:)

The school year is 3/4 over! It's hard to believe, but it's true. As the year approaches the final curve, it's time to take a serious look at what's happened so far. My district sprung for BlackBoard! I'm still excited about the possibilities! I'm amazed by the opportunities that this provides. Some students have really run with this program! Other have fought it for all they're worth. I get IMs from some students and frequent questions about a variety of things regarding class, which is nice. I also have some that log in frequently and watch for new things to appear. I'm impressed with these students! Just a little extra effort and they can be exposed to things that are really cool, but may not relate directly to what's happening in class. We've had some interesting conversations about things I've posted in BB!
Right now we're just beginning a space colonization project which is paperless and will be done completely in BB. The list of issues grows daily and students, overall, are very involved and most have their own beliefs about this venture. I'm open to all opinions as long as they are expressed appropriately and backed up by facts, not just gut feelings or indoctrinated "truths". I'm working very hard to get this group to think for themselves and to evaluate the information that they find, but overall this group is happy to hit wikipedia, copy/paste and call the assignment done. That's been one of the biggest issues so far. Several have earned "0" for their impressive copy/paste skills. There are some really noteable exceptions though. I have a couple of students that really do an exceptional job at making information their own. They interpret well and can synthesize facts into a work that reflects their thoughts and demonstrates and understanding without even approaching plagiarism. I've complimented these students and praised them for their individuallity, which shows in their finished products.
At the same time I have some 'gifted' students that seem to be used doing little thinking and sharing their work with many others. Similarities have been running through certain student groups, which has resulted in some interesting conversations. I'm most amazed with the students that have complained about grades. One in particular was upset that another student recieved a higher grade, even though it was obvious that the complainant did the work and the other copied...more than once. I guess it takes a while for some 'gifted' people to see the error in their ways, or their arrogance pervades their version of reality? What does it mean to be superior?
Oh well, overall this has been a really good year. I have a large number of students that are working and taking advantage of the tech available. The majority of my students seem to appreciate what they have and are willing to work to earn their grades. I've seen some remarkable progress and changes in the right direction. A few have really turned themselves around and have become impressive students as well as much more possitive people.

Sorry about the rambling this PM. It was a really LONG day today. With that April fool's virus, I spent every available moment today (including my lunch, prep and any free minute during classes) taking care of other teachers' classroom computers. While I was servicing all of these computers some were doing nothing, stating that they didn't know what to do and choosing not to learn rather than be useful. I know it's not part of my job, but I guess some just have to bite the bullet for the greater good, which in this case means lessening the chance of a full system shut down. Since I am quite dependant upon the network and classroom computers, I might not have done all I did for fully selfless reasons, but the people I helped could have at least taken a break from their lunches to thank me...while I worked through mine. Ah, that's just the way the world works sometimes...maybe our tech department will appreciate it and buy me a beer?
Well, that's my last thought of the evening. I'm tired. I might read this tomorrow and decide that it was too meandering or indirect, but for now it will do. I'm not going back to reread, spell check or edit for content: these are my thoughts at this point and I'll see what they look like tomorrow when I'm not beat....and see if they are still relevant.
Keep on infusing tech into the classroom and being creative in your uses of all the resources available! It's most likely the only way to stay sane in the world of education without becoming sedintary.

Tech Take 2

Just a quick update on all that's happening this year from a tech perspective. BlackBoard was approved, paid for and instituted. All is working well on that front, other than some students who refuse to attempt to use it, even though their tests have been available online for weeks before they actually become tests. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
All computer related things have worked well and the tech department has been helpful and responsive to needs...something that's different and VERY much appreciated. All is good at this point.
Sorry about the quick update, but things have been very busy around here for quite a while. I really haven't had the time to vent or express thoughts online for some time now. I miss this part, but in the overall scheme of things, it hasn't been too high on the priority list. I plan on getting some more posts soon and letting everyone know about the things happening in my little corner of the world soon, but for now this will have to do.
I hope all is well and the tech is working as expected where you are.
Good luck to all. :)

New Tech: Take 2

Here it is a little later and it seems that Blackboard is coming. I stopped by a training today (the same one that I already went to) to get started, and have someone around that knew what they were doing. It seems that the district has researched a bit and found that adding large numbers of students, doesn't increase the cost that much. Now, every middle and high school student will have logins. Without these, the program wasn't that great...now, it's all good.
I am very impressed that this passed the powers that be, and am quite happy. While those of us at the middle school don't really have the infrastructure to really capitalize on all the offerings, it will be a vast improvement. This will open up the floodgates for many.
There will be those who will not take advantage of this and those who will refrain from any deviation from the norm, but there are so many who will use this to their full capacity too. Just like anything else, some will be interested and others that won't. At any rate, I'm happy that this has passed and will be available.
I'm currently laying out the skeleton of my course and look forward to adding the fleshy, interesting aspects over the summer. Now that it's official, I guess it's time to take care of all that I can over the summer.
There has been no official announcement regarding my new curricular partner, whether it will be full time, 1/2 time, 1/4 time etc, or who's really in running, but I'm hoping for someone I can work with and develop the class with. Things are changing and so must this class. I was told to keep the changes to a minimum this year and wait to see what the next PSSA test looks like, but I think it's time for a few tweaks until I can develop something new. It will be a good test of BB and how the students embrace the possibilities. Only time will tell. At least this is a step in the right direction.
Tomorrow I'll be back in the training session to see what else I can do. A little support is nice...and so is the option of taking off whenever I want to...sometimes sitting at a computer when the weather is perfect just isn't a good idea!
More later I'm sure.

New Tech

Well, two days of blackboard training are over and I'm impressed. It's a very nice set up and seems to be a great way to go. While I'd say I'm far from proficient in its use, I'm done for now.
After the training we had a meet and greet with the super and ass't super. Our school has budgeted for 200 students to be enrolled, which doesn't cover much ground. Through the course of the Q n A I got the feeling that soul purpose was to recover the cyber-school $$s that are leaving the district and not really aimed at the regular classroom.
With the cost of this program, which was staggering to me, I can see why it would have limited use and understand that end of things. With my past experiences here, I'm not about to sink my time and effort into something that I might not be using. I'm a bit tired of doing things that I can't use in my classroom and wasting my time on things that aren't worth my time.
Throughout the training there were "download and install" times when I knew that this was doomed from a school-wide perspective. We're not permitted to do that, so I started thinking that I might just be involved in something that wouldn't materialize in a global format for all to use. Even so, I was impressed with the work and skill that went into the system being sold and all it had to offer. Even though there's only so much one can gain from two training days, it seemed like something worth the effort and potential for benefit.
The cost of the program is offset by all the features and conveniences, but when it comes to dollars and cents I can only hope that sense wins. I don't know what will happen, but I'd be happy if I could merely use my wiki in school. It's free and requires nothing from anyone but me. Baby steps. Baby steps.
I look forward to seeing how blackboard develops in this district and how the administration handles the possibilities...and how IT deals with it too. In a way it's kind of like a drug dealer. They give out a sample for free knowing that you'll like what you get and hope that you'll come up with money to continue to fuel the fix. It's just that in this case, someone else has to approve of our usage and pay for our continued multimedia/interactive Jonesing.
Ah, another chapter begins. Hopefully it will be a fairy-tale experience :)

Current Issues

I've signed up for a blackboard training this month. I'm not sure what's expected or what's going to happen (or where I have to be yet), but I know that this is something that should help me in my career. I hope that this will be something that my school actually allows me to do.
I'm still awaiting the day that my wiki will be available in school. It's supposed to be and the tech department said that there was a server issue which might require students to hit refresh " a few times" before getting in. I had a student with nothing to do during ASP (study hall for us older folk), so I asked him to try the wiki. He said that nothing happened so I told him about refreshing. After literally 30 minutes of hitting F5, the page still would not show. If that's not proof that the kids still can't view the wiki, I don't know what is...I guess I'm just not doing something right.
Along those lines, my school is involve with some "schools of the future" or some other sort of thing and getting “really involved” with technology, so all the teachers have to take a survey about our tech use. I was amazed at what was asked! If people at other schools are able to say 'yes' to some of those questions, I'd be amazed!!! I'm fighting for some simple things and getting nothing but grief and excuses.
There were a series of questions regarding my district's encouragement of tech uses. For example there were questions like - Are you encouraged to infuse technology into your classroom - unfortunately "F@#K NO" was not an option. Another - Are you rewarded for attempting to use more technology in your classroom - which also failed to have the appropriate response box..."Are you f@#king kidding me????? Penalized, ridiculed and on the s$@t list is more like it." was sadly missing from the option list. Then there were the questions about what we have in our rooms/have access to/could use if we wanted to. It read like a wish list, to which I answered "no" to far too many times.
To make a long story short, it was a survey that really showed me that my school is supposed to be a member of this group and encouraging/ supporting my (and that of others) tech uses. I guess it was merely another ploy to get additional $$$ and not do much more than that. If we're expected to be doing what was in that survey, I can only hope that this group takes their money back OR makes my district burst into the current. I'm not looking at being futuristic, just hoping to be in the present.
Last year I used much more tech in the classroom and published regular newsletters for the parents (which received many responses from parents) and a MUCH expanded interaction with parents. Now that doesn't happen. I don't even have a projector at the moment and am making copies of things that are used for a few minutes instead of viewed, used and connected to the next step. Now it's a paper trail of waste.
Even the grading program has fallen FAR short of expectations to say the least. We have an upgrade coming April 15th. The list of improvements includes things like the ability to increase the size for easier viewing--which has been available for a long time due to the fact that it's viewed in a browser, the 'ctrl and the mouse wheel' thing is old news, how they can call it an improvement is beyond me. There are numerous other gripes with it, but since I was TOLD not to have a direct interaction with anyone involved in creating this thing, I'm stuck making my thoughts known during meeting times and wondering whether or not these ideas are going beyond the room in which I speak them. I'm constantly told how powerful this great program is, but haven't yet had anyone show me how it is soooo powerful for MY job on a daily basis.
Damn, I was in a really good mood before I started typing this one. Sometimes I wish I'd never seen the light of what tech can do in the classroom. At least ignorance is bliss. Trying to use it here is way far from bliss, unless you're in a select group in control/related to those in control. What a....anyway.
Other than the tech issues, it's been a really good year. The kids are really darn good and fun overall. So many have come so far this year and are really impressing me. I'm having fun with the students and feel that there are many who are becoming the young adults they are expected to be. That's what's really amazing about this age: the transition that students make through the year. Growing up happens right before our eyes. If only they knew how much fighting there was behind the scenes to get them the few advances that they see in the classroom. I take great pride in the fact that my students really have no clue how much I'm upset with the powers that be when it comes to what I can and can't do in my classroom or on the computers, even though it's my biggest bane.
I'm done for now...hopefully the next post will be more positive, but today I found out that the teacher on the other team, who is retiring, will not be replaced and I'll be taking over at least some of those students on the other team, so I'm not sure how positive that will be. More on that later I guess...hopefully it will be a good thing.

Status Quo

Things are still at the same point. Nothing really drastic has changed. I will most likely take my home computer to school after break to show the students some clips from NASA, which I still haven't found a way to show with my locked down school computer. Just another inconvenience as I try to implement more technology...even though I've used some of the same clips for the past 4 years and now can't. It's a weird setting and a strange dynamic. I'm hoping for better things next year and am working with a couple of administrators to help get the ball rolling in the right direction.
I've been keeping my head down and my opinions to myself, which has been really tough. I don't know if it will pay off or not, but at least I'm not getting grief on a regular basis, although I'm really not getting anywhere either. Hopefully I'll find some others in the same position in my district and get something going soon. Next year has to be better. Only 53 days left now. This year's been a wash on the tech front. I hope to plow ahead next year.

No Noticalble Progress

So far, there has been no progress in getting my wiki available in school. Too bad this great tool can't be truly used! I am still getting really positive feedback from both students and parents though. So far all that have viewed the page a impressed with what's happening. I'm the one that is thinking that this could be SOOOOO much better if all my students had access. I'd hate to punish students or keep them from information simply because they don't have the internet at home. Therefore, I'm limiting what I put there, which limits the students' need to view the pages. I'm looking forward to the day when all students can see what's out there and I can put more information out there that students won't find elsewhere. Ah, to dream. Some day, some day. It's just a matter of time. Just another hoop to jump through, even though the hoop keeps moving, I really plan on finding my way through it. Wish me luck as this little issue continues to take up my time.