Category: Technology

Education Software is Messy

ssegraves

K-12 student management software is messy, there is no other way to describe it. Options are limited and none of them stand out as being well written or well maintained. It is sad really. Very important data is passed over, underutilized, and ignored because of the inability of the software or the software company to see actual needs and respond to them.

What school districts need is software that is lightweight, is easy to understand, simple to maintain, and can be expanded upon if needed. Right now the software that is out there only mixes and matches a couple of those items, not all of them.

There are a lot of resources spent on software, hardware, and yearly fees, and it’s unnecessary when we really dig down and look at the requirements. School districts are simply small cities that have to manage themselves, why can’t software be built around that effectively?

The biggest issue standing in the way of progress when it comes to student/district management software is too many hands seeing cool or new things and wanting them. A lot of school districts are split up into different areas, just like a company, and each of these areas oversees different pieces of information. The problem arises when none of the areas coordinate their software buying and end up with multiple tools that in the end, could have been consolidated with one tool, had there been communication.

We as software developers need to look at this as a real problem and try to fix it. If we can make affordable software for school districts that works, we can help that school district find a more affective way to use the money they saved.

Technology and Education – The End Game

ssegraves

In the web and software development world there has been a saying that the “tools don’t make the developer”, meaning the tools I use to write software do not affect the outcome as much as my abilities as a programmer. Over the years we have seen more and more technology pushed into the classroom under the camouflage of making life easier for teachers and improving student’s learning. I would submit that we’ve actually done the opposite, we have created a monster that requires technology to do the simplest of tasks. Education needs to learn from the software world and understand that the tools don’t make the student.

There are basic skills that students need to have to succeed in middle school and high school and if they choose, college. A lot of the skills have to do with fundamentals, basic math, reading, and writing. With the fundamentals in place, it is not hard to expand and continue the learning process. The issue facing schools now is wanting to expose students to technology and “easier” ways of completing tasks leading to a drop in the student’s ability to do such tasks without the technology. A basic example of this is calculators in elementary school. Why is that needed? If students are not able to do basic math without the use of a calculator, they need to retake the class. Using the excuse that a student is, “just not good at math”, is a terrible way to go forward. If that particular student does not learn how to do long division now how are they ever going to master geometry or calculus?

This is not a bashing of technology, it is simply a wakeup call. When I learned to create webpages I was using the most basic of tools, Windows Notepad. I struggled with aspects of the code, but the tool never helped me and because of that, I would argue I am a better developer.

I’m hoping this topic, Technology and Education, will become a regular one on the site.

EveryBlock Houston

ssegraves

EveryBlock, a site that focuses on local data, has expanded to include Houston in their database. They do not have our neighborhood, the Heights, populated yet, but over time I am sure it will show up.

It is a great site with a great team behind it and allows users to look at their local communities from a granular level. Users can see crime statistics, restaurants, businesses, food inspections, and tons of other useful information.

Following in the Footsteps of Technology

ssegraves

Every week there seems to be a new social network or communication tool touted in the news and popular blogs. Most of them I explore for a day, then pass them by but I have been intrigued by Twitter and Tumblr.

I am still figuring out what purpose Twitter really serves but Tumblr is a great idea for a person like me, who randomly comes across links, videos, pictures, etc. all day long and wants to post them but not write a lot about them.

I setup a Tumblr account at flightpath.tumblr.com.

E-mail Addresses – Handing Them Out Like Candy

ssegraves

Standing in line at a well-known store, I witnessed something that made my jaw slightly drop and my ears perk up. The clerks who were finishing the transactions asked two questions, phone number and e-mail address. To my surprise multiple people answered both questions readily without asking why such information was needed. There was no need for the e-mail addresses or the phone numbers, simply marketing and advertising opportunities, yet these customers were willing to just hand out their information like flyers on a New York City street corner.

The lack of care as to why this information was being asked for is disturbing as it shows a growing lack of care for privacy and a misunderstanding of personal information. My e-mail address is a conduit for people who I know to reach me as well as services that I knowingly ask for, simply giving my address out to everyone is not in my best interest, no matter how much I love the store (without knowing their policies on e-mail). The one instance of when I give my e-mail address to a store is to receive a copy of my receipt so that I do not have a paper version floating around.

Giving out an e-mail address is one thing since a person can filter it and limit their amount of spam, however, lackadaisically telling someone your phone number is a completely different subject. Your cell phone and home phone are direct lines to you, there is no filtering besides caller ID. If you are using your cell phone as a central contact number then caller ID does not do much because you may receive calls from numbers you do not know. This is why caution when giving out personal information is so important, especially when you are not given full disclosure on how that information will be used.

To bring this little blurb full circle, the most interesting part of witnessing this exchange was the ages of the people involved. The three young ladies who gave their information out with no question were no older than 20 and none of them had any problem spelling out their e-mail address. No thought was given to spam or to marketing, just the impulsive, immediate spelling of the address. I’m not sure we will ever go back to people being protective of what is personal and private, I do not know if the concept of either is even understood anymore.