It's Computer Systems To The Rescue (sort Of)
The Age
Monday October 17, 1994
It can be a boon for administrators but, as Colin Trestrail warns, technology must not take over.
WITH modern copying machines, up-to-date, attractive materials can be prepared for students without hours of writing or drawing on to ink or spirit stencils.
Memos between staff members are easily duplicated from one desk.
Minutes of decision-making groups can be quickly prepared and distributed.
The overhead projector, too, has made a great contribution to the ease of disseminating information. The process is also much cleaner than chalk.
At the same time as they are excellent tools for classroom teacher and administrator alike, such technology is also changing the activities of administrators and their clerical support staff - and not always for the better.
New technology is a notorious consumer of resources with constant requests for replacement of out-of-date hardware and software and the expense on paper, ink, overheads supplies and so on. For some areas, these costs represent as much as 50 per cent of total outlays.
These jobs typically fall to administators or to the clerical staff who would otherwise be engaged on administrators' tasks. One way or another, the administrator has become more involved in office management tasks with a consequent loss of time for educational leadership.
There are other significant likely drawbacks from the use of these two tools. For one week in 1991, the activities of a class of year 8 students were observed by a school's deputy principal. During the five days, the class attended 24 periods of ``core" subjects (English, mathematics, science and social studies).
Of these lessons, 17 consisted of variations of this sequence: exposition of the topic, reference to the text, completion of photocopied worksheet. These students were being tyrannised by the products of an otherwise excellent tool.
In high schools in particular there is continuing pressure on administrators to provide the technology to various subject departments who see themselves falling behind other areas. This ``keeping up with the Joneses" element is relatively new but fast- growing.
Computers in administrative use have proved to be an effective tool, lightening burdens in many areas.
With the compilation of a comprehensive data base, dealing with requests from the department for data often takes less than half-an- hour compared to the many hours it used to take.
The major advantage for schools has been a significant reduction in teacher stress around reporting time.
Perhaps the most spectacular success of the introduction of new computer technology has been the keeping of student attendance records.
One clerical assistant is now more or less tied to attendance management each day.
Newsletters to parents used to consist of a page or two of typing that was ink duplicated and sent home with the student. Now many variations are possible from word-processing software.
On the other hand, there is a potential dark side that must be considered. How is it that many deputy principals and a significant number of principals are seen in their schools as little more than servants of the great tyrants - computer, fax, telephone and calculator? The first pitfall that leads to the capture of administrators is that they try to do it all themselves. The secret lies in the provision of training for clerical staff.
Another way in which schools and administrators can be tyrannised is by giving in to increasing demands generated by the electronic storage of data.
Because student data is stored electronically and is kept up-to-date by office staff, it is common for staff members to constantly ask for new class lists or timetables. In the same way, students are not as careful with their timetables because they believe that new ones can be easily generated.
A final example of the risk of the administrator ``drowning in data" is that caused by them attempting to do all the financial decision- making.
In schools in which committees make decisions about budgets and spending, the principal has been able to share the load.
Where this has not occurred, principals have lost valuable time that could be spent on educational matters.
Colin Trestrail, deputy principal of Craigie High School, Perth, spoke at the ACEA conference in Melbourne.
© 1994 The Age
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