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Education Connection: Reflections on Leadership*
This reflection responds to the following questions:
Tony Sebastiano, Director,
Education Conection/Foothills Adult and Continuing Education
Differences between
Year 1 and Year 2:
Coordinating the implementation at 4 additional
sites was very time consuming to insure that we were able to implement
all procedures in time for the fall classes. . Improvements were made
based on the problems encountered at our initial site implementation.
Workshops proved to be extremely helpful with veteran teachers of the
program meeting with teachers about to implement ELLIS and The Writer
at the new sites this year. Sharing of information, improving on
teaching techniques, and reviewing the mechanics of the software proved
invaluable. Computer 4-Kids instructors were scheduled on a rotating
based on the availability of students and regular ESL instructors.
Equipment had to be ordered, software installed and delivered to each
site in time for classes to begin. The Technology Specialist and
Assistant Director were present at each site on at least the first
night to make sure technology issues were addressed and equipment
set up was reviewed with the ESL teacher, the Computer 4 Kids instructor
and to assist student problems. Ongoing workshops and training sessions
throughout the year helped to address issues as they arose and afforded
the opportunity for teachers to share experiences, talk about how classes
were scheduled at each site to best meet the needs of the ESL students
and encourage regular attendance. A consortium project will be
implemented next year as a result of these meetings which will help
solidify the 'team' approach we are trying to achieve in this grant.
New Challenges
and Actions during Year 2:
Even though the procedures for using the equipment
and software were the same, a variety of issues arose based on the
level of technology knowledge of the teacher and Site Coordinator at
each site. Also, due to the large region which our program covers,
the travel and time expended to solve these issues was great on the
part of the Assistant Director and the Technology Specialist. Every
attempt was made to solve problems via e-mail or phone, but sometimes
it was difficult for the teacher or Site Coordinator to fully explain
the nature of the problem. Arrangements had to be made with the
Technology Coordinator at each school location to insure that specific
instructions were established for network hookups and procedures
established for the safety of our equipment. Several school technology
specialists allowed us to contact them at home when problems arose at night.
*from Technology
Implementation — End-of-Year Report as of June 30, 2003, compiled
by Tony Sebastiano, Director
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