Following Personalized Technology Training in the first week of school, many students had

concerns about the necessity and usefulness of the program. The first week of school incorporated Personalized Learning into the schedule for all students.  This training was the result of a new system set up this year, developed and discussed with a digital learning team of 35 teachers, the principals, and the head of the technology department, Mr. Steven Knight.

Time was built into students’ last block class where each logged on to their Schoology accounts and completed a series of activities and videos that were posted. Within the folder, sections ranging from “Google Apps Courses,” to “Schoology Courses” and “Digital Literacy & Citizenship.”

The idea was to make sure that all students knew the basics when it came to Schoology functions, navigating Google Drive, and other tools on the laptops. All students from all grade levels, were responsible for completing the Personalized Learning activities. Though it was not graded, it was expected that the students completed these online activities.

“We had a lot of feedback last year that watching the videos in a group, like we did, was not successful, and so the kids didn’t know what they needed to know. We are not sure if this year is going to be better, because you get what you put into it,” said Knight.

While some students put in the necessary time to learn the material, many did not. When asked why, many said that it was a tedious and repetitive way to spent their class time.

“It was not necessary to take time out of our classes to learn stuff we already knew. I think it should only have been for freshmen,” said sophomore, George Gilligan.

In a seniors’ perspective, the consensus seemed to be the same.

“I feel like it could have been done in a more effective way. Most kids just goofed around with it,” said senior, Matthew Puentes.

During this first week, some teachers seemed confused or unaware of what needed to be completed on Schoology, while others disregarded the Personalized Learning sessions and used the time for classwork instead. English teacher Mr. Brian Walsh found the time beneficial to both the students, and himself.

“I incorporated it into a lesson. I found it helpful because I learned about Dropbox and Slides,” said Walsh.

One of the goals of the technology sessions was to insure that everyone started off knowing basic information about their laptops’ capabilities. “We feel very adamant about the fact that teachers have to have training… learn constantly, and students should be too,” said Knight.  

Despite many students’ suggestions that the basics of tech training should be taught to new students while returning students should do more advanced training, or use the time to study, Knight felt very strongly about students knowing the basics of working with technology.  

“We wanted every student in the building to go through it, so that all the classroom teachers would be confident,” said Knight.