Just a blog away......

Well it looks like I am just a blog away (or so) from completing this class and it has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have learned so much, and even more important, I have become much more comfortable using and dealing with technology. Who would have thought that was in my future. I came into this program with visions of books, people, books, people, books, people, and some technology. I still see lots of books and people in my future but the technology has broadened my horizon. I will admit, I am still in awe of the people in the cohort that are sooo comfortable with all things computer. I will never be at their level because they have such a jumpstart on me. As I learn new things, they will also be learning new things. But .... at least I now know where to start and how to function and it will continue to grow easier and friendlier for me.

The Action Learning Project was invaluable to me. Not only did I learn more about the wonderful technology available to me right there at my own little school, but I feel I did a real service to the staff at my school by offering up some helpful training....provided by our own staff. The training will be continued this summer as new updates are added onto our SB this summer.
I have also sparked the interest of many staff members to further explore the usage of the SB with broadcasting and such. I have caught the interest (to put it mildly) of the principal and he has proven to be a big asset in everything I have put forth to him. As a side note, we are exploring small, inexpensive hand held video cams to use in the classrooms to record student activities to then share with the class on the ....... oh yes..... the SmartBoard. I videoed our workshops using one. I still need to iron out a few of the kinks, but it appears to be a very useful tool.

I respect and love my group. We work well together and these ladies have been very helpful to me. I look forward to working with them on other class projects.

This class has been a delight. The blogging has helped me put things in perspective and it has kept me on track......I have even gotten the swing of the discussion boards. That has really been a bear for me. I have enjoyed reading them and I am now comfortable with sharing my thoughts there. I have enjoyed learning from the cohort and hearing so many different opinions. It has been a very good thing.

WOOT WOOT workshop is a done deal

I completed my faculty workshop on Wednesday and it really was very successful. The feedback I got from each group was very favorable and they all seem excited about phase 2.....which will be another workshop this summer. We are having SmartBoard updates and the newer version of things being installed this summer so we decided to wait until then. This will be an all day workshop with the first half being optional for teachers wanting to review techniques and look into building up their SB expertise. The second half will be for more in-depth study and application....sounds exciting.

The faculty was separated into four groups for the workshop on Wednesday....K-1, 2-3, 4-5 and sp. ed., and 6-8. Our non-classroom teachers were invited to attend in whichever group they felt most comfortable and classroom assistants were invited to attend with their teachers. I videoed snippets of each group. It was wonderful to see each level working and discussing issues that were relevant to them. I had teachers with excellent SB skills leading each group. Non-classroom teachers were using the SB for the first time and they were amazed. Teachers were learning how to set up programs to benefit their classes. Teachers were learning the technical lingo and usage of the menu items on the remote. This in itself was an excellent lesson that few knew. The websites shared were amazing. At the end of the workshop, evaluation sheets were completed by each group and they were great.

Each participant received some tech credit and that was a big drawing card. But.....once the workshop began the worth of it became evident. I had teachers thanking me and sharing how much they enjoyed it and learned from it.....GREAT!! AND I met up with our system's curriculum specialist yesterday (at a funeral of all places) and she asked if my ears had been burning. It seems my principal was also very impressed with my project and its outcome. He was sharing it with the other principals at the principal's meeting.....wow!

ALP workshops for SmartBoard training

I met with my school's School Improvement Team to discuss the plans I had been making toward offering training for SmartBoards and also our new AirLiners. They were very interested and receptive to the plans I had formulated with the principal. As it stands, workshops will begin Wednesday after school. I am hoping to video a bit of each group as they meet and work with each other. I have separated the groups by grade level and have combined both people who are well versed in SmartBoard uses and people who need mentoring with SB techniques. Each group will be led by a member who is comfortable with their SB and who use it everyday in a variety of ways. Each of these people agreed to work with their group in their classroom. I am hoping these small groups will be very work well together and be comfortable within their group. I will send out one last email outlining the whole process and I will also talk with the whole group before they break off into their small groups. They will be able to earn technology credit for participating in this workshop along with some SB "homework". This is very exciting for me.

After this workshop to get everyone more on the same page, more indepth training will be offered. I have talked with the county tech people about doing this one. All that we have to do is set a date. I have also been collecting websites to share with the staff. Hopefully this will be ongoing as we explore and use more and more websites. There are sooooooo many of them out there.

Can't wait for it all to finally happen!! I am still itching to get into the possible broadcasting, but right now I can only do what I can do......