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E-conferencing: New programs and websites make monitoring children's school work easy

The Journal-Standard - Saturday November 6, 2004

By Matt Richmond

Students in the Lena-Winslow school district now have a harder time convincing their parents that they don't have homework, thanks to the fact that parents can check their kids' assignments on District 202's Web site at http://le-win.net.

The robust Web site contains all the information a parent could want or need about a school district.

There are links for each school - links that include a letter from each principal, sports schedules, music schedules, lunch menus, teacher and student Web sites and graduation requirements.

There are links for alumni, a full listing of faculty contact information, a page of district demographics, budget information, employment opportunities and more.

The only thing that's not available is a streaming video connection to the inside of every classroom, which can't be far away. The district's network administrator, Tom Sanders, is currently planning an overhaul of the Web site's format that will allow for more information to be posted.

"It's really a site for the whole community," Sanders said.

The highlight for parents is the link the site offers to a company called Edline, which works interactively between the school and parents to post information on specific classes and students. Although the district started using Edline last spring, this fall marks the beginning of the first full year of the program's capability being offered at Le-Win. So far, according to technology integration specialist Barb Jacobs, parents love it.

"Whether they're doing it from work or from their homes, it's a way for parents to keep tabs on their children," Jacobs said. "They very much like it. Before we were up and running this year, I was constantly getting e-mails from parents wanting their activation codes. They want to see what assignment's missing, what's due next week, when the term paper is."

With an activation code, parents can access whatever information their student's teacher has decided to upload into the program. Usually, this includes assignments, upcoming tests and grades, but also can include announcements about upcoming field trips and projects.

"Parents can see first-hand what their teachers are telling them," Jacobs said.

Locally, both the Warren and Dakota school districts have used Edline for much longer. Dakota is in its fifth year using the program and has seen great success. Teachers update their class information weekly, which has improved the accountability of students in terms of homework.

"It's improved the communication between teachers and parents, which has changed parents' influence on students' academic performance, especially in terms of daily assignments," said Dakota High School Assistant Principal Eric Rankin. "As far as communication with parents goes, it's been a great success."

Rankin couldn't say whether the use of Edline had affected students' overall academic performance, because no specific study on the topic has been performed and there are many variables that can have an influence on performance.

Nevertheless, schools that use the Edline product express clear approval. At the very least, it allows parents to help teachers keep every student on the right pace in the classroom.

"Teachers say that there are fewer late assignments, which is always a teacher's nemesis," said Jacobs.

Matt Richmond can be reached at 232-0179 or via e-mail at matt.richmond@journalstandard.com