Driver's Education saves lives!

Okay, this isn’t about Drivers Education – or cars. But technology tools are tremendously powerful in their own way and, if they’re worth using, it’s worth designing them well and teaching people to use them right! An example of how not to do it comes from a correspondent:

My mother is an elementary school teacher in a school district serving 3,500 students. The other day every teacher in the system was called to a meeting at the high school. The meeting basically said that all teachers had to use a new piece of gradebook software. They had been using it in a limited way for a year or so but now told they have to do everything on it starting immediately. They were then given training, all at once, from a representative of the software company via a telephone call broadcast over the PA.

My mother said that no one understood what they had to do, some teachers just left because it didn’t make sense and many teachers left the meeting in tears not knowing what they were going to do. Most of the teachers are up in arms because they hated the software to start with and find it difficult to use, but they are more upset because they don’t think the school system looked at any other options and they feel like it was a “golf course decision.”

My mother is literally considering early retirement because she can’t get used to the software, and thinks others might be too.

Let me know how familiar this is to you – stories and any lessons would be welcome. Four quick thoughts:

• Experienced teachers retiring is not a good thing. A fascinating study of a district with high per-pupil expenses and low test scores identified the key issue as low average experience and high teacher turnover.
• Invest in training. The impact of technology on productivity comes only once organizations reach beyond the easy steps of improving hardware (computers, phones, etc.) to changing their organizations to capture the full benefits. Such changes – including investing in training and building new ways of working – can cost up to $9 additional dollars for every dollar of hardware purchased. (See P Robertson, “The Role of Information and Communication Technology in Education Reform.” Urban School Reform: Lessons from San Diego, ed. F.M. Hess. Harvard Education Press, Cambridge, MA 2005.)
• Process matters. It’s more important to people in an organization (including teachers in schools) to know that a good process has been followed than it is for them to agree with a decision that results.
• Design matters. Software tools that teachers have to use every day, like gradebooks and attendance recording, need to be well-designed.

SchoolOne has worked hard on its system and continues to make improvements. We don’t want any tears. Sign up for a webinar today.