Learning about technology

I spent today at a very cool conference - the annual gathering of the Computer Educators of Connecticut. It is always a great opportunity to see the latest in tech stuff, to hear how other educators are using technology in their classrooms, and just to get a good pep talk about technology.

Today's keynote speaker was David Pogue, technology writer for the NY Times. In spite of his own technical difficulties (a problem with the equipment at the convention center, not anything of his own doing), he presented a very interesting and entertaining keynote address. He then followed it up with a presentation to a smaller group on Web 2.0 technologies. Both had a lot of great information. Both shared a lot of new things. And both were very funny.

The rest of the day was spent listening to other leaders in technology education as they shared about using blogs, podcasts, video, Google products, and other great resources in their class.

And I'll certainly get to take some of this back to work tomorrow and start applying it to what I do.

The only downside of the day was that there just wasn't anyone to share it with. If I talk about technology too much, my wife's eyes start to glaze over. I mean, she doesn't even have an e-mail account! (I know, I say that like it is the mark of satan! LOL) At work, since we work with kids with severe special needs, the integration of technology into our curriculum is challenging and limited. We utilize a lot of adaptive technology, but not a lot of what I saw today. So there just isn't anyone there to share it all with, either.

So yes, I'll take some of it back and share it and find other, unique ways for staff to utilize the technology for their own professional growth. But it sure would have been nice to have someone there to look at and say "did you see that?!?! I can't wait to try that tomorrow!"

Oh well, missing out on that certainly doesn't change how much I learned nor how much I enjoyed it.

THREE DAYS LEFT

If you are a parent, you know just how crazy the end of the school year can be. There are band concerts, field trips, special assemblies, forms to fill out, missing library books to find and return, finals to help kids prepare for, schedules to preview for next year, letters from administrators and guidance counselors about special summer events, makeup work for things that got missed, and a long list of other special things that get crammed into the last days of the school year.

But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year for the kids. A few more finals on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and they are free!

If you are a teacher, you know just how crazy the end of the school year can be. There are band concerts, field trips, special assemblies, forms to fill out, missing curriculum materials to find and return, finals to prepare, summer school schedules to preview, letters to write to parents about special events in the summer and leftover information from this year, and a long list of other special things that get crammed into the last days of the school year.

But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year! A final day with the kids on Monday and two teacher days on Tuesday and Wednesday and I'll be free!

Well, almost. Because my job description is a bit different. I don't actually teach in a classroom any more. I'm the technology coordinator and a professional development specialist for our school. So while I attend concerts and assemblies and field trips and all that stuff to assist the staff, I'm also scrambling to set up e-mail accounts for summer staff, filling out requisition forms for equipment upgrades and replacements during the summer, finding missing equipment that got loaned out and never returned, writing letters to parents about planned upgrades to the school web site and blogs for next year, and a long list of other special things that get crammed into the last days of the school year.

But it is almost over. There are only THREE DAYS LEFT in the school year for me! Videotaping the graduation ceremony on Monday and setting up laptops and projectors for two meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, installing new software in the building, backing up the servers, finalizing accounts for summer staff and I'll be free!

Well, almost. Summer school doesn't begin until June 30th, but I'll be back on the 23rd to prepare a summer workshop on using the advanced data analysis tools in Excel for a group of teachers and clinicians wanting to enhance their skills in collecting, analyzing and reporting data. But at that point, I really can say just THREE DAYS LEFT because I'll prep on the 23rd and 24th and lead the workshop on the 25th. And then I'm free.

Really. Four whole days off ... until summer school begins.

Modular Working

Last Thursday, my boss dropped by my office to inform me that I would be getting new office furniture. It was scheduled to arrive sometime in mid-July.

It got there on Friday. Unfortunately for me, I had taken that day off. So when I returned to work yesterday, my desk was gone. The stuff from on top of my desk was gone. The stuff from inside my desk was gone. EVERYTHING from one side of my office was gone!

In an amazingly short period of time, furniture boys had brought in and assembled the new stuff and left me to bring back my things and set up my new space.

So what did I get? A new desk. One of those fancy, modular things with built-in shelves and lots of drawers and file space. Not bad. Previously I just had a desk. I guess you would call it a non-fancy, non-modular desk. With one drawer. And no filing space. I had to leave my office and walk down the hall just to get to the one file drawer I was able to use. So the new stuff is definitely an improvement.

And now I have spent a couple of days doing nothing but putting things in those drawers, on the shelves, on the desk. And what a great opportunity for tossing old crap stuff and organizing things. I've thrown out a lot of old stuff. And I don't do that lightly. I hang on to everything. Just in case. But it seemed like it was time to throw out the manuals for software that we haven't used in ten years. My computer hasn't had a floppy drive for a very long time, but I was still hanging on to those last three blank floppy disks. Just in case. And of course some actual software. Software that has not worked with the last four versions of my operating system. I still had those disks. Just in case. But now...all gone!

So now my office is clean and neat. And modular. And I have no doubt I will just be so much more productive now!

Or at least I can nap in a clean space.

When the students go to the mall...

My profile lists me as a teacher, and I am. But I haven't worked in the classroom for several years. I work in a school for kids with special needs and my current job is technology director and development of professional development activities. But I still get invited to help out in the classrooms now and then. And today was one of those days. I got to go on a field trip to do Christmas shopping with a class. What an interesting experience! Each student had brought a shopping list from home with some gift ideas (suggested by the parents) for members of their family. So we loaded up the vans and off we went!

The main objective of this trip was the mall. But before the mall, we made a stop at Target to try to knock off some ideas at a discount. The student I was assisting had candles on the list for several folks. Of course, he had to sniff EVERY candle in the store. And I don't mean every scent. I mean EVERY CANDLE!! The 3-inch jasmine. The 4-inch jasmine. The 5-inch jasmine. You get the picture. Just knowing what jasmine smelled like was not good enough. Of course, he wanted me to sniff them too and offer guidance! By the time he finally made a choice, my sense of smell was pretty much shut down from too much sniffing!

Its funny to shop with someone who has been carefully taught to pay attention to prices. He clearly had the idea that the cheaper it is, the better off he would be. For example, in addition the candles mentioned above, his list had 'tealights' for grandma. And there were many options. Plenty of little red and green holiday tealights in tiny glass holders. Plenty of various colored and scented tealights. But he spotted the giant bag of 100 white, unscented tealights with just their little tin-cup holders. And 100 candles for only 2 bucks seemed like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! It took a lot of convincing that, while that was quite an irresistible bargain, the other options really were a nicer gift for grandma.

It's also interesting to shop with kids who have limited organizational skills but very strong ideas about where they want to go. My kid had a definite series of stores he wanted to visit in the mall. Of course, we walked past all of them 6 or 8 times in the process of visiting them in the order that existed in his head! But we had plenty of time so I was happy to just tag along.

It was a fun day. We had a nice lunch together. And he'll be able to put a present under the tree for all his family. And with all that walking, I shouldn't have to exercise for a week!

Blogging can't be bad...can it?

I mentioned recently, after going a week without posting while my mom visited, that I really missed this. In only a few weeks I've found that I really enjoy blogging. I like trying to be a bit creative with my posts. I pay a little more attention to routine events of the day just in case I can find a fun angle for a post. And even though I really am doing this for my own creative outlet, I really have enjoyed getting comments and establishing a bit of communication with several other bloggers.

But in addition to exploring this for my own fun, my job as a technology coordinator for a school has given me the chance to create a couple of blogs for our staff. Those blogs have different areas of focus, providing opportunities to share and collaborate on research and other information. This seemed like a perfect solution for staff members who don't always have time to get together for professional development. But then I read this article with this comment:

Our bias toward groups is counterproductive. And the technology of ubiquitous connectedness is making the problem worse.

Hmmm...technology is making us more reliant on group collaboration...and this is a bad thing? He continues with this comment:

As for the Internet and our newfound ability to tap into the masses, a more subtle form of havoc arises. Simply put, when you make it easy for everyone to put in his two cents, with little filtering or accountability, the scum tends to rise to the top.

Scum? Improved communication leads to scum? Blogging won't save the world. It may not solve many problems at work. But can better connection really be a bad thing? I have to disagree with the article. There are a few jobs where you want someone to make a decision without stopping to chat. If I'm on the surgical table, I want a doctor with enough skill and confidence to do the right thing without having to call a meeting. But in many situations, I still believe that collaboration is a good thing. And as our jobs and our lives push us in directions that make face-to-face meetings more difficult, I have to appreciate a technology that makes it this easy to share.

And on a personal level, I really do like this. It may not make me a better person, but I am having fun. And that's a good thing!

The Big Day

Yes, the day has arrived. Fifty years old. Half a century. Daughter13 sweetly asks, "So Dad, does this make you a senior citizen?" Ouch!

Work was fun. My office was draped, filled, covered in black crepe paper streamers. Fans were provided for 'hot flashes'. Photos and other desk items were 'artfully' rearranged or hidden away entirely. Login passwords were changed on my computer (to simulate a loss of memory as I typed in over and over what I thought was my password). Electronic greeting cards filled my Inbox while my desk was piled high with various cards featuring pictures of old men. I got little gifts here and there. One classroom really surprised me with a little party where each student made a small presentation of a card, gift, balloon, or treat. And the staff had a birthday cake at the end of the day.

At home there have been cards, gifts, various phone calls from friends and family, and a trip out to dinner with my wife and the kids. Now all that is left is blowing out the candles (hopefully NOT fifty of the suckers!) and having some coffee and cake before calling it a day and settling down to relax.

Being fifty really doesn't seem so bad. But then, it is only Day One.

(Hmmm...I've never hurt there before)