Should Elementary Grades be Posted On-line?

Hi, I write this blog as a frustrated 2nd grade teacher. We used to be a school that used Easy Grade Pro to manage our grades. The program had a great format for mid-terms, it was easy to access student grades when parents called, took minutes to add grades and it was all on one computer.

A year ago, it was decided by soemone that we needed to have a new grading program that would tie into our district system. Its useable but much more cumbersome to use, compared to Easy Grade Pro.

To make a long story short, it was decided that K-6 would become just like the High School and all our grades would be available to parents, on-line. Now, we come from a small community, where each one of us in the elementary send a letter home weekly and we have 95-100% attendance at parent teacher conferences. If our grades are available on-line, one of two things will happen.

• The parents that already need to cut the strings from their child will jump on these sites and hover even more, over their children.


• Those that are not the hovering type, will check the grades, think the student is doing okay and not come to conference. We will lose our face to face communication, of which any teacher cherishes. We need to have that human contact! Those hands off parents, will probably never come in to get the report card since they can check their grades on-line.

Prior to this, if a parent called, with easy grade pro, it was quick and easy to find the grade and to print a quick report. The new program we have now is cumbersome and the mid-term or quick report is 2-3 pages long with lots of useless information on it!

I pose this question: Do other elementary school have their grades posted on-line? Do you have an argument that can help us in our uphill battle to go back to the way things were, of which was working. How does that saying go? If its not broken, Leave it Alone!

Awesome Interactive and SMART Board Resource Site

This is going to be a quick post. I start school on Tuesday, so am up finding sites to use with my students. I came across this site put out by the Utah Education Network! Wow. If you are not a K-2 teacher, scroll down to the bottom and and find your level of interest.

http://www.uen.org/k-2interactives/index.shtml

Open Houses/Parent Nights

I just read a post on another Blog about Parent Night. Our school currently holds an Open House for Students and Parents to stop in and meet their teacher, see their classroom and just check things out during of one of our pre-school workshop days. Most of the elementary teachers on our staff would like to change this format. Stopping in during our workshop days just doesn't seem to work. Many of the parents that stop in at the open house, also come the first day of school and basically do the same thing as during the open house. I was wondering what other schools do to "welcome" the students and parents to school for the new year. Are your Open Houses usually during the school day or in the evening? Is it structured or informal? Is it optional or required? Just seeing what is out there for new ideas to something that needs a little boost in our school! Thanks!

Using Blogs with Elementary Students

I am writing this post to ask for advice from those who have experience with Student Blogs. After taking a Web EDU class this summer, I find it exciting to think about using a Blog with my 2nd grade students. Is this too young? I would like to know if any readers have tried a Blog with students in 2nd grade. I am going to be busy at the beginning of the school year with other things going on in my classroom but would like to incorporate a Blog after the Christmas break. My initial thought is to use it as a daily journal and the student of the day posts something for that day. The problem is that if I do it this way, students would only get a chance to 'blog' every 4 weeks or so. Or, do I have it so that everyone posts weekly? Is this too much? Would I only allow parents to comment, or myself? Help . . . your input is greatly appreciated!

Web EDU Class

I am currently taking a Distance Learning Course called Web EDU through Learner's Edge (http://www.learnersedgeinc.com/). It is one of the most useful courses that I have taken in quite some time. The material that I am learning is up-to-date and exactly where I am at right now in my teaching. As mentioned in an earlier post our school is diving head first into technology by installing SMARTBoards in every classroom (Last year we bought 2 COWS - Computers On Wheels). This course has opened my eyes to so many things that I hadn't even heard of as well as clarifying several technology terms that needed lots of clarification. The course text is titled, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classrooms. It explores all that you can do with students on the Read/Write Web. It also discusses how the Internet can benefit you professionally. The questions about the text in the Study Guide were helpful and necessary, but what I found most useful were the Application Requirements. I was required to set up a Blog (thus this site), Set up an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) and visit several other Blogs. Although this was very time consuming, it was well worth it. It's easy to read about great things, but to actually sit down and do it is so worth it. I am glad I am enrolled in this course during the summer months so that I have time to sit and do. I am excited to try many of the things I have learned about! Especially http://www.flickr.com/ (no there isn't an e missing in Flickr!)- Check it out! Learner's Edge has many other great courses I have taken that are great for teachers, but for me today~ This one is great!

Any other courses out there that you have taken you would like to share????

SMART Boards

I consider myself very fortunate for this upcoming school year. Our school has invested lots of technology monies to install SMART Boards into most classrooms for this upcoming school year. I am excited to dig in and use the SMART Board to its full potential and to take our current curriculum to the next level.

Earlier this summer I attended a one day workshop that gave a brief overview of the Notebook Software that is used with the SMART Boards. I understand that we may have some training from SMART Technologies this fall prior to the start of school. We are also very fortunate that we have a handful of teachers that have used the SMART Board this past school year. They will be an invaluable resource for us, BUT they will also be the go-to people for the entire staff. One needs to be careful not to put too much on them and drain them before the Christmas Break.

These questions go out to any current users of SMART Board and Notebook Software ~

• Although training is important, what have you found most useful in utilizing the SMART Board to its full potential in your classroom?
• Do you have any great Websites to share that fit well with the SMART Board and Notebook Software?
• What other kinds of creative ways have you used your boards in your classrooms?

As mentioned in my profile, I teach 2nd grade, but if you have ideas for other areas in the school, I will pass one whatever you give me to my colleagues.

One great Blog that I have found while taking a class this summer is www.smartboards.typepad.com/ . Enjoy!

I thank you in advance for any advice you have more me!