Diaries

[localzuk]

Why do staff in schools still get given paper diaries? We give out laptops to all teachers, and exchange email accounts to all staff - so they all have access to a computerised diary. Why do we insist on buying bits of paper all the time?

[powdarrmonkey]

Because it's too much for them, bless their little cotton socks.

[strawberry]

Becuase its much easier just to let teachers do as they wish and provide then with a million ways of doing things rather than stifling their creativity with the right way!.

[localzuk]

The average meeting comes about like this at the moment:

 

Person 1 proposes meeting to person 2. Person 2 checks paper diary and sets a time. Person 2 and Person 1 go off to Person 3, Person 3 checks diary and finds time doesn't suit, so all 3 have to find a new suitable time. Repeat for each extra person.

 

So a meeting can take several hours to be agreed.

 

By email it would be as simple as this:

 

Person 1 looks in the calendars of person 2, 3 etc... and chooses a time, then creates the meeting in their calendar, adding each person.

 

Each person then confirms and voila, done. Can take as little as 2 minutes.

[pooley]

The average meeting comes about like this at the moment:

 

Person 1 proposes meeting to person 2. Person 2 checks paper diary and sets a time. Person 2 and Person 1 go off to Person 3, Person 3 checks diary and finds time doesn't suit, so all 3 have to find a new suitable time. Repeat for each extra person.

 

So a meeting can take several hours to be agreed.

 

By email it would be as simple as this:

 

Person 1 looks in the calendars of person 2, 3 etc... and chooses a time, then creates the meeting in their calendar, adding each person.

 

Each person then confirms and voila, done. Can take as little as 2 minutes.

 

Ahh yes but your assuming Person 1,2 & 3 have common sense and a logical mind, these are teachers you know

[localzuk]

I have just been told that when exchange was introduced here, no training was given! That's just ridiculous. I think an INSET session may well be in order here.

[Sylv3r]

This is the first year we won't be providing diaries to staff as we wish to push the use of electronic calendars through our FirstClass system.

 

If staff prefer to still use a diary they have to purchase either themself or through department capitation.

 

I use a PDA with my calendar as well as the headteacher and a couple of other senior members of staff and we find it so much easier.

[OutToLunch]

I find the good old paper based whole school diary very handy when I want to write "Exchange Server is down" to be noted in morning briefing

[Pete10141748]

I suspect it's something to with the astounding lack of computer literate people employed in schools.

[daz666]

well call me old fashiond but i like the good old paper diary as when im out on school tech visits and the internet is down or the computers are slow you dont have to wait for a paper diary to bootup login and find the site is down. plus we dont have pdas etc.......

[localzuk]

well call me old fashiond but i like the good old paper diary as when im out on school tech visits and the internet is down or the computers are slow you dont have to wait for a paper diary to bootup login and find the site is down. plus we dont have pdas etc.......

 

Get a PDA then. You can get Palm Tungsten E2 for £100 (or less if you shop around). Or a HP iPaq 220 for £120 (and you can claim £20 back from HP I think at the moment).

[ahuxham]

Get a PDA then. You can get Palm Tungsten E2 for £100 (or less if you shop around). Or a HP iPaq 220 for £120 (and you can claim £20 back from HP I think at the moment).

 

Give me the money than with that attitude.

 

Paper diaries are awesome, sitting here next to me, never have the downfall of a slow machine waiting for appointments, I can take if anywhere, and if my laptop fails, I have all the information I need.

 

You know, NOT EVERYTHING in a school has to be done electronic, or in some way bolted within the ICT deployment in school.

[daz666]

Hmm £2.00 versus £100-120 pounds i know the one im going for......

[localzuk]

Give me the money than with that attitude.

 

Paper diaries are awesome, sitting here next to me, never have the downfall of a slow machine waiting for appointments, I can take if anywhere, and if my laptop fails, I have all the information I need.

 

You know, NOT EVERYTHING in a school has to be done electronic, or in some way bolted within the ICT deployment in school.

 

Hmm £2.00 versus £100-120 pounds i know the one im going for......

 

So both of you can't read then?

 

A few posts above, I described the process of arranging meetings with a paper diary, and then one with the electronic system. The time saved by using an electronic system would far outweigh the initial investment cost.

 

Do you see IBM using paper diaries? How about the county council? RM?

 

Yes, not everything needs to be done with ICT, but the point of ICT is to make people's lives easier and make tasks that previously took an age to do now take a couple of seconds. I doubt you say 'I prefer to write my letters out by hand, because computers could be down' or 'I'll pay for everything with cash, as the computer systems running card payments may be down'...

 

Diaries are a very obvious area of life which should be electronic.

Edited July 16, 2008 by localzuk

[LeMarchand]

Give me the money than with that attitude.

 

Mine cost £0 (free mobile upgrade).

[ahuxham]

So both of you can't read then?

 

A few posts above, I described the process of arranging meetings with a paper diary, and then one with the electronic system. The time saved by using an electronic system would far outweigh the initial investment cost.

 

Do you see IBM using paper diaries? How about the county council? RM?

 

Yes, not everything needs to be done with ICT, but the point of ICT is to make people's lives easier and make tasks that previously took an age to do now take a couple of seconds. I doubt you say 'I prefer to write my letters out by hand, because computers could be down' or 'I'll pay for everything with cash, as the computer systems running card payments may be down'...

 

Diaries are a very obvious area of life which should be electronic.

 

No, that kind of process is for someone thats afraid of using the phone, just call the person, arrange a time out of diaries, commence social interaction, complete electronic processing negates any social behavior.

 

And as far as I know, does my schools stature match that of IBM, CC and RM? I think not. Your references fail.

 

EDIT: As per not reading, I am addressing your initial post, if you feel you have more worthless crap to add too it, edit the post, make adjustments and I'll appropriate my response to that.

[webman]

complete electronic processing negates any social behavior.

 

Does that matter? You're arranging to meet the person anyway ...

[localzuk]

No, that kind of process is for someone thats afraid of using the phone, just call the person, arrange a time out of diaries, commence social interaction, complete electronic processing negates any social behavior.

 

And as far as I know, does my schools stature match that of IBM, CC and RM? I think not. Your references fail.

 

Staff do not have phones. They have laptops, voicemail and pigeon holes.

 

How many people are in your school? We have 120 staff here for 600 pupils. That is the same sort of size as a branch office of IBM, is larger than most departments at our county council and would be a good sized office for IBM...

 

But if those anologies aren't any good. How about your local doctor's surgery? Every one of ours uses electronic diaries, and we're in a relatively rural area.

[tech_guy]

I have both a PDA and a paper diary. Both are useful in their own right but the paper diary is the one I use all the time.

 

I used to have a Blackberry but I accidentally dropped it overboard whilst sea-fishing off the coast of Minehead a couple of weeks back. The Old Ship Aground pub/hotel was very nice.

Edited July 16, 2008 by tech_guy

[ahuxham]

Does that matter? You're arranging to meet the person anyway ...

 

You arrange a meeting with a member of the SMT. You call whom?

 

I would call any of the SMT's PA's, I'm not going into the meeting with them, I wont see them there, therefore some social interaction would be nice, and all the PA's are, always got something nice to talk about.

[localzuk]

EDIT: As per not reading, I am addressing your initial post, if you feel you have more worthless crap to add too it, edit the post, make adjustments and I'll appropriate my response to that.

 

First, my comment was a joke, hence the emoticon (which is pretty obvious!). Second, this is a forum, and as such information is added in threads. The original posts aren't altered to add information, instead, a response is made to later posts. Finally, please don't call what I say worthless crap. It's just childish.

[ahuxham]

Staff do not have phones. They have laptops, voicemail and pigeon holes.

 

How many people are in your school? We have 120 staff here for 600 pupils. That is the same sort of size as a branch office of IBM, is larger than most departments at our county council and would be a good sized office for IBM...

 

But if those anologies aren't any good. How about your local doctor's surgery? Every one of ours uses electronic diaries, and we're in a relatively rural area.

 

I'm sorry, but your basing your whole argument and clauses to your school, because your Teachers do not have phones.

 

Ours do, they can call from wherever and make a phone call, even if not in classroom all departments have phones, its not like someone's going to call during a lesson is it? During free time, where they have access to their phones.

 

600 students are irrelevant, that do not operate at the same level, they do not go into meetings, they do not have phones (however they're more than welcome to use any departments phones to call members of staff) As a result, your IBM statement fails YET AGAIN.

[localzuk]

Does that matter? You're arranging to meet the person anyway ...

 

Precisely. I have a lot of social interaction in my day. By going to meetings I have arranged, that others have arranged for me and by going and speaking to people to fix problems. Time spent looking through paper diaries in order to find time is simply wasted time. We're working, not in social clubs...

 

I'm sorry, but your basing your whole argument and clauses to your school, because your Teachers do not have phones.

 

Actually, I'm basing it on my experience from a number of schools. All suffering with the same problems of meetings taking forever to arrange. And most schools do not give phones to all staff! That is just plain ridiculous.

 

Ours do, they can call from wherever and make a phone call, even if not in classroom all departments have phones, its not like someone's going to call during a lesson is it? During free time, where they have access to their phones.

 

Yes, people ring phones in communal areas all the time, during lesson times, break times etc... (We have phones in 3 communal areas in our school, all cause problems). Phones (either internal extensions or any other form) in classes are disruptive, and as such aren't allowed in our school.

 

600 students are irrelevant, that do not operate at the same level, they do not go into meetings, they do not have phones (however they're more than welcome to use any departments phones to call members of staff) As a result, your IBM statement fails YET AGAIN.

 

Example: IBM now run the resources directorate for Somerset County council. As such they have a local branch office in Taunton with less than the number of staff than we have in our school. So yes, my statement doesn't fail. But at the same time, you have ignored the other examples...

 

Also, block caps is shouting, so is rude. And you state that I am basing my argument on my school, which I am not, but it does appear that you are doing so with your school.

Edited July 16, 2008 by localzuk

[webman]

You arrange a meeting with a member of the SMT. You call whom?

 

I would call any of the SMT's PA's, I'm not going into the meeting with them, I wont see them there, therefore some social interaction would be nice, and all the PA's are, always got something nice to talk about.

 

Then I would use the electronic diary of the member of the SMT to which their PA also has access to where they can confirm/accept/decline appointments. Simple. And no time wasted with idle gossip

[ahuxham]

Then I would use the electronic diary of the member of the SMT to which their PA also has access to where they can confirm/accept/decline appointments. Simple. And no time wasted with idle gossip

 

Wouldn't you call the PA and still check the appointment (Where they would than check electronically), or would you rather check the member of SMT's calendar without prior permission to-do so?