
A profusion of online programs that can track a student's daily progress, including class attendance, missed assignments and grades on homework, quizzes and tests, is changing the nature of communication between parents and children, families and teachers. With names like Edline, ParentConnect, Pinnacle Internet Viewer and PowerSchool, the software is used by thousands of schools, kindergarten through 12th grade. PowerSchool alone is used by 10,100 schools in 49 states.
This article focuses on parent and student reaction to the use of web services that provide real time (at least, as fast as teachers can keep up on grading) data about student performance in school. Seattle Schools has a home brewed system called that Source that is similar to the systems mentioned in the article.
Well, the Mrs Dobbins in the article got under MY skin after the third or fourth paragraph. I have the option of using the tool for my kids but I do not. I cannot think of how it could really benefit my family, except to get everyone stressed out. If I had a kid who was doing poorly in school, I would sign on just to help him/her get motivated. I seriously cannot imagine myself obsessed over my kids grades like that. Lady sounds crazy.
What is even more interesting would be to see how many years of counseling these kids end up needing after they graduate and the stress is off?
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