April 22, 2009

My 187th post on this blog. I would have never guessed that when I began this that I would continue it this long concerning a function of my life. Oh well, I am glad that I have done it. I sent out an email to the listserv with a link to the JANUS video. I hope that others take a look at it. I came across one of the laptops today that has been severely abused. This really %&*^%$%# me off. I do not appreciate it one iota, but there is little I can do. This is one of the items that concerned me when I took this job. Okay that is off my chest. Today I spent with Embedded Learning and cleaning up a lot loose ends. It was quite productive. I also met with several teachers and brought my coach's log up-to-date. Tomorrow is the science fair so I will be busy with that. Hey, be back then...........flick

April 17, 2009

What a meeting! The principals and the coaches had a meeting about respective roles and and happenings. The meeting was fantastic in that it was quite productive and lent itself to direction for us and the admin. I do not say that too much about meetings, but I have to say that about this one. The coach and I also worked with Inspiration with a class. You talk about engaged; the students were very engaged. It went well. I have also received a ton of emails concerning the Janus video. I know there is not too much to write today, but a lot of things happened...quite good. I will leave this week on a very happy note.....flick

April 16, 2009

I am continuing the task of talking to all the teachers to assess needs and the integration of technology. Most are quite receptive. I also uploaded the Janus video to TeacherTube, but I must admit that they are a little quirky. The video does not show up on a search yet, which also is odd. I know they have a review process. Here is the link: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9823eb22de3e1cd88ba6 It already has some views, which is good. I will just make it easier for all my reader(s)....LOL My schedule for Friday is quite filled in, which is good. I will be working with Inspiration, Photo Story, Eyeplorer, and have a coaches' meeting. The literacy coach and I have been working together well. I feel that is a strong component to making this all work. Be back tomorrow....flick

April 15, 2009

Welcome to another income tax day. I have read about the tea parties around the nation, and I do understand their feelings. I will not deal with politics here unless it deals with education. Met with several teachers today and discussed where they are heading and what I can do to help. I plan to meet with more over the coming days. I found out how many people are attending the Promethean workshop in Hershey next weekend: one besides me. Again, I do understand the reluctance on a weekend, but I do not understand the B&C that will come from not understanding the program. It takes two to tango. Hey, I uploaded the JANUS video to YouTube. I had some problems with formatting, but I tweaked some things here and there and got it. I have been trying TeacherTube, but I have not had any luck. I am not sure if it is too big or what. I have embedded it here. I cannot say enough about the girls who produced, shot, and edited the result. They did a great job, and I am proud of their accomplishment. I have the school board meeting tonight and must thank them for their support as well as the administration's in this endeavor.

April 14, 2009

I did my first movie maker class presentation today, and it went very well. I had them create their own movie using the program; it went well, and they are using the program. They will also use it to create a school district project. I love to see real life experiences for projects. I need to get everything ready for the school board presentation tomorrow night for the JANUS project. The girls will do the presentation. I am also working on a you tube upload. I am finding the embedded learning to be tough to manage working with two courses. It is going well, but not a well as I would like. Not much today but busy.......flick

March 10, 2009

The girls finished the Janus video, and it is shipped to Texas via overnight mail. All of the workings are now in place. I got some more commitments today for money. I spent the rest of the day preparing for several class presentations tomorrow. The photostory is really picking up as teachers and students are using it in lieu of powerpoint. It gives them a fresh approach to projects. Also delivered the last of the CFF carts and hoping (crossing my fingers) that all will work well. Tomorrow will be the test. I also got a lot of odds and ends done with the embedded learning. I have two teachers done. That is so good. Some have not even started, and others are doing quite well. I know it is a lot of extra work, but I have seen it galvanize some to action. I am also trying to meet with the literacy coach. We need to talk about things and work together. I heard that other coaches may be in future. I like the concept. Tomorrow.......flick

March 8, 2009

I know I have been remiss in blogging, but I am bound and determined to catch up this week on all of that. Monday was a busy as the rest of the week. I needed to get all of the Janus stuff up-to-date and help get all things final for it. We also had to finish the product. It looks like all should be done for tomorrow. I met with some teachers to discuss what they wanted to do. I still love it that they are seeking me out. I feel like the the old maid with the filled dance card. Boy, is that an old analogy. All in all, quite busy, but satisfied............flick

March 5, 2009

Today the two girls presented their video to PSU concerning the Janus project. We have a resounding thumbs up from them. We needed to someone else to to view the video to make sure that our biases were not running rampant. They suggested a couple of changes, which the girls will make. From there, it is to get the final, ship it to San Antonio, present it the committee, and then do some presentations around the district. It is a good vid, and the girls need a big congratulation. We are working through the problems with laps and boards, and I have faced some unique scenarios such as embedding web pages into Activstudio, etc. It does keep me on my toes. I have two meetings tomorrow with teachers interested in integrating technology into their classes. I also have some other meetings to discuss other technologies with other teachers. They are beginning to come to me more with these problems. I have a lot to do since I missed this morning. I vill be baack 2morrow..........flick

March 4, 2009

I do believe that someone opened Pandora's box today. Not that there were a plethora of problems, but I had answers to questions about Janus that have plagued me for awhile. Those answers created problems which I had to overcome, and I do believe that we are on course to solve those problems. Yes, we are going to San Antonio to deliver the film the students made to the NASA panel to fulfill the community component for the grant. I think the opportunity for these students is fantastic and a great learning experience. It will take a lot of work to bring it altogether, but I also know it will be something they will always remember. I will have a lot of people to thank for their intercessions on behalf of these students to make all of this happen--I will report on them later. Still getting into the classrooms a lot and integrating a lot things. I have meetings with several teachers. It is moving in the right direction. That is so great. I also dealing with teachers solving tech issues, but they are mostly just pointing them to the correct procedure. I am worried about jinxing myself by saying things are hectic but going well, but I believe in the honest approach. I will keep y'all updated......toots..........flick

February 26, 2009

I just have to tell you the interesting problem on of my CFF teachers posted to me. It dealt with creating layers in Activstudio. D and I spent an hour working with the problem. We got some of it working which led us into other possibilities. We could not solve all of the problems, but it went well. I also did an Indesign with K's class. That went well because the students were able to work independently and learn some of the intricacies of the program. It is nice that the onus is on the student and the teacher becomes the facilitator. They will also branch off into photoshop from here. The Janus project is coming together well, and we have a final meeting set up for next week where the students will present their video. The two girls did a great job, and I know they are looking forward to presenting in front of NASA. I have seen snippets of it, and I am anxious to view it. I am proud of the them--hey, hey (take me back to my old cheerleading days, yeah {yes, that is sarcasm at its finest with a little mixture of hyperbole}). The teachers got their lappys today, and I know I will have to do some tweaking on them, but I will await their calls. A very productive day!!! Tomorrow, I will talk about eportfolios to the seniors. This will be quite interesting, and I am looking forward to dealing with this topic. Well, I know you are awaiting the outcome...whoa, stop the presses. I just found out that one of our students did an HBO pilot when he was in 4th grade. It is wild. To view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=419kaKo0HUo I must warn you all that is is HBO so some of it is quite questionable, let's say. That may pique some curiosity in some of my loyal readers er..... I mean reader. Hey, be back tomorrow to end the month and the week.............flick

February 23, 2009

Spent this day at the IU10 for training using photography. The district gets a free digital camera which will go to the elementary schools for their use. I believe we have enough at the secondary level, and they need to use the technology, too. The training was quite good in that it reinforced a lot of what I have amassed through the millenia of experience--in other words; I am old. The trainer is attached to Tool Factory, and he was quite good. He told the truth about the camera and the software. It was refreshing from that aspect. I despise people who come in to a training and make it sound like an infomercial. Of course, I had to deal with the school aspect and found out that tomorrow's computer fair may be off because of student initiative. It does not surprise me, but I am not happy with it. I knew I would have to deal with Janus, and I am prepared for that every day. That is okay because I have bought into this program and the people working on it. For all of my Portuguese readers.....Tchau........flick

January 30, 2009

Still working on the various duties I have to get done. Yesterday, I forgot to talk about working with two students on the Janus project. I have alluded to this before, and we did interviews last night at Penn State. Whoa, I cannot believe that January is almost over. The presentation went well; I will have to arrange a time to talk to the powers and get the official assessment. Even with the network glitches, I thought it went well. K does well in the classroom and is a good fit here and for me. I also talked with some teachers to help them with some technical things. The meetings were all good. I do love working with them. I began working on some things, and that is when I got sick and had to go home. I do not regret my surgery, but I do hate what happens to me sometimes. I know I have to live with it, but it is quite incapacitating; Friday was bad. I will just have to catch up next week. Have a great weekend.........flick

January 22, 2009

Did you ever have one of those days when you would just like to pack it in and say %$#%^&*&%^^ the world? Today was that day. I envision a confrontation which I will not back down from, but I may shut down using some of my skills to comply with the exact letter of law. We will see. I will not jump the gun but will keep it there with other alternatives. We do have a new IT guy, and I am quite glad about that. How long he stays and other questions will be a determining factor in keeping my elatedness. I need to do my task the way it was meant to be and not force things. I know this path is correct. I am looking forward to doing Janus tomorrow with the students. This project is taking on a life that is quite consuming, but the students have organize everything well, and the most important concept is that it is totally a student project. What a way to learn! I will not hide my elation over this. To me, this is where real learning takes place when one can take the practical application and apply it to reality. A person can read all he/she wants about driving a car, but the test comes when one gets behind the wheel. I just facilitate. Hey, I hope the mood is better tomorrow. Toots.....flick

December 16, 2008

I need to be able to be in more than one place at one time. I knew this day was going to be a test of being to do all that was scheduled and to get it all done. I will tell you that was tough. First the Promethean representative came and did a beautiful job of in-servicing my first year CFF teachers. It was a lot of one-on-one instructional time, and by talking with the teachers, I know they benefit ted greatly from all of the time. I wish we had more time for it. I also had several meetings from Janus to working with alumni to working with a student on html. From there I had to deal with ideas and sit in on a social studies meeting. I finally left after 5PM. It makes for a long day, but it was well worthwhile. I felt a lot got accomplished and will help with technology integration in many different areas. Even though it was stressful, the rewards will be worth it. I also obtained some information for April that will help my team to even heighten skills more. I just wish I knew the board and the software better, and I know that I will get trained this year. I must also be patient. The weather looks rough for tomorrow. Neither rain, storm, nor power outage will stay this integrator from his appointed rounds.....flick PS Thanks Wendy for all of your help. You are great!!!!!

November 19, 2008

I am going to being this blog with a little lesson in Roman mythology. Janus was the Roman god for gates, doors, etc. The district is partnering with PSU to help them obtain a NASA grant to build a satellite (JANUS-Joint Astrophysics Nascent Universe Satellite) to look into the deepest regions of our universe to find gamma bursts and study them hoping to find objects that were the first to form after the so-called "Dark Ages." I have gathered two students who will, with a team of teachers and the asst. super, construct a video to show the involvement of the community in this project. The video will be 3-5 minutes in length, but this video will take many hours for work. The students are excited about the project, and it will involve a lot of our students in grades k-12. A nice challenge and project for all. I also met with some teachers about working with technology and have scheduled times to meet with them and go over a plan. I also had a request to do a tutorial on Vista. I have begun to deal with the basics and should finish next week. I also am pushing for more of our teachers to become Keystone Technology Integrators. I feel this is an important attribute to have and will enable our teachers to network more. Finally, so I can leave you all with a smattering of what I do, I have talked with a colleague about getting a coaching certification to broaden horizons and take the classes with me. Check back tomorrow all of you CFFFLICK readers, err I mean reader, for more in the life of CFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFlick!!!!! Stan Lee, eat your heart out.