Gleanings from Readings

1. Student information systems have a new, very important role.
   According to eSchool News, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Louisana and Alabama are using their SISs to transfer information to school systems that are accepting "visiting students," while Mississippi is helping individual schools and school systems rebuild their student databases from information housed in the state's SIS. Systems designed to track individual students from school to school and district to district are now a first line of disaster recovery that will allow children a safe refuge and normalcy within the chaos and confusion of rebuilding.



2. "61% of teachers agree that their students' academic performance has improved with the use of classroom computers." survey by CDW-G, reported in September 2005 eSchool News, pp 1, 37.
   BUT this is down from 81% of the teachers surveyed by CDW-G/QED in 2004. Teachers are particularly realistic about the value of computers in preparing students for standardized tests: only 58% believe that "computers are somewhat or very effective when used to improve performance on standardized tests." CDW-G did not speculate on the reason for the drop in teacher confidence as to student academic achievement.
   
   I wonder if it might be that these teachers are moving through the ACOT stages and are currently somewhere between Adoption and Invention. In these stages, teachers become more familiar with technology, but as they move it into classroom use, they also become more uneasy about their mentoring ability. This could translate into a realization that they need to do a better job of integrating it into their classroom content. As these teachers move more toward the facileness that assumes technology to be a tool--just like pencils, books, lab equipment--we can all hope that the percentage will rise again.