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

March 2, 2009

Hello once again to all of my voracious reader(s). I have met with teachers to discuss some implementations of various software. I like it now that they are coming to me instead of me going to them. I still am trying to get see all of them at least three times a week to discuss and check any problems. It is working well with all of that. I am trying caution some of them to work slowly and integrate a single concept until they become comfortable. From there they can branch out and begin other implementations. I am also learning a lot from the Embedded Learning courses. As I read through their discussions and logs, I am discovering more and more about them. I do see the value of the courses because it allows them to discourse without fear. Well, I am off to Valhalla to visit with others. I will be back tomorrow........................flick

February 27-28, 2009

I put two days here bacuause on the 28th I did some IT stuff for TSA. The group had its regional competition here at PV, and they needed an IT person. There were some glitches, but we got it working for the most part. PV did well in the competition. I also had a talk with my counterpart last year, and some of the things she is doing. It was quite good, and I do love to find out how she in integrating technology. We also talked with one of the TSA people from a district near here and heard his horror stories about his fight to just get computers. Some people need to get out of their caves. Friday turned out to be a lot of fun talking with the seniors and how to create electronic documents for view to a prospective employer. The students liked the talk, and T did a great job of assisting. Everything that I have researched for eports deals with PDF's, and I do understand why. We also solved a problem with the Janus video, and it should be ready quite soon. I also created a DVD for the middle school teachers for their conference. I did not have time to edit it, but I kind of liked the raw footage better with all of its foibles. A good week with a lot of learning on all levels. Well, I am posting this the first day of March, and so far it is coming in like a lamb. We will revisit the adage on the last day of the month. I will be talking with all of you later. Oh, I had to change the color scheme for this month to reflect Hibernia..........flick

PS--Hey, I forgot to thank C for all of his help Saturday. I do appreciate it....smack

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 25, 2009

I have been integrating Photostory3 in quite a lot of classes, and the students love doing projects with it because of how easy it interfaces with the user. They are able to be quite creative, interject their own voices, and get off of the powerpoint kick. People are tired of powerpoint, and this program gives a viable alternative. We will become a photostory district soon. I had another teacher approach me about using it, and we have set up a time next week to talk about it. The CFF lappys are done, and I will distribute them tomorrow to the teachers. I am preparing and Indesign module for K tomorrow. I am watching teachers transform their ideas and engaging students more in various functions. I love it. We have back to school tonight, and that will give me a chance to work on tomorrow, etc. I know some teachers are showcasing student work. Well, I am off to the land of sleep...see ya tomorrow...............flick

February 24, 2009

Plan B is the order of the day because my plans for the computer fair were thwarted due to lack of participation by the two participants. Oh well, it gave me a chance to catch up on a lot of things. The IT department a la KP are finishing the CFF laptops for distribution. This will give the teachers an opportunity to integrate themselves into the use of the Promethean boards. I also worked with the embedded learning and did a class after school for some teachers who needed some help. The rest of the week is planned, and out of the 12 periods left in the week. I will be in the classroom 10 of those periods doing everything from Indesign to Photostory. Busy!!!!!! I also have back to school night tomorrow night. I think there is enough on the plate for this week, Be back tomorrow...........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

February 20, 2009

The end of the busy week. It has been wrought with all sorts of interesting problems, but it has been a learning time, also. It looks like most of the virus problems are solved; notice I said most of them. I know how those boogers work, and it will be awhile before they are eradicated. I have been talking with teachers, and my next week is filled with Photostory and InDesign inclusions. The plans right now involve a small conference Monday at the IU and Tuesday a computer fair. I am also working with Janus people, etc. I also had to pitch in and work some tech problems to get everything as close to normal as possible. Well, I am off for a fun-filled weekend. See ya next week..............flick

February 19, 2009

I just received a phone call that made me smile so much. I have a new teacher who called and wants me to sit in on his class to watch his attempt with the interactive whiteboard. This is what I call daring, innovative, and out of the comfort zone. I know this teacher well, and this was a big move for him. This is what I am talking about--challenging the self and the students. I am headed there now; I will report. I am back, and it did work well. I love to see the utilization and the confidence increase. Great job C. Things went well, and we will be able to do some other things. He already asked me about it. I also love the part that he did not feel threatened by my being there. I am not there to judge but to help. I also worked some resource library magic today and did some other things. I have been in several rooms today just talking and getting my schedule in order for next week. It does look busy. Great... later.......flick

February 18, 2009

Back from the IU...internet up, email up, and now web work has piled up, and I need to get to work on that. As a matter of fact, this will give all of my anxious readers who thought I fell off the face of the earth a chance to get back to their daily reading routine and find out about the life of CFFFlick. Okay, so it is only a few million readers out of the billions out there, but I will cater to the loyalists. I worked hard to get all of the embedded learning material up-to-date as well the wiki and other things online. I also had a ton of email to peruse as well as other matters because we are still fighting the virus here at PV. I really think it is important to learn about virus creation so one can fight it better. I do wish those people who created these things would put their talents to work in a more positive light. We will get there. I have been out and about into the classrooms and am watching people do great things. I love it...........flick