Mr. Bob Willig

This allows the teacher to spend more time focusing on the content of the project than on teaching the ,how-tos' of the technology itself," says Technology Coordinator Bob Willig.

According to Willig, EasyTech gives students the skill level necessary to navigate the computer in order to successfully complete assignments on their own.For nearly a year now, Hammocks Middle School has been using EasyTech to enhance the entire curriculum: Language arts classes benefit from word processing lessons, social studies from presentation software, mathematics from spreadsheets and science classes from visual mapping and organizational tools.Just as important, students can work on EasyTech after school, at home or anywhere they have access to a computer.

"The EasyTech curriculum has enabled us to accomplish our instructional technology goals in a positive manner without a major impact on teaching time for core teachers," continues Willig.

Bob Willig is the Technology Coordinator at Hammocks Middle School in the Dade County School District in Miami, Florida.Eight years ago, the school began using the stand-alone version of Excelsior's Gradebook and has gradually transitioned into the fully networked Pinnacle System, a suite of software products developed to integrate student and administrative data needs.Recently, Mr. Willig talked with us about how Pinnacle has streamlined the process of data entry for his teachers, and improved communication among educators, parents, students and staff.

Q: Tell us about your "Before Pinnacle/After Pinnacle" Experience.
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Readers can reach Bob Willig at willigr@hammocks.dadeschools.net.

Bob Willig, Hammocks Middle School in Miami, Florida