Today was all about kindergarten. I worked with three kindergarten teachers and their classes. For two of the classes, it was their first visit to the computer lab. This means that it was the first time they have ever logged on to a computer at school. The third class was making a repeat visit.
With the two new classes, I introduced myself as the computer king (with crown, robe, and sceptor). We talked about how you know that something is a computer. Then, I took them through the procedure to log on. I came up with this analogy comparing logging on to opening up the locked door of their house and logging off to locking up when they leave.
This year usernames are more complex and include the back slash. Passwords are actually easier than usernames. Most students did well. Some tried putting some of their usernames in the password field, and some tried typing their password at the end of the username field. With minimal frustration -- student AND teacher -- everyone got logged on.
It's amazing the difference between going through this process for the first time now at this school and going through it back in October with the other. All that was left was to log off, and that was a breeze. Two clicks, and they were finished.
The third class received a quick refresher and then went straight to work. They logged on much more quickly this time. Then, I introduced Pixie4. They were totally engaged. All I did was show them a few tools and told them to go "explore", and explore they did.
Back when I taught 3rd grade, I have to admit that the 5th grade writing test was not on my radar. Then, a couple of teachers did a training on a tool called NCS Mentor, and it helped us understand how the writing test was scored. I realized that 3rd grade was not too early to begin training students how to score their own papers using the rubric and standards being used by the state of VA. As fate would have it, I ended up teaching 5th grade the last year before I left the classroom. Preparing my students for the test that year forced me to delve even deeper into what makes a "winning" paper, at least as far as the SOL gods are concerned.
My first year as a technology facilitator, I developed a series of lessons to help my teachers prepare their students for the writing test. These lessons have evolved, as has the test itself. NCS Mentor was transformed into an online tool and renamed Perspective. This year Perspective was updated to reflect the changes in the way the test is scored.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the teachers at my new schools didn't even know about these lessons, and it wasn't until last week that I brought it to their attention. Today, I taught the first of those lessons to a couple of classes at MVES. I was pleased at how it was received by both the teachers and the students.
Another task that has occupied my time today is updating the iPads. After all the work I had done with these #^&*$ devices last fall, I didn't think I'd ever forget the procedure, but sure enough, I had to go through my notes again. I'm presenting a few new apps at our next ETF meeting, and I wanted to add them to the student iPads before then. It's a slow process, but like a bad dream, it's all coming back to me.
If you read my previous post, you know that I returned from being out almost the entire month of January. For the first few days back, business was slow. Most of my work had to do with troubleshooting problems or resetting passwords. This was fine, as I was still getting back into the swing of things (a luxury I have that classroom teachers do not).
By Wednesday, I was getting antsy. It's easy to be out of sight, out of mind. This is why -- especially when I'm away -- I try to communicate regularly by e-mail. Whenever things slow down, I take the bull by the horns. On Wednesday I sent out two e-mails, one to my kindergarten teachers and another to my 5th grade teachers. It's a scatter shot approach, but it works!
At MVES, where I have only three kindergarten teachers, I have been working with them and their students on a weekly basis. When students are getting targeted technology skills introduced and reinforced (at least) weekly, they show tremendous and rapid growth. I wanted to be able to do this with my TES kinders, but there we have five classes. Still, I made the offer, and depending on the responses I get, I'll work it out somehow.
My offer to the fifth grade teachers was to teach one or more in a series of lessons I developed on using Perspective. This is a website where students can go to learn more about how their writing SOL test is scored. I have been doing this for years, but I am at two new locations with eight new (to me) teachers. Although it's late, I had to get the word out. I can't rely on using the same materials as last year because both the test and the website have changed. I am currently working on adapting my materials to these changes.
Response from teachers are streaming in, so happily my workload is picking up. Of course, today is Friday, so it's hard to think about that now.
I'm embarrassed to say that my last entry was November 27th, that was my only posting in November. Beginning in December, I have spent more days away from school than at school for one reason or another, some professional and some personal. But as George Costanza would say, "I'm back, baby!" I'm thrilled to get back into a routine.
I live in Yorktown, VA, and after a short preChristmas trip to Hilton Head Island and another short stop back home to celebrate the holiday with our two boys, I headed to my childhood home on LI, NY. The original purpose of this trip was to see my aging parents (88 and 90), who had limited opportunities to get out into the world. By the time I arrived, we all (my parents, my siblings, and I) had come to the conclusion they could no longer live independently in their apartment. My sisters, my wife, and I planned a couple of visits at nearby assisted living facilities. By the time we left on New Years Eve to spend the night with friends in State College, PA, we had left a deposit at one of the facilities and my sisters were set to take my parents there for a visit and an evaluation.
I had my phone turned off New Years Eve, and when I didn't realize until the next day when we were more than halfway back to VA that I had a voice mail message from my sister. It seems that twice the night before my father fell. This had been an ongoing problem, and each time the EMTs would come and help him up. After the first fall that day, they helped him back up, but after the second one (in which his head put a hole in the bathroom wall), they insisted that he go to the hospital.
The next morning, knowing that a major storm was heading to the NYC area, I quickly packed up my car and headed north again. I went directly to the hospital and found my father with a big patch on his forehead and a fair amount of confusion. We had been seeing signs of dementia for several months, but it seemed to be progressing quickly. After almost 10 days in the hospital and a countless number of tests, they moved him to one of the rehab facilities (i.e. nursing homes) we had selected.
In the meantime, we met with a specialist in elder care who emphasized that our first task should be to find an attorney who specializes in elder care law. The wife of an old college buddy of mine recommended someone who she used, liked, and thought was reasonable with his fees. Thus began the long, ardous task of getting my parents' financial affairs in order. I consider myself an organized person, and my father's organizational habits weren't bad, but dealing with someone else's "stuff" is a challenge. We were working on a two-tiered strategy: move all my parents' assets to my mother's name and collect copes of all the documents needed to file for Medicaid. In NY, you can do this and qualify one spouse for Medicaid within three months.
The night I returned home to VA, I threw my back at and lost another complete week of school. The following week we were off MLK's Birthday holiday, had a normal Tuesday, lost Wednesday and Thursday to snow, and had an end of semester day off on Friday. I actually went in on the second snow day, but still that meant that I only worked two days.
I had to return to NY the following Monday to meet with the lawyer. I traveled on Sunday, arriving late in the afternoon. On Monday my mother, my sister, and I went to visit my father. I was amazed at how lucid he was and he looked great, but he was taken away shortly after we arrived to be checked by the doctor at the nursing home. He had been having a problem that concerned the nursing staff. The doctor decided he needed to go to the ER. I could probably write a 10-page ebook on that experience, but I stayed with him for eight hours, and he remained another four or five before he was transported, in the middle of the night, back to the nursing home.
The meeting with the lawyer was rescheduled for Wednesday, an unfortunate delay as there wasn't much I could do until that meeting took place. After we finally met, I received Power of Attorney for both of my parents and then the real work began. I spent the next two days in marathon sessions of dealing with my parents' financial and legal affairs. By the time I left on Friday, I had their papers well organized, had done what I could, and packed up the items that I could do from home.
So, other than finding a forum to vent, why am I writing about all this and what does it have to do with technology? First of all, I can't emphasize enough the importance of getting your own affairs in order and well organized. Several people I know died suddenly and at relatively young ages, so you never know what lies ahead. Make Excel your friend. It has helped me so much with my parents' information and my own. Also, create as many online accounts as possible. This has saved me more time and trouble than anything else.
It's a quiet day at school. Everyone has returned from an additional three snow days. (Alas, I was away for one of the rare measurable snowfalls we have in this area.) Between the teachers trying to revamp their plans and my extended absences, the need for my services is minimal . . at least for the moment. I hope to get back into the routine of posting daily or at least regularly. It's a little late for this, but Happy New Year.
