Ferryway 2.0

What a difference a day and a Dell make. When Ferryway School first opened in 1999 we were designated as Malden’s “Technology” School: two fully stocked computer labs, a library computer center equal to the lab resources, and teacher and student computers in each classroom.  We prided ourselves on that “technology” moniker and as the K-4 computer teacher, I hoped that we would not be the technology school in name only, but that we would be able to utilize our new tech resources to make a measurable improvement in our students educational careers.

We have made important strides in that direction through motivated staff, school administration which has fostered technology use, and our school designated technology “guru”, Bob Simpson, who has helped us coordinate our resources, led tech related professional development for staff, guided us through public and corporate grant opportunities, and now is promoting what we hope will turn into a school wide WEB 2.0 mentality.

In recent years, however, we have been slowed by an aging computer population. As our computer skills and interest in digital media/communication have increased, our decade old “granddaddy” desktops, running Windows 98 (first edition), have not just made execution of our plans an issue, but have dampened staff and student motivation. Many student classroom computers sat encrusted in a layer of dust, used and unloved.

I prayed to the “Computer Gods” for years for deliverance from our sorry desktop state…and recently my prayers were answered. We all left for April vacation and returned to a school desktop wonderland. My lab, which was becoming a computer graveyard, was transformed into a stable of healthy young Dells, ready to run fast and free.  All classrooms underwent a similar transformation. We were back! We were once again “the technology school”. The excitement from staff and students was palpable.

I truly see 2009-2010 as Ferryway’s walk on the WEB 2.0 “wild side”: wikis, blogs, homework and assignments crisscrossing the network, drop boxes, and vastly enhanced cooperation in our digital universe. We now have the technology in place to more effectively make use of our award winning teacher created online educational units and to roll out a comprehensive digital school community. What a difference a day and a Dell make.