What I did at school today: 9/30/13

Among the many interesting things I did today one was to finish up a project from last week.  Both of my schools and my two schools from last year, have all participated in the Monarch Butterfly Initiative.  Admittedly, this project has not been on my radar, but I'm thrilled that it is now.

A couple of weeks ago, a teacher at TES asked me if I would be willing to document the releasing of the butterflies.  I didn't truly understand what this was all about, but of course I said yes.

We met in the school garden.  A member of the "Master Gardener" program facilitated.  Our preschool class, one first grade class, and one second grade class were in attendance.  I had my iPad and got the video rolling.  At first, one of the teachers explained for the children and the camera what they had done.  This was news to me, but they received eggs, watched them hatch into caterpillars, waited for them to spin their cocoons, and then finally, escape their chrysalises.  It was now time to tag them and released them into the wild.

The hope -- a long shot, admittedly -- is that someone will find one of our butterflies along its migration route, see the tag, and contact us.  One by one, a handful of children were chosen and invited to the front of the group.  Our master gardener put a few drops of fruit juice on each child's palm.  Then, she reached into the butterflies' zippered, temporary home and carefully caught one by trapping its wings between two fingers.  Each child put a small sticker (the tag) on his or her butterfly's wing.  The butterfly was then enticed to drink the fruit juice.  Sometimes it did, and sometimes it was too busy thinking about freedom, I guess.  One hung out for quite a while, but most took a short sip and then fluttered their wings and ascended toward the sky.  A frisky one landed on our preschool teacher's glasses.  The students enjoyed that!

As the videographer, I was merely an observer, but a rapt one, just the same.  Today, I put the video clips together and created a finished product to share with all the children in the school.  The technology was not new for me, but the subject matter was!

What I did at school today: 9/18/13

If you read my post yesterday, you know that it was a crazy, busy day for me.  I bounced from class to class almost nonstop.  Today has been the opposite.  I’ve had time to work at my computer and get to some neglected work.

One important task was to type and send out an “Odds and Ends” newsletter.  This is new for me.  I am reluctant to send out email after email every time an issue comes up.  I don’t want people saying, “All he does is send out email.”  So a few weeks ago, I typed up an "Odds and Ends" WORD doc – a simple, bulleted list of important information – for each of my schools.  Within a week, "More Odds and Ends" came out.  I like sharing this way because it puts multiple pieces of  information in one place, and it’s easy to print.

Today’s newsletter is two pages long.  Some of the bullets are repeats from one of the earlier editions, but teachers are often saying that they know I sent something out but can’t remember.  A little repetition of information and a reminder to print may be all that’s needed.  I don’t expect to send this out on a regular schedule, like my Geek of the Week tips.  The challenge for me is to keep a running list of things to share so I don’t forget anything.

What I did at school yesterday: 9/17/13

Yesterday was a marathon.  I arrived at school around 7:15, and I didn’t return home until after 8:00.  It was back to school night.  With a second back to school night for my other school on Thursday, it’s going to be an exhausting week.

I am thrilled that I’ll be spending most of my time with teachers and students this week,  Looking up Edline codes, setting passwords, and troubleshooting printers are necessary evils, but I’d rather be out and about.  First thing in the morning, I introduced myself to a class of 5^th graders and showed them how to log on and find resources in our new Windows 7 environment.  I’m fascinated by the different responses I get to 4^th and 5^th graders.  Some instantly get my sense of humor.  Others just sit and stare, trying to figure out what’s supposed to be funny.

From there, I worked with a 1^st grade class on a Pixie/Voice Thread project.  Voice Thread was not cooperating on my iPad, so I grabbed my Windows Surface to do some work arounds.  I should have completed the project within a half hour, but I only got through about half the class.  From there, I conferenced with a 3^rd grade teacher about her iMovie trailer.  She created the trailer on her own, but she wasn’t sure how to share it with her parents.  I stayed down the 3^rd grade hall and continued working on a project from the day before.  I was working with small groups on a simple machine project using iPads and iMovie. 

After inhaling my lunch, I returned to the 1^st grade class and Voice Thread.  I had messed with my iPad, and I thought the app was fixed.  No such luck.  After another half hour or so, I was no further along.  I had a few minutes to check email at my desk, and then I was off to work with the 3^rd graders again.  I went directly from them to another 5^th grade class for the same lesson as the morning. 

Not wanting to give up, I went back to the 1^st grade class and tried Voice Thread one last time.  Success!!  I ended my day "performing" my computer king lesson with a different 1^st grade class.

Actually, that was not the end of my day.  I pulled two iMovies off iPads and converted and compressed them for teachers, leaving me enough time to go through my email, get home and change, and get to my other school for open house.

Open house went well.  For me, it was mostly helping parents with Edline and troubleshooting presentations for teachers.  One highlight was a visit from a parent who was a 3^rd grade student of mine many years ago. 

It’s almost 6:30 AM, and it’s time to do it all over again.

What I did at school today: 9/16/13

What happens when your workaround doesn’t work?  When you rely on technology, you learn to always have a plan B.  Sometimes you need a plan C, D, and E.  Here’s my story.

TES, like many schools, broadcasts a morning show through the in-school cable network.  When we tested it out with our new camera a couple of weeks ago, it wasn’t working.  Unfortunately, the person who can fix it was on a two-week vacation.  No worries, the morning show can wait.

Fast forward a couple of weeks.  In preparation for back to school night, the principal decided rather than squeezing everyone into the cafeteria, whole group announcements would be done like the morning show.  Teachers would just turn on their computers and view these announcements with their parents.  Great idea, except the in-school cable network is still down.

So, I came up with plan B. We could accomplish the same thing online.  We use Elluminate (Blackboard Collaborate) to present Technology Tuesdays, our online staff development.  It has video capabilities, so why not use this in place of the ailing in-school cable network?  I spent days preparing, testing, and sending out information.  I thought it would be best to try a dry run, so we were decided to have me broadcast the morning announcements the day before back to school night.  This would give us a day or so to work out the kinks.  I came in early and got everything set up.  It was working beautifully.  Then, CRASH, the Internet went down (for the third time in three days).

Plan C?  We could videotape the announcements, and teachers could show them at a predetermined time.  It wouldn’t be live, but it should work. Or, I can go door to door and do puppet shows.

What I did at school last week: 9/9/13-9/13/13

For teachers and students, the second week of school is a time for settling in.  The same could be said for ETFs, especially those in new locations.  It was a busy week with lots of early mornings and late afternoons.  I had hoped that part of the settling in process would be returning to my practice of posting to my blog daily.  I guess I’m paving that proverbial road with good intentions.  

As I look back on last week, I think of two main tasks.  One brought me great pleasure and the other immense pain, both metaphorically of course.  Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first.  We have a program called Type 2 Learn, which our 2-5 students use to develop their keyboarding skills.  When we began using it about a year and a half ago, IT uploaded each school’s database.  Last year, all we had to do was remove the rising sixth graders and “promote” all the other students so they’d be listed in their current grade level.  Only new students and rising second graders needed to be added.

I don’t think most of the students in my new schools were promoted last year.  Consequently, when I removed the fifth graders and promoted the fourth graders to fifth, most of them were not on my school roster.  I couldn’t figure out why some were and some weren’t.  My conclusion was that the students hadn’t been promoted in two years, so the group that I thought had just entered fifth grade were actually sixth graders now.  The only students who were correctly placed were those who were new last year.  If you’re still reading this, you’re probably confused or bored or both.  Let’s just say it took me about 3 hours per school to fix the problem. 

The joy of my week was meeting students.  When I inherited this job at my last assignment, I continue the practice of offering a laptop orientation to the kindergarteners and first graders.  I used a PowerPoint slide show created by my predecessor and modified it for my own needs and personality.  During one of these lessons, I offhandedly referred to myself as the computer king, explaining that the computers were my kingdom and I was in charge of them all.  The kids loved it, and eventually I acquired a crown, robe, and scepter, and it became part of my repertoire.

The need for a laptop orientation doesn’t really exist anymore, but the computer king still meets and greets his young subjects.  This week I taught a handful of computer king lessons, and I have many more on my calendar for next week.  Even though I don’t dress up as the computer king for the older students, I’ve been doing a lesson to show them how to log on to and navigate our new Windows 7 environment.  I very cleverly make reference to dressing up as the computer king for their younger brothers and sisters, giving these older children a mental visual without babying them.  My other trick is when I show them CTRL + ALT + DELETE.  With the little ones, I refer to using bunny ears (index and middle fingers spread wide) to press on the CTRL and ALT keys and monkey tail for the DELETE key.  I tell the older students that that’s what I tell the “little kids” but I know they don’t need to hear it that way.  Sneaky, ain’t I?

My calendar is quickly filling up for the coming week.  I expect to find something to write about each day and I hope to find the time to post it.  For now, I’ll go back to the Redskins game, which I have paused.  (A whole lot of good that does me, as my phone keeps sending me disappointing alerts.  At least, when I resume the game it won’t yet be 24-0.)

What I did at school today: 9/4/13

It was another busy day.  I spent a good 45 minutes trying to get the in-school broadcast to work.  As luck would have it, two of the techs happened by, and with their diligence and perseverance, we still didn't get it to work.  Usually 15 minutes is my max for troubleshooting, but there were so many variables, I just couldn't stop myself.  In the middle of this I ran into @ewilliams65.  He commented on how strange it was to see me on this end of the county, and queried about my commute.  Because I was in the middle of aforementioned debacle, I couldn't really stop to chat. 

At the end of the day we did a practice Skype session.  This Friday, four teachers are doing a group Skype with . . . I actually don't know who it's with.  As I have the premium account, I'm the one who is going to make the call.  We ran into a few hiccups.  First, one party couldn't connect.  Then, she connected but on an iPad.  (You can't do group calls on an iPad yet.)  Next, we all connected but one party had no sound.  They got that fixed, but then they couldn't hear me.  Finally, everything worked, and I think we're ready for the real thing on Friday.

There's more to tell
I could go on
But that's it for today. 

The nuts and bolts
Are kind of dull
So S & S will be okay.

What I did at school today: 9/3/13

The first day of school is so different when you are an ETF.  For so many years school began with the days leading up to pre-service.  As if I had all the time in the world, I would go in and with slow deliberation I would start to get my room ready.  A sense of urgency would build as teachers officially returned.  Then, as "time to work in your classroom" became "one more meeting" and open house was lurking right around the corner, urgency turned to panic.  But somehow, year after year, the room was always ready to meet and greet before Labor Day.

My wife and I, both being teachers, rarely made big plans on Labor Day weekend.  We were too busy putting the finishing touches on our lesson plans and maybe sneaking into school one last time to organize and prepare.  Monday night would offer restless sleep (if you could call it that), and Tuesday morning would arrive at last.

The first day of school is a ride fueled by pure adrenalin.  By the end of the day, the voice has revolted and the inevitable energy crash occurs.  There's a wonderful buzz in the afterschool conversations between teachers and like comrades in arms, the shared relief in getting through the first day together.  Depending on the ages of your kids, there's dinner (usually pizza) and forms to fill out and checks to write.  Finally, that sleep that was so belligerent the night before comes easily and completely.

But, that's not my life anymore.  Today was the first day of school, and it was both easy and hard.  I slept fine last night, and I was no more tired at the end of the day than I am on October 23rd or February 6th.  However, I miss that feeling of meeting my new class with all the possibilities and potential.  Like a new baseball season, this could the year we go all the way.  So, I helped teachers configure their printers and I made adjustments to Edline and I reset student passwords and I composed a half dozen IMPORTANT emails and I worked on getting the computer lab ready and I updated my group contacts and . . .  Well, you get the picture.  It was a busy day, but it lacked the intoxication that makes the first day of school so special.

Oh, I did get to be the "Computer King" to two kindergarten classes and inform them that the gingerbread man had been by.

Tomorrow is another first day, my first at TES.  I'm looking forward to being able to work with teachers and their classes again.  That's the sweet spot for me.  But first, let's see if I can get some sleep tonight.

What I did at school (last week): 8/26-8/30

The purpose of this blog is to give others a sense of how an Educational Technology Facilitator (ETF) passes his time by posting one thing I do each day.  Although I was relatively consistent last year, it's been challenging since I returned to school on August 1st, so here is an overview of the last couple of weeks.  Once I return to my regular routine on Tuesday, I will hopefully be more faithful to my own posting expectations.
 
If you are a regular follower of my blog, you know that I recently moved from my two York County (VA) schools in the Williamsburg area to Tabb Elementary and Mt. Vernon Elementary, also in York County but much closer to home.  I've been working hard trying to learn the names of all my new colleagues.  I even borrowed a 2012-13 yearbook from each school to study and learn.  I was at about 80% name/face recognition when the para-educators arrived.  With another 30 or more names to add to my memory bank, it’s back to the books.
 
All teachers returned to school on August 21.  Between new teacher training the day before and other trainings at each school, the week before last last was busy with presentations on Twitter, iMovie, our new Windows 7 operating system, and updating teachers' Edline webpages.  The upgrade to Windows 7 has been a choppy affair.  On the first day back, every hour, it seems, presented a different view on the desktop.  I won't go into all the details, but between missing software, hidden printers, slow processing, and daily surprises, a walk down the hall ensured at least one or two calls for help.  I think of myself as an educator first and a technology specialist second, so it's been disappointing for so many first impressions being about fixing some techno-glitch that I had nothing to do with in the first place.
 
One major issue we are dealing with is student passwords.  Elementary students are required to change their passwords each year.  This year they are expected log on with their previous password and then will be prompted to enter and reenter a new password.  I wouldn't even hazard a guess as to what percentage of our students are going to remember their previous passwords.  To alleviate some anxiety, I made this offer.  Upon request, I can set the new passwords without the previous ones.  I am hoping this will take some stress off the teachers and get them onto the computers faster.  Although this is a time consuming process, the first week of school is not a high-demand time for my services, so it’s a win-win.
 
Calories were in high supply this past week.  There were donuts and breakfast (chicken biscuits...yum) and lunch (chicken sandwiches…yum) and cake and brownies and ice cream sundaes.  Thanks goes out to all the people and groups who kept us well fed.  Tuesday it'll be back to yogurt for breakfast and my usual turkey sandwich lunch.
 
The last two weeks ended with visits with the community.  The Friday before last, the TES staff took a pre-announced bus tour of the neighborhoods we serve.  We made six stops and greeted scores of excited students and parents who had not yet learned their teacher assignments.  The bus tour was followed-up with a visit to Dairy Queen (also in our school zone) for Oreo Blizzards.  This week ended with open house.  I tried to split my time between each school's open house, although few people were interested in the new guy who helps with the computers.  I must be living right, though, for despite the tremendous crowds, I found a place to park up front at each school.
 
Friday was a flex day, so I could have slept in.  Instead, I used the extra time to catch up on some work.  It was quiet, with just a handful of teachers working in their rooms, but it served as a nice decrescendo (yes, it's a real word; I looked it up), dovetailing into a relaxing weekend in anticipation of the opening of school.  Have a great 2013-2014 school year, everyone.