3.5 Basic Troubleshooting
Candidates troubleshoot basic software and hardware problems common in digital learning environments. (PSC 3.5/ISTE 3e)
Artifact: Lakeside Middle School Technology Cheat Sheet
Reflection:
The work that was associated with the artifact "Lakeside Middle School Technology Cheat Sheet" is my artifact for this standard. Working alongside my school Instructional Technology Specialist, we helped the teachers in our building get up and running with new laptop computers during the 2014-15 school year.
This artifact helps demonstrate mastery of standard 3.5. It is a technology cheat sheet that we shared with our school faculty to assist them in transitioning to their new computers. He and I specifically visited the teachers new to our building to troubleshoot and ensure that their classroom peripheral devices worked with their new computers. The troubleshooter provides very basic remedies for internet connectivity, classroom active boards/ projectors, and printers. It was distributed via email to all school faculty prior to the start of school, and made available on the Lakeside Staff Resources page in our school Learning Management System.
I chose to help my school ITS as part of the work toward my unstructured field experience, but I have taken on the role of the de facto tech person on my hall over the last few years. Through the work that was associated with this artifact I've learned that there always seems to be a subset of teachers who are technology averse, and don't even attempt to troubleshoot and repair their technology problems. Fortunately, most technical issues are simple fixes like "click" here, or "this plugs in here," or "restart" the device. Many of these problems can be quickly fixed with a quick classroom visit.
One issue that I see that my district will face struggles with will be the newly implemented policy that will replace inclement weather makeup days with "Its Learning" days. On snow days my district will require students to turn in assignments over the internet or be counted absent. Many teachers have difficulty using the LMS as its most basic level, even though our district has a dedicated staff devoted to professional development in the implementation of Its Learning. If I were to make a suggestion to my district ITS department, I would advise them to create a step by step Its Learning lesson for every grade level and every subject. Then show teachers how to implement it. So, for the first inclement weather day of the year, the 8th grade math lesson (or 6th grade ELA lesson, or 10th grade science lesson) is the same at every school in the district. This would provide a baseline model for teacher expectations/requirements, and provide a model that they may build from should there be more inclement weather days that year.
The work associated with the implementation of this artifact helped school improvement. By ensuring that our new teacher laptops were set up correctly, I was able to help ensure that all of our teachers were "up and running" at the onset of the school year.
The work that was associated with the artifact "Lakeside Middle School Technology Cheat Sheet" is my artifact for this standard. Working alongside my school Instructional Technology Specialist, we helped the teachers in our building get up and running with new laptop computers during the 2014-15 school year.
This artifact helps demonstrate mastery of standard 3.5. It is a technology cheat sheet that we shared with our school faculty to assist them in transitioning to their new computers. He and I specifically visited the teachers new to our building to troubleshoot and ensure that their classroom peripheral devices worked with their new computers. The troubleshooter provides very basic remedies for internet connectivity, classroom active boards/ projectors, and printers. It was distributed via email to all school faculty prior to the start of school, and made available on the Lakeside Staff Resources page in our school Learning Management System.
I chose to help my school ITS as part of the work toward my unstructured field experience, but I have taken on the role of the de facto tech person on my hall over the last few years. Through the work that was associated with this artifact I've learned that there always seems to be a subset of teachers who are technology averse, and don't even attempt to troubleshoot and repair their technology problems. Fortunately, most technical issues are simple fixes like "click" here, or "this plugs in here," or "restart" the device. Many of these problems can be quickly fixed with a quick classroom visit.
One issue that I see that my district will face struggles with will be the newly implemented policy that will replace inclement weather makeup days with "Its Learning" days. On snow days my district will require students to turn in assignments over the internet or be counted absent. Many teachers have difficulty using the LMS as its most basic level, even though our district has a dedicated staff devoted to professional development in the implementation of Its Learning. If I were to make a suggestion to my district ITS department, I would advise them to create a step by step Its Learning lesson for every grade level and every subject. Then show teachers how to implement it. So, for the first inclement weather day of the year, the 8th grade math lesson (or 6th grade ELA lesson, or 10th grade science lesson) is the same at every school in the district. This would provide a baseline model for teacher expectations/requirements, and provide a model that they may build from should there be more inclement weather days that year.
The work associated with the implementation of this artifact helped school improvement. By ensuring that our new teacher laptops were set up correctly, I was able to help ensure that all of our teachers were "up and running" at the onset of the school year.