onlinecommsurvey

=2010 Online Tools to Communicate and Collaborate - Survey Results=

In late November I administered a brief survey to get a feel of how many folks were using electronic tools to communicate/collaborate, which tools were being used and to solicit any feedback from the field about successes, challenges and other related information.

The online survey and questions asked can be viewed here and the unedited results are [|here.] There were 121 responses as of Nov. 30, 2010.

Comments
> Monthly newsletter (paper copy) sent to families sharing what they may not be able to access via online will still allow them to have the information. > I also would like to use the health services and district website for providing health and safety information but again do not have the time or resources to be able to devote to this yet. > Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
 * The online google docs and calendar is for the Tattler. It works very well. If you are looking for sites or collaboration outside of ICSD, I use a number of sites specific for physics teachers. One blog in this area is http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/. I also am a member of three professional listservs - the collegeboard AP Physics listserv, the Oneonta NY state physics list serv, and a pedagogy list serv. There are many physics websites that I use for sharing curriculum.
 * District needs an easier way for teachers to communicate across grade levels and subject areas when using e-mail.
 * Electronic communication in the district is disjointed and complicated. Some active users and some non-users with many in the middle. No true requirement for use of e-communications. Annoyances are the listservs--aren't we moving on from this technology? It would be great to have a "package" where redundancy is limited and accountability is built in. Joomla is an ok application for web site--takes a lot of time to learn/update. Not very elegant web presence.
 * If we could write a grant to ensure all students in the Ithaca City School District (one per family) had access to a computer that would support our efforts in trying to use a method of communicate that is not a reality or possible for certain students and their families. Having the parent portal on Schooltool will also serve as a mechanism for communication and collaboration once it is up and running.
 * School nurses are using computer to help communicate with each other, staff and families. The nurses are continuing to look at ways to help increase the ability to communicate about serious acute problems, provide educational information and to promote compliance with health and safety issues. One problem we have is finding the time and resources to provide the training for nurses.
 * I require delicious accounts for 2 of my research classes. I am beginning to find resources through diigo.
 * I'm not sure where "school tool" would fall but that is a major form of communication for me. I write something then email whomever needs to read it. It would be GREAT if I were able to email someone directly from "school tool" to tell them to read what I wrote.
 * I've used the information on the special ed part of blackboard.
 * if i had a better computer, could do more!!! :)
 * I use email to collaborate with team members and some parents. We also communicate on facebook after school hours to discuss curriculum and process issues.
 * I don't have control of of my Joomla website and have been trying to work with Karen Durfee to resolve my lack of access problem. A lot of the content needs to be corrected and updated.
 * I have been added as a contributor to Caroline School's blog that is being maintained by Courtney Coffey.
 * The 7th grade team uses Wiggio for all our communication between 7th grade teachers. It is an easy way to email the whole group or choose individuals to email, you can share files, there is an online calendar, you can administer online polls, and you can create checklists with tasks assigned to specific individuals. Love it.
 * I wanted to specifically mention School Tool as a helpful item because I use it from home all the time to get parent phone numbers and email addresses. I also would like to see our building use it from Pre-K to 5th grade for teacher communication. It would be great to get a full snapshot of student scores and AIS/CSE history all in one spot.
 * I find it easier to use gmail and google docs than the ICSD list serve and website. I also like survey monkey and doodle. Google docs worked well for scheduling parent conferences and for writing an IPEI grant, collaborating with a community partner on the writing of the grant. I'm currently collaborating with several people using Voicethread. I use the ICSD site for SNOOPY and SCHOOL TOOL.
 * I could use some help using these tools. Last year not one workshop was offered at our school by our school's computer person. I don't even know who our school computer person was last year. I really don't think the process is working.
 * I use Schooltools primarily because I have some concerns about confidentiality. I am an Occupational Therapist and need to discuss disabilities and let teachers know about accomodations and other matters. I feel I need more information about how to evaluate the security of other methods of communication. I also prefer methods that result in messages that will appear in my email and do not give me another place to check each day.
 * There is much more out there to learn. I know that my information & working knowledge is limited and needs to be expanded.
 * Most of the communication and collaboration is not used in the physical education dept.
 * I'd love more information/training about online collaboration tools. Thanks!
 * I use only e-mail to communicate with families, students, Boynton staff, and district Green Team members. I am interested in learning more about options that allow for maintaining a history of communication among members of groups such as the Green Team rather than needed to re-open old emails to track exchanges. One person has proposed using google.docs but would this require a participant to check that regularly or would an e-mail prompt be received when something was added? As I mentioned the other day, I am interested in options for posting items for students such as blank copies of assignments, unit related film clips or other documents, etc.
 * I do most of my written work these days using Googledocs because when the server change over happened 2 years ago I lost 6+ years of lesson plans and other important documents. I no longer trust the district server as a reliable backup location. Thank you for doing this survey. It had recently occurred to me that more people should be aware of the way we are finding and utilizing online tools to better do our job. In many cases these new tools are better than what we had been using, but I think it's also important that decision makers understand that part of the reason we are doing this is because of a lack of support for our technological infrastructure - email outages, server change-overs with no notice, and general lack of bodies to take care of hardware and infrastructure.
 * I use my district email to email parents and other staff members. That's about it.
 * I hope to create a blog this year.
 * I would love more training on using online communication more effectively.
 * School tools notes are used to document and communicate relevant information about a student. The Dewitt library site posts computer lab usage schedules so that we can see if the lab is available to bring students.
 * direct interactive communication still is faster and more efficient when it can be arranged.
 * We do need one source to go to that is divided into smaller groups. I have a hard time finding time to look at all of the sources listed and I usually try to arrange a brief meeting which worth about four or five email exchanges. This actually relates to what we were speaking about the other day, working in small more connected groups of individuals.
 * We're ready for a faculty meeting re: wikis and blogs
 * I feel almost like there are too many ways that people can communicate which makes it confusing for parents, students, faculty and staff. One centralized method might be a good idea. Just a thought.
 * my blackboard site does not have a direct link because it is password protected (PLTW regulation)
 * Probably many paras do not use email to contact teachers. Last year I didn't. This year I am doing it and it is very helpful. Two things that are a great help: I found out how to get teacher email addresses and I have a prep period each day. All paras in the District should have access to these things. (As far as I know, only Boynton and Dewitt paras have a prep period.) Thank you!
 * I recently started working in the High School with the new 504 Coordinator, Gillian Ryan. I have been using the Outlook calendar to schedule meetings and have shared calendar capabilities with several players. That has come in handy.

Online Sites by ICSD Faculty and Staff
http://barleysbjmblog.blogspot.com/ http://mrkirkmath.wordpress.com http://www.delicious.com/network/rsevilla http://literacymatters.wikispaces.com/ http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/district/instech/support/21stlit/ http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/district/instech/ http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/boynton/library http://treehouseroom.wordpress.com/ http://globalkids.edublogs.org/category/folktales/ http://icsbb.ocmboces.org/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2FcourseMain%3Fcourse_id%3D_4408_1 http://dmsenglish7.blogspot.com http://dcarbone.wikispaces.com/ http://icsdcoteaching.wikispaces.com/ http://icsddi.wikispaces.com/ http://21clad.wikispaces.com/ http://lacsartroom.wordpress.com/ http://lacscomputerlit.wikispaces.com/ http://lacsvideoclass.wikispaces.com/ http://lacs-msjournalism.wikispaces.com/ http://lacs-creativewriting.wikispaces.com/ http://oxfeed.pbworks.com/w/page/4483925/Facing-History-and-Ourselves http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cmhDRXZ5b3pSLWkyeU50S05HNTQ3cUE6MA https://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/lacsweb/login/ http://www.toolboxpro.org/classrooms/template.cfm?ID=1273&P=0 http://pberman.wikispaces.com http://paraprofessionalsguide.wikispaces.com/ http://d5cafe.ning.com/ http://icsd-literacyacademy.wikispaces.com/ http://welcometodewitt.wordpress.com/ http://weareempowered.edublogs.org/ http://icsd-colt.wikispaces.com/ http://icsdcm.wikispaces.com/ http://icsd-tools.wikispaces.com/ http://icsdprofdev.wikispaces.com/ http://icsdcurriculumchairs.wikispaces.com/ http://www.bjmlibrary.blogspot.com/ http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/highschool/library/ http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/highschool/ http://www.delicious.com/ihs_library/ http://gergelytib.pbworks.com/ http://ihscomiclife.pbworks.com/ http://ihseconee.pbworks.com/ http://ihsengmed1011.pbworks.com/ http://ihslordautobio.pbworks.com/ http://ihstechcom.pbworks.com/ http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/enfield/library http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/sabbatic/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=34 https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AgFOyxlXMKX7dFRqRmZBemNLTzloNFVFUGdCNUlKQXc&hl=en&output=html http://www.toolboxpro.org/classrooms/template.cfm?ID=3813 http://sunflowersofbellesherman.wikispaces.com/ http://kdt.wikispaces.com/ http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/legacy/bellesherman/rbeckman/sunflower.htm http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com http://wiggio.com http://www.flickr.com/ http://www.surveymonkey.com/ http://www.facebook.com/ http://www.dropbox.com/ http://www.shutterfly.com/ http://www.dewittgrade7.blogspot.com http://duttweiler5thgrade.net/ http://bit.ly/StoffWebPage http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/enfield http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/caroline/library http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/highschool/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=66 http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/highschool/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=77 http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/dewitt/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=64 http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/iit/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=45 http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/iit/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=28 http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/iit/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=85