Creg Drake said the district's plans to transfer assignments stored on Google Drive to Microsoft's OneDrive wouldn't work, since no program can send interactive assignments made using Google's software to OneDrive.
"It's a huge amount of stored information, all of our Google forms, a lot of our tests. Our labs are there," Drake said. "If we transition away from Google, I believe that all of those forms will be lost."
Drake, a ninth- and 10th-grade honors science teacher, was one of several district teachers who spoke, among the roughly two dozen attending the meeting Monday.
The switch is part of larger plans to transfer the district onto Schoology, an online learning management system that would streamline teachers' ability to post grades and track student outcomes, said Michael Billman, director of instructional and information technology.
The district currently uses Google Classroom as its learning platform. Assignments and other educational materials posted to the platform are used by all students, regardless of whether they attend virtually or in person.
Drake and other teachers clarified that they supported the district's transfer onto Schoology but asked the board and Billman to reconsider any abrupt change away from Google Drive.
Several teachers said district administrators only told them of the change to OneDrive on Friday. They said they were concerned with the seemingly rapid nature of the switch and the lack of correspondence with teachers.
District residents and parents took issue with the change as well.
"We have 2,000 kids and all of our staff members that are affected by this," said Kelly Steinke, a district resident, "I just don't know that now at the end of the pandemic is the best time."
Emily Calaman, a district resident and an adjunct professor with the Library and Learning Technology Department at Kutztown University, said that moving away from Google would be a technological backslide for the district.
"It would almost be like asking a lot of teachers to completely redesign their curriculum," Calaman said.
She noted that Kutztown University teaches Google suite integration in technology and education classes.
"If we get rid of Google Drive, there may be many future educators who will be very unprepared for what our district is requiring of them," Calaman said.
Drake asked the board to postpone an official vote on Schoology integration to give teachers a chance to fully express their concerns and learn how the changes will affect them.
Following public comment, Dr. Cathy Taschner, superintendent, said the district does not plan to remove Google Drive access until all teachers are comfortable with the new system.
Addressing communication concerns, Taschner said that the district will add more teachers to the district's virtual planning committee and provide biweekly updates to district staff on technological changes .
"We want to make sure that the access is there, so if there's something (teachers) need they can get to it," Billman added.
As for why the district is planning to move entirely to OneDrive, Billman said OneDrive allows for greater security, as sensitive information stored on Google Drive can easily be shared and accessed by those outside the district.
Several board members questioned whether the district plans to have teachers manually resubmit their assignments made with Google.
Billman said the district is looking into hiring a programmer who would facilitate the transfer of Google Forms documents into the new system.
"I guess I'm confused. I thought this would be an easy transition," said board member Linda Lash. "And there was never any mention of having to hire a programmer."
Board President David Moll asked whether the programming expertise to transfer Google Forms into alternative formats even exists.
An answer to whether a programmer would be readily accessible, or how much that programming would cost was not given.
"The simple solution seems to be to maintain both OneDrive and Google Drive," said board member Robert Dempsey.
Maintaining Google Drive indefinitely would cost the district roughly $5,000 annually, officials noted.
Moll noted that the district's original plan was to cut off Google Drive access one year after the implementation of Schoology.
"I think everybody from hearing all this knows that we don't have only a year to get it done. We'll get it done when we get it done," Moll said. "We need to look at all the pieces."
Following the discussion, the board voted 9-0 to approve the district's integration of Schoology through June 30, 2025, at a cost of $11,054 for implementation and $12,250 annually.
Billman noted that the vote was only to begin the process of integrating Schoology itself and had no relation to the amount of time that the district will choose to keep Google Drive access.
©2022 the Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
