Online+Communication

== == Rationale: Electronic communication to a constituent base is no longer considered “cutting edge,” it has become an expectation. While it is vital to remind ourselves to maintain personal, face-to-face mechanisms of communication, particularly for conflict resolution, we must also embrace global methods of dispensing information. The real-time, 24-7 nature of electronic transmissions however must be recognized as favoring the life styles of many in our community.

Recommendations – Action Items –
 * Customize the experience of visiting FWCDS.org to each user.
 * Ensure that the multimedia offered online through FWCDS.org is relevant.
 * Create an avenue for both technical and non-technical teachers to communicate with their students.
 * FWCDS.org should serve as the main conduit of information to our community.
 * 1) FWCDS.org will utilize user-specific profiles to streamline and customize the experiences of visiting the webpage.
 * 2) Additional multi-media resources will be allocated to FWCDS.org to enhance the experiences of visiting the webpage.
 * 3) Simple teacher web pages will be augmented by the use of more sophisticated web-based experiences.
 * 4) A process and mechanism for appropriate real-time reporting of classroom information will be adopted.

COMMENTS ON ACTION ITEMS:

1. Complete: WH groups (athletic, academic, community and role bassed affinity groups customize log in experience. 2. Partial: additional of Media Gallery as well as ability to host audio and visual media on academic pages is step in right direction. 3. Partial: WH offers consistent teacher web sites in form of academic groups - sophisticated, not really. 4. Partial: grade plans and now comments are reported online but not in "real time"

Jim Aldridge:
 * Customization of Web experience is good.
 * Online media too spotty, images too small, video?, often not current. Emphasis on arts/athletics and not academics due to access issues for teachers, I think. Athletics and arts have directors with staff and time to update; not so for classroom teachers.
 * Online assignments as implemented now is a one-size-fits-all solution that needs modification. We ought not seek uniformity for its own sake. Individual teacher solutions need to be integrated into the plan. As a parent, I would not sacrifice quality of program for ease of access. If a wiki/Web 2.0/other site better suits a teacher for assignment presentation, so be it.
 * Real-time grade access a good thing? Don't know about that.
 * This goal seems to center on school <> parent communications, when it seems like it ought to center on teacher <> student communications.
 * We need a mobile app for the Web pretty soon.
 * Online forms that feed directly to databases need to be implemented.
 * Investigate electronic signatures to do things like gather permission slips.
 * Establish good online areas for teachers. For example, the US needs a site with easy access to substitute lists, time extensions for students, etc. This stuff is all over the place.

Nate Kogan:
 * Could money be saved and communication enhanced via using Google Apps for Education? I know Google is able to support school email systems and provide robust version of their Docs application. Would that help broaden access via harnessing their cloud storage, allow students to share (and potentially submit) assignments electronically, and produce the calendars in a visual/color-coded manner? I think this suite is free for schools and wondered what the pros/cons of it would be.
 * Like Jim, I also worry about the real-time accessibility to grades. What would the ramifications of that be on expectations for updating? We've addressed in the curricular integration topic the idea of needing more time for meaningful teacher<>teacher mentoring in terms of lessons. Would the movement to real-time grades also necessitate further time allocations to take care of that task?
 * Would it be possible to allow for user-generated content to be published to our website? Could we harness the proliferation of parents, students, and faculty that attend events and document them digitally (e.g. via digital cameras, Flip Cameras, etc.) to then post that material? Certainly some type of filtering mechanism would need to be employed to select what gets approved and what doesn't, but harnessing the community's documentation of school events seems like a potentially good way to keep multimedia current and also reduce the burden on those currently responsible for documenting and posting these events.

Mandy Lofquist:
 * "Real-time" in terms of grading/grade books should not be a part of the action items.
 * Increased availability of digital cameras for school use would be helpful along with additional training for lower school teachers.
 * Loved Jim's idea of online areas for teachers!

Stephen Dickey:
 * The user-specific profiles work well in providing a tailored experience for each visitor.
 * The current multi-media resources utilized on the website amount to little more than a series of photo galleries. The galleries do, at least, contain updated photos.
 * The migration of web pages to the FWCD portal has achieved the administration's goal of web page uniformity, but at the cost of limiting teacher individuality and enthusiasm for web site development.
 * The current system of posting quarter grades and comments online is adequate. There needs to be a review of when grades/comments go live on the FWCD portal. If it is a future goal to report "real-time" grades, then the faculty needs to be in the loop when discussing this possibility.
 * I like Nate's ideas on cloud computing for certain tasks, but I have reservations about using it for email.

Chris Hulce: 
 * I agree that “real time” grade access is a delicate subject and one where teachers should be in on the decision making process. The reality is that public schools are going to this kind of system, independent schools and many universities. The question of appropriateness may be outweighed by demand from parents for the information.
 * A quick look at the webpage show’s that the information is changing on a regular basis, staying fresh an up –to-date. Top Stories are changing on a daily basis and sometimes even more frequently. There has to be some centralized point of control (quality, timing, etc), otherwise information and stories can be lost (never seen) or stay up too long and not seem timely. I wonder (Jim specifically) if writing a quick story, attaching a pic and e-mailing it to (in this case Tiffany) someone is really more cumbersome then writing a story, attaching a picture, checking publishing dates, deciding on archiving or removing (deleting) and posting. In the first scenario you also have added quality (proofreading) control. Utilizing other sources of media (parents and students) is a great idea, there would need to be away for them to submit text, pictures and videos online and probably some criteria for file types, size, etc. One problem that you face is using the material; quality material may not be the norm, an over abundance of material could be a problem (if you don’t use somebody’s work – they may not submit again). The idea that the online media gallery is nothing more than a photo gallery is a direct reflection of what people (teachers, administrators, parents etc.) are producing. Most media galleries will be picture heavy, videos and audio should be more readily pursued. In fairness, video has really only been as user-friendly as pictures for the last year or so ….

Lisa Wallace:
 * I know some teachers want the flexibility to create their own websites, but many students find it cumbersome to have to consult more than one source for homework and assignments; often the directives differ on more than one site and offer conflicting info with the portal, which confuses the students.
 * Parents do NOT need to see every little grade live. As a teacher, I should be able to control when parents see grades.

Rob Hereford:
 * Like many others, I am concerned about the ramifications of “real-time” grades. I believe a case can be made that students at the Upper School level should have access to their grades, but I don’t believe that communicating grades in real time with parents is a healthy way to develop independence and responsibility in students. Instead of including an action item calling for real-time reporting, this group should encourage the faculty in each division to determine a developmentally appropriate philosophy around this issue.
 * I agree with Jim that we need to develop a mobile app—other ISAS schools have done so.
 * The call for consistent teacher web pages has limited the ability for “more sophisticated web-based experiences.” We should look at ways to encourage those who are willing to spend time developing a stronger web presence.

Steve Uhr:

One Action Item in this Area For Improvement needs clarification. Item #4 reads: " A process and mechanism for appropriate real-time reporting of classroom information will be adopted. " This seems to have been interpreted by many to mean that the 06-09 Technology Plan called for FWCD to have open gradebooks allowing parents/students access to individual assignment grades. While many schools (including some local schools) do in fact do this, and find value in it, FWCD does not. Nor does the action item suggest that we should. Chris H. correctly points out that this might be an area for discussion. _ __Jeff Rozanski:__


 * I like the new web page's communication tools and feel there is room for customization. You have to play with the settings they provide! While making a separate web page might seem troublesome to some, if one feels inclined to elaborate on action item 3, just link it to your school supplied page...

Tiffini Crum: - I think we’ve made considerable progress on Action Items 1 and 2 just this year alone and can expect to see continued improvements as the community is made aware of and learns to utilize all the WH options. Submitting information for posting does need to be monitored for quality, content and timeliness but a collaborative end result is going to be much more interesting than media generated by a select few.

__Laura Terry__
 * We need a mobile app. Right now there are lots of problems when navigating the FWCD site on an iphone.
 * I am extremely frustrated with certain aspects of the WH user interface. The assignment interface is limiting and doesn't allow me to set preferences and customize it so that I can communicate my assignments without confusion.
 * The WH gradebook does not communicate essential information to my students throughout the quarter, and it takes much longer to use the WH gradebook. It lacks features that allow me to steamline my tasks and provide information to parents.
 * I like the user-specific profiles on WH.
 * I believe we should discuss real-time grades, yet in reality, we will go to real time grade reporting. I believe we should discuss how not IF but HOW we will go to real time grades. It will come. We need to spend significant time planning how we will educate our parents on the appropriate use of real-time grades. Additionally, I need time to plan how I will continually input grades and not just input many grades at the end of the week.