Tiny Ted travels to Mobile

School starts on Thrusday for Noah and Luke so the family took a last trip to Mobile, Alabama. We took the boys to the USS Alabama which is a retired Navy ship permanently stationed in Mobile Bay.

The boys loved all the big guns.

We spent several hours on the USS Alabama, checked out the planes, and went through the submarine.

We then traveled by car ferry from Fort Gaines in Mobile to Fort Morgan in Gulf Shores.

We ended the long weekend on the beach in Seagrove Beach, Florida before heading home to start school. Noah and Tiny Ted will begin 3rd grade together on Thursday. Look for them to blog about their school adventures on Noah and Luke's blog at http://brotherstwo.blogspot.com/.

Comments

Working to Develop as a Leader

As a part of my professional learning plan, I chose to spend time learning about strategies for becoming a better leader. I have been in my current position for a few years, but feel that I can always grow as a leader. It was a harder transition than I thought it would be moving from a support role of District Integration Specialist to a manager roles as the Technology Coordinator. Early this month, I began reading the book Creating Magic, 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney by Lee Cockerell . I have to admit that I first picked up this book last year, but was not focused enough to complete it. So, I got out my planner and mapped out a reading plan to read one chapter a night and take notes. I now wish I had scheduled to read a chapter every other night in order to take more time to reflect on the information. I may have missed a day or two, but am now back on track with the reading. I have been amazed at the simplicity of the strategies that Lee has out

Skype Connection

We have begun to think how Skype could be used in our classrooms. A middle school teachers asked for help in finding a classroom in France that they could Skype. I quickly realized that there was not a good way to find interested classrooms. However, while researching resources for Eduwikipedia , I came across a Skype directory. When I selected the Education category there was only one person who seemed to be truly involved in education. I requested his information because he said he was interested in locating other educators in technology to collaborate with. Last Friday night my Skype phone began to ring. Bill Brennan from New York was on the other line. We began to share how technology is being used in both New York and Alabama. I cannot wait to see where this conversation and collaboration will take us.

Technology Supports Curriculum

I get it that technology is not to be taught in isolation but as a media in which to construct meaning for the learner. However, I often get caught up in learning new tech tools that I have to remember that I am learning them to use to educate. Because I now work with helping teacher integrate technology into their classrooms, I am struggling with how much I am teaching the teachers to communicate through e-mail, their SharePoint websites, and teacher productivity tools instead of understanding the educational value that technology tools offer. Don't get me wrong, I do teach both ways but feel sometimes I feel that I am wasting my time teaching how to create a table in word, etc. Most of our 300 teachers are so behind the learning curve because they see technology as another program to add to their busy schedule. We are bombarding them with technology that they do not understand nor really want. How do you cultivate an eagerness to learn? We conduct one on one training, smal

May the Tech Be With You

Search This Blog