In Greater Essex County, part of our computers in the classroom implementation plan is tied to an incredible group of people.
We call the group CIESC (Computers in Education School Contacts). This is a group, one per school, of volunteers who attend meetings, deliver Ministry of Education licensed software, report issues with computers to the Help Desk, and act as motivation for the rest of their school in the use of computers and related technologies.
This past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the elementary CIESC group came together for their first meeting of the year. With over 60 elementary schools in the District, it takes three days to get the job done and it makes for some very long days. But, the days are incredibly motivating.
There is a really electric sense of excitement in the room as we learn together. When it’s done, we’re all the more motivated to get out there and do awesome things with the students in the district.
A sample of the day’s agenda appears here.
The opening session is always a round robin sessions of introductions and each CIESC was asked “What one big thing would they like to see happen at their school this year?” I kept track of the responses with three Coveritlive sessions. This lets the members see what was offered during the other two days. We’ll also be able to reflect back on these issues at the end of the year.
You can buy a lot of technology but unless you have site-based champions, not much will change. With these terrific volunteers, great things do happen.
