I find it hard being a substitute and having to work with technology in the classroom. Almost every time we have to use the computers or iPads in the classroom, there are a handful of students that don't remember their log-in and/or password information. It does not help also that teachers do not leave a list of the log-in names and passwords for me to use with the students. Often times those children that cannot remember, whipped off the information from their desktop, or lost the notebook that had the information in it, have to sit at their desks doing busy work and watch the other students work on the computers. This is not fun for those students and having one log-in/password would make everything easier all around.
The article Single Sign-on Solutions Helping K-12 Teachers by D. Frank Smith, explains how 25 percent of class time is wasted trying to get students logged into the accounts to start using the software provided. The idea is that once the teacher or the student has logged into one site on their computer, access is given to all the sites needed without having to log-in again to the sites. The students can move from one site to another and not have to log in again. Most of this single sign-on products work when you purchase web-based educational-software packages. There seems to be a trend with trying to make it work with multiple web-sites and log-ins through a single service online. For most of these products there is a fee but several are trying to offer them free to school districts. It is nice to see that Google for Education is also using the Instant Login through Chromebooks.
This idea really seems like it would work for keeping track of sign-in names and passwords and just having the ability to only need one. I plan on looking into how these services work once I have my own classroom!
Reference:
Smith, D. F. (2014, May 27). Single Sign-on Solutions
Helping K-12 Teachers. EDTECH - Focus on
K-12. [Online Article]. Retrieved from http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2014/05/single-sign-solutions-helping-k-12-teachers
This would be a great idea and a good time saver. Many programs that you purchase are friendly to student use. My class has Raz-kids that we use on a daily basis and the login has pictures and their name with no password. It works out very well for first grade.
ReplyDeleteI did use the everyday math online program this year and it was a lot more difficult for the login and passwords for the students. The makers and writers of the programs need to think about this issue and take it into consideration.
I completely understand your frustration. I am a clinical educator for a health care facility and staff had several applications they would need to log into on a daily basis and all with different password criteria. To top it off the, since the network is secured, the passwords had to change every 90 days! It was a nightmare! Last year all 3 of our hospital went to a single sign on method and oh my goodness what difference. Staff is happier and our Help Desk phone volume went way down.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this topic. I get frustrated just having to log in to several sources myself. Just when I start geting used to a password, one of my software applications will decide it's time for me to update my password. Also, each software applications usually has its own rules for what a password must contain. If I am getting frustrated with it, I can imagine student frustration, especially if they are having to do it several times a day.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you wholeheartedly Betsy. As a former substitute myself, I can empathize with your frustration. Many students forget their passwords on a daily basis and it really slows down a lesson to stop and retrieve their passwords, even if the teacher did provide them. I think this idea would be a great way to cut down on that wasted time. Now if only there was some kind of software that would tell the substitute where the kids saved their work instead of on the shared drive where they were instructed, we'd be in business! Good article.
ReplyDeleteBetsy,
ReplyDeleteI find your post very interesting. We use Chromebooks in our classes, but we have to share one cart for the whole school. It's not bad at the middle school level (for the most part) but I could see how that would be frustrating from an elementary standpoint. When we log in, we have multiple users using the same Chromebooks, and we haven't established a number system for the students when they grab them off the cart, they just take one.
I think for next year I'm going to make a list on my computer for the students, and in my sub tub I'll put the list (just in case!)
I wouldn't have even thought about this until reading your post - thanks!!
I understand just what you're talking about. We have one log-in and password and it helps because if one student is struggling--someone can help.
ReplyDeleteI teach first grade and we haven't ventured into anything that needs a separate log in. I think that if each had their own, we would spend our whole technology time logging in.
I couldn't agree more! It already takes time to escort your class to get to the media center/computer lab to begin an activity. You can tack on another 5-10 minutes for all of the students to remember, find, or enter in their log-ins. It takes just as long for them to log into their Google Drives. Great post!
ReplyDeleteWe use Chromebooks at our school as well. They have computer logins, so once the students log into the computer, they no longer have to log into their e-mail. However, they still have to log into their IXL, RAZ kids, typing, and EDM accounts. Our solution was that we used their student IDs for all their passwords. It is 10 digits long, but even my third graders had it memorized within the first week. Another benefit is that they know their student ID forever after that =).
ReplyDeleteAs a back up though, we keep all their user names and passwords in the front cover of their planners, which they have at all times. As they gain access to a new account, we give them each a label with their account info printed on it to stick in the cover of their planner. It seems to work very well!