Skyward, Security, and Spiderman

This week’s entry comes from Jeff Harrison.  It is about summer.  It is about Skyward, and it is about Security.  But mostly it is about Jeff sharing about the difficulty of breaking old patterns of thinking, and that is hard work!

From Jeff: Spidey-Sense

Part of the HSE²¹ Best-Practice model is reflection. I took a few minutes to reflect about this past year and some of the changes we have made in our approach to technology.

Most districts use this approach when
it comes to distributing computers....

Last year at this time we were going through the process of deciding what device to issue staff members. As you know, most districts simply assign a computer—mostly because there is only one choice.  The prevailing wisdom is that it is best if everyone has the same device. HSE, however, spent a great deal of time reflecting and debating whether or not we could offer up a choice to teachers. The result was that all of you were able to choose whether you wanted a Dell, a Surface Pro, or a Mac Air.

Our approach may not be easier, but our belief is that providing this choice has your work easier and more productive.  We think this unusual approach was successful.

The next issue we dealt with was about rights to install software on these new computers.  Again, we spent a great deal of time talking about and reflecting on whether teachers should have the rights to install their own software. The phrase we kept hearing was, “Trust us.  We are professionals.” 

That’s a convincing argument!

We landed on the decision to give “Admin Rights” to all teachers.  As a result, we have had a great year, and we hope you agree that this makes your jobs easier.

Break the Mental Chains

I have come to recognize that the restrictions I put on myself and my thinking are real.  I need discussion and reflection to break the mental chains. It brings to mind the following picture I have seen on social media. 

Even when I recognize the truth of this picture, changing beliefs takes effort.  The results, however, are worth the effort as the two examples above indicate.

Skyward is Next!

Over the last couple of weeks, as I looked through our end-of-year processes, I began thinking about how we remove all access to gradebooks and rosters over the summer. This decision may well extend from my own fear that allowing teachers access to the next year’s courses and rosters may cause problems. 

Drones hover even closer!

The administrators and counselors creating master schedules and class rosters make many, many last minute changes.  What if teachers look too soon and get shook by information that may or may not be accurate?  I worry that teachers will get concerned over the number of preps in the schedule, where the prep periods land, which students appear or don’t appear in rosters, or the number of students on the rosters—all before any of this is finalized. 

And my biggest fear is that class information may get leaked to families before being finished.  What a mess that could cause in this era of helicopter (and now even drone) parents.

On the other hand, if teachers have access to Skyward all summer, there are some advantages for teachers. They are able to answer parent questions about grades or refigure grades if work comes in during summer.  They can access student and parent information if they need to make contact.  They can access historical data if they are asked to write letters of recommendation, and new teachers can get in over the summer to learn how gradebooks work.

Wisdom from Uncle Ben

In my mind I hear the refrain from teachers, “Treat us as professionals.”   Again, that is a convincing argument.

As I have reflected over the last two weeks, I keep thinking about that horse chained to the chair. I’ve decided to break my mental chains and heed your reminder that “we are professionals.”  Therefore, after the rollover process that will take place the week of June 12, we are going to open your access to the gradebooks in Skyward.

Words of wisdom, whether they are from Voltaire or Uncle Ben.

In the Spiderman movie, Uncle Ben says to Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.”  (Actually, there is debate about this quote.  Some attribute it to Voltaire, which would make it much more impressive but actually a little less fun.)

Okay, so having access to Skyward is not really that great of a superpower, but having access to the gradebooks over the summer, still requires responsibility.

Please remember that our office staff and administrators are continuously making changes to the master schedule, moving classes around, balancing rosters, and adding sections and teachers throughout the summer. What you see is not necessarily final until the students show up on Day One—and even then, it may be subject to change.

Thus, the high need to keep the information confidential.

Enjoy your summer time off with your friends and family, and if you happen to go into Skyward, do so responsibly.

Respond to Jeff at jharrison@hse.k12.in.us

Have a great week, HSE.  If your Spidey-sense is tingling, it may indicate summer break is near!

Your HSE Teaching and Learning Team

• Jan Combs, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
• Stephanie Loane, Director of Elementary Education
• Tom Bell, Director of Special Education
• Jeff Harrison, Director of Educational Technology
• Phil Lederach, Director of Secondary Education