Walking the Talk

It still amazes me that we are at the end of this course. It seems as if time has flown by. My life has been very chaotic the past few weeks but I found it somewhat amusing that I've been able to live and breathe the topic of my website- Communication Resources for Elementary School Principals. I have found myself in an unusual position of being smack in the middle of a crisis situation. And when you have a crisis, communication is the key to sooth your community's fears. Knowledge is power. I have sent home numerous one-way communications to include mass telephone messages, detailed emails, and screencasts. (Jing has been a wonderful tool and my staff loves it!) I have been surrounded by the media and know all about public service announcements and news releases. I have used facebook to communicate with my staff and parents- and even some former teachers from Ben Martin Elementary. Flyers and newsletters have been created and distributed. Business partners and community agencies have been contacted and visited. Wow! I can honestly attest first hand to the content in my website. This course came at an opportune time for me....and for that I am grateful. New Beginnings has multiple meanings to me now. I look forward to what lies ahead (in many respects).

Social Networking- Take 3

This has been a very practical assignment for me this week. My school was struck by a tornado Saturday and it is now condemned. We will have to relocate our entire student body (615 students) and staff members (94) to another location. Our staff was able to meet today for about an hour- off site of course. Many do not have access to the area since the police have blocked off the roads to the school. Some of my students and staff members have lost their homes. It is a very difficult time. On top of everything else, we're trying to make the kids' school life as normal as possible. We will be teaching the students at a local recreation center for 3 days this week and then move to another facility after spring break. We'll be there at least a year while they bulldoze the school and rebuild it. This is where social networking comes in. My staff members will not have access to their belongings while they'll be teaching the kids for 3 days. Where do we turn? Social networks. They have tons of premade materials that can be tailored to our needs. We have the county's copy machines so we'll make good use of them while we're trying to get all of this mess figured out. I am ready for the challenge.

Social Networking- Take 2

My frustration with my first experience has dissipated. The administrative articles need to be varied; some of the info on grading is terribly misaligned with researched best practices. But the classroom management tips and the parent involvement pieces are really good. I can see using some with my staff members. I would hesitate to provide this network though since some of the information does not match what the research suggests. You really have to weed through a lot of stuff in order to get to some great information. I have hope!

Social Networking- Take 1

To say I am frustrated would be an understatement. I have spent the last couple of hours reviewing various social networks for administrators and was disappointed. Theapple is the one I chose to join and follow. Here are a couple of my main concerns: 1. When reviewing my status section, I noticed the "My Reputation" tab. Now that was an eye-catcher. After reviewing the contents, I came to the realization that it should be labeled, "Popularity Contest." How many friends do you have? Who is following you? The people who accumulate the most points will be offered posting rights and free trials....give me a break! 2. Apparently today was a special holiday no one warned me about.....Bash Your Principal day was in full force. I am sorry these teachers don't like their principals but we're not all alike. Check out my teachers working condition survey and you'll see. There are some good ones out there. Needless to say I had to share my thoughts....not sure how that's going to work out. Perhaps "my reputation" will be jeopardized. (I was nice! Really I was!) Hopefully the rest of the week will be better.

Predicting the Future

I love science fiction! Still, this week's assignment was rather difficult for me in some ways. I could come up with a lot of things that may happen in the future, but then I had to tie it together with some of the present day web giants. This was certainly a "loaded" assignment....very creative in making us familiar with what is going on in the here and now so that we could stem from that and look into future. I found it satisfying when I thought I came up with an idea only to conduct more research to learn that someone else had already thought of the same idea. I even branched out and looked at some other areas besides web design. One word: scary! I wonder if we'll end up being like those who believed in Buck Rogers in the 21st century. Are we way off the mark in our predictions? Time will tell.

My Hands are Tied

This week has certainly been high-tech for me. I finally got a smart phone with unlimited texting! Now I can access my email from anywhere at anytime. Then, without any prior notice, the county's techs showed up to install a new computer in my office. And next week, I get a new laptop. Technically speaking (haha), I'm in heaven. But as I'm hanging out on cloud nine, I begin to ponder some things. This course has opened my eyes to the ways technology can be used to support instruction. Yet, with all the firewalls in place in many school districts, our hands are tied as to what we can use. Then, to add another layer of frustration, many of us are prevented from using certain webtools. It is our district's technology policy to NOT download certain screencasting tools. I was "busted" when the techs came this week since I had Jing installed on my computer. I explained that I use it for PD and in the place of having to call a meeting. I record the info on my screen and share it. We all love it- it saves time. Yet my hands are still tied. Luckily my district is on the right path and many positive initiatives are in the works. I'm looking forward to more freedom with technology....especially since I now know how to effectively use it.

Mobile Learning

I enjoyed being able to explore the mobile learning topic this week. In my mind, technology is a tool and can be used appropriately or inappropriately in any setting. For example, jackhammers are a wonderful tool when working on a construction site or road. But if you brought it into the classroom, it would not be considered a great tool because it is being used inappropriately. Same goes for some of the mobile learning features I learned about this week. The teacher still has to plan effective lessons for learning to take place. The apps alone don't do the trick. I think it should be required of all students enrolled in education classes to become a teacher to take a course on how to use technology to improve and enhance instruction. School systems also need to get on board by allowing mobile devices to be used without the threat of a code of conduct violation. Our school district is on its way but there is still a lot of improvement that needs to be made.