Author: Kristie Ennis September 23, 2015 0 Comments

During my regular observation hour this week, I worked with the LMS to continue updating the Surface Pro lab. This proved to be just as frustrating as last week, as we had to plug them individually into the network to try to get them connected, then install any updates, then pray that they would be finished before we had to call it a day. It just doesn’t seem right that these computers should have individual differences in updates and connectivity when they have all been stored in the EXACT SAME CART for the EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF TIME. Very strange machines, I must say. We made a little progress, and I helped diffuse some of the LMS’s frustration by helping her a bit.
We discussed some access issues that have arisen in the last week as well. The middle school has apparently commandeered one of the desktop labs for 4th period, as mentioned previously. The LMS expressed her concern to an administrator after thinking about it all night, and the students have now moved to another lab. The only problem is, now the high school only has limited access to their lab during that class period. What a shame for all involved! I don’t blame the LMS for not wanting a class stationed in her library lab everyday 4th period, but now they are taking up the high school lab space. It wouldn’t really matter if the kids needed the computers to work, but they just use it as a classroom space. This is causing contention among the staff as well. It will be interesting to me to see how this all pans out. If it is just temporary, one or the other will likely be stuck without access. Maybe I can help get the Surface Pros up and running so that can help! It’s a Band-Aid at best, but that’s something.
Mid-week, I stayed after school with students to help them register and study for the upcoming ACT assessment. We got four students fully registered and two worked on studying for the assessment. This felt like a big success because those students are on their way to passing their CCR benchmarks. This is such a huge focus for accountability that I felt I did something to help the school by setting them on their way!