Well, as I read about the political ramifications. I thought back to the election in 2003. I remember the write-in candidates winning that election. I was so proud of their accomplishments the fact that they had ousted individuals that had supported a measure that at that time I still thought was ridiculous.

How things have changed! As I was looking back from what I have learned, I should have been supporting the decision of giving every kid a laptop. Students rise to the occasion every single time! Even if I carry my laptop incorrectly the students let me know quickly and demonstrate how I should be holding my laptop.

So I thought about the workplace, what happens if politics took away the tool that gave me a tool? I know I would be finding and supporting someone that believed that I needed that tool to work.

I found it interesting that in Part 3: Computing the Cost of this 5 part series in the Stillwater Gazette they began talking about numbers- the “true cost of ownership”. Since costs are the pinnacle of most technology enhancements- usually it is the first thing that is brought up in a discussion, I found it interesting that . As I began to reflect on this article I began to think about the “Total Cost of Ownership” or TOC. During NECC 2007, I went to a session given by Richard Kastner of CoSN- this session talked about his new model that helped schools determine the T.O.C. I have been working on using this model in my own professional practices as we develop the St. Raphael’s School Technology Plan

As I was thinking about this more, I thought about how it is nearly impossible to measure the cost savings in opportunities. Sure it costs roughly $300 a year for a student to use a laptop but thinking of it in more long-term investment. How much money could be saved if a student went to college better prepared? If we gave students the necessary tools and taught them real-world applications, so that when they left high school and middle school these students would know how to present publicly, they knew how to write a paper and collaborate with others, and they were able to effectively evaluate resources. Each of those things, are what professors in college spend hours teaching students how to do. I know with the education that I walked away with after high school, I was able to teach others about PowerPoint and was able to go in my first year of college without having to take a basic research methods class and accelerating me to the upper level research lab class. The cost savings, I have yet to find the exact number.

I am really enjoying this series in the Stillwater Gazette. Yesterday’s article talked about the Intangible Benefits. The article prompted me to think about critical thinking and Bloom’s taxonomy- things I learned about during my psychology training and my pre-service teacher days. I was wondering how exactly do we measure critical thinking? There is no easy answer, seeing if kids think critically is just like seeing if they can understand abstract and concrete topics. As I was working on my senior project in college, I was introduced to the idea of proverbs and how they could be either abstract or concrete.

So I have to ask, do you know what it means to say, “There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip”? It means that there is room to make error as you move from one point to the other, as the cup moves from the table to your lip- you have the chance to spill. Measuring benefits of a technology program can be looked at in two different ways, calculated with certainty or done irrationally. The decision to have the 1:1 program at Oak-Land Junior High was not done irrationally, many decisions were calculated to make the best decision for those students. Each educator is obligated to make these types of decisions- none of these decisions are made quickly without thought.

So what about decision making at SRS, about choosing to move the cup from the table. The decision to move from PK-8 Technology classes to only PK-4 Technology classes. As this decision was made, a lot of time was spent thinking about the students. Each year the students were entering the school smarter in the technology field and the focus of the technology program was to teach the students basic computer skills. Now every teacher integrates technology, it is part of the curriculum. Technology is not an add-on. In our PK-4 program it is simply a way to begin giving students the necessary skill set to move into middle school. The decisions and many others were made were to expand the student’s toolbox.

I got a great email yesterday telling me to check out my hometown’s newspaper. They were going to be having a five-part series about Technology in the Classroom. Today, I will reflect on yesterday’s article: Inside the High-Tech Classroom.

The article talked about Oak-Land Junior High- the first school in Minnesota to ever try 1 laptop per child. Over the past four years these students have been at the cutting edge- these kids use technology in many different ways, and it is a tool in their ever expanding toolbox.

When the program was first introduced to the Stillwater residents many people were against the idea, myself included. I, like a good friend of mine, where so against the idea that I ended up emailing Stillwater Junior High’s Tech. Coordinator telling him that it was a ridiculous idea, that teenagers were no where mature enough to handle a laptop. I was SO wrong! My friend ended up becoming one of the Spanish teachers at Oak-Land, her response now- just like me “I was SO wrong!” This is about expanding their toolbox, giving them skills that will help them now and skills that will also help them in the future. Students will and can rise to the occasion.

So what does this have to do with SRS? Well, over the past two years we have had a wonderful relationship with Stillwater Schools. Our Middle School teachers have spent a day visiting with students and teachers at Stillwater Junior High and Oak-Land Junior High. As I was writing my master’s thesis about developing a technology vision for SRS, I asked Stillwater Junior High’s Tech Coordinator to serve as one of my thesis advisor’s.

So looking at SRS today, what have we learned with our two year relationship with Stillwater Schools? First, integration does not mean creating a spectacular project. It means giving skills that not only will help the students right now, but in the future. One of the best projects in our two years of integration, was that of a teacher who asked the students to create a presentation, but she took it a step further. Each student placed their presentation on the projector screen and then stood in the back of the room to see if even in the back could they see the slides as clearly as they could on the computer screen. A lot student went back to the drawing board to adjust their presentation.

This morning I met with our school’s Technology Task Force. We will be starting a large project this year, writing the school’s official technology plan- which is slated for release February 2008. We are also looking for new members who would be willing to join our Technology Task Force, we meet roughly once a month and collaborate through email at other times. You may email me for further information.

Other things that are going on, well, I am starting a journalism club students in grades 5-8 will be getting invites this week. Students will be introduced to yearbook production and also movie production. We have a lot of ideas/projects this year- so keep your eyes open and ears perked!

Earlier this summer I joined a few Nings- I joined one about Laptop Learning which I have found very beneficial to gather ideas from other educators. I also joined one about global collaboration. One of the neat projects I participated in this past weekend was a video conferencing session with educators in Europe, Asia, Australia, and throughout the United States. As I was partaking in the session, I could only think about the question that I now had, how can we have our students participate in global collaboration.

Today, I had the opportunity to attend a learning session about the new iLife and the new iWork. With my PHT Wishlist money I purchased iWork ‘08 for our students. This year we will be using “Pages” to create our yearbook.

I was asked, what is your plan for this year? Well, there are a few other small projects. I will be starting a journalism club for students in Grades 5-8, there we will work on the yearbook but also we will work on learning some of the many tools that SRS offers.

I sit on a few listservs, typically these are places in where school educators talk about a variety of issues that are beneficial to a wide number of people. As I was going through emails on Wednesday, I came across an invitation for Quechup sent by one of the listserv subscribers. It was a bit odd and suspicious, but then a few minutes later, another email came across saying to delete any and all emails coming from this site. We had been spammed.

I recognize that many of St. Raphael’s students and alumni are interested in the new wave of “social networking” sites- MySpace, Facebook, Hi-5, Xanga, etc. (you can find a list of many on Wikipedia). However, I wanted to give you a heads up to what exactly Quechup is, in the simplest of forms Quechup takes your addresses in your address book and then quickly sends information to all of your contacts, creating a many emails being sent

You can read more about Quechup in Wesley Fryer’s blog: Beware of Quechup Spam Scam

Over the past few weeks I have been working on getting ready for the first two weeks.  These first two weeks are jammed pack with many projects, programs, and upstarts.So what is up in Room 11? We started NWEA testing, yes even though it was hot in the computer lab we were able to begin collecting the data necessary to provide an excellent direction for the school year.  We are also issuing the STAR reading test- this will help students in direction to find materials in the library. The data is archived so this should help us make the best decisions for the most amazing students.

Students will get their mobile lab assignments on Friday. To make sure that I can assign the laptop to our 5-8 grade students make sure all the annual technology forms are submitted. The forms are found here.

And my professional development? Well, I have to finish testing first. Then I will start looking at my direction.

I get a few questions about how to find me, so I thought I would let you know how this works.

Phone or Email: I suggest email

You may email me at lisa.sjogren@srsmn.org but be advised I get between 70-100 emails in a day so responses do take a while. I do have “rules” that help sort my email so this does help with speeding up replies.

You may call my office 763-504-9450 ext. 311, I usually am not in there and check voice mails usually at the beginning or the end of the day- depending on my schedule.

To keep in the spirit of our blogs, I thought I would take a moment to introduce myself, so Hi All!

I am the Director of Technology for St. Raphael’s and will be starting my 3rd year at St. Raphael’s this fall. I teach PK-4 computers and help with the full-time integration for our students in grades 5-8. My undergraduate degree is in Psychology and International Studies from Bemidji State University and I studied abroad at Oxford University in the Spring of 2001. I continued my education by going to Hamline University and received my Masters in 2006.

While at St. Raphael’s, I chair the Technology Task Force, these individuals help out the school by providing direction to the schools technology plan. I also have a Q & A session each week in the newsletter, regarding technology, you are welcome to email me a question for inclusion in the newsletter. You may also find me at athletic events as I am the Assistant Athletic Director.

In my spare time, I enjoy Nordic skiing, skating, cooking and traveling. I also enjoy watching classic movies, some of my favorites include High Society, Casablanca, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Singing in the Rain. I enjoy reading business books, I throughly recommend Good to Great, The Tipping Point, and The World is Flat. I enjoy eating Italian, seafood, and Carbiou coffee drinks. I am still technically a “newlywed”, married since December 2006, my husband Erik works for the Geek Sqaud and plays vintage base ball.

My educational philosophy: I believe that all students should become proficient in the positive use of technology. Computers are a tool that is used to enhance instruction and provide assistance to student’s unique and diverse learning needs. I provide a “technology boot camp” for our PK-4 students to prepare them for the integration model in middle school (grades 5-8). To ensure success, I work with every teacher at St. Raphael’s to provide them with the tools necessary to achieve their objectives, as each teacher is expected to integrate several times a month. I also believe positive use of technology includes making a connection between the family, school, and community.