S'more Stuff
Special Technology Edition - November, 2014
Do you check out mobile devices from the Learning Commons?
If you ever have, or ever will, please read this issue carefully, and refer back to it as needed. We all share a limited number of devices, and it is important that we establish and follow similar guidelines and procedures. What a great opportunity to model our core values for our students!
1. Please return the carts on time.
Please schedule the amount of time you need, but return the carts as soon as that time has ended. Don't assume that just because no one is on the schedule the carts aren't needed. A teacher might ask for the next available devices, and not put it on the calendar yet. We know she or he is waiting, but you don't. We also use the unscheduled times to perform routine maintenance - downloading apps, cleaning, updating, troubleshooting, deleting pics and files, etc. Please call if you need to keep them longer than scheduled.
2. If you use student numbers in your classroom, please have them use the matching device number.
For example, student #13 would use Chromebook #13, Galaxy Tab #13, iPad #13, Tech lab computer #13, etc. whenever possible. We've re-numbered so the devices on each cart start with #1. This won't always work, but it makes it easier for us to get more information when troubleshooting for a work order. It also helps us hold students accountable when they mess with the settings or fail to leave the device the way they found it. If you don't use student numbers, just assign each student the same device number to use each time.
3. Teach your students to return the devices and the carts in the same OR BETTER condition as when they were borrowed.
This is common courtesy The next class should find the devices charged and ready to go. It is especially frustrating for the teachers of our younger students, as they do not use technology as independently as the older students are able to do. . It's challenging to use devices when the first 20 minutes is spent closing apps, signing out of One Drive or Study Island, or closing web site tabs and windows. I've assissted second graders when 2/3 of their scheduled time was spent getting everyone to the same starting place.
4. Please choose 3 students in your class to be the Tech Assistants. (2nd - 5th grade)
This may change when we start our Student Leader program, but it will be very helpful in the meantime. These 3 students will be responsible for supervising return of the devices to the cart. They can watch to ensure the apps, tabs, or windows have been shut down, that students have logged out of anything they have signed into, and that the devices are plugged in and put away correctly. They can also check to see that all devices have been turned in before the cart is returned to the Learning Commons. These same students will be responsible for picking up and returning the carts on time.
Doing this will allow us to teach checkout and return procedures only one time per class, instead of having to say the same things to different students over and over again all day long. The same Tech Assistants should have the job all quarter.
5. When scheduling devices, PLEASE put the time range in the title of your event.
I know this seems petty when all you have to do is hover the mouse over the appointment and the times show up. That is a simple and easy thing to do when you are monitoring only one or two calendars. However, the Learning Commons team monitors and supervises up to 13 calendars at one time. We are often trying to find common open slots among 4 or 5 calendars at a time. We need to see the times without having to hover. It would help us a lot if you would schedule using a format similar to this: 1:30 - 2:10 Lancaster 6 iPads. We can find the information we need at a glance if you do.
6. If it's checked out to you, you are responsible for it.
We understand that sometimes you only need a couple if devices, and there are more than enough on the cart for the class that has them. So is it ok to borrow from the cart while it's checked out to someone else? Yes, but only if you schedule them on the calendar to see how long they are available, and then bring the borrowed devices to the Learning Commons and check them out in your name.
Tracking this much technology is a big responsibility. Our mobile devices and carts represent a lot of money. We use the library circulation software to inventory as well. Turning in devices that are checked out to you should be taken seriously. It will be part of the end of the year checkout process.
7. If you don't need a whole cart of Chromebooks, schedule the number of devices you need from Cart D, whenever possible.
Cart D currently only has 16 Chromebooks on it. It makes sense to loan out individual Chromebooks from that cart first, leaving the other carts ready for use with an entire class.
8. Don't hog the devices.
It would be wonderful if we were a 1:1 school, with a device for every student. True integration of technology could happen so much easier if we were. Students would use devices as easily and naturally as they use pencils and textbooks now. Unfortunately, we're not there YET. We don't have enough devices for your students to use them day after day, week after week, because that prevents access and use for every other student in the school.
Created by Ms. Lancaster
Email: sherry.lancaster@fhsdschools.org
Website: http://fhsddbe.sharpschool.net/learning_commons
Location: 201 W Hwy D, Wentzville, MO, United States
Phone: 636-851-4425
Twitter: @shemalan