Quality Learning Globally at the Center for Learning Alternatives
Welcome to the Center for Learning Alternatives communications blog. The title for our blog has been taken from an initiative that occurred in School District 57, Prince George, BC in the school year 2004-2005. This initiative was headed by Rob Lewis and Val Kilby, and drew 30 teachers together throughout the year to learn about technology and its application to education, increasing student success and engagement, bring teachers up to speed on a cutting edge technological developments, and sharing expertise within the group across the group and hence across the School District for the betterment of student educational programs.
It is the intent of this blog to facilitate the same for the Center for Learning Alternatives, which administers a collage of programs - Continuing Education, Central Interior Distance Education School, and 15 Community Alternative Programs - with sites spread throughout the city of Prince George, throughout the region of responsibility of School District 57, and providing services into other school districts.
It is the intent of this blog to facilitate the same for the Center for Learning Alternatives, which administers a collage of programs - Continuing Education, Central Interior Distance Education School, and 15 Community Alternative Programs - with sites spread throughout the city of Prince George, throughout the region of responsibility of School District 57, and providing services into other school districts.
Please bring back QLG!!!
Posted by
Cherie Allen |
1:14 PM
Ahh Cherie
Please reread Richard's intent. We are the new QLG. Release time for inquiry and exploration is the question. Thanks
Posted by
Lisa |
1:24 PM
Streamlining Technology
Here is an issue that keeps coming up at CIDES - the number of different technological applications that we are using to communicate and keep records. It seems as though a lot of time is spent jumping from one application to another in order to do some fairly simple record keeping. For example, we use Grad Tracks to keep student notes for some students but not others. We use k12connect to communicate with some students but we use 57 online to communicate with staff.
The question is how do we reduce or streamline these tools and at the same time meet the needs of our various departments? Is it possible? I'd appreciate comments... thank you.
Posted by
Tracy Larson |
10:40 PM
Hi Tracy;
I found that using k12connect andsd57 was too much... so I set k12connect to forward all my mail to my sd57 account and only use the one account now for all email communications. It doesn't matter where an email is sent, I get it in one location, and if I initiate the email communication, when replied to it automatically comes back to my preferred email location.
I do use k12connect for other things which are more resource based (grade 12 exam prep info is stored there etc). I think each teacher needs to look at their specific needs, the tools that are available, and then decide how they will use those tools in the most efficient way. Unfortunately we don't have one system that works for everything. For me gradtracks is my phone log, and email is only for communication. Unfortunately we have a legacy left over from before, where the Consortium used the FirstClass system for everything. I think that continues to make problems, especially considering that the Consortium is now shifting to FreetoLearn but hasn't yet completed that total shift.
On top of that.. much of the legacy elementary stuff is still in FirstClass. The challenge is for time, energy, and resources made available to teachers to take the tools, the existing structures they have inherited, their student and course needs and redeveloping to streamline how we do things..... could that be a DTT funded technology project??
Posted by
Richard Giroday |
7:43 AM