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“ The best part is that I don't have to remember to go looking for grades, when new grades are available, an email says so. All I have to do is log on and type in my screen name and password. Then I am either pleasantly surprised or rather annoyed.”
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Edline puts grades and parents online
Hampton Union - August 16, 2005
Tired of your child “forgetting” to bring home that important notice from school, or not knowing why they’re starting a school project the day before it’s due? Many school districts around the state have implemented computer software that allows the parent-teacher relationship to bypass the middleman and get updates on their child right off the Internet.
Edline is just one of several software programs that keeps parents updated on their ‘students’ grades, homework assignments and school activities on a weekly basis throughout the schook year.
Parents and students are issued separate passwords provide instant and secure that information by simple clicking on the school’s Web site.
“I’ve been working in schools for 30 years and I’d say this is the most significant advancement I’ve ever seen,” said Bruce Berchtold, student information manager at Pinkerton Academy, in Derry, where Edline will be fully implemented for the upcoming school year after a tremendously successful pilot program.
Bailey Rigg, director of technology in the Dover School District, said the district piloted the program over the past year to make sure it was secure and private. He said the security system is top of the line and none of the information is personal, only what is going on in the classroom.
Another key component to Edline, according to Rigg, is simplicity. Teachers already input grades into a separate computer program and Edline automatically takes that information and relays that into the personal accounts. He said it takes about five seconds to create an account and practically no maintenance is needed by the district.
Each account also includes information relevant to the students, such as a link to the school’s football program if the child plays football. Individual classroom pages may also include links to other Web sites that are relevant to classroom assignments, giving students an easy resource and parents the ablity to do some teaching at home. Announcements on school plays, sporting events and Parent Teacher Organization meetings are also available through the accounts.
School officials are hopeful it will get more people involved not only in their child’s education, but the entires school district as well.
“It’s hard to find a piece of software that hits home and the rest of the community and is positive in every realm,” said Rigg. “And this is one of them”.
The cost to the district is based on the student population and comes in around $1 per student. Rigg said Dover received a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education that covered almost half the total cost and that grant is available to any school district.
The program was also implemented in the Sanborn Regional School District, in Kingston and Newton, last year and has been praised by school officials for opening up communication between parents and teachers.
And though each of the technology directors said there have been some teachers who are apprehensive about the additional work and training, most have found it helpful. They said about 90 percent of the teachers see it as a way of improving the educational process and getting parents more involved and updated, cutting back on the amount of phone calls from worried moms and dads.
“More and more of the curriculum is becoming technology-based,” said Berchtold, adding that Pinkerton created a position specifically to help teachers integrate technology in their classrooms. “And children are becoming more technologically savvy all the time and want instant information.”
But the bottom line, according to Berchtold, a former economics teacher, is that the most important person in a child’s education - the parent - has more information, which means more opportunities to help their children get the most out of their education.
“With students who are having difficulties, whether it’s motivational or the material, the person that can help the most is the parents,” he said. “Now they can see how their child is doing all the time. A couple of years ago we didn’t have that.”
To get more information on Edline, go to the Web site: www.edline.com.