Time for a break...

This may be my last blog of 2009, I am sure for some of you it will probably the last blog you read of mine in 2009...

What are the technology happenings at the Olive for the past week...
I think the most significant for me was the fact that our Superintendent sent a video blog to all employees sharing pertinent information. Some of us are just getting proficient at blogging and blogging is starting to get upgraded.
For those of you staff at MOE that are dragging your feet in keeping up with technology, don't let the world pass you by. You have students that are counting on you to prepare them for the world, you must prepare yourselves!!
I mentioned that I will be available on Wednesdays after work hours to provide training and introduction to new technology for anyone that is interested. I started last Wednesday with Blogs and a total of NO ONE showed up. I will not give up on you...
The new laptops should arrive Friday, Dec. 18th. I am not sure that I will be able to pass any of them out. I can probably make accommodations for those that have no laptop at all but I will have to limit the distribution to those only.
The Technology Fair ended last week and I can say that some teachers made the effort to provide creative and interesting projects. Also, some teachers encouraged their students to create interesting projects. What I am hoping for next year is that we can recognize technology as more than just PowerPoint. I hope to do a better job of training you on other ways that technology can be used and involving the students.
Finally, I wish you all a very safe and restful and enjoyable break. If you can, love as many people as possible. Use NO energy on negativity, criticism, and gossip. Truly give to someone in need and see how wonderful it will make you feel.

Techie OUT!!!

Web 2.0 is here to stay!

Last week at the "Olive" I introduced for some of the staff the idea of weblogging. Many of us have heard of blogging and we have various concepts of what it is. In general, what blogging is about is "amateurs" becoming regular contributors to the vast network we call the World Wide Web. It is my hope that Mt. Olive can be a front runner for Fulton County Schools in the usage of Web 2.0 tools (i.e. wikis, blogging, social networking, etc.) for instructional purposes. With that as my goal I am committing to providing weekly training sessions on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 4:30 for staff on various technology. This upcoming Wednesday, December 9th, we will be continuing our training on blogging.

This week we will have our local Technology Fair. Our local fair is a prelude to preparing our students to participate in the County Technology Fair and Media Fair. Kindergarten through 2nd grade projects are due Wednesday; 3rd through 5th grade projects due Friday.

Last week during grade level meetings I mentioned to the staff that each of them should own their own personal flash drive that should be at a minimum of 4GB in size. In this digital age when information is saved and transferred electronically it is a responsible thing for professionals to have a backup of important documents, photos, music, etc. We can no longer store all of our information on CD's, which are increasingly becoming outdated.

On an exciting note...I have been given a date for the arrival of the new laptops for those staff members that are still struggling to hold together their D600s (Ms. Jones...)
The laptops will arrive..........DECEMBER 18TH!!!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK CARDINALS!