March 12, 2008

I just finished my first day of training, and I do see how the application to CFF is viable. I was able to offer suggestions on graphic organizers, etc. I know that I am going to have to come back in tonight and do some work to catch up. I know this is short, but there is very little new with CFF, and that is the main emphasis of this blog. Catch up tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

March 11, 2008

The smell of spring is in the air...now that is just like "it was a dark and stormy night." I will always stick with my LA roots. A good and powerful day wafted in the wake of my departure last night. It was good to finally get the Lenovo reformatted and working. I am also pushing ahead on Doc's lappy to get that where it needs. The Embedded Learning is going well, and I am more and more inquiries from teachers on things to do. The meeting also went well after school with the CFF teachers. I also got the chance to do some research on some problems. I intermingled all of this within some other non CFF duties I had to do. I must admit as I was reading the comments from teachers' discussions in the class, I see that we all do get it and are all the same page. It is great to hear what others are thinking on the subject. I also am impressed with what I see from them. The goal is there--being the best. I am quite proud of them and their desire (patience is great, also). I foresee good a good moon (unlike CCR). I have some training for the next three days so it will be a shotgun approach to the blog. I will be a talking with you..........

March 10, 2008

Today was one of those days that you wished you could have not faced, but the dauntless CFF coach faced it with unparalled tenacity to bring order to the planet. I might start writing for Marvel. It was a day filled with a myriad of activities. I worked with CG and enjoyed the time immensely. It will take a lot more sessions to get everything up to speed, but the rudiments are there. I am quite happy. I also am getting Doc up and running. The rest of the day dealt with teaching developing of print film to creating a website using CSS. It was a busy day. I also have some training the rest of this week so that will put me behind. It is a good thing I have some student helpers to ease the crunch. They are invaluable when I need them. I am ready for the new day tomorrow. A good day to get a lot done..

March 7, 2008

I am definitely having trouble reformatting the Lenovos. I am not impressed with this laptop configuration, etc. I am trying to create an image without the @@#$$%%^^%^ thing keeps losing its integrity. I have tried three times to get the image; I get so far and then have to redo it. I am not happy with Lenovo, CDW-G, and anything else with this particular laptop. I will try again Monday. Sometimes one just has to walk away for now. Do not get me wrong; I think Lenovo is a great brand, but I feel we got the short end of the stick when we got these with a Celeron processor, etc. I wish we could have configured the lappys ourselves. I also got bad news from Promethean. Supposedly I received an email in December concerning the training. I have those emails and found none. The training is over so I have to work out an alternate solution to get things done. The bureaucracy involved in this is wonderful {sarcasm}.
I attended a meeting with the technical director et al. to go over a document for new teachers accessing technology. It was quite productive. I was late due to the Promethean and Lenovo problems. I also met with the teachers and set up some times to deal with them individually to go over concerns, etc. I have a full day planned Monday. I also have to filter in the Lenovo, etc. I am also confirmed to go to Adobe training in Williamsport on April 28-29. I know this conflicts with the one-to-one computing computing conference, but I feel I need this more. I'll be back next week.

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.

March 5, 2008

It is so great watching teachers explore the idiosyncracies of the interactive whiteboard. I get calls about doing certain projects on the board and finding different activities. It is gratifying for me to see them step out of the comfort zone and attack the problems. There were some hardware issues today, but they were not serious. I am also learning the whiteboard--I do wish I had one to use. That would not be a wise investment to the students. It still would be nice to have my druthers. I will be out tomorrow for a Microsoft conference in Harrisburg. I need to also hone my skills in various areas to become better in dealing with everything. I also found out that we will be applying for the grant next school year. I do not know what this may hold for me, but I am not worried about it. Facilitating the embedded learning course is a lot of work, but I am getting the hang of it better. I do not know if I am able to blog tomorrow, but I will still update all of you when I can. I know that you are waiting with anticipation...yeah

March 4, 2008

I did a lot of meetings today with various teachers to find out how things were going. Things seem to be progressing well. I am quite upset with promethean. I have called them, and they have not returned the call. I am not impressed with them, and if I do not hear from them, they will hear from me words that will express my displeasure. Promethean needs to get their act together--I have not received an email or a phone call from them for further training, and I have asked. I just love corporations who feel that they have the world by the proverbial strings. I have also opened a del.icio.us account. I have emailed my teachers about the wiki, but not about the delicious account. I will wait until I have more there. I did have my first teacher who requested a sign up for the wiki, and that is great. I know that she is not sure what she is doing, but I like the idea and the exploration. I feel that one needs to step outside the comfort zone and experience things. I am not going to say that these people will like it, but it is a step that is necessary to move one and learn. I have a bunch of meetings and tutoring tomorrow. Also, I get to see the fruits of the LA class projects. Looking forward to it. I will be back tomorrow....cya

March 3, 2008

My CFF wiki is finally up and running with some information on it. I plan to use the wiki as a resource and a test ground for teachers at PV, not just CFF teachers. I feel that getting more and more teachers involved with it will generate some interest in the use of technology. The composition of the wiki will revolve around various web sites, software tutorials, etc. I am hoping that teachers will join and become contributors to the site. I just sent the invitation to all CFF teachers. I just love the name wiki, and I am sure it does provide some connotations. Most of the day today dealt with individual problems from students. I also had to work on individual harware problems. Today, I am going to be oot and aboot (I had to add some Canadian idioms to my blog because I love the the people) and see what is happening. I need to get out more and talk with others. I need to do what I say so I will talk with ye tomorrow. Oh, the wiki for those interested, and you all (had to add some Southern) should want to visit http://cffflick.wikispaces.com/

February 29, 2008

A leap day, and I think it is great that this day only comes once every four years. Enough of the maudlin stuff; it is down to the CFF. Most of the problems I dealt with today is IT stuff, and I came across one that I could not solve one that dealt with software. One of my teachers lost the entire library, and I could not find it. I will solve it, I hope, with a fresh install. There were a few other problems here and there. I did visit another classroom, and I will head back there Monday to see some of the results. I also am finding out that I am visiting other classrooms. This is where I want to be, and I hope to do more of that in the coming weeks. The on-line class is going well, and most of the teachers find it quite easy to access it and work with it. I find that a relief. I will just keep forging ahead. I do find that having students learn some of the tech stuff and deal with minor problems is a working out well. It is able to free me up. I guess I will see you next month.

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.