May 5, 2009

As the Canadians would say, "oot and aboot" (I mean no disrespect--love Canada). Little time to sit today because the conference last week and its subsequent collaboration has generated a plethora of requests about various subjects. I can not even describe how many times I was stopped and asked various questions about everything from Web 2.0 items to just software questions. Yep, you got it; I like it. It does get a little disconcerting with the firing of questions from all over the dartboard, but I did have most of the answers. Those I do not know; I will find them and get back. I have begun preparation for the TIMS for tomorrow and worked on other projects for the rest of the week. I will let you know how it all goes........austinlavista--I can fracture any language.......LOL...........flick

May 4, 2009

Ah, May...it is so hard to believe that it is this time of the year. The school year has flown, and I hear the older one gets, the faster the time. It is a good thing that I am so young: chortle (always loved that word). I got a lot of odds and ends and networking done today with quite a lot of people. I still have to commend J on the strides she is making....wow!! I have told others about it, and I am hoping that some take a good look at where she is headed. I do have to admit that I am somewhat peeved at wikispaces for not replying to an email I sent on Friday. I will do the things I have to do to prepare for a class. I would say something else about them, but a little inappropriate it be. My calendar is really getting booked for the week. I look at it on Monday and say to myself that it might be an easy one, but that never seems to happen. I like the hustle, and the more I get out there, the better it is. I am also getting some odd requests for jobs to help out in other areas--don't worry all tech except one. Well, off to a track meet and fame and fortune. For all of my French readers à bientôt................flick

April 29, 2009

The meeting went well today, and we have things finalized for the new image. It was busy dealing with all the consultations. I need to work with the solar car folks. I have to finalize some of that this week to get things ready. Next week I have to get my CFF group ready to do the survey. I know this will be lots of fun. There will be a million questions, but ya gots to do what you gots to do. I also have a meeting with the lit coach and the TIMS. I will let you know how it all goes.................flick

April 28, 2009

I had a meeting scheduled today with the regional TIMS, but with the incident here, I have rescheduled it for next week. It was a day to catch up on all of the problems, etc. There were a bunch of them. Getting to all of them and meeting with the literacy coach to set up a wiki was fun. We were able to do it all. I had some unique problems to overcome. I like the idea that some of the faculty is really stepping out of their comfort zones to tackle. I really must commend one J, who is really trying some new things. Tomorrow is a meeting with the IT wizard to talk about some tech things to get all puters ready for next year. We need to change our image to accommodate some new features, etc. Well, gotta get caught up..............flick

April 23-27, 2009

As you can see, I have lumped several days together because I have attended three different conferences during this time. I am conferenced (I know this is not a word, but in the Flick lexicon, it is perfectly acceptable). I am believer that if one walks away with one item, then it was worthwhile. Well, I must tell you that these were worthwhile. The one over the weekend (yes, I said over the weekend--I know this may surprise some of my loyal readers err, I meant reader) was at Hershey. I took one teacher with me to a conference about Promethean boards. It was quite good, and I feel the networking was fantastic. On Monday, I attended a CFF conference. This conference dealt with hands on concepts dealing with the different disciplines. I attended the math and social studies sessions.

Finally, the previous two days I attended the one-to-one computing conference held at PSU. Again it was very good, and I enjoyed most of it. I must admit that I did not enjoy PSU's lack of a viable internet connectivity. It was pathetic. It limited my multi-tasking...LOL. I especially thought the presentations were good, and I got more out of this than the PETE&C. I know everyone touts the aforementioned conference, but it has become too large and unwieldy. The neat part about the one-to-one was that we had a large contingent of teachers attend. This alone has stimulated some into areas, hitherto, unknown to them. Now it is back to the grind....flick

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 21, 2009

Holy Smokes--a false fire drill and a lock down for a message scrawled on the bathroom wall--other than that, a normal day. I am still visiting teachers and talking with them concerning their needs. Overwhelmingly their responses deal with the working of technology vs. ideas for the integration, but I am dealing with the integration. We are moving along well. I am also slowly migrating all to Activinspire. I find the program interfaces well, and I like the new conveniences; it is well thought out. I also like the fact that we are going to make it part of the student image so the group can take advantage of it and create flipcharts in classes. This will add another tool to the teacher arsenal of technology. The middle level teachers have asked me to judge a science fair on Thursday. I really do not have the time, but I must practice what I espouse. I am looking forward to see what the students have done since we have touted the JANUS project. We are progressing well. I shall return tomorrow.......flick

April 20, 2009

I met today with both the principal and the literacy coach in separate meetings. Again both were productive, and I feel we are all on the same page, which is good. I also worked with Inspiration and the embedded learning. I got the chance today to work on a web site, which I have not done in a long time. It took me awhile to remember where some of the things were, but I did it. I must admit that I miss that. I also am trying to make arrangements for some conferences. Conferences are like coaching clinics; if you get one thing out of them, then it was worthwhile. I also am preparing for a visit from the TIMS to discuss the implementation of CFF. I will have to work out all of the details for that. It was a good day, and I feel on top of things. Be back tomorrow...........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