November 2001 — Applications
Print this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Electronic Gradebook Products Change the Way Teachers Do Business in the Classroom
A Worthy Investment
Mountain View's teachers found that the Pinnacle Notification Systems freed them from time-consuming phone calls to parents about their children. Teachers at the school are not alone in contending with large class sizes and parents who want a phone call the minute their child's grades start to slip. Pinnacle streamlined the process of charting student progress, reducing time spent on figuring grades, posting grades, tracking eligibility and calling parents. Parent-teacher conferences became more productive as the parents' daily level of knowledge about their child rose. 'Pinnacle Gradebook provides a basis for teachers to talk about how they grade and what they value,' says Denning.
Mountain View also gives almost full viewing rights in the Principal Viewer module to every teacher. Athletic coaches and student advisors can also use Principal Viewer to check on students' sports eligibility and academic progress. Students, instructors and administrators find Pinnacle's environment of open information and personal accountability empowering.
In addition, Mountain View keeps students' information private with unique ID numbers and passwords. Pinnacle Palm, a module that allows for system access using a handheld device, enables all school personnel to enhance security in the hallways. Instead of having to use walkie-talkies or desktop computers, teachers and security staff can instantly look up any student anywhere, at anytime, to determine who they are and where they're supposed to be.
The Pinnacle System operates on the school's multiple computer platforms, including Windows, Windows NT and Macintosh, surmounting compatibility issues. It uses an SQL-based, open-architecture system requiring minimal user training. Pinnacle Gradebook also interfaces well with SASI, which is in use in the Thompson district. Implementation wasn't perfect, but things smoothed out quickly, according to Denning. 'It d'es take some configuring and some support. But after that initial month and getting everyone trained, we only got stronger,' she says. Denning believes the system's benefits were well worth the investment in technology. 'We spent close to $1.8 million on technology, including infrastructure, computers, software titles, printers, scanners, digital camcorders and digital cameras,' she says.
Post-Secondary School Benefits
Florida's Broward County Public Schools have just completed a one-year pilot program where teachers field-tested Pinnacle Tech, a post-secondary version of the Pinnacle System. After using the new Pinnacle Tech assessment and management system in McFatter Technical Center and two other post-secondary schools, Broward County is rolling it out districtwide.
Until now, the need for highly individualized records maintenance has kept post-secondary schools from using the standard electronic gradebooks designed for the elementary and secondary school markets. Students at community colleges, technical schools and other certificate programs can enroll at any time of the year and finish on their own schedule. Certificate programs require students to meet state performance or proficiency-based requirements by demonstrating mas-tery of multiple skill levels.
