July 2004 — SETDA
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Massachusetts: Virtual Education Space Provides Valuable Tools for Springfield Public Schools
Excitement and interest were in evidence during the October 1999 Massachusetts Department of Education's Virtual Education Space (VES) presentation about a set of services and interconnected online tools that were being designed for use by educators, students and parents to improve standards-based curriculum, instruction, assessment and student achievement. The two administrators from the Springfield Public Schools who had been invited to participate in the working group for this cutting-edge venture- Robert Hamel, assistant to the superintendent, and I - were extremely energized about the potential that this innovative concept was showcasing.
As the project grew and moved forward, Paula Moran, a Springfield Public Schools teacher assigned to the position of district technology integration specialist, joined the burgeoning group as a VES cluster leader and became Springfield's VES liaison, trainer, account manager and resident expert. After the official VES rollout, Springfield began to register and train representatives from its 48 schools. Before long, teachers from across the district were utilizing the VES calendar, virtual hard drive, discussion forums and instructional resources, including practice questions for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).
The district users began to recognize VES as a tool for communication, collaboration and curriculum/technology integration. The innovative world of VES targeted a distinct way to keep educators connected and "in-the-know," organized, efficient, and effective.
Keeping Educators Connected and 'In-the-Know'
Teachers and administrators in the Springfield Public Schools log in to VES to see just-in-time announcements regarding curriculum resources, conferences, training and other resources, which can be posted by the Massachusetts Department of Education, special interest groups, individual schools and the district. Each user is able to categorize and select which announcements need to be viewed and acted upon. Discussion forums provide the opportunity for busy administrators and teachers to engage in asynchronous discussions whenever time is available. Having the capability to engage in threaded discussions anytime and anywhere offers users a distinctively timely and robust mode of communication.
The calendar function of VES is another tool that has proven useful to Springfield educators. For example, one instructional technology specialist uses the calendar to schedule embedded professional development with her colleagues. She allows teachers in the building to access her calendar and, from their classrooms or their homes, they schedule time with her. This makes the embedded professional development scheduling process much more efficient, allowing the teachers more time for instructional use. In addition, the calendar is used to post classroom assignments and events, as well as allows parents to view the calendar through a related URL.
Keeping Educators Organized, Efficient
The Virtual Hard Drive (VHD) is one of the first dynamic VES tools introduced to educators. Teachers and administrators in Springfield use this virtual tool to store and access files from wherever they have access to the Internet.
