Posted on: Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Teachers get computers to measure progress
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer
Every Hawai'i public school teacher will get a new computer to monitor student grades and attendance as the state Department of Education replaces its hodgepodge of data collection with a central student information system.
Teachers at a dozen pilot schools will get new desktop computers next school year — or laptops, if schools want to pay a little more. The state hopes that all teachers will receive new computers by the time the system moves into all schools over the next few years.
Far from a simple technology upgrade, the computers are tied to the department's five-year, $10 million goal of more closely monitoring student performance so it can meet state and federal academic standards. Student data is now scattered in pockets at schools and throughout the department, often making timely analysis of student performance difficult.
The new computers will be leased from IBM through a local partnership with CompUSA and, once all teachers have the computers, it will cost the department about $5 million a year to sustain the effort.
"We really need to upgrade the technology skills of the DOE," said Rodney Moriyama, assistant superintendent at the DOE's Office of Information Technology Services.
Under the new system, school administrators will be able to identify and act on performance trends sooner, rather than waiting for report cards or the results of standardized tests. Eventually, teachers hope to use the Web-based system to post homework assignments and grades and interact with parents about their children's progress.
"We hope information for parents will be more readily available," said Lisa DeLong, the principal at Kahuku High & Intermediate School, one of the pilot schools.
Some teachers used to Apple's Macintosh, a popular computer at schools, are uncomfortable about the switch to Windows computers. But many are pleased with the investment in technology, and existing Macs can still be used in the classroom.
"If they expect us to do all of these new initiatives, we need the resources," said Roger Takabayashi, president of the Hawai'i State Teachers Association.
Allan Stone, director of the DOE's information system services branch, said the new system will make classroom data more accessible to administrators and parents while giving teachers better tools to do their jobs.
It may also streamline some functions. At Kahuku, DeLong said teachers now take attendance by entering information into their gradebooks and then filling out the bubbles of scan cards, which are then taken to the school's attendance clerk. With the new system, the teachers will simply type in the information into their computers and it can be shared by school and complex-area administrators.
Although teachers have the option of choosing either desktop, laptop or tablet computers, the DOE is steering teachers toward desktop computers. Schools can choose to provide teachers with laptops but would have to pay an additional $192 for each unit each year. The tablet computers do not work with the new student information system.
Special education teachers, who received Dell laptops to help the state ensure compliance with the Felix consent decree, a federal court order to provide adequate services to physically and mentally disabled students, will also get new IBM computers next school year.
Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
