Much like Dorothy dancing down the trail toward the Emerald city, representing all possibilities realized, I find myself fearfully excited as I pace down my own path of realizing technology idealizations for the classroom. Rather than stepping time to ,"Lions, and tigers, and bears," I tune to, "Websites, and Blog Space, and Nings, Oh, My!" Throw in a "twitter" and those dang Flying Monkeys appear in my mind's eye.
In recent weeks, I began creating a class ning, a social network arena on which my students can play "Facebook," but with content aimed toward English. I don't know how well that will work out. I have blogged and had students blog, but not having required posts/comments, only a few posts truly elicited remarks. On night's before due dates, my frosh. blog lit up with students asking questions and truly interacted with one another, as I hoped from day one.
Now, as a tech. coach, I am working with teachers on developing blogs, nings, OneNote notebooks, and more. Mostly, helping colleagues to create something with technology to use in their classrooms. I'm liking it much because I get to work with colleagues I might not ordinarily, have time to work, and think in other areas that then encourages more from me. I like that.
As for the rest, I have discussed much to many about technology uses. After the tech. conference out in St. Charles, the biggest topic I took away was Twitter and social networking, hence the amount of time into it lately.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Time to Give Thanks...
Okay, I'm thankful for technology.
Not just because I'm a tech. coach.
Not just because this blog I host.
Not just because it saves me time.
Not just because I make it mine.
I'm thankful for the time I save.
I'm thankful for the org. I crave.
I'm thanful for the speed and ease
of communiation tracks it leaves.
Teaching has changed more than I thought
Teaching could change the older I got.
Which leaves me to wonder how much more
Technology will push me through yet another door.
So, with all this time I now call mine
I work on my tablet instead of dine
on turkey and fixins, but that's fine.
More time, more work: where do I sign?
Not just because I'm a tech. coach.
Not just because this blog I host.
Not just because it saves me time.
Not just because I make it mine.
I'm thankful for the time I save.
I'm thankful for the org. I crave.
I'm thanful for the speed and ease
of communiation tracks it leaves.
Teaching has changed more than I thought
Teaching could change the older I got.
Which leaves me to wonder how much more
Technology will push me through yet another door.
So, with all this time I now call mine
I work on my tablet instead of dine
on turkey and fixins, but that's fine.
More time, more work: where do I sign?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Techno's BEST of times and WORST of times:
= my feelings on technology.I have to admit it: I'm in a dysfunctional love-hate relationship with technology. I'd ask for a cure, but believe I'd be better off with some one -stop fix-it pill, or so society tells me (a pill for all cures). I'll leave the lovin' for last , so will start with what the worst is.
WORST: When your computer stops working. We've all been there, from "the network's down" to "why won't this ___(fill in the blank)___" to "this is stupid" to "I can't insert" to "it's not doing what I want", etc. But how about this one: my home computer won't even power up. I broke it. Badly. Can't even turn it on to fix it. Or back it up. For six months (because I'm avoiding the confrontation of dealing with broken technology), it has made a spectacular paper weight. I find I have many of those now in life. See my home laptop's battery and power supply no longer function; theory is that the motherboard needs some soldering or replacement. I killed my mother(board), how wrong is that? And I have to mail it out to Texas with all my data for an exorbitant fee for a couple of weeks. It is the worst time ever when you can't even turn your computer on, and fixing it is just plain scary.
BEST: Karen Clindaniel's in-district OneNote Class. I took Palatine's Media specialist, Elizabeth Broemmelsiek's OneNote class this past summer. She was spectacular for introducing some tablet features, adapting to the needs of the class, and sharing her OneNote applications and how-to's. Karen takes OneNote further with applications in the classroom. I learned to love OneNote over the summer as my personal assistant, and now Karen is teaching how radically OneNote can affect my teaching. There's the organizational stand point, which is divine. I just need the time to create the notebooks for, well, everything. I have my club, team, classes, PLC, and more on OneNote. It is saving my life with retaining simple data that I used to keep, sometimes, on slips of paper jammed into one folder that sometimes fell to the floor and spatter about as though a grenade hit it. AND to beat the worst case scenario I currently suffer, each is backed up automatically as it sync's to the H drive. No inaccessible data for me ever again (I can dream).
But really, Karen's presentation is perfect for where I am at, and for many with me just beginning to truly explore the tablet as a tablet. Little "a-ha" and "wow" moments float about the room each class evening. And with time to work, and use her for problem solving and ideas, it's great. Soon(ish), I will have a complete notebook with all my materials properly organized for one course. Okay, maybe just close to complete; much of material sits in manila envelopes rather than on the computer, and while some of it can be made electronic, others can't. I have to scan them, and maybe I will. I know I plan to do so, but am locked by time constraints, which always seems to be the kicker when learning and using the new technology. It's as though, our profession now has a sixth prep for all teachers, one we have to take rather than teach, one that takes our time with the promise of giving time back.
See, now we're back to that dysfunctional relationship. It's a promise from technology that I have to trust to utilize, and I have trust issues. But with little leaps of faith and greater patience than any saint, I'm loving it!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
It's 5 (a.m.) O'Clock Somewhere...
Waking this morning to a migraine forced me to address my stress. While there is much to life, and mine is full, some concerns float about technology issues at school. I am unsure how to blog my recent reflections. A great deal of turmoil, stress, and conflict have smacked the technology ping-pong ball around making it more like an electron in an agitated atom.
Basically, we want progress, and when it comes our way, we question it. Old patterns emerge and cause strange anxiety. So, progress that is handed to us causes us to grab on and hold tightly to it, and just -hold on to it. We really want to embrace it and use it, but hesitations of those old patterns have us freezing like a deer in headlights. As the headlights come closer, we rear up and start kicking instead of simply stepping one direction or another.
The question becomes how to engage the afore mentioned deer. Does one push the deer out of the way, shoving it to where we think it needs to go? Entice the deer to step to the other side, or just move to a different spot on the road of progress? Let it stand there and doing nothing, allowing the deer to do or die, while only increasing the anxiety and fretting? Step on the accelerator (bringing progress even faster), thus forcing a result?
The deer is interested in something on that path; it wandered there, even if aimlessly, into progress's path. That is good. I know there is a "greener pasture" with better tasty nibblies for that deer just a little further down the road---and even on the same side of the road; no crossing to the other side is necessary! The deer would love it in this new little meadow of delight; it just has to get there. I could lead it through the forest, but it has to trust me first, to follow. Even then, it runs to the street and gets caught in the headlights. Once there, we are in heightened awareness and anxiety and fear and reacting and panicked and and and.
So, that's where we are with some of this progress, deers running into a street at night. Progress continues. Innocent deer, nature, progress, and little helpers hoping to help the deer stay alive and find that magnificent meadow just a bit further down from the already eaten bare meadow full of hunters the deer currently lives.
The first question then is: are you the deer, the driver, or the helper?
And, then, what are you going to do?
Basically, we want progress, and when it comes our way, we question it. Old patterns emerge and cause strange anxiety. So, progress that is handed to us causes us to grab on and hold tightly to it, and just -hold on to it. We really want to embrace it and use it, but hesitations of those old patterns have us freezing like a deer in headlights. As the headlights come closer, we rear up and start kicking instead of simply stepping one direction or another.
The question becomes how to engage the afore mentioned deer. Does one push the deer out of the way, shoving it to where we think it needs to go? Entice the deer to step to the other side, or just move to a different spot on the road of progress? Let it stand there and doing nothing, allowing the deer to do or die, while only increasing the anxiety and fretting? Step on the accelerator (bringing progress even faster), thus forcing a result?
The deer is interested in something on that path; it wandered there, even if aimlessly, into progress's path. That is good. I know there is a "greener pasture" with better tasty nibblies for that deer just a little further down the road---and even on the same side of the road; no crossing to the other side is necessary! The deer would love it in this new little meadow of delight; it just has to get there. I could lead it through the forest, but it has to trust me first, to follow. Even then, it runs to the street and gets caught in the headlights. Once there, we are in heightened awareness and anxiety and fear and reacting and panicked and and and.
So, that's where we are with some of this progress, deers running into a street at night. Progress continues. Innocent deer, nature, progress, and little helpers hoping to help the deer stay alive and find that magnificent meadow just a bit further down from the already eaten bare meadow full of hunters the deer currently lives.
The first question then is: are you the deer, the driver, or the helper?
And, then, what are you going to do?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Blog-success!
Wonders of wonders did my E102classupdates (link in side margin here) blog take off! 
I had students ask questions via the blog post ASK QUESTIONS here by way of comments. I then responded, in the hopes that students would look at other questions/answers before leaping with their question if it is already answered. Ideally, I hoped to save time in 1:1 q and a, when all students could benefit from the dialog. Sure enough, the blog found success! Big time! The night before the paper was due, several students really took advantage of the q/a format and got help from me while working on their papers. Better, they helped one another, in answering questions, and in support when "I'M FREAKING OUT!" was posted. The support and sharing was a delight to see for me. And the mad typing, while time consuming, had me excited for them. I know the comments helped them, a great deal. For now, it took a chunk of extra time for me, but 1. helped them much, 2. encouraged student: student help, 3. provided a sounding board, 4. can be used and modified for time streamlining next time.
In contrast, my juniors had the same situation offered on my e302 blog site, but did not take advantage nearly as much, nor did they really engage in helping one another. Interesting in that they all had the same introduction from me into using it; however, I did not have a class period with the juniors where I would only answer questions in the computer lab from the blog site (since the juniors did not have the computer lab available as a class). I guess it has to be started there.
I had students ask questions via the blog post ASK QUESTIONS here by way of comments. I then responded, in the hopes that students would look at other questions/answers before leaping with their question if it is already answered. Ideally, I hoped to save time in 1:1 q and a, when all students could benefit from the dialog. Sure enough, the blog found success! Big time! The night before the paper was due, several students really took advantage of the q/a format and got help from me while working on their papers. Better, they helped one another, in answering questions, and in support when "I'M FREAKING OUT!" was posted. The support and sharing was a delight to see for me. And the mad typing, while time consuming, had me excited for them. I know the comments helped them, a great deal. For now, it took a chunk of extra time for me, but 1. helped them much, 2. encouraged student: student help, 3. provided a sounding board, 4. can be used and modified for time streamlining next time.In contrast, my juniors had the same situation offered on my e302 blog site, but did not take advantage nearly as much, nor did they really engage in helping one another. Interesting in that they all had the same introduction from me into using it; however, I did not have a class period with the juniors where I would only answer questions in the computer lab from the blog site (since the juniors did not have the computer lab available as a class). I guess it has to be started there.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Whoopsie-Daisy!
We've got an oops, that I realized, neglected mention, and with which another teacher has approached me. The growing attendance oops for some may well be linked to the tablets and desktops issues in the classroom. I noticed that when I received error in my attendance that I had indeed done it, but was logged on to both my tablet and the desktop in the classroom. I only entered attendance on one of the computers, perhaps not the one that I logged on to first. Whoopsie-Daisy! (?)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Extra, Extra!
We had a very LOOoooonG week with Open House smack dab in the middle of it all. Many powerpoints were prepped and practice, to be sure. Beyond that little extra, a few more extras appeard, like an extra 40 or 50 students on my Athletic Eligibility list. A few extra clicks of the mouse may seem like no extra time or energy, but those little minutes add up. Besides, some of those minutes are large chunks of time, from screen switching, to wait time between clicks, to staring at the glow from the screen, thinking and deciding. 
I realize that I could be much quicker with my extra clicking, but as a head coach I also recognize the importance of the accuracy of those reports. Furthermore, in another midterm time length, I will better equipped to click quicker, just by knowing the students better than I do during the first few weeks, first few AE reports. Still, EGADS! The extra 20 to 30 minutes (no I'm not kidding , nor exaggerating) could be my lunch or a set of papers graded, or some cooperative learning stations created.
Technology enables us to do so much more, but, then, well, we do so much more. It comes back to balance, again, and priorities. I suspect that the AE list is a low priority for some teachers, and I suspect that some teachers have far fewer (and some with more) students on whom to report. I do understand that some enhancements to the technology will speed along some of the extra work for us, which is absolutely brilliant. THAT is what I love about technology: enhancement, improvement, time saver.
It's just that sometimes, it takes some extra time to get the technology to save some time, whether it's learning it or filling in the electronic potholes. And, sometimes, technology makes it very easy to require more from people, without allotting extra time. More often, I and others, do
extra as extra technology enhances.
Sometimes I question if all the extra work is worth it; for example, I have a couple class blogs in which I update what we do in class, with insights and assignments. Do parents/students/supports for students utilzie them? In a couple disheartening email exchanges with parents of absent and/or needy students in which I provide the blog link as a resource for their long-term requests, those same parents responded with requests for the blogged information via email. For me, it was redundancy and extra time lost on those email communications. So, the technology I have employed to save communication time, was not accessed. "They" ask for it, but don't utilize it. I sort of felt like Santa, making the requested toy (and even a duplicate), wrapping it, flying it out
(when it's not even Christmas Eve), delivering it down the chimney (despite the roasting flames) and into the home, and then receiving an updated request for another to be FedEx-ed for front door delivery instead (even though the requested toy is sitting in the living room, right next to the 52" LCD screen TV). And then when they get that delivery, they have already bought a replacement or changed their mind and no longer want the toy, uh, toyS. So a pile of new toys grows, unused, unopened, and they are good, quality, and educational toys (without lead paint or plastic poisons). 
A little extra.
I realize that I could be much quicker with my extra clicking, but as a head coach I also recognize the importance of the accuracy of those reports. Furthermore, in another midterm time length, I will better equipped to click quicker, just by knowing the students better than I do during the first few weeks, first few AE reports. Still, EGADS! The extra 20 to 30 minutes (no I'm not kidding , nor exaggerating) could be my lunch or a set of papers graded, or some cooperative learning stations created.
Technology enables us to do so much more, but, then, well, we do so much more. It comes back to balance, again, and priorities. I suspect that the AE list is a low priority for some teachers, and I suspect that some teachers have far fewer (and some with more) students on whom to report. I do understand that some enhancements to the technology will speed along some of the extra work for us, which is absolutely brilliant. THAT is what I love about technology: enhancement, improvement, time saver.
It's just that sometimes, it takes some extra time to get the technology to save some time, whether it's learning it or filling in the electronic potholes. And, sometimes, technology makes it very easy to require more from people, without allotting extra time. More often, I and others, do
extra as extra technology enhances.Sometimes I question if all the extra work is worth it; for example, I have a couple class blogs in which I update what we do in class, with insights and assignments. Do parents/students/supports for students utilzie them? In a couple disheartening email exchanges with parents of absent and/or needy students in which I provide the blog link as a resource for their long-term requests, those same parents responded with requests for the blogged information via email. For me, it was redundancy and extra time lost on those email communications. So, the technology I have employed to save communication time, was not accessed. "They" ask for it, but don't utilize it. I sort of felt like Santa, making the requested toy (and even a duplicate), wrapping it, flying it out
(when it's not even Christmas Eve), delivering it down the chimney (despite the roasting flames) and into the home, and then receiving an updated request for another to be FedEx-ed for front door delivery instead (even though the requested toy is sitting in the living room, right next to the 52" LCD screen TV). And then when they get that delivery, they have already bought a replacement or changed their mind and no longer want the toy, uh, toyS. So a pile of new toys grows, unused, unopened, and they are good, quality, and educational toys (without lead paint or plastic poisons). A little extra.
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