I spent yesterday morning at a training for our new math textbook adoption. The book itself is very nice and I was initially impressed because it appears to contain all of our learning standards, so there should be less hunting up filler materials. The technology component, though, is simply amazing. The text is available online, there are tutorials, practice problems and tests, and the list goes on. The piece that really got my attention was the diagnostic pre-test before each chapter. Taken online or paper/pencil, the test will identify the skills the student needs to review before moving on with the new stuff and will assign online tutorials and practices for them. Amazing stuff and very, very exciting. But... I look at the logistical issues with utilizing this new tool (and the tools we're learning about in this class) and the hurdles start popping up left, right and center. I'm very lucky to be in a technology rich school but it still has its limitations. I have four student computers in my room, we have 13 library computers, and our computer lab is also an active classroom, available once a day during that teacher's prep period. Some of my students have online access at home while others may be able to use the local library. One students had no Internet access permission this year at all.
So where am I headed with this? I guess in the back of my mind I'm always trying to figure out how I can utilize programs like these within the limitations of my technology and do it in a timely fashion. What does it look like to run 26-29 students through a test or quiz, four at a time? What else has to be in place with the rest to make this a feasible option?
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