CRB/FEH/Questar III Distance Learning Project DL Aide - Assistant Survey 2009 – 2010 School Year... BOCES Distance Learning Program Quality Access Support

CRB/FEH/Questar III Distance Learning Project DL Aide - Assistant Survey 2009 – 2010 School Year... BOCES Distance Learning Program Quality Access Support 2. What did you like about the Distance Learning experience? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Distance Learning allows for our students to receive college credit for classes that are not taught in our district. The diversity of both content and student base. Also availability of more specialized classes like meteorology and Environmental Science. I enjoyed the interaction with the other schools students and teachers. There were very few technology issues and Neric fixed problems quickly and efficiently. Students are more prepared for other classroom experiences that they might have after high school. It is a place for our students to have a clean slate. All school biases/influences are gone and I watched some students flourish.

CRB/FEH/Questar III Distance Learning Project DL Aide - Assistant Survey 2009 – 2010 School Year... BOCES Distance Learning Program Quality Access Support 3. What did you dislike about the Distance Learning experience? ______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ A problem that I've experienced every year is cell phone interference. Very few supports exist outside of that 40 minute window. Incompetent teaching assistants. There were just a handful of days it was frustrating to coordinate the distribution or return of materials as well as manage the sound system. The Elmo was not always sufficient to share student work. Some of the teachers with larger home classes tended not to pay much attention to the distant sites. Equipment malfunctions, specifically the fax machine. At AP we could not hear Maple Hill and Saratoga students when they were answering questions. We could hear the teachers fine but not the students. I think that lessened the effectiveness of all being 1 class.

CRB/FEH/Questar III Distance Learning Project DL Aide - Assistant Survey 2009 – 2010 School Year... BOCES Distance Learning Program Quality Access Support ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ They were always helpful figuring out any problems. 100% Yes! Bob, Eileen, Chuck are GREAT!!! Absolutely. They are extremely helpful and are very quick to respond to any problems. 4. Did you feel comfortable calling the DL toll free number for technical support? All those who responded said,“Yes, I did.” Comments:

CRB/FEH/Questar III Distance Learning Project DL Aide - Assistant Survey 2009 – 2010 School Year... BOCES Distance Learning Program Quality Access Support ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 5. Were you satisfied with the assistance of the BOCES support team? And now I know what a hai560 is. BOCES support is always excellent. The helpdesk was fantastic! They were great to work with. All those who responded said,“Yes, I was satisfied.” Comments:

CRB/FEH/Questar III Distance Learning Project DL Aide - Assistant Survey 2009 – 2010 School Year... BOCES Distance Learning Program Quality Access Support 6. What changes would you offer to improve the DL program? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ We need to be more selective about the students that we choose to place into these programs. Many schools have age limits to these classes and we should look into what these are before adding students. For instance, Italian at Scotia only has graders. We have 9th, 10th, and 11th in the same class. Many of them are overwhelmed. My only issue in the past was a problem with an assistant at another school not correcting problems with disruptive students. Perhaps provide training for new people prior to class beginning (there was much trial and error with the sound system in September. Having a full time TA is very helpful. It provides continuity - Get rid of the fax. Go to electronic files scan and sent to the printer.

CRB/FEH/Questar III Distance Learning Project DL Aide - Assistant Survey 2009 – 2010 School Year... BOCES Distance Learning Program Quality Access Support 7. General Comments ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ All of the NERIC staff were extremely helpful, pleasant and informative whenever I spoke with them. They made my 1st year in the DL room a truly pleasurable experience. I have to give credit to my own schools tech dept they were very good about helping me with any needs I had that fell under their auspices and updating our CCSD equipment. A good relationship with them was key to my success this year. Had a great year in distance learning loved working with all the teachers and the support team. - Jen Liebowitz was very easy to work with and she did a great job with the students. We had serious issues with time during the Psych class. We lost 10 min a day & the teaching assistant at the other school was difficult to work with. She let the students run the ship. The students attendance was terrible. At one point the students managed to get their hands on an exam that had been faxed over. It was also very frustrating dealing with the sound issues. Perhaps signs could be created near the equipment to provide easy step instructions for new people as well as substitutes.