they got anything out there just yet. But yeah who knows. And see with those google glasses with it having a video camera (because they do use their phones to make presentations) they could use those glasses to video tape themselves. And the little skyping we use when they are communicating with others outside the school, but it is designated to one computer. The school system still folds things that are instantaneous like chat and Facebook. Certain things are blocked because they are determine to social and we have different network filters in place. We generally block based on categories. If they are social or inappropriate they won’t be able to get it. Even though we are a BYOT school any technology that’s required must be supplied by the school. We can’t say there’s no technology required. So if a child goes home and tell a parent I gotta have a phone it’s not true. A teacher cannot require you to have that technology. If you have it and can supplement then you can bring it. There is no requirement that you have a phone and iPad purchased. But it’s good if you have those things then its okay to bring them. Primarily the whole BYOT premise is that if you have a classroom with about 20 kids you have three desktops then you need some more technology. They log on to our wireless network. The good thing about the wireless network is that the wireless network goes through pretty much a block. The schools desktop is blocked from certain things so if they are access through us as well they are blocked on their phones and tablets too.