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Technology Program Dominates PV School Board Meeting
Principal Hallisey sees earlier implementation of computers within district
by Margaret Sternberg
With what appeared to be a certain amount of justifiable pride, Putnam Valley Middle School Principal Edward Hallisey presented the district's technology update at the PV Board of Education's March 13, 2008 meeting.
Highlighting his presentation with a short film that showed the ever-increasing use and importance of technology in information gathering, business and in peoples' lives in general, Hallisey said it is imperative that students be comfortable and capable with technology and that ensuring this is the case should be one of the primary goals of the District.
The District's technology program is overseen by committees formed for the elementary, middle and high schools all of which, plus a district committee, have goals they formulate.
In discussing some of those goals, Hallisey briefly touched on a "commonality of websites" and "process" for teachers that would share similarities of layout as well as the uniformity of all teachers having a website, something that does not currently exist because some teachers are more proficient than others in creating and using their own website. Students too, would share a "commonality of use," referring both to their past use and how the laptops are used now, with a student committee to be formed to give input on the topic.
Other topics being addressed include staff development, content specific training and needs, the current status of the program, and skills development.
Updating applications is also a concern of the committees, and the district is considering a word processing application to correct students' essays and to match them against exemplars that are based upon the NYS English Language Arts exams and provide immediate feedback on what the students did well and what could be improved upon, after which the students could do edits and revisions and resubmit the essays.
One agenda item for the middle school is a "Tech Fair," and the district is planning it for May 1. The fair will be at the Middle School and feature ten 20-minute workshops throughout the night as well as kiosks where children can showcase some of the materials they've worked on.
The District Committee has been the primary gathering point for parental input on the program as well as school updates and initiatives, for information coming from the school board, staff development needs, parent updates, and planning and public relations needs.
The impact of the Laptop Program on curriculum has been significant, with the use of TechPaths for curriculum alignment and redesign if necessary, and StudyWiz to enhance communication about assignments and to provide links to other sites and resources as well as a log for students' written work and progress. Some of the online resources the district now has access to include Quia, BrainPop, Exam Gen, iMovie and Google Earth, all of which, Hallisey said, provide "instant information."
Starting with 150 laptops four years ago in the middle school, the schools now have 1,250 laptops with a new laptop given to the student every three years, and the old laptops re-circulated to the following year's students. Several times Hallisey credited Assistant Superintendent of Finance Paul Lee with getting the laptops for virtually nothing through astute financial management and the use of grants and teaming with BOCES.
One of the impacts of the Laptop Initiative, Hallisey said, is that, starting next year, "a fifth grader will have had eight years of daily, hands on use of a laptop as a graduating senior," later adding that he would like to see the Laptop Program extending to progressively lower grades, including first grade.
Hallisey later implied that one of the ironies of the progress the district has made with technology is that "The Technology Plan needs to be updated; it's a paper plan; the [Apple] rep told us last year we don't have a blueprint anymore. We keep moving in that direction…" Hallisey noted that students will also benefit by being taught early, both through the school itself and the school in collaboration with parents, the emerging fields of "cyber-ethics" and "cyber-morality," something he called a "greater gift than a test score."
Hallisey ended his presentation saying that, "Technology is not going away. We have to recognize that technology is not going away at your job. Technology is on the rise, and we need to be able to create students who are marketable in the future of technology, moving towards the inclusion of 21st century skill sets, which is collaboration…being able to talk to a global society…We're preparing them to be a post-high school anything. Everyone uses technology."
The next meeting of the Putnam Valley Board of Education will be Thursday, March 27, at 7pm.
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