Productive Administrative Applications of Computers in Schools and Programs for Deaf Students

Special Issue ProductiveAdministrative Applications of Computers in Schools and Programs for Deaf Students E. William Clymer and Rhonda Parrish omputer technology often provides better ways of performing traditional tasks. Most administrators in schools and programs for deaf and hard of hearing students have recognized for some time that they must draw on computer technology to manage accurately and efficiently all the reports, forms, and other documents they must generate today. Schools have integrated computer systems into their operations to collect, analyze, and report such information as attendance, report cards, and Individualized Educational Plans (IEP's). Out of necessity, school administrators and staff have utilized computer technology to improve the organizational productivity of their schools. Teachers also are called on to perform administrative tasks and related duties associated with their students, such as record keeping, preparing instructional materials, and using E-Mail to communicate with others on and off campus. However, in comparison with administrators and organizational productivity , there has been less opportunity for classroom teachers working with deaf students to improve their (teachers') personal productivity by using computer technology. We shall continue our discussion of personal productivity later in the presentation , but first let's focus on organizational productivity. Organizational Productivity and Computers Administrators play a most important role in implementing a computerized information system in the school. If secretaries, teaching staff, technicians, and other support staff are not acutely aware of the administrators' support for a computerized system, implementation surely will fail. Prying the card files with students' names, addresses, and schedules from the clutches of a 20-year veteran secretary may not be an easy task. However , when the administrator for whom the secretary works requests a specific computer-generated report, there is an incentive for the secretary to use the program. Administrators need to demonstrate their confidence in a new computer American Annals of the Deaf system during the difficult transition stages through their actions as well as their words. Administrators' patience with delays, which are bound to occur as a result of implementing a new program , will demonstrate their support for staff efforts. In addition to this kind of leadership on the part of the administration, there must also be staff leadership, i.e., one person in the school who is responsible for assuring that the system runs properly and who provides support for the system's users. This person needs training, usually from the developers and/or vendors of the system(s) selected by the school, and time to learn and work with the system. It may be useful at this point to turn to a specific system designed around requirements for organizational productivity , the Macschool Student Information System (Macschool),1 and to the experiences of a specific school, the Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) in Rochester, NY, in installing and using this system. An Organizational Application We began with a need for an efficient way of providing more complete information on students' report cards. Secretaries throughout the school were given the responsibility for the day-today running of the system, entering data, and creating and running reports, using a number of work stations. Fortunately, the school already had an extensive Appletalk network, so numerous offices had access to the same database of student information, and the potential for as many work stations . The school was fortunate also in having a staff member who was able to serve as the coordinator of computer services. Macschool was recommended for our purpose. On first examination, its software seemed to be more elaborate than deemed necessary to produce report cards, but we learned that Macschool was designed in modules, and we could confine our purchase to the modules needed to perform the report card function we wanted. And so, RSD began the transition to computerized school records. Staff Training A consultant was hired to conduct the training of administrators and secretaries in the spring. It was thought initially that three days would be sufficient. However, it soon became apparent that the inclusion of noncomputer-literate administrators in the details of operating the system was unwise and unnecessary. Although administrators needed to understand generally how the system works and to offer guidance on how the system is used...