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.

Photo-Sharing

I have come to the conclusion that I am indeed the dinosaur of the group...perhaps not in years on this earth, but certainly in terms of technology. I still have the archaic flip phone (which is on it's last leg), I rarely text (and get frustrated when I can't figure out the punctuation), and I certainly never used a photo-sharing application. Sure, I've toyed with it during some professional development sessions....one of which was Camera Shy No More. But I never really took the time to dive in to it and explore things in depth. Thankfully this course forced me to explore photo-sharing applications this week! What did I discover? I love it. I think it could be addicting. As I was previewing Flickr, Photobucket, and Picasa, I kept thinking of ways to incorporate the images and elements into my faculty meetings, professional development offerings, presentations, and my website. I was so absorbed with the process a couple of hours went by and I didn't even realize it. Now I suppose the challenge will be monitoring the use of my time. Picasa is now a new friend of mine.

Sigh of Relief

I have to admit, I got a knot in the pit of my stomach whenever I thought about creating the website for this course. I have not had an easy experience with it in the past and that experience was limited to say the least. Visions of HTML code and photos that would not load ran through my mind. To my pleasant susrprise, Weebly has made things easier for me. I'm still trying to figure it all out but I'm moving along at a much faster pace than I originally anticipated. Now all I have to do is discipline myself. I could spend hours just playing around with all the themes and elements. Weebly certainly helped me to breathe a sigh of relief. I am now actually looking forward to what the end product will be.

Bubbl & Freedom

1. I liked the new resource we explored this week. Bubbl was easy to use and manage. I am looking for specific ways to show my teachers how to use it. I know we do a lot of work with Thinking Maps so perhaps Bubbl could be used when brainstorming ideas. Any thoughts on this?

2. I am thrilled that our county is finally taking another look at the restrictions they are placing on Internet usage. They want us to be able to use Youtube and other websites online....finally! Only last year principals received "permission" to use Youtube.....well, that was one computer in the entire school. Our technology director is new and has a lot of fresh ideas. I can't wait for the RttT funds to arrive. We're going wireless and getting laptops for students.

Accessibility- Take 2

Last week's blog was also on accessibility yet I focused more on accessibility for the visually impaired. This week's assignment helped me gain more information about the other forms of disability: mobility, hearing, and cognitive. Who knew blinking lights on a website could cause a seizure? In examining my school's website, I realized how inaccessible our site is. Yikes! We have a lot of work to do in order to make it better. I am also a little overwhelmed. Creating a website takes a great deal of work especially when you have to think of ways to ensure accessibility. I have my work cut out for me.

Accessibility for All

I got a whopping dose of "reality" this week when I started looking at websites through the "eyes" of the handicapped. Shamefully I must admit I have never given thought to how the visually impaired use websites. The assignment this week caused me to pause and research it a little bit. Often we take so much for granted. I might not name a photo because it is one more little thing to do. But for someone with a visual impairment, it is a huge deal. Also, how you name a link or create a heading is so important in how the visually impaired obtain information from a website. I can tell you one thing, I will be more sensitive to this issue in the future. Here's a good link I used to help me understand more about making websites accessible to those with visual impairments.

http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=57&TopicID=167

Science or Art? Evaluating Websites

I enjoyed this week's assignment tremendously and yet it caused me to pause and ponder some things. The course readings did a thorough job of explaining the elements of a good website. Some had checklists, others had bulleted points to consider. It all seemed very scientific-like. If you do "A" and then add in element "B" it will = a good site. The part I found tricky was verbally expressing the visual design. That is where the artistry comes in. I found myself using a term such as, "It was pleasing to the eye"......that's not exactly what you'd call quantitative data. The actual design of any website is an art form. I don't think it can be explicitly taught. You just have to know what looks right. Sure you can teach elements such as balance, texture, line usage, etc. But in the end, it all comes down to having an eye for the layout. And that, my friends, is art.

OMG!!!

I thought this week's assignments were going to be three "easy" tasks. That was not the case for me. I really enjoyed learning how to use Dipity. Oddly, the majority of my time was spent reading the history of the Internet and then locating the pics. The site was easy to navigate and the result was pretty cool (if I do say so myself).

HTML was another story altogether. My web page looks awful and I know it. I spent an enormous amount of time on the last 2 assignments to the detriment of my family. As I write this, my family has been asleep for a couple of hours now. I was so challenged by finding the series of key strokes that were missing, I couldn't give up and go to bed! I hunted them down and found the errors. That being said, HTML is not my calling. I am aware HTML exists and I know its purpose. I now have a deeper appreciation the software that makes it easier for people like me to create websites. By the way, does this mean I'm now bilingual?

ECI 719- Scavenger Hunt

When I first saw the title for the assignment, I thought it was going to be a breeze. WRONG! I learned a lot about Creative Commons and public domain media. Wouldn't it be great if universal access was possible....at least for educational purposes. I suppose that's why CC was created and I certainly found their site to be valuable. Through my search for wolves (and I know quite a bit about wolves now), I stumbled across some really great websites my teachers can use. I can't wait to share them. Even though the assignment took me more time than I thought it would, it was certainly worth learning about copyrights and public domain materials.

ECI 719 Roller Coaster

I absolutely love roller coasters. Luckily, my daughter likes them too and she is my riding buddy. This past December we went to Disney World and introduced my 6-year-old son to the rides as well. (Side note: He was a preemie and is still a little vertically challenged. We planned to go to Disney a year ago but postponed our trip until he was tall enough to ride Space Mountain. Luckily he met the height requirement by December.) Anyway, may favorite part of the ride is when it goes into its grand decent which causes my stomach to drop. I'm a big fan of the loops as well. The worst part of the ride for me is when you're being lifted to the summit of the ride. The sound bothers me when it hitches upward. It sounds like its groaning under the weight of all the people as it tries to get us to the top. It's at that moment I feel the most anxiety. I begin to question why I even got on the ride to begin with. Then the apex is reached and away we go. The rest of the ride makes up for the slow decent to the top.
I compare my feelings about roller coasters to my feelings about ECI 719. The anxiety is there as I try to overcome the technological hills. For me it seems like I'm having to overcome a lot of shortfalls in that area. But then once I get going, it's truly satisfying. In fact, I realized this week that I know more than I thought it did. Keep in mind though, I'm only comparing myself to myself...not others in the course. I'm looking forward to the ride!

New Beginnings

What have I gotten myself into? Can you really teach an old dog new tricks? We'll find out.