February 28, 2008

Today was not a stressful day, and I got a lot of work done. I visited the LA class again to see if there were any questions, and I did have a few. I was upset that most tried to do a PowerPoint and did not try movimaker or photostory. They do have choices. I learned that I need to limit those choices next time. It will also be a learning curve for me. I also got a lot of minor things done, which have been on the back burner. I also have begun in earnest the job of creating a teacher wiki for use by all teachers in the district. I feel the wiki will help all become initiated to the concept and will allow collaboration by invitation only; therefore, teachers can add resources as deemed necessary. It will be a good challenge. I also had another student comment on my blog today, and I need to respond to that one. It was a good day, and I will take that. There a were a few tech glitches. The part that really made my day happened yesterday and last night when I walked around during back-to-school night and saw teachers using their interactive boards. Some even ventured outside their comfort zones and created some PowerPoints for their respective classes. i thought this was great. It will take time, and I will take those triumphs. Great job teachers!!!!!!!!!!! Until tomorrow.....Oh, I forgot I have to add this song which extols the sarcastic virtues of NCLB (No Child Left Behind). It is great.. Here is the link to "Not On The Test" http://www.tomchapin.com/ Tom I love the message.

Febraury 27, 2008

Here I am with a group of students at the Wallaceton-Boggs Elementary School at the CIU10 Regional computer fair it is a great competition, but I have not been able to devote enough time to the students. I know that I am going to have to hand off those responsiblities to someone else for next year if I still have this job. It took us awhile to get hooked up to the internet because we could not access the wireless; it is a good thing we have the techie with us and voila! I am now ready in case I get Skyped from the LA class. I will not be dealing with too much today with CFF but tonight is the second semester Back-to-School night, and I will be able to work on some material tonight. I ma glad that I was able to update my blog. I will not write as much for today as I did yesterday so I will end now.

February 26, 2008

This day has been one for the books. The district was on a two-hour delay so I decided to go in early and do some work. I was going through my email when the internet burped (this is my term for an anomaly), and the internet froze. I decided to do a restart, and when I did, my Vista was invalid. I tried everything and called some techies but to no avail. So I did something I did not want to do--CALL Microsoft. I have dealt with them before so I knew it would be an interesting time. One hour later--which included three calls, six different people, one automated system, and a partridge in a pear tree--the issue was resolved. I was thankful for their help, and the person I talked with was quite good. One other computer in the district experienced the same problem, and I was able to get the problem resolved quickly. Thank you Microsoft.

I then visited LA class and gave them a short presentation on Photo Story and Movie Maker. The teacher thought I was going to go through a detailed explanation of the software, but I gave them the information they needed to know to delve into the program and learn. I told them since I would not be there tomorrow, the teacher could Skype me, or I would be back Thursday. I thought it went well. The goal is discovery. The students will learn by doing. I feel this is important.

I also had a CFF meeting after school and went over my role as a coach, laptop procedures, the embedded learning class, and technical problems. I had the techie come in and talk about technical difficulties we are experiencing. I told them to exercise patience. I know getting the technology working, etc. can be frustrating because I dealt with that frustration in the morning with Vista. This is a new learning curve for all. I still must say I am impressed with the group. They are stepping outside their comfort zone and trying new concepts. i feel it is great. Oh, I gave the group the address for my blog because one of the math teachers could not understand how Photo Story, etc. could be used in math. We must all begin thinking outside the box

I know I have written a good amount today. Oh, lest I forget, I had another comment to my blog today from one of the students whom I presented to (notice the correct form of "whom"--sorry the grammarian will always be in me even though I would hate to grade my writing in this blog--I excuse that because this is my reflection). I will be attending the computer fair with some PV students tomorrow. I am hoping that the teacher will Skype me so her students can ask any questions. I know they are testing, though.

February 25, 2008

I'm back in the saddle again (a little bit of Aerosmith for you uniniated). I am still mostly working with hardware issues, but they are becoming less and less. It is important to get the material up and running for teachers and students to use. We do have the wireless problems (I believe) solved so that is quite good. I have joined another teacher to the embedded learning group, and that also seems to be working well. I will be working with my group after school tomorrow to go over procedures working with the laptops, questions with the course, and my role with them. I am also working in the language arts tomorrow on Photo Story and Movie Maker. They are doing a project on fallacies. I am looking forward to this and have the material ready. The course I am teaching is becoming a burden, but I am still making time for it. Let's face it; I am frillin' busy. In March, I and my cohort have to do a board presentation, and I am trying to set-up some remote features. It will be a good challenge. It will be a busy week; let's see what happens. You will find out all my loyal readers (how do you like the sarcasm?)

February 22, 2008

Guess What? Come on, guess......you got it--no school. This has happened quite a bit in the last four weeks, but it is for the best. I am here finishing some things and helping our techie get ready for the TSA (Technology Students of America) regional competition. We have a large chapter, and I love to see what the students create. I do help a few of them with projects, but that is part of coaching. It just does not deal with classes. I finished my written statement for the school newsletter and googledoced (how do you like that new verb) to my cohort in the elementary level. I vowed today that I will get my CFF log up-to-date next week. I do dislike that part of my position, but I also know that it helps with the grant. It will be a busy day on my day off because I also have to help a colleague with his computer due to a malware problem. Well, I need to go; I will leave all of my blog fans (I think I am now up to one [me]) in anticipation of next week's continuing adventures of CFFFlick at PV. I know the humor is lame, but I am okay with it--besides, it's my blog. Have a great weekend.........

February 21, 2008

I had a meeting this morning with my counterpart in the elementary, and it was quite productive in that we were able to network. I found out that we face a lot of the same challenges, which is good. Sometimes it feels like one is stuck on an island. I spent most of the day troubleshooting problems and got most of them worked out. One major problem I am having is with a lappy that does not want to open a program outside of school. I will find the answer. Oh, I was emailed a vid by the techie that has shades of 1984 written all over it. You will see what I mean.

I enjoyed the video, but it does make one think. I am to do a PhotoStory presentation tomorrow for a LA class which is doing logical fallacies in advertising. I am looking forward to doing it and showing the teacher and students some of the neat things that can happen; well, it will happen if we have school. It does not look good weather-wise. I also find it hard to believe that I am somewhat addicted to my blog. It is difficult to have time to reflect, and I use this for that reason. It also gives me a chance to go back and jog the ol' noodle about thangs.

February 20, 2008

Another interesting day at the factory--I know that a CFF coach is not supposed to deal with technical issues, but most of work thus far has been in that area. When a coach is involved in a small school district with just one techie in the building, he/she must be available to deal with some technical issues. One of my recommendations to the PDE will be that this concept must be dealt with in school districts of my size. I know that other CFF coaches also have this dilemma, and they are handling it the same way. If the technology does not work, then how can a coach teach others to use it. We must be ready to tackle that issue. A big tech issue is getting the wireless up and running efficiently. We have increased the power, and I hope that solves the issue.
I have most of the teachers signed up for the course. There are some wavering on taking it for credit or not, and I have to meet with a teacher today to help her with that issue. I am tackling other areas to try and bring everyone up to speed. I still face some reluctance and obstinance, but I will handle those one at a time. I have developed a packet for teachers to use the intereactive whiteboards and will hand those out tomorrow. I am still trying to get hold of Promethean to get training on the boards for myself and the teachers. It does get frustrating, but all new initiatives can be that way. I have to believe and I do.
It is calling for bad weather on Friday; gotta love the delays, etc. Oh, the lunar eclipse was great. I had better go before I bore any readers to go to some other blog......hahahahahaha

February 19, 2008

The day started off poorly, but it got a lot better. LME. I will talk about the good part. One teacher, who is not even a part of CFF, talked to me about doing a webquest in social studies. She told me that it was out of her comfort zone, but she was quite excited about doing it. Good job Mrs. Dean. The second occurred when another teacher took my suggestion--she is part of CFF--about the possibility of using PhotoStory for logic fallacies. This is also out of her comfort zone, but she is willing to give it a try. She is worried about the facilitation mode of teaching. It is a foreign concept. I love it. I also have the embedded learning set up and have emailed teachers about using it. I know some are worried about the time and the technology, but as long as they are willing to work with me, I will be willing to throw myself into their projects. It is moving ahead, and I am quite happy with these little victories. I know that this is tough because we have been programmed to believe that there is only one way to do things; it is very tough to reliquish that control. It will start slowly, but every revolution must start some where. I will be back tomorrow.

February 18, 2008

No school today because of President's Day, but I came in anyway to do some work. I was able to bring the embedded learning up to speed. I also worked on downloading some audiobooks. That was about it. I know that it was not an exciting day..tomorrow will be different.

February 15, 2008

In-service Day--Teachers just love these days when they can get together and do things that are deemed wothwhile by the powers that be (notice the sarcasm). I am now part of that establishment who imparts knowledge during this day. It is somewhat different being on the other side, and it will take awhile to get used to it. We did finish getting the laptops joined to the domain; now the company is checking the access points to make sure there is access throughout the building. I met with my group to get them signed onto the domain and to get them registered for the course. I also had to meet with teachers for individual problems. Getting the teachers registered was somewhat of a hassle because I did not possess the knowledge to answer their questions about administrative decisions. We now have the answers, and I hope to release them soon to get the course started. I know that there is some apprehension about getting started and doing all of the work that is being required expecially with the eschoolbook initiative, etc., but I am making it as non-intrusive as possible. I know it will all work out. We have a vacation day Monday, but I know I will be here for part of it. Have a stupendous weekend......

February 14, 2008

I have read my first comment to my blog, and I quite excited to find that someone actually does read it. I thought the question was good, and I responded in the blog. I am still amazed that someone actually does read it. I am getting ready for the meeting tomorrow. I need to get things around to aid them into logging into the course and signing up for it. We are getting the wireless all set up, but now we have to join all of the laptops to the domain. Dustin and the Smuck came up with a flash drive script to make the job easier. Good work. I am also going around and putting out fires to get all of this ready. I like the fact that some teachers are experimenting. Great Job. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day. Ya gotta love a holiday invented by greeting card companies et. al.

February 12, 13 2008

There has been no school for these two days, but I have been here downloading audiobooks and registering students for the Computer Fair. The weather has been ugly, but that does not stop the CFF coach from doing his/her job. I guess one could compare us to the USPS except we deliver on time. Enough of the guffaws from all of you skeptics. We do take the job seriously because we believe in what we are doing. In the words of that famous sage Voychev: "не надо мешать грамматический определенный член nonbelievers и внебрачный,побочный ребенок быть одетым во что-либо ты пух." I will be back tomorrow. I doubt if anyone ever reads this blog, but I do......................

February 11, 2008

I worked top catch up today after being out for two days last week. I am so glad that the teachers are trying the whiteboards; it will be a lot of trial and error, but they must let the kids work on some of the material. It is tough to let go of those reins, but it is neat to be a facilitator. Like I said, the technology ed (shop) teachers have had the idea for years. We have our building wireless up and running. I know there will be some glitches, but doesn't that happen with most things. It will all work out with some patience; ah, the key word is patience. We expect our students to have it, and we exhibit little of it sometimes. The old adage comes into play, "Do as I say; not as I do." Time is such commodity now, but I know it will all work out. I am going to meet with the teachers this Friday and begin the course with them. I am going to get them signed up for it and begin. I am going to take a laissez-faire approach with them, but they must all take it. I find some of the course to be thought provoking, but it is mostly theory with some rhetoric thrown in. Well, I must get back to work.........cya

February 8, 2008

Back in Billtown, whoa o o o o o o. IU 17 is not a bad place at all. It is in a fairly modern building and quite comfortable. Today we learned some audacity and the use of PhotoStory. I must admit that I am impressed with the use of PhotoStory in that Microsoft has made something quite easy to use and somewhat powerful from the ease of use. I used my webcam to set up the entire shoot for PhotoStory. I feel good about the training and the trainers. I have learned some new things which makes going to these worthwhile. Again, I feel the networking with the other coaches is quite valuable. I still have some other trainings to attend: the Adobe and the Promethean training. I hope that these two sessions are as valuable. Talk again with you next week...

This is the PhotoStory that my group did. It is inane but interesting. The second is from another group. It was done with Smarties. Great Job!!!

February 7, 2008

I am now in Williamsport for Step II training with CDW-G. I was all set to be there on time and had my directions printed out, but there was a hitch--I forgot the folder with all of that information. Well, I got there and began the training with 18 other intrepids. We dealt with wikis, oovoo, podcasting, and screen captures. I found the information informative and useful. It was a good use of the time. One of the best aspects was the interaction with other CFF coaches. It is good to talk with them and find out other information. The networking is important and needed in this position. Tomorrow another day in Billtown.

February 6, 2008

Today dealt with problems. We finished the teacher laptops and now every teacher has one. We also worked on projectors to make sure they all worked. Also some teachers chose to keep their own laptops, and we need to update them with the software. Also we are setting up the wap's so we can put the carts into use. We are hoping they will be done this week. I am working on finishing the sites for the teachers so they use them as references. Teachers are still using the boards sporadically. I am waiting to get some more training on the boards so I can work with the teachers. I am also working on getting students involved as student techies. I see the value of this but it needs to be monitored. I am off for training tomorrow on Step II in Williamsport. If it is as good as the first one, I will be happy. Readers, if anyone reads this, feel free to click on my advertisements.....pssst, I get paid!!!!!

February 5, 2008

Since we came back from open box training, the teachers are starting to use the whiteboards, and I am ecstatic. It is neat to watch them explore. I also had to do an interview with some students who wanted information on an article for the school newspaper. It was interesting to hear their perceptions about the whiteboards and their purposes. We talked for over an hour, and I showed them some things. It was so neat to see and hear how their perceptions changed over that hour. Their excitement level rose considerably. I am impressed with how things are going.

February 4, 2008

Wow, what a whirlwind weekend. CFF is cooking now as some of the teachers have laptops in hand and have asked about using the whiteboards. A few of the students interviewed me about CFF and the use of technolgy in the classroom. I showed them some of the software, etc. and told them about the philosophy behind the idea of integrating technology into the classroom. The conversation went on almost 45 minutes, and I could tell that they were amazed with the theory and the application. One of their biggest concerns was with the concept of the teachers actually using the peripherals and applying the concepts. I told them that this was my job, and I am living proof that one can teach an old dog new tricks. They laughed, but this is also my concern: teachers thinking outside the box with respect to the use of technology. We need to use blogging and wikis instead of paper and pencil, etc. It will be interesting, but I am up for that challenge to help guide. It will be different working with teachers because they are one of the toughest groups to teach, but I feel that the ones I facilitate will be up for the challenge. Hey, do not be afraid to comment or click on my ads........flick......until tomorrow!!!!!!!!

February 1, 2008

Ice, Ice Baby--that is how I entitle today's blog. I am in Hershey today and tomorrow for a football clinic. The clinic is not that good--very little variety concerning topics, quality of topics, quality of presenters--all lacking. I guess that it has been very icy back in CC and PV with no school. It has rained all day down here. There was ice this morning. I met up with an old friend, and we reminisced about old times. It was nice to do that and find out about people whom (notice the use of the objective case) I have not had much information about. Wow, it so hard to believe that almost 30 years ago. Well, I do need to talk about CFF; otherwise, I will be dismissed from the CFF blogging association. The only thing I have done is download the Iliad and blog. I have added another video which I thoroughly enjoy and deals with thinking outside the box.