"I've never been more confident and excited," Keln Taylor, school technology director, said.
"We're in a great position, especially compared to other schools across the nation ... with teachers, staff, students ... the time we live in, to have the devices we have."
Taylor and his staff have worked diligently installing and improving the technology in the Pea Ridge School District for several years and are now reaping a harvest of benefit as teachers are relying on technology to provide lessons to students during the state-wide shut down of schools.
Schools across the state closed March 16 and teachers began providing instruction using Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI).
Acknowledging the difficulties faced in rural areas either without or with limited access to internet, Taylor said teachers are working to provide lessons for students in any way possible.
On Monday, March 30, students and parents experienced crashing of Schoology and some issues with SeeSaw. Taylor said both are programs used world wide which are seeing greater use than ever before. He said there is no local control over either program, but was able to talk to parents about the issue and he believes that the problems will decrease as the providers of the learning and communication platforms increase their capabilities.
"It'll smooth out," he said.
"Everyone is stepping up and doing their best," Taylor said, commending parents, students and school staff. He said he and his staff have been consistently available to parents, students and teachers to advise and counsel as needed.
He said some people rely on hot spots from the cell phones for internet access.
"Most of the products we use at school work best on Chrome," Taylor said, explaining that, although he hadn't tested using Schoology on Safari, he recommends Chrome. "The best bet of success is going to be Chrome."
He explained that the Chrome books used by Pea Ridge students is "basically a lap top that only runs Chrome."
"I've helped some people on their Mac (Macintosh computer) with support," he said.
"Sometimes I'm chatting three different people at once. Our whole team was all occupied," he said.
"We can chat with them and actually initiate a remote session... we've done it with employees on campus," he said, explaining that he is willing and able to help with school owned and personal devices to help students do their school work.
"We find that our department is taking on new roles helping with curriculum... and teachers are helping with tech support," Taylor said. "It's been a great coming together there!"
"I talk about how great our teachers have done. We're using some of that curriculum to keep these students engaged. Our team has been very impressed with what they've done," he said. "Our team itself -- we've manned the help desk from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"I'm very proud of the work they've done. They went the extra mile," Taylor said, commending the IT staff.
General News on 04/01/2020