Plato Comes to
AETC
Birmingham, AL
June 12, 2003
Plato Comes to
Handout available at:
http://www.shelbyed.k12.al.us/
tech/aetc03.htm
Introducing
Chuck Hanke
Pelham High
The Brains
Beth Glasgow
Technology Resources
The
Brawn
Physics, AP Physics,
Specializing in
Programming I & II
Middle School
The Problem
Students that do not pass
one or more sections of the
Alabama Graduation Exam
Solutions
•Reinforce required skills at all grade levels
•Identify the at risk students
•Reemphasize the missed skills in the regular high
school classroom
•Offer special remediation classes
•Offer remediation materials
•Offer instructional software programs like PLATO
What is PLATO?
•PLATO is a computer-based
instructional system designed to
enhance the learning process.
•Additional resources for the teacher
What isn’t PLATO?
•plug the student in and the teacher walk
away software
User roles in PLATO
•PLATO Administrator –usually a teacher
or an aid that is on site and does needed
tasks such as adding alignments and
creating instructors
•Instructor – teachers/aids that create
classes, student users and assign
modules
•Learners - students
PLATO Time Line in Shelby County
1999 – 45 LAN licenses purchased for the
Success Program at the Shelby County
School of Technology.
2000 – 25 LAN licenses purchased for 9
high schools
2001 - 9 additional LAN licenses for SOT
2002 – 8,10,or 20 LAN licenses purchased
for 6 middle schools
2000 – present – approximately a dozen
stand-alone licenses purchased for special
ed and/or homebound students
PLATO Training Time Line in Shelby County
Dec 2000 – 2 day training for 2 chosen PLATO
administrators at each high school (PLATO)
These teachers were asked to go back on site and
train their fellow teachers
July 2002 – Plato administrator training for middle
school teachers (PLATO)
Sept 2002 – Principals at each middle school
introduced to PLATO in a hour training session (local)
Oct 2002 – PLATO Round Table (local)
PLATO Time Line in Shelby County
cont.
Oct 2002 – Integration training in content areas:
Reading, Writing, Math (PLATO, ½ day each)
Oct 2002 – Additional ½ day administrative
training (PLATO)
Nov 2002 – On-site instructional training (local)
Dec 2002 - On-site instructional training (local)
Feb 2003 – On-site instructional training (local)
Feb 2003 - On-site instructional training (local)
Feb 2003 – PLATO for ESL (local)
Mar 2003 – PLATO in the Content Areas (local)
PLATO Instructional Models
•Skill Development
(remediation)
•Review/Reinforcement
(reinforce classroom teaching)
•Enrichment
(additional activities)
•Problem Solving
(applied learning)
PLATO Courseware
see Scope and Sequence
Curriculum
Courses
Modules
Tutorial
Application or Drill
Mastery Test
Shelby County School of Technology
Columbiana, Alabama
Graduation Exam 02-03 -School of Success Students
10/23
9/23
Reading
Language
4/4
Science
5/25
Math
Calera High School
100%
of the 2003
graduates passed the
High School Graduation
Exam 02-03
Pelham High School
100%
of the 2003
graduates passed the
High School Graduation
Exam 02-03
PLATO Technical Considerations
•Workstation requirements
•Network requirements
•Server requirements
•Tech Support considerations
•Setup and Upgrading
Workstation Requirements
Operating Systems Supported
XP Professional
XP Home
Windows 2000 SP2
Windows NT Workstation
4.0 SP 6a
Windows ME
Windows 95/98 SE
Workstation
Requirements
Hardware
Minimum: Pentium II 233 MHz
64 MB RAM Win 95/98/ME
128 MB RAM NT/2000/XP
Preferred: Pentium III 450 MHz
128 MB RAM Win 95/98/ME
256 MB NT/2000/XP
Workstation Requirements
Hardware
Screen resolution:
800 x 600
High Color (16 bit)
Small fonts
Hard drive: 20 GB
Network Requirements
Network Software
Windows 2000 Server
Windows NT 4.0 SP6a
Novell 4.1, 5.0
Network Cabling
Category 5 copper, 4 twisted pairs, 100m runs
Optical Fiber
Network Requirements
Network Speed
100 MBps
Network Switches and Routers
Cisco 2600 router
Cisco Catalyst 3500 ethernet switch GB capable
Cisco Catalyst 2950 ethernet switch 10/100MB
Network Requirements
Network Equipment Closets
Smart UPS
Telephone
Equipment Racks
Server Requirements
Minimum:
Pentium II 233 MHz
256 MB RAM
Preferred:
Pentium III 600 MHz 512 MB RAM
(dedicated Plato)
Drives:
CD-ROM 8x or faster
Hard drive 40 GB
Tech Support Considerations
•
Network Technicians
•
PLATO Tech Support
•
Workstation Technicians
•
On-site PLATO Administrator
(local)
(local)
(local)
Setup and Upgrading Requirements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Functioning Network
Server Setup for Installation
Workstation Setup and Networked
System Installation
Courseware Installation
Alignments
Enter Users
Upgrades
__
 Database corruption problems
 Courseware and database files not secure
 Need for substantial training
+
 Results can be seen
 Students overall enjoy working independently
on the program/computer
 The curriculum/software is deep and wide
Helpful Resources
System requirements
http://platosupport.plato.com/requirements.asp
Utilities Guide for PLATO Pathways
http://platosupport.plato.com/downloads/LAN/pathways/pway_utilities.
pdf
PLATO SUPPORT SERVICES
Web site: http://platosupport.plato.com
Support Request:
http://platosupport.plato.com/SupportRequest.asp
Email platosupport@plato.com
Voice: 800-869-2200
PLATO representatives
Chris Roberts
205-939-0019
Account Manager for Alabama
Robin Daugherty
800-869-2058
Client Services Manager
Kyle Hall
District Manager South Central District
Thanks for coming to
Plato Comes to
Questions ??
Email
Chuck or Beth
chanke@shelbyed.k12.al.us
bglasgow@shelbyed.k12.al.us
Plato Comes to
Handout available at:
http://www.shelbyed.k12.al.us/
tech/aetc03.htm