PD well on its way...

So, teachers are back to work and PD is under way.  So far, we've been able to lead a PD session with technology on the Common Core, speak to ITL's about planbookedu and other technology resources, gather interest amongst the staff on planbookedu, begin discussions with staff on what kind of professional development they would like to see this year, and lead sessions on Moodle.  With staff interest at an all-time high, it seems that our internship is coming at a good time after all.  Now, if we can only stop all of this earthquake and hurricane non-sense, we might actually be able to get students in the seats to benefit from all of this PD.

A Productive Summer...

     I can't believe summer is coming to a close already, but at least I have a lot to show for it.  Keith and I agreed that if we have the time off we should at least get a jump on creating some of the resources we will need for professional development and our internship this year.  So far we have already created several powerpoint presentations and an interest survey for the staff.  I know once the school year begins it is going to quickly become overwhelming with a new school year, new students, grading, a final grad class, and our internship.  At least most of my pre-internship portfolio is finished (except for a few changes). 
     I have a lot of hope for this internship.  I really hope it can help my staff with all of the new mandates coming from the county and help create stronger collaboration within the school.  Right now everyone does a good job teaching in isolation but it would be nice to see the walls come down and have transparency amongst the staff.

A new partner, a new idea...

Wow!  It's been a while since I have posted.  I guess I've been enjoying summer a little too much.  But the good news- I have an idea, and a partner in which to help implement the idea.  Keith J is switching schools and will be joining me at MVMS.  Which means we can collaborate together for our internship and make a better product because of it.  I'm really excited!  I think we are going to focus on the Moodle and how it can help teachers with the Common Core role-out since that seems to be on everyone's minds anyways.  My big thing is that I want my internship to mean something.  I do not want it to be something I just do but something that will enhance my school culture.  I want to help my school embrace technology and allow it to make them better teachers and better administrators.  I think if we look at the Moodle and maybe google docs or planbookedu we might really get somewhere.

Back to the drawing board...

Well, so much for that idea!  I just heard back from central office and the answer is a big fat no!  Here the email that awaited me this morning:

Hello, Steve,
After much consideration and thought regarding the use of Turnitin as a tool to use with your graduate assignment, I have made the decision not to approve its use.  The arguments against its use overshadow the arguments for its use.  The tool is advertised as a college and university tool, with some public and private institutions electing to use it at the high school level as well.  

A tool which might serve many of your purposes is Writeonline. Folks at Hammond Middle piloted this writing tool this year- I believe- and can provide you with valuable feedback regarding its usefulness with writing instruction for middle school students.

I wish you much success with your project.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  Really?  After much consideration?  Why didn't she tell me this a month ago if ultimately it was her decision.  So much back and forth and waiting just to get this answer is quite frustrating.  I think sometimes people are afraid of new technology or even new uses of old technology and so they try to squash other people who are trying to be creative and innovative.  There is such a fear of the unknown that it is quite remarkable.  Now I'm not even sure what direction to go in.  Wow, talk about frustrating...

Grad Internship Coming into Focus?

So, I think I've decided what I want to do for my grad internship.  I have spoken with David and my school principal and they are on board.  My next step is to get central office to agree.  My idea?  I want to examine turnitin.com, the plagiarism site, for middle school use.  It has been used for a while now in the county as a means of teaching kids the value of honoring other people's ideas and creativity but by the time kids are in high school they have already spent so much time writing papers that many of them are stuck believing that there is nothing wrong with taking someone's ideas as long as you change a few words.  So, why not use it as a teaching tool in middle school?  Kathy is excited about the idea and hopefully once I hear back from central office I can get started on mapping our how I will introduce the idea to the English team.

Final Internship Thoughts...

As we begin to finish more and more grad classes, the thought keeps hitting me that I am actually close to finishing my course work.  I will actually complete my Master's Degree.  While the idea of a future without grad classes and papers seems exciting, I still have one more challenge still in my path- the final internship.  What to do, what to do?  I have all these ideas running though my head but I'm not sure where to settle?  I keep thinking about online portfolio work and something to do with writing.  I wonder if my principal would be on board?  I need to look over the requirements again and start jotting down some thoughts.  Maybe that will help me settle on something.

Is technology always the answer???

Throughout this grad program, we have examined many useful technology tools and ways they can impact a classroom but it leads me to wonder if technology is always the answer.  I am fascinated with the idea that many of my students spend time reading on the computer but not from actual books.  They read from their kindle and their other e-readers but many do not pick up books for fun anymore.  Even newspapers are mostly online.  It seems so foreign to me to only read using digital means or when asked to write something students get nervous if they cannot type it using a computer.  Is technology quickly becoming the only way we work? Are we creating citizens who are too dependent on technology to solve life's problems?  I guess time will tell...