For me, the addition of School Loop to our academic environment is exciting and progressive, but not for the reasons you may think. Besides School Loop's obvious benefits, such as instant access to grades and homework assignments, it has many other powerful functions, making it more productive than it appears. Instead of looking back to a class syllabus to find a teacher's email address or contact information, we can simply go to SL's messaging system, type in a teacher's name (or other student's), and instantly type up a message to him or her. Instead of running to the store last minute to buy ink for an English paper, we can upload a document to our "locker" and open it up at school or anywhere for that matter. These benefits of SL are not what excite me the most, however. SL in my opinion represents a huge step forward for our local, state, and national education systems to further integrate technology into the classroom and to modernize our technologically outdated classrooms.
In the last year alone, I've witnessed more and more the utilization of social media, blogs, and the Internet to spread campus news, club events, homework assignments, and other school information. As someone familiar with technology, the internet, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, social media, etc., I'm optimistic to see the creative ways technology can be implemented into education. I wish more teachers took Mrs. E's experimental, yet educative approach to technology. We're at a point in time when technology is just beginning to flourish, creating a gap between our generation and the generation prior, and as a result, many teachers have been skeptical to allow mobile devices and computers to be used during class time. It's surprising and admittedly strange that Mrs. E lets us access websites on our phone, for educational purposes of course. The fact that our high school principal blogs is fascinating in itself, but the fact that he tweets and frequently replies to us is impressive and something that would have been impossible years ago. If something like that wasn't possible before 5 years ago, I can't even begin to imagine what is to come in the next few years.
Technology is moving at such a fast pace and I think we sometimes overlook its progression, results, and potential future. Certainly, online access to homework and grades is not new to any of us but the school-wide adoption of this site demonstrates the district's interest in technology for the future. I'm optimistic and hopeful to see the creative ways technology is used specifically for education in the next couple years.
-Matt A.
Matt,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Technology makes school somewhat more engaging. However, it also adds pressure onto the students to perform better, because parents can constantly check their grades.
Schoolloop is perhaps the greatest event to ever hit Los Osos. Yet I hated everything about it! When I first registered I thought of the efficiency and ease it will provide. Yet with the insertion of my ID number and a click of the mouse, my entire life story appeared on the screen. My schedule, homework assignments, grade, teacher sights! This site was stalking me before I even began! I started recieving daily emails basically telling me the homework I did not do or how quickly my grades were falling. Essentially, Schoolloop scared the crap out of me.
ReplyDeleteThat only made me the perfect candidate for it. I was doubtful, but soon I realized how truly great this site was. Like you said Matt, the locker section is extremely helpful, the contact system is extremely efficient, and the availability of grades has motivated me more than ever to improve them! Technology is moving very quickly, and we as high school students need to embrace it. So yes, this means we should all register for Schoolloop. No matter how scary, creepy, or overwhelming it is at first, SL is the most efficient and progressive school-wide system of Los Osos.
~Jacy
This is a great post. Technology really is moving fast and i have to admit that i was a little hesitant to join in, but once i did, i really enjoyed it. School Loops is amazing, i no longer forget my homework because the site sends me an email everyday.
ReplyDelete-Christiana R.
I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to register for SL and how convenient it is. However, it only really works if the teachers take the initiative to use it. Half of my teachers don't use it at all and one does sometimes, which makes it confusing when I'm trying to figure out if I have homework for that class. I see that it has a lot of potential though. As for the problem Carlos brings up, don't tell them!
ReplyDelete-Bobby R
@Carlos
ReplyDeleteI think that pressure to perform better is both constructive and stressful, depending on your perspective. To those who may be lazy, that "pressure" acts more as a motivation to perform better and to those already trying their best, I can see how that pressure can be stressful.
@Jacy
I can totally relate to your experience registering for School Loop! I was shocked at how much information this site already had about me. It's important to note that School Loop is a third-party company and many questions arise about its reliability and security. Is it safe for this business to have access to so much of our private information? I agree that School Loop can be scary, yet at the same time it's very useful.
Thanks for commenting. :)
School loop has essentially pushed Los Osos into the next generation of student-teacher-parent interaction. Not only do students get notified daily on what their assignments are, but also their parents as well. Parents can check up now on their child's grades and homework whenever they want. This can be seen as either a curse or a blessing, depending on who you ask..
ReplyDelete-George
@Christiana
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying School Loop too, and I use it to double check my homework every day. One day after fifth period ended, I didn't have enough time to write down the homework and I was too far away from the board to read it but I was able to rely on SL to check my homework. Thanks for commenting.
@Bobby
You're right, if the teacher doesn't take the initiative to use it, it's not as effective. In my case, I found that my teachers are actually consistent about updating their homework so I guess I'm lucky for that :p Thanks for commenting.
@George
I agree that it's all about perspective. I think eventually though, SL will be such an integrated part of school that most won't see it as a curse. With any type of change, there's always some reluctance to trying something new but I think everyone can agree that SL benefits everyone in some way. Thanks for the comment.
-Matt
Yeah I think school loop is a great way for students to look into their homework assignments and contact their teachers. Along with this, i wont have to have multiple sites open for different teachers. they're all in one. School loop is a great start for students and parents to be more aware of the student's performances and work.
ReplyDelete-angela
Though theoretically, Schoolloop is a good idea, when put into practice it is really inconvenient for some. Personaly, I have very demanding parents, and for me schoolloop could not have been a worse idea. My parents are the type of parents who should only see the end results of their child's grades. This is because when the see progress reports they freak out when the reports are not as high as they should be. These parents don't understand that grades are progressive and not final until the final report. Unfortunately, becasue of schooloop, my parents now have unlimited access and I now have to endure their yells and lectures when they see my less than ideal progressive grades.
ReplyDelete-rebekah Adeyemo
I think you made major points, but this technology also adds on punishment to some students, since parents are allowed to see all the assignments and grades, it causes trouble, parents sometimes don't understand that grades fall behind for a little while,but when we focus we bring those grades back up. They might think its too late and they start punishing before they see your side of it. Though inall its a great program and helps you stay on top of your work, to remain focused.
ReplyDelete-Danny D.
I really agree with Carlos. Yes, technology is great with all these new creative web-sites coming out, but the fact that parents can see their childs grade anytime they want to does add a lot of pressure on the child. Although the grades feature is not one of my favorites, i do believe that it has many other neat features that make turning in homework or contacting your teach much easier
ReplyDeletei doubted school loop until i actually checked it out. Its amazing how it send you an email of everything you need to do, everything you have done, and the grades and schedules you are given. It should however be only for students to view.
ReplyDeleteRoberto L
I agree. Now a days, people use more technology in their everyday lives than ever. I think it's important that teachers try to connect with students through their own means. Teachers putting their homework up on twitter makes getting reminders of your homework really easy. Technology /is/ moving fast, and now as we've seen in the middle east, Technology can cause revolutions. I think it only makes sense that teachers, and administrators alike, are starting to use technology to connect. After all, is there a better way to remind us small minded harebrained teenagers to do our homework than through twitter?
ReplyDeleteLove, Juliette
SL became convenient to me as now I'm able to look up what homework I have and when it's due, as well as check up my grades. Technology is moving at a fast pace... which makes me wonder, perhaps sometime in the near future, will virtual classrooms become the new thing? :P
ReplyDeleteBoa K.
Schoolloop has basically become one of the most important websites of my routine has it is always there to remind me of any assignments I forgot. Plus ow I don't have to go to the LOHS Math page or the LOHS Science page or Mrs. Elliott.net because it's all at one page.
ReplyDelete- Jake S.
School loop is so much more convenient that all of the websites that I had to visit before for each teacher. All of the classes are organized and not only can I see upcoming assignment but also check my grades on previous ones. It saves me a lot on time i would have wasted before going on individual sites. Now i just have to figure out how to stop it from sending me an email everyday!
ReplyDeleteJehan T.
I have to disagree with some of my classmates that have commented so far. For me knowing that I can just check the school loop or any other website when I get home just produces procrastination. For some people technology works but I think I need to stick to my planner.
ReplyDeleteJasmine M.
At first I didn't really like school loop but after I started using it, I realized that if the teacher is willing to put in the effort f uploading current homework assignments and grades then it actually makes our lives much easier. But like you said, technology is moving faster than we even realize sometimes, and I wonder though it's useful in th classroom, has technology really made our lives outside of school that much better?
ReplyDelete-Sapir L.
I honestly do not beleive that school loop will affect us seniors very much seeing as how it was incorporated so late into the school year. I will admit the grades side of things does pressure students to perform better as their parents can see their grades, however my Mom didnt even sign up for school loop because she said, "By now there isnt even a point." For the junior class and below school loop will have on their academics, however the question is will it be a significant impact. Only time will tell.
ReplyDelete-Brent S.
I think the reason why school loop i so effective is because it unifies all of the teacher sites and grades onto one website. Its much more convenient than going to different websites for each teacher. It also encourages many teachers to include things on their web page that probably wouldn't have if they had to create their own site on their own.
ReplyDeleteZach Y.
I agree. Even though some people are complaining about the easy access of grades, which usually results in troubles, I love how convenient SL is!
ReplyDeleteI think we discussed this in English last week, and it is truly amazing to think about how much the progression has done. Maybe in near future, we'll be able to have experiences only depicted in the movies.
Chloe K.