Gilroy
– Some teachers and students are embracing a new online tool
unveiled by the high school this semester. But the program, still
in its infancy, has yet to win total favor.
Gilroy – Some teachers and students are embracing a new online tool unveiled by the high school this semester. But the program, still in its infancy, has yet to win total favor.
Edline is an online database that can be accessed by parents, students and teachers. Parents and students are given separate activation codes to log onto the Web site. They can view daily attendance records, grades, class assignments and activities. Teachers can communicate with parents by posting grades for daily assignments.
“It takes away the question of, ‘Why did my student get that grade,’ and focuses on the how: ‘How can I work with my student and teacher to get the grade up?’ ” said Greg Camacho-Light, Gilroy High School’s vice principal.
According to a general survey, between 25 and 30 percent of the high school’s teachers are utilizing Edline, Camacho-Light said. More specific, room-to-room surveys over the next couple of weeks will help determine a more accurate figure of how many teachers are actually on board, he said.
By the end of the year, Camacho-Light is aiming to get at least half of the high school’s teachers participating, and all of them over the course of next year.
Teachers can – but are not required to – participate in Edline training sessions, which are held a couple of times per month. Each 45-minute session, usually held after school, are uncompensated and on a volunteer basis.
Later this year, school administrators are hoping to hold training sessions during the school day and give teachers release time to participate. That way, they could use a 1 1/2-hour class period to learn Edline, which Camacho-Light said would help get them on their feet.
From the feedback Camacho-Light said he’s received, teachers who have taken the training said it was worth it while others still are a bit leery. As far as the issue of time put into training, Camacho-Light said “the complaints, in general, are that teachers put in a lot of work.”
Adam Gemar, a chemistry teacher, said Edline is an “awesome” tool. It’s also a useful way for students to keep themselves accountable for assignments and grades, he said.
“Students can figure out what they’re missing on their own without having to ask me,” he said.
Once teachers are trained in Edline and able to figure out what they’re doing, Gemar said using the Web site is easy.
“It takes maybe an hour to learn it and get set up. After that, once you get going, it doesn’t take a lot of time,” he said.
But some say it does, especially those not well-acquainted with computers.
“If you’re not a skilled typist, it takes time,” said history teacher David Higins, a self-confessed hunt-and-pecker. Higins said he considers Edline as one more thing teachers are expected to do.
Also, staring at a computer screen might not be the best way for parents to assess how their child is doing. Higins said he’d rather talk with parents about their child’s overall performance, not only regarding grades but also attitude and behavior, something Edline does not address.
Advanced Placement math teacher Wayne Scott served on the high school’s site council that about a year ago approved purchasing Edline, which costs the high school $3,000 per year. But in light of Edline, Scott operates his own personal Web site, which enables students and parents to see daily homework assignments as well as class notes.
Scott said he supported purchasing Edline because he envisioned it as a way for other teachers to do the same types of things he does with his Web site. The biggest problem with Edline, according to Scott, is the time it takes to upload material, which he said is a result of the program itself and not a matter of learning how it works.
“It takes me three minutes on my personal site to upload what I need,” he said. “For me to do the same things on Edline as I do on my site would take at least 30 minutes.”
The time it takes to be trained on Edline is not problem for Scott, as long as that time is compensated or within the 75 minutes the school budgets weekly for staff development meetings.
“What bothers me is when teachers are expected to volunteer,” he said. “I think the issue will become whether teachers want to, are expected to or have to (participate in Edline).”
The decision to administer Edline was based on data showing that three-way communication between parents, students and teachers is “the most powerful nexus for education,” Camacho-Light said. Eventually, more information will available through Edline, such as unofficial transcripts.
About 10 percent of the high school’s parents are using Edline, and Camacho-Light said he’d like to get that number up. But it’s a Catch 22, because while some teachers are frustrated that more parents aren’t logging in regularly, some parents also are frustrated that their child’s teacher is not utilizing the site, he said.
The high school already has held a couple of parent code activation nights and more are in the works. On those nights, parents can receive their activation codes and can get their questions answered about the program. Parents also can stop by the high school’s front office to receive activation codes.
Some GHS students said they had never heard of Edline, or had only used it once or twice and didn’t find it too interesting.
But freshmen Tae Min said he uses Edline about once a week to view his grades and check assignments. He said he likes knowing how he’s doing before grades come out in a progress report.
Megan Hamik, also a freshmen, said she doesn’t use Edline, but her parents do.
“They check my grades. All the time,” she said. She added that Edline helps keep her motivated to do her work, because if she misses an assignment or gets a bad grade, she’ll hear about it.
