On the Move!!!

This week and next week are going to be absolutely crazy. We are in the middle of our pack and move to our new admin building. Boxes are a mile high and if I needed something I have no idea which box I put it in.
Besides the move we had a day and a half off because of snow. So in other words not a lot of coaching went this week. I spent some time on the phone with the wonderful people from e-instruction. I seem to spend a fair amount of time on the phone them for some reason. My Christmas wish is that someday I can just load a computer with the software from e-instruction and it works perfectly. That's all I want. Not a new car, not all the money in the world, just for the product to work like it is supposed to. That's not too much to ask.

Wordle.net

This is going to be a very short post because we are under a deadline for our move to the new administrative building at Jackson Plaza & there is still a lot to pack!

Layne mentioned Wordle.net in an earlier post, but since I have been spending some time trouble-shooting our network issues with it, I thought I'd spotlight it. The picture above is our 6-8th grade Technology Standards and Benchmarks after it has been processed by Wordle. The more often a word is used in a text, the larger it appears. Think of how you can use this in a classroom. I know of one middle school teacher in our district who uses this for her current events in her social studies classes. Students type in the article and they analyze it for main idea, why certain words appear larger, etc.

Check out this slideshow on 43 ways to use Wordle in the classroom.

Now...not to be pessimistic, but our network is having some issues with this. It works fine for me. It works fine in the middle schools. It even works fine on ONE of the computers in an elementary lab...but not the other 26. It says something about our firewall not allowing JAR files, but if this was the case, I assume it wouldn't work for ANYONE. (Mamma always says not to assume anything though). So after trying every possible solution I can think of, I have dumped this into one of our tech's lap. But, give it a try...it is well-worth it!

Give it a chance!!!!

Are we going about this the right way? Are people understanding what our intentions are??

You are always going to have people who question what you are doing and why. This job is no different. As more and more technology is rolled out, and being talked about, half are excited and half are really questioning why. What is the purpose of this technology? Who is going to make me use it? What's in it for me? I am not being negative, I'm just repeating the questions I always hear. I understand not all people are comfortable with technology, but I wish all would give it a chance before the negativity consumes them.

I received an email the other day from a 2nd grade teacher in our district who has come to really embrace the technology in her classroom. It has truly changed how she goes about her business. The email stated..."I created a class game using the CPS. My students love it! My students don’t even realize these are the same questions from worksheets we have recently done. You should see the smiles and hear the “yes” when their group gets the question right. They are so motivated to help each other and to solve the questions. This is truly awesome!! These are the moments the public, school district members, and other nah sayers should see!"

The engagement and learning that is going on in her classroom is amazing. The kids truly do love the technology. I understand being uncomfortable with technology. As a teacher whose job it is to make sure kids are succeeding and growing, I believe it to be a small price to pay to add some amazing tools to your tool box. Eventually you will be as comfortable with the technology as you are with brushing your teeth.

This email really reassures that we are doing the right thing. It's a good feeling to get an email like that from time to time explaining the positive impact that our job and the technology has delivered.I hope that most go in to this venture with an open mind. I am willing to do everything in my power to make sure teachers know how to use the technology and that they are as comfortable as can be.

Atomic Learning

This week I opened up some new software for data gathering & analyzing. (It's called InspireData.) We thought it would be neat to use for gathering data about our roll-out with our new equipment. Even more so, it would be a wonderful tool in the classroom. So as I was flipping through the manual, browsing through the .pdf, and just "jumping right into" the software, I just couldn't seem to find the answer to one of my questions. That's when Jamie said "Why don't you just check out Atomic Learning?"

Ahhhh....Atomic Learning. Have you ever checked it out? I don't know why that didn't occur to me in the first place. I used it in the classroom with my middle school students all the time. It was such a great resource for any software question we had. It was a tool to help students easily teach themselves the specific skill they needed. (No need for a whole-group lesson on how to insert a video into PowerPoint--the students who didn't know how could simply go to Atomic Learning.)

Here's how it works:
1. Go to www.atomiclearning.com
2. If you are using a SCCSD networked computer, it should recognize you. Otherwise you will have to use your AEA credentials to log in.
3. When you click on the Home button you will see a menu of choices. You can choose to find an answer to a tech. question or a particular product.
4. Each product has a tutorial broken into 1-2 minute clips.

So, as I logged into Atomic Learning, I was skeptical as to whether they would actually have any video tutorials on InspireData. But, to my pleasant surprise, 35 mini-clips were available for the watching. And sure enough, my question was answered within two minutes.

I think being able to teach yourself to learn is such a valuable skill that we all want our students to do, but as adults sometimes escapes us. Maybe it is the time constraints or simply the work overload that causes us to place new software programs on the back burner or simply throw our hands up. But, that is the beauty of Atomic Learning--you don't have to sit through a 30 minute video just to get to the part that concerns your issue.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Wow I think it has been 3 weeks!!!!

Alright..... Where do I begin. I forget to blog one week and it turns in to like 3 weeks of no blog. It's not to say nothing is going on, it's that too much is going on. I need to get out in the classrooms more and see what is happening. The days of teachers reporting to me all excited are not happening anymore. Our technology roll out is ever changing. This piece is being taken away, this piece is added, now this piece is back.... It is a very exciting time around the schools right now. We are in the process of moving to a new office building, the technology roll out is getting closer and closer, and all my stuff is packed in boxes.
With my position change this year, I truly am beginning to understand things in a different way. I think it would be great for all teachers at some point in their career to be able to go around to other buildings and see how things are done and truly understand why they are done that way. I have also learned that I have more patience than I ever thought I did.
OK. So I will try to be better about the blog. I promise I will have an update by the end of the week.

Thankful

As we approach this Thanksgiving Holiday and break, I thought I'd take some time to share what I am thankful for in our district.

Before I took this position, I really didn't realize the hard work that occurs behind the scenes. I've been able to witness first-hand what all of our techs do to make our classrooms connected yet safe. I am so very thankful we have such talent.

I am thankful for our teachers, especially our risk-takers who think outside of the box and who are so very patient with the frustrations that come along with taking those risks.

I am thankful for our "Laynes" & "Neils" out there with such a great vision for this district. The focus on technology in curriculum is beyond anything I've seen before.

I am thankful for being in this coaching position and for the great working relationship I share with my "co-coaches."

I am thankful for our eager students who so intrinsically embrace what we (adults) consider new and innovative.

I am thankful.

It's About Time

...there never seems to be enough of it, especially if you are a teacher. I often say, jokingly, that I want to work at Google. (My credentials wouldn't even get me in the door.) But one aspect of that company that intrigues me is what they call "Innovation Time Off"--or 20% Time. All Google engineers are encouraged to spend one day a week on a project that interests them. (G-Mail and Google News are a product of this time) Think of what a teacher could do with 20% time! In a recent interview with David Warlick, when questioned "What's stopping teachers, what are the challenges they are facing?" he replied

I think one of the biggest challenges facing them is the lack of time. Surgeons don't spend all of their time in surgery; lawyers don't spend all of their time in front of the jury. There's a lot more to teaching than just teaching. It's about collaboration, research, and materials development. There's a lot to teaching today that wasn't part of the job a few years ago. We have to understand that and somehow restructure the day. What we need is for teachers to work eight hours a day: four hours in instructional supervision, four hours in professional planning. Just think what a classroom could be like if every teacher had four hours of planning every day! Just think about the learning that could take place. Isn't that the kind of classroom that our children deserve?

Now I know the answer isn't simple or even something we all can agree upon. But I truly believe that what we are intending to do as a district--the responders, document cameras, projectors, 1 to 1 laptops, technology coaches, etc--can make a dent in that precious lack of time. I totally understand that the prospect of this equipment is exhilarating for some yet intimidating for others. Of course, the student use of technology, information, and learning is our ultimate goal, but if we can demonstrate how this "equipment" can ultimately save a teacher time, I think we will have everyone on board.

This time factor brings up a story I was sharing with Layne earlier. One night, during my first year in my leave of absence as a first grade teacher, my ten year-old son said "Wow, this is the first movie you ever watched with us." (It wasn't, of course) When I protested, he replied, "It's the first movie when you didn't have work on your lap." And, he was right.

Oh...if only I had a set of responders...