Asheville Middle School, North Carolina

Preventing disruptions, staying on task

When a middle school student in Steve West’s computer lab at Asheville Middle School in Asheville, North Carolina found a way to get out on the Internet during class, the veteran business teacher called the young lady up to his desk. She was appalled to see that he had a record of every website she had visited. After that, he didn’t have a problem with her wandering off task again.

“I am upfront with them from the start,” West said. “I tell my students on the first day of class that they have no expectation of privacy when they are on a computer in my classroom.”

Netop School, the classroom management software West uses in his classroom, allows him to view each student’s monitor from his own screen. “Being able to see every student’s screen on my computer is a boon to me,” he said. “It has changed my teaching style. Now, I don’t have to run around the classroom from computer to computer to keep students involved. I can focus on teaching.”

The software also allows teachers to share any screen with the rest of the class, freeze a student’s mouse or turn controls over to a student for a demonstration.

West said one of his favorite features is an “Attention” button he can click with his mouse when he notices a student getting distracted. When he clicks it, the student’s screen goes black, the mouse is frozen and bright yellow letters announce: “Busted. Please get back on task. Thank you.”

“When that happens, the students know they have been caught, nod at me and get back to work,” he said.

West said parents of the students are unanimous in their support of Netop School when they see it at open house demos.

Easy on the IT department

Other district teachers are also are big fans of the software. Established in 1887, Asheville City Schools operate 10 schools – from preschool to high school – in western North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The district employs 339 teachers to work with about 3,800 students. The district is one of the best in the state, ranking second among 115 districts in the number of No Child Left Behind goals met. And its high school seniors have the state’s second highest average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores.

When West approached district officials to purchase Netop School, the staff in the IT department said they did not want another piece of software to manage. West made them a promise: