December 17, 2009

TTWF rocks. I know that you have been waiting for the latest outcome of TTWF, and I am here to tell you that I did have a participant and it went well. I know that it is not that well-received, but I will continue the endeavor because I feel it is important to offer. I worked with Movie Maker again with a class, and I must tell you that the industry needs to standardize codecs. They cause more problems, and I do remember that audio codecs used to cause a lot of problems. At least that has stabilized to some degree. I am a firm believer in standardizing things because the average person finds all of the different technological quirks to be cumbersome and frustrating. It needs to happen. People will eventually not use products who use proprietary code. Microsoft is finding this out more and more and has lost a lot of its base because of this. Google has gained a tremendous share of the fan base because it will not dwell in that realm, although I am beginning to see a change there to some degree. Hey, back tomorrow...............flick

September 29, 2009

I am not sure if I have been around too long or not, but I am now witnessing another Microsoft OS--Windows 7. The mini conference I attended dealt with the migration to this new OS and the ramifications dealing with technology. Of course, I attended to find out about its impact on education and the possible migration here. There will be little problems with software like there was in Vista, and it sounds like it will be smoother. I am wondering some driver issues and things like that. A good session, and I walked away feeling at ease with a migration............flick

March 6, 2008

I spent the entire day in Harrisburg at a Microsoft conference. In my role as a CFF coach, I know that I need to broaden my skills in various applications. I am working toward that. I know that I am weak in dealing with network issues and software, but I have resolved to strengthen myself in that area as well as others. I know you are asking what CFF has to do with networking. Well, I will tell you. I am finding that many of our issues deal with networking so the more I understand the more I am able to deal with the problem. It allows me to deal with the techies better, etc. I also have always wanted to do this. The conference helped me to u nderstand things, and the software was great. I even got an evaluation copy of Server 2008 to explore. I am glad the Microsoft has done this. I must get to work creating an image, etc. Oh, I did forget to tell you that I had another comment from a student who has started to blog. I think this is great. I am awaiting to hear from others. Talk with ye tomorrow.

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.