I just returned from NECC yesterday, the long flight coupled with the intensity of the conference sent me straight to bed for several hours to recoup sleep. So today I thought to return to my computer and participate in Leadership Day 2008.

I am convinced that I drove St. Raphael’s Chief Learner nuts (and I mean NUTS) by saying, “Either you get it or you don’t.” I always put her in the ‘get it’ category. That particular statement started two years ago when I took a group of teachers and the principal to Oak-Land Junior High to look at integrated technology instruction. The view of teaching and learning changed instantly, as that evening in my voice mailbox the principal left me a message that effectively launched SRS from a 20th century school to a 21st century school.

The post could get lengthy if I decided to write out the entire story, but in short there are 10 things that explains how after two years I figured out what I really meant when I said,  “you get it.”

1. Try the tools as well.
2. Allow time for sharing.
3. Celebrate the success and recognize the times it doesn’t work.
4. Be innovative.
5. Share excitement and enthusiasm with others.
6. Research, read, and blog too.
7. Take risks.
8. Encourage creativity and collaboration.
9. Enjoy the moment.
10. Mold the teacher’s wings and let fly.

Like a good leader, my wings were molded and I was released to fly to begin the next stage in life. So thank you to the Chief Learner and all innovative leaders who ‘get it’.

This year I am going to be offering a monthly parent education series. Here is a copy of the presentation for further review.

I originally had this as the second part of my last post, until I realized it would solidify that I was completely random! So I moved it to its own post.

One of my favorite quotes, I used to have on a poster in my bedroom, on it was a gymnast standing on the balance beam. I am not sure of the significance of the beam. Although, on the bottom of the picture it says: Do not pray for an easy life, pray to be a strong person. I can only think about how that is such a powerful statement.

So I have spent a bit of time reading articles about making students stronger. Reflecting and reorganizing my thoughts as the Director of Technology, but sadly, having little time to write down those thoughts.

Until I wrote an email to a good friend after I hosted several teachers for our Techtober-Fest. As I wrote the email I began to see what my job was suppose to be. Here is a small excerpt:

When I first started teaching, I like most young naive newbie teachers thought my subject area was the most important. Oh how things have changed… As I have progressed through these past three years, I have learned that technology is only a small piece of the puzzle, and each of us contribute to the puzzle… This idea needs to be about giving the WHOLE student a better experience. Building them as an individual who has strengths in many areas but is a good person overall.

So as I stand on this earth (which seems to have kept me quite busy), I reflect each day a little differently now. I am asking myself constantly, how am I making these students a stronger person?

Today was the last article in the series- it talked about looking forward. As I read the subtitle it said that the school would move forward with whatever tools they had. Looking at SRS, I find it interesting that we move forward with the tools we have everyday.

When I first started I learned that every teacher was 1 entire operating system behind.  The students had newer tools. I started simply by introducing some of the new laptops to our middle school teachers and then buying each of our other classroom teachers a new computer. The changes were immense. Student computer upgrades followed. However, I am reminded about an interesting incident.

Our first visit to the Stillwater Area Schools was a real eye-opener- they said to all of us, “Before doing a large scale intiative, take about 3 years to plan.” So year 1 would be 2006-2007 and we would be ready for our initiative by 2009-2010. Then one of our teachers said, “3 years… look how far we are!” She was so right, even though we did not have the cutting edge tools- we were moving forward with what we had. Each day we continue to look forward and plan.

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!

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.

When I first started at SRS, I really was not nervous. I was told by a coworker to get these teacher’s to use technology I would have to work with these teachers non-stop, that made things a little uneasy. However, I started by upgrading much of our school’s infrastructure; new computers for the teachers and students, a n all campus wireless network, and programs to help make the teacher’s job easier.

So over the past two school years we have done some amazing things. I enjoy calling our teachers “digital pioneers”. So now I am entering my 3rd year at St. Raphael’s and I am actually more nervous than I have been in the previous two years. We are working together to further benefit the 21st century learner and my goal is to reach the “tipping point”, in which the efforts in technology integration will spread like wildfire throughout our school. We are getting close so I guess it is “wait and see.”

So what is in store for the teachers this year? Well, each teacher will have a blog in which they will detail their assignments, class information, etc. check out my blogroll for more information. We improved our student to computer ratio 1:2.4.

h yes, I do recognize that this will also be the place in which I give curriculum updates for classes they will be under the “Tag/Category” of “SRS TinT”