No more hours

When you work at home, you do not have work hours. I have tasks, deadlines, and appointments. Tasks are just things to get done "soonish". Deadlines are tasks with hard deadlines. Appointments are those nasty fixed time events. There is no working from 8 to 5. I work from 6 to 7am then I stop and get the kids off to school. I work in the evenings and weekends but I grocery shop in the middle of Monday afternoon without any guilt. If my tasks and deadlines are being met, everythings good.

I remember sitting at the desk at work when I worked in IT thinking "This is stupid. I could be home doing ...." while I was just watching the clock.

It terms of managing at home workers, there's a huge trust issue. Rightfully so because there's a huge penitential for abuse. But that's where metrics for monitoring tasks and deadlines are important. If it's getting done, the employee is earning trust.  With the right staff, this is a win for employers and employees.

Hitting the wall

I think I just hit that wall when you know enough to know that you really don't know anything at all. 

we are starting our second year. This morning I tutored a student one on one online. IN the afternoon I attended a live session from a teacher in Colorado. Over all the day left me feeling terrible. I so enjoyed having morning tea with a student. I was so impressed with Amy's lesson. She was teaching math and having the student do problems. 

Meanwhile I am so behind in my grading I am scared of Carol bringing up clubs. We cannot compete with the profits dollar for dollar so we position ourselves to be a quality program. But how much quality is there in professional graders? 

Connections requires for live session a week. Colorado does two a week. Our standard was one a month last year. And honestly I do not have the time to create more quality online lessons. 

If I could create a quality program, the tests would be embedded but composition and math. I would spend one day a week doing paper work monitoring, two days a week grading and two days planning and hosting live sessions. Now it's four or more days grading. And answering emails when I can. They can learn the content from their Learning Guides and books, I want to be the thinking coach. 

Not feeling good about me as a teacher today .....

Thoughts after Will richardson key note address

Will Richardson was the keynote speaker at the Rochester Community Schools Strategic Planning kick off 10/12/13. His message was to get us   confused.

Ruff notes

It's not what you know - that's in your pocket- It's what you DO with what you know 

“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.- eric hoffer

traditional learning is delievery v. modern learning is discovery

time and place v. anywhere anytime

just in case v. just in time 

how much time are we spending because of scarity 

national council of teacher of enlish stanards for 21st century 

its not what you know it's what you can do with what you know 

I am searching for new areas to change what I can do with what I could know

learning in moving from instiution into learners hands 

as a teacher we are should be shifting from delivering to guiding

It's not 21st century learning we are 14 years into this now. It's modern learning 

Take aways 

I loved the just in time learning instead of just in case. I think there is a body of content that gives us a cultural understanding but that context for context sake model is dead. Teachers used to have monopolies on knowledge now we must coach thinking.

He flipped between an image of the whole library verses the one shelf that a school gives you. He flipped between images of everyone on twitter verses your teachers. He declared he wanted his teenage children to learn from strangers. Because he did and he would not settle from only learning from those he knew so why should he children.  It flipped a switch for me. Why should I embrace that and refuse that to my children. 

He struck a balance between virtual learning and being connected to the internet. Between public school and private. Still supporting public education and traditional education. 

Inspiration 

I would love to develop an innovate high school program that is beyond blended to emerged. Where content is taught online but thinking is coached by facilitators/teachers. Where project based learning is mapped to common core. where those projects are impactful to the community related to business processes. Physically there would be coffee shop hangouts, build rooms and access points, and conference rooms. 

Teach like a pirate!

Have you heard of the book teach like a pirate? I follow him on Twitter. Have you felt like we were building the pirate ship as it is sailing? But can you teach like a pirate? Yes I can …. With some help from Pearl.

It worked great until she hopped up on the top of my laptop while I was saying goodbye. 

Chromebooks consideration

Here's one problem we found because of the questions we did not ask early. Printing. Our test are many PDF's. They need to be scanned. Not all tests can be embedded into the LMS. Test such as compositions that may include illustration and math that may include graphing and equations, need to be scanned. 

The cost effective point that leads district to pick a Chromebook often extends to the printer. Choosing a printer can be framed with a lower cost target in mind. Chromebooks use cloud printing where the Chromebook sends the print job out to the cloud then back to the printer. We use hot spot for internet access so our print job path is Chromebook->hotspot-> internet->cloud server-> hotspot-> printer. In order to print in the same room the job goes out of the house to the internet. 

For scanning, scan to email is one solution. Stand at the printer to scan the document. Choose scan to email and scan -> through email to Gmail-> save to drive from Gmail -> up load to LMS. 

Here are the questions we should have asked:

Does the printer have a feeder? For the $90 model we choose , no. Each page in a repeated process. 

Does the printer allow you to scan to any email address? For the $90 model we choose - no. It's only .com NOT .us ( think student@schoolname.k12.mi.us ahhh there's an issue!)

Other printing considerations: 

Does the printer hook up to the wireless stand alone meaning without first being attached to a computer? 

Does the printer have all the functions I need on board without opening the printer utilities program on a computer? Because odds are some of your functions are only through the software the does NOT run on Chromebook.

Does the printer have a UBS port? ( good back up if the cloud or hot spot or internet access goes out - that's a lot that could go out)

Lessons learned:

Ask Questions!! 

Walk me through exactly the process my student will go through to print and scan.

We are swapping out the $90 printer for a $149 price point printer and supplying a flash drive. They will scan to the memory device and walk it over to the Chromebook. They still have the options of scanning to an email. We have alias domain for each school.k12.mi.us email. With the $149 printer there is a document feeder so it's only one cycle to get that option.

Those are lessons learned so far with printing on the Chromebooks. Just questions to ask to make sure you choose the correct hardware. We are testing the new printers and drafting letters to the parents. I will keep you posted! We are hoping to switch out many at MEAP - because they was not enough going on at MEAP as is! BTW a virtual program MEAP's by flash mob but that's another story. 

dealing with of the day

9/20/13

This week I was in interview to replace our project assistant which in some people's mind is just the   sectary  of the elementary school. First of all is there really just a secretary And she is sooo much more. Yes she does enrollment, section placement and ordering courseware but she also knows the systems and reports needed. 

It was enlightening. I totally understand why my application when NOWHERE for this school year. I almost consider it a gift that Carol over looked the flaws in may application to this program. Next year with my Ed. Specialist done, I really want to make a move. My first choice is in this program working with Carol. My second choice is OS. My third choice is "other". But I need to make a move. 

And then there are the other things happening this week. 

the Chromebook users were given printers that do not allow them to make multiple scans of PFDs. It's a huge problem. And I have not heard why. It could be because these printers were cloud printers. But the solution from tech is really not solution for the end user. I am all about tech. But we really have to consider ease of use to our families. I am very concerned their solution will be a barrier to student achievement. Which is utter critical.

Then I am learning about "Eid al Adhar" (forgive me) a muslim holiday on 10/15 - which is MEAP testing dates!!!! One family asked me if the girl and boys could test separately, because of religious reasons. The MEAP accommodations do not take that into consideration. Also they will not be able to attend testing on a holiday. How rude. It's like the state mandating testing on Christmas. I really need an open minded muslim I can ask many stupid questions too. 

chromebooks

So the Chromebooks have gone out. I knew there was a problem with the spelling tests that use quick time but now there is a bigger problem. The printers they gave the Chromebook user do not have a feeder to create a many page PDF. There was a reason they did this. I have not bee ntold why. I think it may be that many printers are not cloud printers. 

Tech has a solution. 

1. scan all the page can be up to 20 with the email options

2. go to the gmail and download the  all the pages

3. upload all the pages to PDF merger app

4.merger pdf

5. download to chromebooks

6. upload to dropbox

my concerns are :

it's really hard to get all the pieces of a dropbox test to begin with

There are many many steps

I think this would be 30 to 45 minutes of  time from when the student is done taknig the test to uploading. 

We are opening gmail. I do not want to have another email system involved.

I told Carol my concerns. But I did not want to "rat out" tech. I am just looking at the barriers to student achievement. This is creating one. 

And floating in the back of my mind is the situation the WAY program teachers are in where their program sunsets at the end of the year. 

Stay tuned.......