In my new job, I get to do a great deal of what I like to do: work with teachers.  In the semester I’ve already been in York, I’ve already gotten into classrooms with teachers to work side-by-side and model technology integration.  I’ve lead training on Promethean software/hardware, wikis, and Web 2.0 skills.  I get to meet with the district’s executive staff weekly and get to help advocate for teachers as well as best practices in instructional technology.  In short, since it’s a brand-new position, I get to do a lot of what I think needs to be done.

There are, of course, downsides.  The position is grant-funded, so my position is only guaranteed until the end of the 2010-11 school year.  I have to administer two state technology proficiency programs within the district, neither of which I think are as strong (or easy to figure out) as they should be.

Just like I did when I created long-term goals for my classroom, I decided to write up my goals for this next school year.  Some should be fairly simple, some depend on the help of other folks.  I’ll update the status of these goals near the Christmas break, as well as at the end of the school year.

• Setup Moodle server (version 2) for district Professional Development use.
• Create 2 self-paced or moderated PD classes for Moodle.
• Recruit and provide support to at least 2 teachers to use Moodle in their classroom.
• Continue expansion of Wikispaces Private Label service within the district.  Expand use to 25 teachers with at least one class of students each.
• Implement self-hosted WordPress blogging solution for teachers and staff
• Work side-by-side with at least 8 teachers, from lesson development to implementation to review.
• Drive district to implement use of Twitter for parent and staff communication.

These are the big goals.  Not included are fairly typical things like providing traditional professional development in small groups and class settings, research best practices in technology integration, and more.

What do you think?  What am I leaving off?  Have you done any of the above items and have advice or resources?  Let me know in the comments.

I’m also presenting on one of my favorite software application that is on every classroom computer and home computer, Windows Movie Maker.  The session, “Windows Movie Maker, Flip Video Cameras, and You!” is even better than it was a couple years ago thanks to the ultra-inexpensive and very good quality Flip video cameras, which plug in via USB and act as a flash drive.  The wiki with the resources for that session is http://timcooper.wikispaces.com/moviemakerflip

Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King

From Great Pumpkin…

Evan participated in his first road race Saturday…actually just the Fun Run in Rock Hill. He seemed to have a good time. Earned a medal and everything, while his dad sat on the side of the road and watched!  Click on the picture above to view some race photos, and our other photos available online.

I even heard on the Dan Patrick radio show that it was “Join a Team, Not a Gang” day at the stadium, where the Miami-Dade police brought in kids to watch the game and encourage them to go to college. What a great lesson for those 700 students!

Larry Coker should be fired. He was quoted as saying
“I do have a grip on this program. Don’t ever doubt that. Don’t ever doubt that.” He also said that you can’t control every player all the time.

Coker is right…you can’t control every player all the time, just like I can’t control every one of my students. But every one of my students know that when you break a rule you will be punished. Players at the University of Miami don’t get that same message from their coach.

Only 1 player has been suspended indefinitely as a result of the fight…the one swinging the helmet. 12 others for Miami got 1 suspended, and FIU suspended a few more. Even this is wrong for Miami…they play winless DUKE next week, so it’s not a 1 game suspension, it’s a day off to rest and relax. They’ll be sitting in their posh dorm room, playing XBox, driving around campus, while their team plays a game. I hope Duke beats Miami.

What message does 13 suspensions send to the players, and future players, of the University of Miami? A message that if you don’t behave, we’ll be upset.

What message should be sent? If you don’t behave, you will not walk on our campus. Turn in your jersey and your dorm room key, and go home to live with your parents. Go play for someone else, if they will accept your thug-like behavior. Any university who buys food for players that misbehave like this should rethink their athletic program. Restraining orders should be placed on these players, not jerseys representing any university.

All those suspended for 1 game should be out for the season. If you swung a helmut or a crutch, you should be kicked off campus. Any school that does anything less is saying that this behavior, while bad, isn’t all that bad.

Both schools should forfet any Bowl Eligiblity, and with it the cash payout that comes with it. The players on both teams should have no reason to continue playing this season…no incentive at the end, no light at the end of the tunnel. With the light at the end of the tunnel comes a reason to swing a helmut or throw a punch. Both seasons should be a waste of the players time.

Like it or not, my students (and your children) learn from athletes and others in the news. The big talk the Monday after the Carolina/Clemson fight 2 years ago was about the fight, not the Clemson victory. By punishing the players involved in the fight last weekend, not only are you making sure that neither school does it again, but you’re also educating the future athletes in sportsmanship.

This sort of thing will happen again, somewhere, sometime. Will it take a stretcher on the field, or a death, to send the message that this sort of thing is wrong?

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One thing we work on is citing sources. Web page citations can be difficult sometimes, with huge web addresses or not noticable authors. Wikipedia has added a handy new feature – Cite This Article. From anywhere inside wikipedia (the linked example is to the article on webmastering), click on ‘Cite This Article’ to get the full citation in 9 different formats, including MLA and APA.

I’ll probably use this in the classroom this year, along with teaching my students how to analyze facts found online. I’ll have them create their own citation, then check it with the Wikipedia citation. Should be helpful!

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