Additional Texarkana ISD articles:
At a time when many school districts are distancing themselves
from Facebook and other social media out of fear that students and
even teachers might misuse the resources, Texarkana ISD has invested
in the creation of knoMi (know me), a social network that serves as a
sort of “academic Facebook.”
Coordinator of Quality Assurance/MIS Kevin McCarty was
challenged three years ago to create an interactive tool through which
students could set goals and track their progress toward completion.
“We had a focus group of campus administrators, teachers, and
curriculum people,” McCarty said. “We decided that kids aren’t just
going to jump into a site to set goals, so we had to have add-ins,
buy-in features. They have to have a reason as to why they want to
do something.”
So, features allowing for messaging, planning, researching,
accessing grades, teaming, and other academically and personally
productive processes were added.
Adolfo, a seventh grader at
Texas Middle School, said he
immediately started using the
tool for even more than what his
teachers required. “It’s like a friendlier Facebook,” he said. “It’s
safer. I get on knoMi more than Facebook because it keeps track of
all my stuff like files and texts. My grades are on there.”
Apparently, Adolfo is in the majority. During a recent two-week
period, 87 percent of all students with access logged in to knoMi, either
at school or at home.
Parents can even access a read-only version of their child’s
information. But perhaps the greatest feature is how students can
set their academic/career goals early and teachers can see what
those goals are, gradually helping the students work toward them. All
entries and information are then frozen and archived at the end of each
academic year to create an academic and even personal history that
can be accessed anytime in the future