LM_NET: Library Media Networking
October 1, 1994
This posting is the result of a Texas Center for Educational
Technology request for information concerning the use of telephone
lines in the classroom.
Responses to the following posted request for information are
included below, following a summary of the input.
> Telephone Lines in Classrooms?
>
>
> Many educators today recognize the benefits of having a phone
> line (and phone) in the classroom, but apparently many school
> district administrations are not sold on the idea, generally
> citing the expense as the factor preventing telephone
> installation and use.
>
> There are several forward thinking school districts, however,
> that have set a high priority on placing this extremely
> beneficial communications tool in the classroom.
>
> If you are an educator or administrator in a school/district
> that is fortunate enough to have installed phones in the
> classroom, the Texas Center for Educational Technology (TCET)
> at the University of North Texas is seeking input from you that
> will help convince other school districts of the necessity of
> classroom phone lines (for voice communications and
> telecommunications). We want to compile a list of
> observed/proven benefits that will help educators, like the
> author of the following message, to convince their
> administrations of the need and prompt them to reassess
> district priorities.
>
>
> I am an avid Tenet user, and wish that I could share it
> with my students. Unfortunately, access to phone lines
> is so limited that the children I teach, first through
> third grades in a Multi-age class, are not considered
> the priority for such modem use.
>
> We have requested phone lines several times each year
> for the past three years, but budget considerations
> override us. This amuses those of us who regularly
> utilize the Macintosh computers that our classes have
> access to, because it seems that computers
> communicating via phone lines is the most natural means
> of gathering and disseminating information.
>
> If you know of any way to convince schools to invest in
> phone lines, especially on campuses like mine with
> 1,000 students, let me know.
>
> K. Shiver, kjshiver@tenet.edu
>
>
> We have read many other similar messages posted in E-mail and
> conference groups on TENET and the Internet. So we are asking
> those of you that have had experience with phone lines in the
> classroom to convey the benefits to education and to relate how
> your administration was convinced to make the investment.
>
> To be fair, thorough, and inclusive, we also need to hear the
> negatives. If you have had bad experiences with phones in the
> classroom, please report those also. We need to know about any
> distractions, disadvantages, and/or detriments to learning that
> have been experienced or observed due to telephones in the
> classroom.
>
> Please E-mail all comments to llucas@tenet.edu, or fax comments
> to 817/565-4425, or mail them to:
>
> TCET
> P.O. Box 13857, UNT Station
> Denton, TX 76203.
>
> Thank you for help.
>
> Larry Lucas
> Technical Specialist
> TCET
>
#################################################################
SUMMARY
Use of telephones in the classroom falls, of course, into two
categories: voice communications and computer communications
(telecommunications or telecomputing). While some of the
respondents to TCET's request for information about uses of phone
lines in the classroom were definitely coming from the
perspective of telecomputing, others had a broader spectrum of
uses in mind.
Voice communications -
As far as voice communications is concerned, it was quite
definite from the responses that the primary observed (and
expected) advantage was considerably improved parent/teacher
communications. Many also listed improved intra- and inter-
campus communications.
Several have found that a telephone in the classroom has helped
considerably with discipline management. Although not included
in these responses, some school districts have reported a
considerable decrease in absenteeism because of phones in the
classroom.
Several respondents reported the value of phones in the classroom
in the event of emergencies.
And of course many of the messages reported the increase in
teacher morale (they are finally being treated like the
professionals that they are). Along with increases in morale
have come increases in efficiency and productivity.
Office to classroom communications have improved in many of the
schools where phones have been installed. Now, instead of the
whole class being disrupted by an announcement over the PA for a
student to come to the office, the office can contact the teacher
by phone and the teacher can discretely tell the student to go to
the office.
In some of the high schools where phones have been installed, the
teachers are required to put information in their voice mail
about homework and assignments for the week. This has resulted
in considerable improvement in communication between teachers,
students, and parents. In some cases voice mail is used for
sports and other event announcements.
At some of the schools, the phones are being used in the
curriculum for obtaining local research information and for
contacting content experts.
Some potential negatives include abuse of the communications tool
by teachers and/or students. A phone ringing in the classroom
can be disruptive (but probably no more so than the teacher from
across the hall coming in to borrow something). Most of the
schools seem to be preventing this by answering all calls in the
office and then forwarding calls to the classroom only when the
teacher has a free period or if the call is an emergency.
Telecomputing -
Of course the world of telecomputing opens up vast amounts of
information useful in conducting research in almost any
curricula. It also opens up connectivity to content experts
around the world via E-mail, E-mail lists, and newsgroups. It
also allows for the exchange of document and data files.
Actually, as pointed out by a couple of the contributors, the
best way to connect classrooms to the Internet (and other
information highways) is to establish a local area network (LAN),
a computer network throughout the school, equipped with a
communications server that allows any computer on the network to
connect to the outside world.
What are the negatives? Well, the phone line is not the best
connection (access) to the Internet, although it is the most
economical. By far the worst negative might be some of the
"garbage" that is accessible through the Internet. Some means
will need to be established to control what information the
students can access.
Primary Deterrent to Installation
The primary hinderance to installing phones in the classrooms for
many school districts appears to be the cost. However, many
districts have found ways to minimize the expense. Several
schools have 4 or 5 lines into the school that are connected to a
key telephone system or a PBX system from which lines are run to
each classroom. Other schools have found different ways to split
one line into 4 or 5 to similarly cut down the cost of phone
bills, yet provide the classrooms with this essential
communications tool.
Some Significant Quotes from the Messages
There are no disadvantages!
I'm a school principal ---- and I can't imagine any reason
for not having phones in every classroom.
I could not indorse an idea more strongly than putting telephones
in the classroom.
Perhaps the greatest selling point for administrators would be
the focus on increasing teachers' ability to communicate with
parents.
If a parent calls us they get the secretary who may transfer to
the classroom if the teacher is available (we don't transfer
unless it is an emergency when the teacher is instructing - we
transfer during a teacher's break, prep, lunch, before and after
school day).
Good luck on getting phones, your schools will become more
productive and teachers will have better morale!
We deem this communication link vital for the 21st century
student and teacher.
Though we have a huge amount of technology in every room,
the one thing the teachers would keep if they could only keep one
thing is the telephone.
I don't have a negative comment about the use of phones in the
classroom; in fact I think it is a GOOD idea and so does every
other member of our school board and administration and, I think,
most of the community and tax base.
We found a dramatic increase in calls home to parents. The
biggest change was the number of positive calls was greater than
the negative calls, a reversal from "before the phones".
Discipline was also improved.
We are a small, rural, k-12 school district in southwest
Missouri. (950 students) We installed telephones in every
classroom one year ago. We have access to Internet and several
of our teachers and all administrators have telecomputing on
their desks/in their classrooms.
So, I feel the positives greatly outweigh the negatives. I think
phones are more important than computers in the classroom!
I can make parent phone calls without waiting in line in the
faculty lounge; parents can call me directly.
The main drawback I have found is the very rare occasion when a
salesperson calls me and for some reason it gets forwarded to me
during class time.
In some classrooms a teacher immediately modifies behavior by
picking up the phone at the point of disruptive behavior and
calling the principal or the home.
I have more than 20 years of classroom teaching experience and
never before have I had access to such an unbelievable quantity
of quality information.
I don't understand how a school district could be committed to
educating students in the most effective way and deny both
students and teachers access to new methods in achieving these
goals. Surely, if computer literacy is a goal for all students
to achieve and master on the TAAS, access to telecommunications
is a major part of that endeavor. By denying our students this
type of knowledge will certainly put them at a disadvantage in
today's world--we need to teach the technology, not about the
technology.
The phones are wonderful for teachers to have access to parents,
at the moment. I wouldn't trade the phones for an intercom
system.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 1994 12:19:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nancy Martin <uwnet12@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Classroom telephones
At our high school every classroom has a telephone from which
teachers can place outgoing calls, receive in-coming calls
(through a switchboard) and call directly (via intercom numbers)
to other classes/offices on campus and to other buildings within
the district. The lines were originally installed to facilitate
teacher-to-parent contact as teachers complained (justifiably)
that there were no phones available for calling parents. We are
a 9-12 building with approximately 1250 students.
The pluses have been: l. an increase in school-to-parent
contacts, 2. less frustration in calling home for teachers, 3.
quicker communications between offices (main, attendance, and
counseling) to teachers directly in their rooms, 4. more
immediate access from the classroom to the main office in cases
of emergencies (medically fragile students or accidents, for
example).
There has been minimal problem with students using the phones
inappropriately - so minimal as to be no problem. We find the
phones to be a less intrusive communication tool than regular
"intercoms" that broadcast to the whole classroom. Our phone
system does, however, double as an intercom system in that the
phone becomes the tool (microphone).
Perhaps the greatest selling point for administrators would be
the focus on increasing teachers' ability to communicate with
parents.
Nancy Martin, Principal
Monroe High School
1408 W. Main
Monroe, WA 98272
uwnet12@u.washington.edu
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 1994 15:58:01 -0500 (CDT)
From: CATS! <curtz@tenet.edu>
Subject: phones
We do not have internet in our school, but we did use National
Geographic Kidsnet with CELLULAR phones. The performance of the
cellular phones was unimpressive to say the least! I would NOT
recommend cellular for telecommunications.
Also, I have received an add from Unlimited Systems Corp. that
advertises a product called Konnexx. Supposedly, the Konnexx
adapter allows modems to plug into ANY phone line, including PBX
boards and multi-line phone systems (cost $119-149...depending on
the special rate at the time :) If this product works as it is
described, it would be great for schools which don't want to pay
for a dedicated line.
\ |\.-./|
\\ |'0 0`|
\\ =( v )=
\\ /\_u_/\
\| \_/ |
\ || || /
(__||-||__)
"" ""
curtz@tenet.edu
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 10:41:13 -0500 (CDT)
From: "James K. Tice" <jtice1@ozarks.sgcl.lib.mo.us>
Subject: Re: Telephones in Classrooms?
Good Morning, Larry,
We are a rural school district of 950 students (K-12) in
Southwest Missouri. We have had a telephone in every (really
!!) classroom since last fall. We have had a delightful time
learning how to use a telephone as a teaching, learning,
administrative tool to electronically enhance our present
paradigm of perceived tasks. We (some of us) are also peering
into the foggy future to determine the shape and substance of
emerging paradigms of learning.
I would be glad to visit in detail our experience for you to
glean whatever to help you raise the level of consciousness of
those decision makers that can supply you with telephones.
417 736 3600 fax 417 736 2051
Strafford R-VI
201 West McCabe
Strafford, Missouri 65757
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 1994 22:38:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: Doug Golding <golding@tenet.edu>
Subject: Phone usage in the classroom
Mr. Lucas -
I am a board member from Leander ISD (near Austin). We have 5
elementary schools, a sixth grade school, a Jr. High and 1 High
School. In all of our elementary schools, we have a telephone in
every classroom. We have phones in about 1/3 of our secondary
classrooms. We have noticed the following benefits:
1. Principal/central office can request a student be sent
down to the office without having to use the intercom system
(which would alert the entire class). By simply dialing the
extension, the office person can speak directly (and discreetly)
to the teacher.
2. Improved parent teacher communications. All teachers have
access to an outside line and can dial parents directly. This
eliminates the excuse of not having a phone available. During
their planning period the phone can be used to make direct parent
contacts, set up appointments, etc. We have noticed an increased
communications level between teachers and parents.
3. From a parents perspective, it is always comforting to
know that you can easily reach your child or teacher via a phone.
This has made direct communications from the parents to the
school easier. Since I am not a teacher I do not know how
disruptive this is. The central office may control the inbound
calls and allow only emergencies to be forwarded directly to the
classroom.
4. Overall, the telephone assists the teacher in the
everyday performance of his/her job. Ordering materials from
media centers, intra-campus and intra-district communications,
communicating to parents, and as a tool to record information.
5. On our secondary campuses we have a homework helpline.
All teachers, every day, are required to call their voice mail
box and leave a recorded message regarding the daily (or weekly)
assignments. Then the students (or their parents) can call the
Homework Helpline, hear the teachers report and know what
homework is required. There are message lines for Sports
announcements, and general campus announcements. Teachers can
record/update their message using any phone but most do it from
their classroom on a daily basis. This has been a tremendous
service for our parents and has not really created too much extra
work for the teachers because we provide easy access to the
phone. Our administrators monitor the usage and we can actually
track the number of calls, whose updating their messages, and the
feedback from parents has been great. Having a phone in the
classroom makes this system work smooth.
6. On our High School Campus we have an automated phone
calling system that calls parents of students who are absent. The
system keeps calling parents until they get an answer. All of our
High School Teachers have a voice mail system so that incoming
calls can be left in their "voice mailbox" and be returned at a
later time.
These are just some of the ways we use telephones in our
district. We have LAN (Local area network) and a WAN (Wide area
network) using PC's for E-Mail, Attendance reporting and other
administrative accountability information. We are also
overlapping this system with a Student Management and
Accountability system. I'm sure our district would be happy to
provide more information on these and other info you might need.
You can contact Mr. Bill Britcher, District Communications
Coordinator, at (512) 259-6595. Good luck with your research.
Doug Golding
Vice President, Board of Trustees
Leander ISD
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 1994 16:54:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: steve wright <swright@potlatch.esd112.wednet.edu>
Subject: Phones is classrooms
Hi, I'm a school principal ---- and I can't imagine any reason
for not having phones in every classroom. I consider it a
necessity for communication. We have an ethernet LAN for
computers and a phone in every classroom. Phones to every
classroom cost nothing extra on a monthly basis. We have 4 phone
lines to the building (3-5 grade level students). If a parent
calls us they get the secretary who may transfer to the classroom
if the teacher is available (we don't transfer unless it is an
emergency when the teacher is instructing - we transfer during a
teacher's break, prep, lunch, before and after school day). If
the teacher is unavailable we send an E-Mail message which will
be waiting whenever the teacher has time. On the teacher's end
they may pick up the phone, dial "9" and get an outside line to
call wherever they need. They may also call any other room in the
building by punching in the room number.
The advantages are numerous: teachers call parents from their
classroom and have privacy, they don't waste time walking and
waiting, they don't interrupt the office work, they are happy
being treated as valuable people (they don't need permission in
our building to call long distance -- and that trust has never
been misused by them!), special ed personnel who desperately need
phones think they are in heaven and work that much harder, the
people in the building function in an efficient manner, we like
belonging to the twentieth century! There are no disadvantages!
We do block 1 line so parents always have one line in but we've
found our lines are not taxed and we haven't had any parent
complaints about accessing us. Our computers communicate via an
ethernet LAN with a ethernet modem to a dedicated line but I'm
hoping to connect the LAN to a 56kb line when we can afford the
move.
Last note, we don't forward student calls at all. They must come
to the office for a message - this discourages any student usage
and possible abuse. We implemented this from our first day and
haven't had any student problems.
Good luck on getting phones, your schools will become more
productive and teachers will have better morale!
Steve Wright
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 20:58:49 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Patsy Lanclos (SBISD)" <planclos@tenet.edu>
Subject: Phone lines
Spring Branch ISD in Houston is undertaking the retrofitting of
all classrooms with a quad plug which will allow for a voice
line, 2 data lines and a blank. This means that each teacher will
have access to voice, voicemail, and a LAN connection. Each
school will then be connected via a T1 line to the administration
building for e-mail and access to TENET. We deem this
communication link vital for the 21st century student and
teacher.
Patsy
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
! Patsy Lanclos ! (voice) 713-462-7294 x3004 !
! Coordinator, Instructional Technology ! (fax) 713-460-8041 !
! Spring Branch ISD ! (email) planclos@tenet.edu !
! 3030 Rosefield ! !
! Houston, TX 77080 ! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 1994 13:11:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Taylors Elem. School account" <taylors1@cecasun.utc.edu>
Subject: Re: Telephones in Classrooms?
Larry:
I am a principal of a small, rural elementary school in southeast
Tennessee. When I went to the school 5 years ago, there was no
type of intercom system. In looking at needs and solutions, I
decided to install a key electronic telephone system that would
also serve as an intercom system. I have a telephone in every
classroom; we have three telephone lines coming into the school.
The system is coded so that a ring is heard only in the offices
of my secretary and myself, although I can code it to ring over
speakers or any other phone that I want it to (when I'm working
in the building by myself in the summer, I code the ring over
speakers so I can hear and answer from anywhere in any of my
buildings). One line is accessible by teachers from their
classrooms (they have to use a code number in order to access an
outside line); they can communicate with any other teacher or the
office (privately or through the "speaker phone"). We can
transfer a call to the teacher if we deem it important without
calling the teacher out of her room to answer it. I can make
announcements from any location (office or any room) to one room
or all at the same time. We have background music available in
the classrooms. The phones have a talkback feature so we can ask
a question and the teacher can answer from her desk (or anywhere
in the room) without going to pick up the handset, although if it
requires private communication, she can pick up the handset and
it becomes a "telephone conversation".
Some principals in my system advised me to not put a telephone in
every teacher's room--they said that they would stay on it all
the time. My response was that teachers were professionals and
would not have time to constantly stay on the phone, and, that if
I had someone to abuse it, I would handle it on an individual
basis. It has worked our super for us; I would not change it.
However, in trying to set up communications for modem access, I
am now being told that this system will not allow dialup access
from each room--I guess because it is a key electronic system on
top of a county-wide essx system. That is where I am now,
trying to get information about the best (most economical?)
configuration to allow teachers dial-up access from rooms. I can
do that from my office; however, I had to bring one of the lines
into my office from in front of my key telephone system. In a
meeting with telephone people last week, they said for now that
my best option would be to bring in additional telephone lines
with a modem for each line with possibly some type of
communication server.
I hope that gives you some information that you were looking for.
A telephone system to me made (and makes) good sense to me to
replace the traditional intercom system - it does what the
intercom does and so much more. If you get information about how
an electronic key system can also be used to offer modem access
to outside lines, would you pass the knowledge on to me?
Ken Phillips
Principal, Taylor Elementary School
Cleveland, Tennessee, U.S.A.
taylor1@cecasun.utc.edu
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 94 13:59:52 CDT
From PITLER@TWSUVM.UC.TWSU.EDU Mon Jul 4 13:59:37 1994
Subject: telephones
Larry,
We have had telephones in every classroom for the past two
years. Though we have a huge amount of technology in every room,
the one thing the teachers would keep if they could only keep one
thing is the telephone. Not only is the phone a great tool for
preventing discipline problems (Dad is at the other end of the
phone) it is a fantastic research tool. Even without a computer
and modem, students and call local business and education
institutions and get expert answers right away. By adding modems
to all rooms, we have the entire world in our rooms. Our kids are
in regular communications with schools throughout the world. Just
one example. We were growing Monarch butterflies in a habitat
last year. We were having difficulty in getting the butterflies
to mate. (We tried soft music and everything) We contacted the
entomology department at Kansas University and held daily
conversations with the head of the department. Our program was a
success.
We are by no means experts in telecommunications, but we are
on the path. Others on the net are saying that there are better
ways to communicate. I know they are right, but for cost
effectiveness, the phone is my answer.
Finally, how many other professionals do not have access to a
phone in their office? Why do doctors need a phone. Can't they
send a message to their secretary on a piece of paper, wait for
the nurse to call and get the requested information, and write
them a note back? I presented this argument to our parent
organization and asked them to fund the phone purchase. That's
how we got our phones.
Good luck in your research. Have you contacted Dr. Alan
November? He has some great positions on phones in the classroom.
He is on applelink, but I'm not sure of his address.
Howard Pitler, Principal (316) 833-3075
L'Ouverture Computer Technology Magnet fax (316) 833-3076
Wichita, Kansas Pitler@twsuvm.bitnet
From: Linda Sue York <lsyork@tenet.edu>
Subject: phone lines
Since administrators seem to be slow to accept the idea of phone
lines in the classroom, it might be well to have them in central
places such as the library and computer lab in the 1st stage and
then branch out later. These are places in the school that all
classes visit and could have some access there. Safety and
discipline management are also reasons teachers need phone
access. I just got a dedicated line in the library but the
computer specialist has not been able to get the modem to work.
So, we are stuck for the moment. We are going on Dynix
circulation and on an computerized card catalog. We had hoped to
get tenet at school as well as Startext but we have a ways to go.
A lot of administrators fear teachers will waste time if allowed
access to a phone and therefore, restrict access. I guess the
thing to do is emphasis how much kids can learn by using the
technology to learn.
Date: 07 Jul 1994 09:14:19 -0500
From: BRYCE C BALES <BBales@utsystem.edu>
Subject: Request Posting (fwd) -Reply
I am President of Hays Consolidated located directly S. of
Austin, 5,000 students. We have been moving in this direction.
Our major issues in this area are:
1. E-Mail does not necessarily enhance communications. Many
folks use it to chat. Some folks would prefer an unlisted E-Mail
address for this reason.
2. Our district has seven telephone exchanges. We spend $80,000
annually on telephone charges which is higher than almost every
district of our size. We are petitioning the PUC to remedy the
problem by allowing metro lines. This would remove a big
obstacle.
3. Many professional staff members do not know how to use
computers now. We are spending tremendous amounts of money on
technology but the jury is still out from my perspective. We
must move computers to classrooms instead of computer labs and
remove this crutch. We also must spend much more time training.
In house courses would be the most cost effective. I have seen
the interactive training centers at some districts. These are
impressive and probably a good investment.
4. Most educators fail to realize the investment and maintenance
required to service a network. When we approve capital
acquisitions for technology, this is but a portion of the
ultimate costs to be realized. Many older classrooms are not
wired for phone lines or electrical needs. Indeed, to retrofit
every classroom would entail increasing the service to the campus
and significant rewiring. Then, we need the software and the
furniture! In the long run, purchasing programs for a network
would be easier to support and offset some of these costs.
5. I suspect most districts have made no study to be sure this
linking will be realized. With site based management, we run the
risks of purchasing incompatible systems. Administrators may be
reluctant to disclose to the Board this error; therefore they
resist networking ideas.
6. We are taking a cautious approach. We will link each campus
to an administrative network. This will be tested and protocols
established before we move further. Then, we will link our
secondary schools, then elementary. The public must also be sold
on the benefits. There are some concerns the students would not
benefit from an administrative network. It will not happen
overnight. Just purchasing a network card for a computer is
$100+. Then we have to consider the adequacy of the hardware,
purchase network servers, support needs, retrofit buildings, etc.
Once a pencil is put to it, its frightening! The answer is a
systematic implementation plan over a period of time.
7. I agree, we are hampered by administrators and boards who do
not understand technology. However, the "torch bearers" must
assume more responsibility to sell the others on the benefits.
For further inquiries on our technology plans, please contact Dr.
John Hardwick at 512-268-2141, Tenet JMH2@tenet.edu.
Regards,
Bryce Bales
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 1994 21:26:01 -0500 (CDT)
From: Robert Lester Marshall <marsh@tenet.edu>
Subject: Telephones
I am the High School Principal at Garrison High School and we
have installed tenet access phone lines in every classroom in the
3rd through the 12th grade at very little cost to the district.
First we applied for the distance learning allowance from our
phone company and then we split one line into four o five
classrooms at the costs of 18 dollars per month per line. The
teachers must coordinate their tenet time but each one has their
full daily allotment of 45 minutes on the 800 line. In
addition, this has given our teachers who want to stay late the
opportunity to explore the extra value resources such as ERIC
data base and lesson plans which take a significant amount of
time not available during the school day. Please feel free to
contact me at marsh@tenet or call 409 347 2271.
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 09:55:10 -0400
From: Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman@itc.org>
Subject: Phone lines in classrooms
I've had a phone line in my classroom and it's just not that
great.
What you really want is an Internet connection in your classroom.
If you think dialing up TENET is great you've never used a real
Internet connection. You don't want phones.
Jay Pfaffman @itc.org
802-453-3344 802-453-3530 (Fax)
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 1994 21:26:51 -0500 (CDT)
From: John Carlton <jcarlton@tenet.edu>
Subject: Re: Telephone Use in Classrooms?
I don't have a negative comment about the use of phones in the
classroom; in fact I think it is a GOOD idea and so does every
other member of our school board and administration and, I think,
most of the community and tax base. However, we don't have
phones in every classroom and probably won't for a few more
years. The reason has nothing to do with the desire of the
administration..........simply a cost issue.
In our area a phone line is $50 per month. We have over 900
classrooms in our district and even if you shared a line per room
that's over $20,000 per month plus any long distance. Obviously
NOT the way to go. Therefore we are looking at installing LAN's
in each campus and connecting computers to the outside world that
way. Our first effort at bidding the project came up with
estimates of $1.2 million. That kind of money doesn't just lay
around in the budget these days.
We are working toward that goal however. (networking each campus)
and will hopefully be there in the three to five year time frame.
I would hope your writer would understand that POSSIBLY their
school district is in the same position. Not against voice and
data communications just trying to find away to juggle the
available dollars.
I ask some of our teachers if they would be willing to give up a
pay raise to get "this or that" which they ask me about and they
all say of course not. And they shouldn't have to, I certainly
don't advocate that but most of them ultimately come to
understand that in this day there is just so much money and
School Boards have to make the tough choices of what not to fund.
In my nine years on the board I have never cut anything out of
the budget that was not a good idea or very much needed. It's
just that something had to go cause there was only so much money.
John Carlton
School Board
Pflugerville, Tx.
Date: Thu, 08 Sep 1994 09:04:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: WILSONBR@CWU.EDU
Subject: Using the telephone in the classroom
We have just completed a major remodel of our
instructional building and created a wonderful high
tech facility. We have telephones, and computers at
every teaching station. Some of the experiences I
have had include:
1. During a recent workshop I taught on using
technology in the classroom we used a speaker phone to
discuss technology issues with experts throughout the
country. When we had a need for more information
beyond our classroom resources we just made a phone
call and had discussion. It was an outstanding
experience.
2. Also, we use our speaker phone with e-mail. I
projected communication received via e-mail on a
screen and we discussed the communication over the
telephone as well.
I plan to use the telephone and computer as regular
tools in my classes this fall. I see this as an
exciting dimension to make the community, the state,
the nation and the world part of my classrooms. When
I have a need, my students and I will make a phone
call to get an answer.
If you would like to discuss this issue in more
detail, please get back with me.
Dr. Blaine R. Wilson
Professor
The Department of Business Education and
Administrative Management
Central Washington University
Ellensburg, WA 98926
E-mail wilsonbr@cwu.edu
Voice 509-963-367
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 17:14:13 -0500 (CDT)
From: Gary Lynn Bowers <gbowers@tenet.edu>
Subject: Telephone in Classroom
I have prepared a presentation on Telecommunications that offers
reasons for having a telephone in the classroom. This
presentation is being made to school districts within Region 10.
We will be doing this presentation through March of 1995. Please
let me know of the examples you receive from your posting on
Edtech or other listservs so I can do updating. If I can be of
help to you please give me a call. Some of the things we discuss
are the fact that Visually Impaired students must learn to use
the telephone to get information; the telephone line can also be
used to send and receive faxes, (Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
faxes answers to questions from middle school students in
Lawrence, California; and a computer with a modem can be
connected to the telephone line for telecomputing.
Gary Bowers, Instructional Television Consultant, Region 10 ESC
gbowers@tenet.edu
(214) 231-6301 ext. 382
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 15:01:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leeanne Needham <uwnet73@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Phones in the classroom
Our school district installed phones in each classroom last year.
Each staff member had voice mail. What a difference the phone
made! We were much more productive as educators. The most
beneficial part was the improvement of teacher/parent
communication. Phones were used for discipline as well.
Students in my class were given the opportunity to call home to
discuss behavior matters with their parents. :)
Leeanne Needham
Technology Specialist
Issaquah School District
Issaquah, Washington, USA
uwnet73@u.washington.edu
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 17:24:18 +0000
From: Debroah Brodowski <dbrodow@magellan.iquest.com>
Subject: Re: Telephone Usage in the Classroom?
Larry, I am the principal of al elem. school in Huntsville, AL.
Last year I asked our supt. if there was any reason I couldn't
install phones in classrooms if I found the $$. He said to go
ahead. So..over the summer I had 4 phone lines installed with
extensions to serve 7 classrooms & our computer lab. The
installation cost was around $1200 & I am committed to the $80 @
month phone co. charge. The only obstacle was, of course, coming
up with the $$. I decided to commit every $ available to this
project this year. We are using this year to generate parent
support and so far it's all been positive. Teachers are using
the phones to do local research, starting with proper telephone
etiquette & local elected officials, contacting parents (students
& teachers), internet research & email, and an AT&T
telecommunications project. We now have a business partner
working with us to expand on the existing phone lines to provide
service into every classroom (38). My only concern at the
beginning (except for $$) was the potential for too many personal
calls going directly to the teachers. We have a faculty
committee writing guidelines for phone use & are scheduling
future connections based on teacher requests relating to
instruction. I can't see why not have phones if the $$ can be
found. It's been a great motivator for other teachers to get
into technology use. I'm very interested in the collection &
results of your research. Please share & it might help us
generate financial support.
Thanks, Debbie Brodowski
Date: Thu, 08 Sep 1994 20:26:55 -0500 (CDT)
From: William Schoenenberger <WS1971S@ACAD.DRAKE.EDU>
Subject: Telephones in classroom
Larry,
I could not indorse an idea more strongly than putting telephones
in the classroom.
We started in 1985. The issue then was that a public announcement
system had died and needed to be replaced. We compared the cost
of replacing the PA console and putting in a telephone key
system. It was not that great. We were able to replace the PA
system and put telephones in all classrooms. We still put
speakers in the rooms but they were not two way, if you wanted to
talk to a teacher, you called on the phone. The principal could
make announcement to all or part of a building from any phone by
keying in a code. All calls to the buildings come to a main
phone and have to be transferred to the room. A teacher is able
to pick up the phone and get an inside or outside line. The
switch is programmed to prevent long distance calls without a
code.
We did a follow-up study of a middle and elementary school after
one year of use. We found a dramatic increase in calls home to
parents. The biggest change was the number of positive calls was
greater than the negative calls, a reversal from "before the
phones". Discipline was also improved. Teachers no longer had
to find a free phone to call parents. It could be done from
class when something happened. Teachers also started to use the
phones as a part of lessons; doing research by calling local
vendors, phone manner, etc.
The advent of computers made it plain that networking and modem
capability were needed. We started to pull extra pairs of wires
to accommodate future networks - contrary to popular trends we are
still putting in level 3 wire.
The goal is to have all schools -60 buildings - wired and
telephones in every classroom by Dec 1995. We may be a little
late but we are doing about 8 schools a year - 6 elementary and 2
middle. The five high schools are last.
Feel free to give me a call.
William Schoenenberger
515.242.7915
William J. Schoenenberger
Supervisor, Technology
Des Moines Independent Community Schools
Des Moines, IA
515.242.7915
bschoens@po-1.star.k12.ia.us
ws1971s@acad.drake.edu
Date: Fri, 09 Sep 1994 11:08:56 +0000
From: John Eye <palsejg@VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU>
Subject: Telephones - pros/cons
We put telephones in each classroom in our small elementary last
year. It's been well worth the expense. The teachers are able
to better communicate within AND between our buildings in
addition to being able to call out and take care of various tasks
right from the classroom. When students get sick they can call
home right from the classroom. The phones also help with
classroom management/discipline. I observed a teacher walk a
disruptive student right up to the phone to call home and explain
the situation and discuss a solution. As a media
generalist/computer coordinator that covers 3 buildings, I appreciate
the teachers ability to get a hold of me right from the classroom
when they have problems rather than them getting frustrated and
leaving a note in my mailbox. I could go on about the positives.
However, we have had a couple teachers who seem to get an awful
lot of personal calls. Our superintendent addressed it at our
first workshop and it hasn't been a problem so far.
So, I feel the positives greatly outweigh the negatives. I think
phones are more important than computers in the classroom!
Hope this testimony helps.
John Eye, N0HWD
palsejg@vax1.mankato.msus.edu
Media Generalist/Computer Coordinator Work: 507-945-8123
SV-RL-B Schools Home: 507-376-3848
Round Lake, Minnesota 56167 Fax : 507-945-8124
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 1994 21:47:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tory Klementsen <tory@eskimo.com>
Subject: Re: Telephone Use in Classrooms?
Larry
We will all get phones in our classrooms this year. Teachers are
professionals and deserve to be treated as such.
Because I am in vocational education I already have a phone in my
classroom. I love it. I can make parent phone calls without
waiting in line in the faculty lounge; parents can call me
directly. Although I discourage it, when kids do need to call
parents they can use my phone thus keeping them in the classroom
and out of trouble. I can reach the office by phone if the
intercom is busy.
In addition I can use the modem when I need to. I'll probably be
getting a dedicated line this year, though, for internet access.
The main drawback I have found is the very rare occasion when a
salesperson calls me and for some reason it gets forwarded to me
during class time. I have very well behaved classes, though, so
usually they can just carry on while I attend to the phone.
|~
/^\ Tory Klementsen
|~ /_O_\ Disney on the IRC
________/---\________|___|________
/__^__^__|_^_|_^_^_^__|_^_|__^__^__\ tory@eskimo.com
|___|____|_n_|_n_[]_n_|_n_|____|___|
==================================== A dream is a wish
\ ()_() / your heart makes...
\ (_) /
\ /
===================================
Date: Fri, 09 Sep 1994 14:30:57 -0700 (MST)
From: Terry Welch <twelch@K12.az.us>
Subject: Phones in classroom
We are working on getting phones in our classrooms at Mary L
Welty Elementary School in Nogales, AZ. We have been doing it
rather piecemeal. What happens is a teacher will become
proficient in telecommunications and present a convincing
presentation to the administration for the installation of a
phone.
In some classrooms a teacher immediately modifies behavior by
picking up the phone at the point of disruptive behavior and
calling the principal or the home. Hope this helps.
Terry Welch
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 1994 15:14:34 +0930
From: Nexus User fjames <fjames@nexus.edu.au>
Subject: Telephone Lines Into Classrooms?
I read on the K12Admin list about TCET and promoting the
provision of classroom phone lines (for voice communications and
telecommunications).
I learned early that telephones and computers will operate on
very long extension lines that can be bought almost anywhere
(e.g. my nearest is a Tandy store) or built by handymen, so it's
easy to 'mock-up' a demonstration beforehand, and to re-arrange
rooms or re-schedule classes later, and the 'phone connection
need not be a status symbol, or an anchor or a security headache.
Then the task becomes to get people asking the right questions,
rather than giving them the right answers.
The benefits I've seen are essentially those of using computers
interactively, allowing that information online is abundant and
offers very wide choice beyond, for instance, Television viewing
or arcade-type game experiences. It can be chosen to be
especially immediate, real and exciting. Typical benefits occur
in the fields of groupwork and willingness to display impediments
to attainment and special needs.
Other outcomes that one might seek include learning to cope with
abundance, especially of information; and learning how to avoid
the temptation to talk poor (not enough ....) while looking rich
(too many ... )
There is a remediation role in identification and diagnosis,
especially where one can use the computer's facility for
measuring, recording and presenting such parameters as speed and
accuracy. The online provides the motivation when choice tends
towards the esoteric.
Students might learn to better relate what's done at home to
what's done at school; they might become better motivated
especially as they communicate articulately about effectively
catalyzing change and experiencing that effect.
Most problems are 'people' problems, at every level, and for many
people, experiences of telephones in the home were about
arguments, not about educational benefit. I not infrequently use
my 'virtual telephone' (a computer disk in my pocket) to bring
resources I got online to the offline situation when I really
don't feel like being asked "If you're using the telephone and
you're not talking, what ARE you doing?" or "When will the
computer finish talking?" Members of a school board, hearing the
word 'telephone' and thinking 'teenager' might well remember
something unedifying and uneducational.
Like fortune, abundant online information favours the
well-prepared. What supports a teacher doing lesson preparation,
might support students doing homework, and more and more homes
have PCs, now. This might promote better role-modelling from
dedicated teachers to less motivated students. In the online
services supported learning environment, one might be able to
achieve more with less experienced teachers, or with less
motivated students.
My first job when I left school in 1961, was with what became
Australia's Telecom, and there I met computers but I didn't like
their 'packaged' world - telephones and 'phone people were nicer,
and anyway I soon learned that what I really wanted to do was
teach. After I had a stroke in 1976, I learned to value whatever
would help me to do what I wanted to do. Another 'bleed' in 1979
took me out of the full-time classroom, and by that time, micros
were attractive and the PC was on the way. Computers are helpful
to me personally, microcomputers especially so, and a computer
that's not yet connected to the world telephone network is only
achieving part of its potential. I'm presently rehabilitating
after another 'bleed' back in 1992 and using online computers to
help me get there.
Educators who contemplate acting on my suggestion of providing
(trial) access to online interactive telecommunications
experiences in the classroom by using extension power and
telephone cables should be aware that this is a powerful move
that can be expected to be seen as such and 'trials' should be
carefully planned. Solutions are likely to be needed to people
problems rather than to electrical or computer problems. Based on
experience, I would suggest the following are essential:
1). enlist the aid and support of the school administration,
especially to the proposition that the questions that you propose
(having the school board ask) are 'the right questions'
2). rehearse students in all 'hands on' activities in advance so
that the teacher remains free to act as mentor as this complex
situation develops
3). the students involved must 'own' the success of the activity:
they might have to cope when the login fails, or the connection
is lost or a cable parts or a plug comes out,
4). consider involving students who are children of observers
(board members?) or their friends; non-teachers may well feel
unable or unwilling to evaluate learning experiences by watching
somebody else's kids, but will know what they're seeing in those
they know well, and might be prepared to share that. Consider who
gets left out, too!
5). This sort of thing is moving with shocking speed DOWN the
age-level curriculum. The excellent KIDLINK listserv is for
students no older than FIFTEEN years! It is also for language
teaching. Consider who may be advantaged by such developments.
(It might not seen welcome!)
6). There must be things to consider and people to negotiate with
first! What have I forgotten? What further questions should be
answered before we go on? What questions will we want this
exercise to answer? How will this affect somebody else's project
that hasn't been announced yet? What about block scheduling? What
about ...
Regards,
Frank JAMES
29 Cudmore St.,
Somerton Park,
South Australia 5044
Home phone (61+8) 294 4102
Work SHCS (61+8) 294 2988
email fjames@nexus.edu.au
Sacred Heart College Senior School,
195-239 Brighton Road,
Somerton Park, South Australia 5044
SHCS Telephone (61+8) 294 2988
SHCS Facsimile (61+8) 295 8461
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 1994 07:23:15 -0500 (CDT)
From: Katherine Harrington <khar@tenet.edu>
Subject: Telephone lines in classrooms
Dear Larry,
I happen to be one of the LUCKY ones--I do have a phone line in
my classroom. I don't have an actual telephone, so I don't have
to worry about it ringing and interrupting my classes. I do have
a modem connected to my computer, so I have access to TENET any
time I choose. I am, like K. Shiver, an avid TENET user. I do
have the opportunity to share it with my students. I use my 45
allotted minutes (I'm an 800 number user) to send and receive
email (both for my students and myself), do research for
students, keep my administrators abreast of new developments in
which they have expressed an interest, keep a lookout for
projects of interest to me as well as other teachers in my
district, and to let my students participate in online projects.
My principal was instrumental in acquiring the phone line.
Actually, the district installed a satellite for TIE-IN use and
needed the phone line for that. I don't really know why, but
another line was installed into the library with extension in my
science lab and in the IBM computer lab as well. Considering we
only serve approximately 120 students (K-12) I think that we are
extremely blessed with this many lines. Of course, if all the
classrooms had separate lines or shared a few more lines, it
would be even better. In the administrative offices there are at
least two more lines. My principal was a TENET user and as such
understood the advantages of the classroom teacher having access
to TENET as well. I firmly believe if administrators are
introduced to TENET and see the advantages it offers they will
become very supportive of installing the phone lines necessary.
I have yet to work out the best way to use TENET in my
classroom--mostly because of the restrictive 45 minute time
limit. However, the access to information has made it possible
for me to raise the curiosity level of students. That in turn
will increase their desire to learn more and that I believe is
the key for me becoming a better teacher and facilitator of
learning. I have more than 20 years of classroom teaching
experience and never before have I had access to such an
unbelievable quantity of quality information.
I don't understand how a school district could be committed to
educating students in the most effective way and deny both
students and teachers access to new methods in achieving these
goals. Surely, if computer literacy is a goal for all students
to achieve and master on the TAAS, access to telecommunications
is a major part of that endeavor. By denying our students this
type of knowledge will certainly put them at a disadvantage in
today's world--we need to teach the technology, not about the
technology.
Enough of my ramblings, I could go on at length proclaiming the
praises of telecommunications. Needless to say, phone lines,
modems, and computers and knowledge of TENET should be as
important to teachers and students as any other traditional
school materials.
Sincerely,
Katherine Harrington
======================================================
O O Katherine Harrington <khar@tenet.edu> O O
| Comstock High School Science Dept. |
\_/ Box 905 Comstock, TX 78837 ph:(915)292-4444 \_/
======================================================
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 1994 18:47:34 -0700
From: mnelson@ednet1.osl.or.gov (Mary L. Nelson)
Subject: phones in classrooms
I am principal of a K-2 school. Several years before I came
telephones were installed in each work space--the school had no
intercom system. Long distance capability is limited to a few
work spaces. So there is no worry about "unauthorized access"
during the time community groups use the facilities.
I am attempting, at a financial snail's pace, to equip each room
with the technology hardware to access internet. In the meantime
we have one "publishing center" space (a closet) that has access
to internet and I am teaching classroom teachers what is
available.
The phones are wonderful for teachers to have access to parents,
at the moment. I wouldn't trade the phones for an intercom
system.
LM_NET
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