Weekend 3 Day 2

I think the idea behind the webquest was a good idea. It got us to visit and make us aware of the different websites. Since my computer didn't want to cooperate I am not enjoying the webquest right now. Overall I liked the class, it really broaden my knowledge of technology. I do have a question, not so much with this class but with Illinois School System. Everyone agrees that with today's students integrating technology into the curriculum enhances learning. When/how can schools be made to update their curriculum so it is mandated that schools use and keep up to date with new technology.

Weekend 3 Day 1

It was fun to learn how to create a Podcast. I learned that Laurie liked to be very creative with sounds. I can see where Podcasts would be a very useful tool. Our Superintendent has acutally used Podcast on our school's website. Last year we had a string of snow days. He used a Podcast to update the community on the school schedule.

Last Sunday

I also really enjoyed watching everyone's mulimedia presentations in class. And thank you Karen for showing me the website incompetech.com! I found this website to have a lot of great music that is free to download. I also found the webquest to be helpful. I liked being able to look at these professional websites a little more closely.

Weekend 3, Day 2

The Webquest, combined with the scavenger hunt activities and the sites you gave us to check out in our groups really opened my eyes to how many useful things are out there for administrators Illinois has done a nice job of making these things readily available to administrators. It made me want to search a bit more for resources available to Iowa leaders, as well. I'm sure there are equivalents on the web. I'll look into it....

Thanks for pointing out the podcasts, Dr. Closen. I will definitely be downloading these and putting them on my ipod to listen to. I like to have something to listen to during my mornings. These will definitely fit the bill.

Weekend 3, Day 1

Today I discovered that I absolutely detest the sound of my own voice on recordings.... Jamie, on the other hand, could have a possible future in marketing!

Creating the podcast was an experience that I won't soon forget. It was completely trial-and-error as Jamie and I recorded using software we were both unfamiliar with. We got through it, though, and it was a reminder of the way our students struggle with things we ask them to do for the first time. Certainly it was not a "polished" product... If we had had more time, I'd want to change some things. Definitely a useful tool, however. I could see using this tool in my classes, assigning a podcast to my students in conjunction with their research projects. As an administrator, you might even use this with staff cohorts as they work in Professional Learning teams. It was fun to watch everyone go through the process, and I think we learned from each other as we shared our joys and frustrations!

Last Post

Another class comes to an end. I really enjoyed the class because of all the technology we learned about. I'm excited to use some of the things we learned about in class in my own classroom. I have already set up a wiki for a higher functioning student in my class that thrives on the computer. He was bored in my class because he already knew the material. Having the internet made this type of differentiated instruction much easier for me and my student.

I would love to have the students bring cell phones in and be able to use them on that poll everywhere website. Unfortunately not all of my students have cell phones. I could bring them to the lab in order to do it. We'll see. Thanks for such a great class everyone.

Jon S.

Last Day

I enjoyed everyone multimedia presentations. I also agree with Jamie I thought the cooliris was very neat! I am planning on sharing some of the information/websites to the rest of staff since I a sure they can find some very useful information as I did. At first I have to admit I was not looking forward to the class especially after I realized everything that I had to do. It has been a very useful and fun experience. I also think that the size of the class made it even more enjoyable. When our classes get large the direct interactions and attention from the professor is not as great. We also don't seem to mesh as well as a group b/c of the size. Sometimes a smaller class leads to greater learning especially from each other. I had a great time with everyone and I feel that we all contributed to making the class work. I learned a great deal and am ready to start using it.

Great weekend

I thought looking at the different websites was very useful. As we all well know we do not have the time to just look around on the internet so I found this time very useful. I agree with Laura, frustration has stopped me from using technology as well as time. My attitude is changing and I really enjoyed doing my wiki. I am going to add to it and tell my students about it. I was also impressed how easy moviemaker is. I had never done one before but would entertain the idea of making more. I would need to play around with it and see what other things I could get it to do but enjoyed using it. I am ready to start using technology more hopefully my students respond to it.

Overload

I feel like I'm on information overload. It literally took me about three hours after class to completely connect with my family. My mind was going a million miles an hour.
I thoroughly enjoyed the multimedia presentations. What a team the nine of us would make! I am impressed with the different approaches that were taken to the same assignment. Also, it was interesting to look at the 18 websites we were given in small groups. I can't believe how many uses for the internet there are. At first, I was intimidated by number of sites to see, but in the end, I am intrigued and want to learn more. I need to keep exploring in order to try to catch up. The frustration I feel when working with technology has kept me from expanding my knowledge. The truth is...everyone gets frustrated. It's how you deal with your frustration that matters. I do enjoy a challenge and so I must look at technology as a challenge, not an impossibility.
Can you tell I like to reflect? Have a good week, everyone!

Checking Out Sites

I really enjoyed checking out all the different sites available to assist us in our professions and as future administrators. There's so much out there that I was unaware of! I also enjoyed watching everyone's multi-media presentations. It's great to see all the creative ways to present information to the board, administration, and organizations. I was able to get a lot of ideas from people on how to create an appealing presentation.

Garage Band

Creating our podcast using Garage Band was quite the experience! Creating the script was the easiest part by all means..navigating our way through Garage Band was a different story. There are a lot of cool features available on Garage Band that are not on Audacity. There were moments where we wanted to pull our hair out (and even broke down to call Apple) but it was worth the frustration. Through collaboration and keeping one another on track we were able to complete the project. I learned how to create a podcast- something I was totally unfamiliar with. Next time I utilize Garage Band (or Audacity) I will make sure the sound is correctly set so certain tones do not fade or blurt out! Overall, project was great fun!

Cool ways to surf the net

I think the coolest thing we looked at today was the cooliris and spacetime web surfing downloads. As they were being presented, I downloaded both of them and have been playing around with them. I use a lot of google images for school work (in languages, since we think about words in terms of images, I use a lot of images to have students connect the new words to them). Having a tool that will go through the pictures quick is very useful. I was also impressed by going over the state websites (even though the webquest seemed endless). I know all of these sites have useful info for an Illinois administrator, and as I am working through my internship, even though I am in Iowa, they provide useful, powerful information on all of the nuts and bolts that need to be considered if one is working as an administrator.

Sunday's Class

I really enjoyed watching everyone's multimedia projects. I thought it was fascinating that everyone applied different elements of what we have learned throughout the course, onto their multi media projects. I can say that I am coming out of this class with some fresh ideas. There are many projects involving technology that I would like to try in my classroom. I am excited at all the possiblities!

Websites Galore

I was really impressed with all of the websites that we looked at yesterday. I was really intrigued with the homemade Elmos and smartboards. I have all of the technology already in my classroom, it could be pretty easy to set it up. One of the things that I really like about this class is that I have opportunities to check out websites and learn about technology that I normally do not have time to check out on my own. I am becoming more and more intrigued and finding myself making more time to "play" around looking at different websites.

I really enjoyed making the podcasts yesterday. I have always heard about podcasts, but never knew exactly what to do. Yesterday was a great opportunity to play around with Audacity and learn how to make podcasts. I really see some opportunities, both as a teacher and an administrator, to use podcasts in the future.

One thing we just don't have in schools--TIME!

I have been struck over all the classes at the number of videos, websites, possibilities and ideas available for using technology. So many of the videos and websites we covered at the end of class yesterday would be useful organizational and practical tools for class. The reality is, though, that it is rare that I have the time to actually explore them, especially at school. Our professional development, for example, wants us to be innovative and find new things we can do with technology for formative assessment and differentiated instruction. Unfortunately, the PD time we have is 85-90% filled with lecture and other "stuff" that when we do finally have time in departments or individually to explore it is about 15-20 minutes and we are so overwhelmed with all of the lecture that we are nearly catatonic. Moreover, just trying to prep for 5 different subject classes and all life's other issues keeps me from investigating what might be a great tool for class. I guess, perhaps, I need to prioritize investigating technology and its possibilities a bit higher. One thing I have found that works, is tapping into ideas the students themselves come up with, since they are so adept at using technology and playing with it. I have a few students that have been essential in developing games and activities with new technology, and most of time they work beautifully. I know many of my colleagues are afraid to do this, but I have found more and more as I have been teaching digital natives that there is so much more out there they use with ease and I stumble through...

Websites and Gigs

I enjoyed looking at some of the websites that we all had to try out today. It is hard to believe that over the past years I had never come across them. I browse the internet very often and I read tech news every once in awhile and most of the tech websites today were completely new. Also, some of those sites allowed you to watch old episodes of various tv shows. Who needs cable or even a TV?

We talked shortly about how inexpensive memory for computers are anymore. Today my dad surprised me with 320 gigs of external memory. He said he got it for less than 90$. I can now hold 1,280,000 photos, over 5,920 hours of music and 480 hours of video. CRAZYNESS!

Garage Band

Today we made our podcast using Garage Band. I am really impressed with parts of the program. However, I was upset with how different imovie 08 and Garage Band are. You are dealing with editing video and audio yet the two programs are drastically different. I became familiar with imovie 08 for my multimedia presentation and I figured that Garage Band would be similar only audio.....well it isn't! No skills from either program transfer over. You have to start fresh with learning a new program.

Thanks for the two video/audio assignments....without them I would still have two programs on my computer that I have never used. The assignments got me playing around and I feel pretty confident in both programs now.

I also enjoyed the cheap version of a smart board today. I had heard of the idea but I never really understood how it worked. I also really liked google docs and the idea of polling my class and parents. Too bad our filter blocks it due to the fact that it is a personal storage network. Not sure why that is bad......... All in all it was a good day of class. I'm excited to see the multimedia projects tomorrow.

Jon S.

Podcast Craziness

Wow, did I learn quite a bit today when it came to creating a podcast! It was a bit fusterating at first; just trying to figure out how to record on Garage Band, figuring out if we're talking too loudly or too softly, then trying to figure how to put the music in. It was crazy at first, but after awhile it became easier, and even fun. I think this is something I would definitely use in the classroom. I recently read in an educational magazine that students were achieving better grades when they heard lectures on a podcast, compared to hearing the lecture in a lecture hall. Podcasts seem to be an important tool for education.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Denver with my husband. Talk about cool technology! I couldn't believe the capabilities of some of the "toys" we saw. There were several companies pushing their version of e-tickets. Police can use a handheld device that scans the bar code of a driver's license, it can take a picture of the driver and it can run the license plate number all within 60 seconds. There was a little printer in the squad car that the officer can use to just print the ticket or warning to the driver and off they go. The information is stored on a server. This device can be used to check the officers' stop history. It can graph the types of stops each officer makes and whether the officer is stopping only certain races of people or only stopping in certain locations. I couldn't believe all the different data reporting capabilities this program had. And I was actually interested in seeing the pie charts and bar graphs. Dr. Closen, you'll turn me into a techno geek yet!
Another new thing being advertised heavily was the license plate recognition camera. A camera is mounted to the light bar on top of a squad or other place. The camera automatically recognizes a plate and runs it. The in-car computer lets the officer know if a plate comes back as a need to stop vehicle.
I won't even begin to explain the cool police features found on a blackberry/crackberry. Holy cow!
There were mobile command vehicles which contained every type of communication port imaginable. There were wires and outlets everywhere. We saw a new type of tazer gun. There were simulation stations throughout the exhibit hall too. It was a great opportunity that I can't give justice to just by blogging.
Last but not least, my highlight may have been meeting Erik Estrada. He had no technology to share whatsoever, but he was representing a college.
See all tomorrow.

Weekend 2 Day 2

Excel, charts, graphs, my head is spinning. Well is was at the start and it still kinda is. A big thanks to Corry for helping me throughout the day. The best way to learn is to actually doing it yourself. I had to write down what I was doing so the next time I want to use excel I had something to fall back on. I see how Excel can be a very useful tool if I become good at it.

Weekend 2 Day 1

I was amazed today by the flip camcorder. I never knew how easy it could be to upload a video. I went home and told my wife about it. The positive uses of this are endless. I teach an advanced weightlifting class. During the first few weeks all I teach are fundamental and correct lifting form. I could use the flip camcorder to record each student’s lifts then plug in into my computer and actually let the students watch themselves perform the lifts. I could critique the lifts with the students watching. What a useful tool!!!

I'm actually feeling like I'm making progress in the technology world. I have made a conscious effort to not use paper whenever possible. I'm weaning myself from my paper "security blanket". Seriously, it has been an interesting week of experimenting with blogs and wikis. I am working out the kinks on my blog. I am learning that the time it takes to explore and experiment is well worth it in the long run. Thus far, I had not provided myself the time to explore. I even used excel to create a document instead of a table. Much easier! Let's hope I can figure out the whole imovie concept. I can't wait to learn how to use garage band.

Charts, Graphs, and analyzing OH MY!

Using the IIRC makes it very easy to look at data and see how things are going. It was very useful to be able to give to the point, simple explanations of the material that I found on the website. I think you can make the data easy to read and summaries to the point, teachers are more likely to read it and take more interest. It does not take long to look at our IIRC projects and see how you can convey a message simply by cutting/pasting charts and graphs.

Your flip camera was neat tool to use to keep a "diary" of activities that you do. You can capture great moments by having something like this ready to go. I think it would be a great tool to use at the high school b/c too frequently we hear how little students tell their parents about what happens at school. By having videos they can see the collaboration, activities, projects that students are working on.

I think the biggest impact on me for this weekend was our exercise that deal with leaders and how few have a technology vision. It really got me thinking what would I want my staff to do, learn, etc. To frequently administrators are too focused on the day not about next week or even tomorrow. Having a good vision can help you make decisions about technology...what you want, ways to implement it, money need for it. To often a fade comes through the school and we jump on it b/c we think it must be good b/c everyone is using it. We don't do the research and we have no idea what impact this may have next year b/c we have not thought that far. Make a vision and keep it where you can see it. Don't look tract of the big picture.

Takes Time to Save Time

I just laugh when you said that what we are doing is going to save us time as administrators. I only laugh b/c it is taking us a long time to set something up to save us time in the future. Excel takes me over the edge sometimes yet I am still amazed by its power. They need an easy to read flipchart for all the functions and abilities of Excel. It is easy to see how someone could spend hours getting "lost" in Excel. My only concern is I will lose a lot since Excel is not something I use on a regular basis. It is just like everything else it takes practice and time to become familiar with something. I found it very helpful to see how easy you can manipulate a complex system like a salary schedule...may come in handy if I become a negotiator for our union.

Excel is not the only thing that has left me a little overwhelmed. I am feeling a little shaky on my wiki. The blog has a much easier tutorial and is quite easy to navigate. I cannot say I am feeling that comfortable about the wiki. I know just as anything else I just need to play with it to have a better feel for how it works.

Lastly you made a very powerful statement today that some may not have taken totally to heart. When you said that you wanted us to feel frustrated and overwhelmed before giving us the answer b/c that was too easy. It is always good to have those feeling again b/c when you teach the same material for so many years you at times lose track of what it is like to be the student that is trying but just can't get it. Thanks.

Weekend 2, Day 2

Oh what can I say about Excel... I really don't like it. I thought that the stuff we learned today was really cool, and I know that the more time I spend working with Excel, the better I will feel about it. Today, I really felt like I was completely lost. Excel and I just really don't seem to get along. I did like the salary schedules that we created, I just need to create a cheat sheet so I can remember all of the shortcuts that will really come in handy and save me a lot of time when I have to use Excel.
I did come to a conclusion in class today...I may become familiar with Excel in my time as an administrator, but I am going to take Dr. DeSpain's advice and surround myself with people who are much more skilled in Excel than I am. That way, I will be able to use it when I need it, but I will have people available to help me with questions that I have.

I am looking forward to creating my multimedia presentation on IMovie. I have never used this program and I would like to learn. I think it would be a great program to teach my students, so this project is going to be a great learning exercise for me.

Weekend 2, Day 1

I was very happy to have time to work in class today on the IIRC project. It was nice to be able to go through the data and ask questions as we went along, because I had a lot of questions that needed to be answered! I really liked this assignment because I was able to compare Sherrard with area schools and it was amazing to see that these schools were meeting and exceeding standards, while Sherrard was on Academic Early Warning. Obviously, we need to get this figured out and get our Math scores up!

I was fascinated by the Flip camera that Dr. Closen showed us in class...I really think that I will have to purchase this in the near future. I love that you can plug it right into the USB port of your computer and have access to it immediately. I could definitely use this for my evaluations that I have to do for EDL 560 in the next couple of weeks, it will save me a lot of time to use this camera!

Los problemas de un imigrante digital

I was struck today with 'language' of Excel and the frustration we were experiencing trying to come up with something that was simple, yet complex. Dr. Closen's comment about how students feel reminds me of my language students who get frustrated when trying to handle basic verbs and adjectives in my world language classes. Once you are 'in the know' things click and one can be amazed at how easy and convenient handling information can be. But until they do it is a test of willpower. I see many parallels between being a digital immigrant and working with world languages. Both are foreign to those not used to them, but second nature to 'natives'. As an immigrant, I had a day today where I felt I was going through Ellis Island and couldn't effectively communicate with the people who were trying to admit me to the country. As technology grows ever more complex, the immigrant must keep up to what is second nature to a native. This is frustrating but necessary and 'enlightening' once a person figures things out. I think the 'teachable moment' of class today was the constant reminder of the opportunities and tribulations of being an immigrant and the absolute necessity of moving forward.

Excel Bliss

I can admit I felt a bit overwhelmed with Excel begin to begin with! It was a bliss to me all the different function options and how to enter them to gather data. I was creating a cheat sheet of how to copy items and move data from one sheet to another in hopes making it easier. There's so much that Excel has to offer that I never really paid attention to.

Creating the salary schedule was definately a challenge and tested our patience (mine at least) but it only helped me want to figure it out more. I plan to use Excel more when compiling my data since now I know how to do it in half the time as I was doing in Microsoft Word!

Have a great couple of weeks everyone!

Weekend 2, Day 2

WOW! I guess "comfortable with Excel" is a relative phrase.... Seems that I am actually comfortable with, as Jamie pointed out, that which I use on a regular basis. I learned quite a bit today! I learned a few new functions from Dr. Closen today, and they will save me a tremendous amount of time in the future. (Thanks, Dr. Closen!)

I enjoyed working together with my group to figure out the problems of learning something new. Transfer this to the classroom, where students struggle together and I think that it builds a sense of community, and a sense of pride when a problem is solved.

Practical experience like this excites me (Could you tell, Karen?) and I'm eager to learn things that I can put to use. This wasn't just "another hoop" to jump through - it's something we can all use. Sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes... Have a great week, everyone!

Ugh! Excel

I cannot believe how stupid I feel when it came to working with Excel today in class. I think I have completely avoided using Excel, because I have an electronic grade book that does all the calculations for me. I guess I never saw the purpose of it. Then, if had I to use Excel, my husband would have to help me, but unlike me, he uses Excel every day, since is an engineer. But, now going through this class, I can see the importance of using it has an administration to manipulate data. I am learning, slowly, and begrudgently, but I am quite determined to get better!

Equity of Access

I was intrigued by many things in class today, including the FLIP camera, the National Technology standards and the analysis of our schools' administrators with regards to where they fall in the continuum. I was particularly intrigued at the idea of equity of technology access among teachers, students, and sub-groups such as ELL and Special Education students within a school. Working in a school with a relatively high SES, I have noticed how much many of our students rely more on their own personal technology and what they have at home, compared to what the school offers. Given the filters and aging nature of many of our computers, students who have means simply bring their own laptops or save work for home, simply because it is more easily done there. Our school technology people have made this home use easier by creating a home-accessible U-drive and going paperless with regards to grades, parent newsletters and most communication. There are, however, 11% of the students who fall into the low SES category who can't do this, and they oftentimes lag behind their peers in finishing technology-related projects. It is "assumed" that if they need computer access outside of school, they can go to the library; given where they live and the nature of many of their family structures this is not equitable at all. Having a few of these students in class, I am concerned that this 'have not' in a world of digital natives who 'have' has led to increased low SES dropouts and a host of other issues.

Weekend 2 Day 1.5

I'm short one post so I'm making up for lost time. I learned a lot about IIRC today and how to really search for data. I enjoyed looking about the trends of our school and comparing ours against others with similar demographics. I found that our school is doing pretty well comparatively. I keep leaving my classes woindering why none of this wasn't taught in my undergrad......

Jon

Weekend 2 Day 1

Today we looked at what our schools are doing well, ok, and below average. I think I sometimes forget that my principal is doing everything that he can to give me what I need. I am critical of him a lot when it comes to technology but I'm also not the one in his shoes. There are sometimes good reasons why things are the way they are. I need keep in mind my feelings as a teacher and do what I can as an administrator to fix them. So far my classes have made me see our school in a different light. I need to try to stay positive and help the school community as much as I can.

Jon

The Flip Camcorder

I was really impressed with the ability of the Flip Camcorder that Dr. Closen showed us in class today. I could not believe how easy it would be to use in the classroom. There would be no cables to fumble around with, and the video could be up and running in a matter of minutes. I really liked how the camcorder could be plugged directly into the USB drive. I also kept thinking of all the possibilities with MovieMaker and PowerPoint, where students could create unique video projects for class. I am seriously thinking about purchasing one because of how user-friendly it is and the endless possibilities for it in the classroom.

Weekend 2 Day 1 Reflection

I can honestly admit that I have not looked into the ISTE in depth prior today in class. There is a technology committee in the district; however we are rarely informed on information pertaining to technology. In my district there is only two tech personnel and a few aides making it difficult to communicate and improve our low levels of ongoing professional learning.

As long as I have been around I have never been informed of our district's technology plan or vision; same applies for my building. I do know that there are several frustrated individuals in my district this year due to a virus wiping out our servers for nearly three weeks, short number of technology staff members to fix issues, and lack of training on how to implement all the new SMART Boards and for each teacher to create their own webpage!

Great Class. Good Discussions.

Weekend 2, Day 1

Taking a look at the NETS standards and completing the survey designed for Site leaders gave me a bit more insight into the responsibilities that come with technology leadership. I'm not exactly proud to say that I've never seen these standards before today. How'd I miss these?

Of course, I am happy to say that when I looked at the teacher's standards, I believe I am clearly heading in the right direction in terms of my utilization of wikis and blogs in my classroom. I know that I have a long way to go, though. When Dr. Closen brought up the David Truss video, I was impressed with the content. There was a quote in the video, and I'm paraphrasing...."When I look at someone else's page, it makes me want to make mine better." I'm proud to say that I have a competitive streak when it comes to this stuff! I enjoy learning more about tech, and then looking for ways to apply and share what I've learned with students.

I think anytime we can inspire other educators to do more and do better, we're demonstrating what it means to be an effective leader.

Day 2 Reflections

Wow! I was amazed by the copyright laws. I realized I was breaking the law when I would show a movie in class after we have read a novel. This week, we finished the novel Holes, and normally I would show the movie so the kids could compare and contrast the book and the movie. Now, I am going to have to figure something else out!

When we were working with Excel, I realized just how much I didn't know about the program! I am looking forward to working with Excel, so that I have a chance to learn more about it. It is the only Microsoft Office program that I do not use on regular basis.

I am really excited to have this class right now. I love to use technology in my classroom, but I often feel like I do not have time to find things on the Internet and learn to use new tech. This class will give me the opportunity to spend some time learning about new technology that I will hopefully be able to use in the classroom and later in my administrative career.

Guilt

Holy Cow! Students are powering down and we are not prepared as an educational system to change that. Individual teachers are experimenting and letting go of teacher-focused instruction, but I think there should be a systematic way to help all teachers change their approach. What an enormous task.

The article by Will Richardson really hit me in two ways. One, it made me realize how blind I have been to the technology that is out there. It has been overwhelming to me and so I have avoided it. That is changing. Two, it made me want to learn more so I can help students to stay engaged and not power down when they come to school.

We have had five days with students so far this year and I can't walk into a classroom without feeling guilty about how we are not completely serving students. Sure, we have great, caring, creative teachers, but without vision and direction those qualilties are not enough. As administrators, we need to take care of our teachers as we lead them into this global change in education. It's a scary, yet exciting thing!

Day Two Reflection

I really enjoyed completing the Excel project in class. It is a very benefical, easy to use tool to assist in breaking down ISAT scores. I have not had very much experience of sorting data so I felt that this activity was worthwhile. It allows for identifying certain weak areas and that need improvement at the click of a button.

Over the summer my district had gone through some major changes in staffing due to teachers being terminated for violation of technology code. They were let go as a result of inappropriate and sexual content within emails. Due to this dilemma our district has spent several hours over the past few days of inservice discussing the technology code of conduct and what is permissable and what is not.

At this point I feel very timid about posting photos of students and utilizing online and external resources in fear of copyright violation. I can openly admit that I have violated copyright laws on a couple of occasions showing videos relevant to the topic of slavery. It was very helpful to discuss in class copyright laws.

Weekend 1, Day 2

I thought that yesterday was a case in point for all districts to embrace uniformity when it comes to platforms, operating systems, and software versions. Imagine the frustration and chaos in a district running several different versions of a program on several types of machines, as we were doing in class on Sunday.

Fortunately, in a class of 9, it was relatively easy for Dr. Closen to make his way around and help individuals work through issues. Multiply this problem across many buildings in a district, however, and you could see the headaches of management involved with such an issue.

As we mentioned in the review of the tech plan, it was nice to see that the Casey-Westfield district had adopted uniformity. I know in my own district it took about 7 years to transition everything over, but now there is a uniform purchasing requirement for all new machines across the district and all machines are imaged and set up the same way upon delivery. Older machines unable to be upgraded (we're talking 386's, 486's) are left in buildings for staff and students to use with the understanding that tech support will no longer be provided and when the machine dies, it will not be replaced. Many resources are saved in time and money as our district technicians can now simply log on to any machine on the network from one location and troubleshoot issues that arise.

Of course, keeping everyone on the same page comes with issues, as well. For example, with each new release of software comes several questions..."Do we upgrade at this time? What are the costs/consequences of doing so? What are the consequences of not doing so? What expense will there be in adoption of new software? Etc...."

As stewards of taxpayer money, we have the responsibility to use funds wisely to increase student achievement and provide our students with access to current, relevant technology designed to prepare them for real-world applications. If that means we all use IE 7 instead of switching to IE 8, that's the way it'll have to be... (Trust me, it's probably better that way anyway.) :)

Reflections of day 2

The work we did with the excel program was very interesting. My current principal hands out spreadsheets with student data to analyze. He uses conditional formatting to make the spreadsheet easier to read. I always wondered how he highlighted the different boxes, now I know. When we went over the copyright laws it made me aware that selling the football highlight tapes for a fundraiser was probably illegal....whooops

Reflections on Day 2

The copyright laws that we discussed at the end always seem to make me laugh. In education we are continually infringing on copyright laws, especially when it comes to watching movies. I also understand that teachers are given some leeway. I enjoy learning about the law and I can only imagine the size of the new educational law book as more and more technology related cases make their way into the court system.

After today I have a new appreciation for technology in the classroom. I can honestly say that I do not use enough. I feel that part of this problem is our lack of professional development. Too frequently we are told to intergrate technology and given time to add it to your classes. No advice, no modeling, no help...just get it done. For me it seems that I want to know how to run the program myself and provide instructions for my students before I can expect them to perform tasks. Even with all this said, my wiki that I plan to develop will be used by my students this year. If you start with one small project and become comfortable, I think you can build and expand on that.

Lastly I realized another reason for understanding literacy, adapting, and tranforming...knowing which level your teachers are at. Too frequently administrators are happy when you make your kids do a powerpoint and feel you have intergrated technology. I think that looking at these three definitions allowed me to better see how well teacher are using technology and if they are getting to the transforming level or just staying at the literacy level. Too frequently are students are still at a literacy level and a few adapting projects may be developed. You stated it very well when you said that an administrator needs to model this. Our administration (superintendent) has slowly been decreasing the computer requirements of our students. We have very few students that can manipulate programs beyond the basic level. Sad to say we are moving in the wrong direction when it comes to technology.

Possibilities with Excel

As I think most people in class are thinking, Excel is an excellent tool for taking data and highlighting/ sharing it with staff. If only more administrators knew how to use it! At our school, we get all sorts of data, but there is no organization to it and we are supposed to look at it in an instant and find trends and see what it says. Often we get this data in multiple-page photocopies and after flipping through them we are simply frustrated and don't get much out of it. I can see the value of either organizing the data yourself to reveal certain items or teach key faculty/department people to manipulate the data themselves on Excel to see what most effects them.

Reflections of Day 2

I have never been real comfortable using Excel. I had to always rely on my husband to help me through the program. But, today I found it quite helpful that we went through the program step by step, which I do not remember to doing that in other computer class. I guess that is why I was always fustrated with Excel. Sometimes I just need that hands-on, step-by -step application to help me grasp new computer programs. Although it took me a few tries to sort data on the spreadsheet, I can finally say that I feel more comfortable than ever working with Excel!

Day 1

Yesterday in class I was amazed by the feelings that I was experiencing. I really like to learn about technology, but I felt overwhelmed by the feelings that I really don't know a lot about technology. I am excited to be in this class. I am hoping that I learn quite a bit that I can take back to my classroom and also use in my future as an administrator.

Reflections of Day 1

I was overwhelmed by the amount of technology that is out there yet excited to learn/practice some different things. It makes me rethink about how to incorporate technology into my classroom. The siftables were very impressive to me. The application can be quite endless especially at the elementary level.

Yesterday

Day 1

Yesterday was a long day of class but I learned a lot. It is nice to take a class in technology because it is an area that I really enjoy. It is also an area that many teachers struggle with. I think that technology in education is a strength of mine and it will help me to get an elementary principal position in the future.

I enjoyed the siftables and the thought of how we could use them in education. I'm sure I'll learn more about podcasts later in class so that I can use them more effectively in class.

Jon S.

Frustration with technology access

The video clips about our teenagers and twentysomethings struck me as I look at all of the new 'rules' and the refinement of our CIPA filter for the new school year. We really do ask students to power down and then expect to motivate them with chalkboards and the traditional factory model seating and format that was used 30 years ago. This year our school has completely outlawed not only cell phones but also ipods. In addition, the 'newer' CIPA filter blocks any kind of message board, forum, e-mail or blog from not only students but also faculty. This has been frustrating as many of the contacts we teachers have had with faculty at other schools via message boards and forums are blocked. Moreover, it discourages any use of blogs or discussion boards for student use. We have a few teachers who have students get twitter accounts or become a member of blogs outside the school building, but this is unfair to the poorer kids whose only internet access is school or the public library, that they have a hard time getting to. From an administrative standpoint, I understand the need for the school to be vigilant about student use of the internet--there are always those few apples that ruin it for the bunch. But as teachers, I believe that through our log ins (and I have asked and know this is true) they could give us access to these educational opportunities. If some amongst us abuse it, they can be admonished as per our contracts. It seems that there is a need for more trust...

Reflection

I am going to find this course very helpful considering I was not familiar with several of the tech terms discussed at the beginning of class yesterday. I find the virtual reality programs, such as SecondLife interesting and now I know what my students are talking about when they talk their own avatars. Siftables seem like a fascinating and very intelligent way of getting students engaged in their learning. On behalf of working with students with special needs I could see implementing Siftables into my math program very easily. They would provide students immediate feedback and I know the students would enjoy learning their facts using mini computers!

Reviewing and discussing Casey Westfield Technology Plan was very beneficial. My group worked collaboratively and shared comments regarding the plan. I did not realize how much required information is compiled into a tech plan.

Weekend 1, Day 1

I enjoyed our conversations today regarding tech. As we discussed in our group of 3 during our evaluation of the technology plan, many people are comfortable with turning technology on and off; the challenge lies in applying technology effectively to increase student achievement. I try to reflect on this each time I use technology with students - What is my purpose? Are we playing or are we learning?

Admittedly, there are times when students play to learn. I witness this daily in the lives of my own children as they discover technology at home. As I am working with students who already are behind in terms of reading ability, I just want to make sure that we maximize the time we have together. From wikis to podcasts, to asking students to analyze their own achievement scores in Excel, I want to make sure that the technology I utilize with students, and the manner in which I do so is meaningful, relevant, and exposes them to real-world experience they will benefit from.

Day One

I was surprised about the siftables and what they could do.....