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dedalus_1947A paradigm shift of tectonic proportions will occur tomorrow at MASH Middle School. The old-fashioned system of taking manual attendance (roll) in class will end, and a new web-based, computer system will replace it. Class rosters, with printed names of students in alphabetical order followed by boxes made of crisscrossing columns and rows where teachers would mark a student as present (*), absent (-), or tardy (T), will become an artifact of the past. Pen and paper attendance taking will be relegated to the dusty corner of emergency contingency measures when power or internet connectivity should fail.
On February 7, 2006, the Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) “goes live”. Teachers are expected to login and access their classroom rosters from a protected website within the LAUSD system. They will then “point and click” to mark the students that are absent, and then push the Submit icon at the bottom of the page when they finish. It is simple, really. The biggest problems have been procedural, getting teachers to follow directions in opening email accounts, and establishing a “Single Sign-On” password with the District. The non-functionality of computers has been a minor problem. Although there has been much moaning and groaning from teachers and administrators about the inconveniences this change will create, all of us are resigned to the inevitable. Everything will be different tomorrow. Better, perhaps, but different.
I can only take refuge in the acronym that represents this change: ISIS. Isis is such a hopeful, trusting name. Isis was the queen of all Egyptian gods, the eye of Ra, maker of the sunrise, lady of heaven, queen of the earth, and creatrix of the Nile. She is represented by the star, Sirius, because its appearance in the heavens marks the beginning of the New Year, and the harbinger of the flooding of the Nile. She is the symbol of change and continuity, the paradox of faith. Perhaps, like all inexplicable events of nature and men, we just have to believe that everything will be alright. Let’s pray that Isis will be merciful.
On February 7, 2006, the Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) “goes live”. Teachers are expected to login and access their classroom rosters from a protected website within the LAUSD system. They will then “point and click” to mark the students that are absent, and then push the Submit icon at the bottom of the page when they finish. It is simple, really. The biggest problems have been procedural, getting teachers to follow directions in opening email accounts, and establishing a “Single Sign-On” password with the District. The non-functionality of computers has been a minor problem. Although there has been much moaning and groaning from teachers and administrators about the inconveniences this change will create, all of us are resigned to the inevitable. Everything will be different tomorrow. Better, perhaps, but different.
I can only take refuge in the acronym that represents this change: ISIS. Isis is such a hopeful, trusting name. Isis was the queen of all Egyptian gods, the eye of Ra, maker of the sunrise, lady of heaven, queen of the earth, and creatrix of the Nile. She is represented by the star, Sirius, because its appearance in the heavens marks the beginning of the New Year, and the harbinger of the flooding of the Nile. She is the symbol of change and continuity, the paradox of faith. Perhaps, like all inexplicable events of nature and men, we just have to believe that everything will be alright. Let’s pray that Isis will be merciful.
