We all know that no matter what we plan or what we think we have covered, nothing can really prepare a school for the start of a school year.  Here are some things that can help prepare for next year.

1. Keep Communication Open

What does this mean?  Take time to send e-mail to your employees Teachers, Staff, or whoever and make sure that ideas are circulating throughout a team.  Also, this will help ease the shock of “OH! SCHOOL IS HERE!”  We all know this feeling is coming and like students there is an excitement, and fear.  Just realize that we are all in the same boat, but we all have different jobs whether it be a deck hand or the captain of that ship begging to sail into the school year.

The communication over the summer will certainly help ease into the year with simple reminders, events, ideas, and many other things to keep that communication door open.  I know I try to send at least 2 emails a month out over summer just to send along ideas. This easily turns into 50 or 60 due to the fact ideas out of our “teaching” environment inspire us and challenge us in different ways. Creativity can come from anywhere!

2. Become Flexible and Patient
   

No matter what your personality may be, things are going to change. New ideas have been created during the summer to change process and daily life.  Routines came to a screeching halt at the end of the year, and need to start back up from asleep into full sprint within a few days.  Your schedule, time, plans, might as well be thrown out of the window in hopes to make it through the first few weeks of school.  This can be difficult and stressful for many people (including myself), so remember to breathe and be patient.

Even if you have said something 1,000 times the stress and rush of back to school from a teacher’s standpoint is very unsettling.  Auto-pilot kicks in and nothing can stop them, only fuel the stress building within.  Fortunately, with new technology and integrating that into the classroom we have several means of preventing that and aiding our teachers.  If you Google “Online Lesson Plans” there are thousands of results out there put together by teachers.  I’m not saying just grab a lesson plan, but hey we all know that searching brings every option back possible (some good, and some bad).

3. Set and Achieve Attainable Goals

We all need to know our limits, but we also need to extend those limits.  I was truly inspired by a teacher that said “I don’t learn as fast as kids, but I will keep trying even if I fail.” This is an attitude no matter if we like it in any profession, we will fail, but we all make a decision to get back up and try.  If others (myself included) see effort and hear questions before the stress and fear set in, the job becomes easier to help achieve goals. An attainable goal can be “I need to have learned something new everyday that I didn’t know before and research that topic till I know it.” This attitude is instilled in many people, and to some level we all like the feeling of accomplishment over ourselves.

I know that personal goals that have much more importance are  those I have set for myself have been those that require work, patience, and stretch my comfort zone.  You truly can teach old dogs new tricks, but it takes more time and patience (possibly more treats too)! Just when working at a school never forget the real purpose of why you are there: THE STUDENTS

4. Remember the Students!
   

I think this will be my battle cry for the next year, and might be a blog series that I will take on soon.  I know we all have great ideas of where we think technology is going and how we can integrate it into classrooms.  This is all great and grand, but REMEMBER THE STUDENTS! Today I was enlightened by what one said, “Make sure it’s done well, or the masses will reject it”.  What a profound thing to say that applies to so many things in life today. This student doesn’t know how true that is on so many levels.  We as Faculty need to step up our ideas to not only, research and spend time developing them, but also prepare for execution of those ideas.  REMEMBER THE STUDENTS, and those papers you had them write in one month where some became scholars on American Revolution, Pythagorean Theorem, or HTML5.  When we are asked to learn about something in 1 month remember that you can! It will take extra effort and go to that training session, or watch the webinar online for an hour.  REMEMBER THE STUDENTS and don’t hold a double standard that I know am guilty of as well.

My challenge to Education Professionals is to continually learn because complacency kills creativity and ideas!

More to come!

When students go to a private school they are required -yes required- to buy textbooks and often times college textbooks.  Not only are students all over the country buying these text books, but they are also based off of the two largest consumer states California and Texas. According to an article in the New York Times all textbook printers lock in the textbooks that Texas and California use, then print those for every state.

Let’s break out of the mold and combine efforts to create FREE online resources for our students. Personally I don’t want our students learning about the breakthrough of modems and Windows 95 in the updated 2010 textbooks. Not all of us have are experts in every field so who knows how far all of our books are behind on breakthrough research in Physics, Biology, and other subject matter that changes daily.

I understand in hard times we need jobs, but lets take textbook writers and build online open-source textbooks even if they are $10.00 we are cutting costs tremendously.  Also, we can say we are saving the environment by not cutting down the trees that make them. Which will increase the amount of Oxygen in the air helping, you guessed it, our brains to function and actually retain more knowledge.

Back to the cheaper textbooks in college.  If I recall correctly (digging up some old receipts) the most I spent on college text books was about $350 for an entire year! Ok, so I might not have bought all the books or gone in 1/2 with a friend in the class, but the majority of the savings were brought about by the teachers.  College professors tend to write their own text books or create packets specific for that class. I would pay about $20 – $50 a textbook for a class, and it contained all of the information that was taught that semester.

What a revolution! In my opinion, sites that are starting to spring up like California’s initiative cK-12 and and open-source textbook site Connexions are the way of the future.

The main problem we have today is that middle and upper school teachers don’t have all of the time to write these open-source texts. I would like to help start a program during the summer to help them have time to write and contribute textbooks.
Let’s work together and develop these books quickly so we can switch to an online, always current, open-source textbooks!

Education can cost money, but why should we be paying extra for textbooks and destroying our environment at the same time?

Bind together with me and push for this initiative.

I would like to start with the answer to one of the larger questions in schools today, and that is “How do we initiate change with technology?”  We can talk about all of the big ideas and get lost in the proverbial “cloud” of adding technology to every curriculum, and classroom.  I have helped push for and have begun to initiate a switch to Macs, starting a 1:1 program, and going completely wireless over a 2 year span. (Yes, it can be done with a great team.) That being said I am going to give a general overview of how we did it for IT and Administrators alike.

The first major aspect of change is research, research, research.  I stand by this 100% because without researching, and asking many fellow IT people, of all backgrounds, I would still be planning this out.  So do your research on what would fit your budget, and your needs at the same time.  Also, research the set-up process and compare to your IT Departments ability to roll something out with the change.  If you have 1 person instead of 5, then your timing will be a little slower with just one person.  The nice thing about the IT Department I work with is we had a few people helping in this area so the process was completed very quickly. Let me tell you, if a Headmaster or Director will work the IT Department to create a realistic time-line it will be a great time saver in the end!

The next step for IT Departments following research is never say “No”, or “We are running behind”! I am only kidding, because you now need to start taking the abundance of information that you have found about the back-end products – if there are any – and deploy to test, keeping in mind the realistic time-line.  Believe me this is where the majority of the work falls on the IT Department and things might fall behind schedule.  As Headmaster or IT Director your job will be to let your staff play around and then deal with all of the complaints you hear. Just learn to roll with the crashes and failures, because there will be many.  For the IT Dept don’t forget the ultimate goal here! I almost did, so don’t even get me started on the SSD (Solid State Disk) we had overnighted and replaced with our server during the testing phase.  These processes will make deployment of the software, 1:1, or whatever you might be launching much easier.

With the testing phase over you are almost done! Once we had the one server up after testing then we ran a few machines on it live to make sure it was still stable. You guessed it, testing really isn’t over.  Slowly migrate users over to the new back-end or new software, because more problems will occur.  No matter how many times you test or try to break something, people seem to find a few more ways to break something.  If you are rolling out software your experience will still be the same as hardware changes.  Headmasters need to become a cheerleader for your IT people  (Hey its Sysadmin Appreciation Day!) because at this point they will probably start going bald in recognizable fist size clumps.

Once the software is installed and tested on a few machines, roll out over time in small groups. If you are doing Hardware, make sure to roll out as a large group.  Yes, you have made it to the “Roll out” or “Turnover” Phase! You may ask why small groups for software and large groups for hardware.  It has been my experience they are two totally different animals.

Software is something that needs training, so as you roll this out in small groups, train your users as they get the new software.  Not only, will it help you know the immediate questions to cover in the following sessions, but you will also quickly find out the issues you will have with the new software. As the groups come in and out for deployment begin to develop a strategy to handle the questions you have heard and possible issues.  Most of us have it, and it’s called the Help Desk or IT Center.  If you don’t have this you will need it for a month or so till everyone becomes accustom to the changes.

Hardware is something most people won’t even know the difference if they have 4GB of RAM on an Intel 2.66 Duo Core, or 2GB of RAM on an Intel 3.06.  Short of changing the physical computer and operating system you will hardly have any questions.  The only thing you might see if you do update the hardware is the incompatibility of that 10-year-old scanner your teacher might be using.

With the 1:1 and switch to Mac over two years we threw a “party”. I highly recommend making a huge deal about any major switches and involve the teachers with planning and decorating for it!  They will love the idea of some time off of work and a celebration of the newness of the technology. We had teachers so excited with the “Training Party” that the whole attitude changed of using technology in the classroom, which is priority #1.

I would have to say the main goal for all Administration throughout the process is to stay 100% positive in the matter.  If a server crashes, let the IT Department fix it, and tell them that their early baldness looks great with their new shirt! From what I have experienced the attitude transcends the ranks, and always support your local Sysadmin!

Believe it or not you have actually made it to the final product a complete conversion. Congratulations and good luck! Remember, great things happen on Sysadmin Appreciation Day like CAKE AND ICE CREAM!!!

Diving right into the matter, we have SO many tools like this at our finger tips.  I remember when I first started playing video games, it was in Lower School.  Yes, we played games in lower school and that lead me to see the worst possible games known to man.  The games for education are so poor that I never paid attention, or cared, and that was in 2nd grade!  Remember Duke Nukem on 5 1/4″ Floppy (all 5 disks)?!  At the time the game was awesome and I never turned back to those boring games in school.

This skill set that I started to learn throughout the years with video games personally has helped me with critical thinking, problem solving, and memory.  I started to pay attention to so many aspects of the game including teamwork, communication, and learning on a completely new media (at the time).  Kids today are starting to use these games as social devices.  The games often are giving introverted kids the ability to be team leaders in a more comfortable environment, allowing them to learn the skills needed to do the same in the real world.

Growing up, I’ve witnessed some of my shy friends learn and excel in the classroom from the social aspect of gaming.  We would set up team gaming nights on our own, with LAN parties for those techies out there.  There was about 15-20 people who would go to a friend’s house and bring a switch or router and we would gear up and game all night.  We would all work together, win together, and lose together as a team, building camaraderie with people we might not have known that well or might not have talked to in the first place.

Students today are so accustomed to using technology as their outlet and we have trouble keeping up with that as adults.  In the classroom, we are so far behind our students because we are accustomed to our old way of thinking for curriculum.  I strongly agree with the ideas expressed in webinar and challenge all of you out there to actually pick up an MMORPG and start playing. If you don’t know what your kids are doing, then learn!

Teenagers are asking for these games left and right.  WOW (World of Warcraft) is one of the top grossing games of all time, which should tell us something about what people want.  In fact, it is so popular that a popular animated sitcom South Park (not the best reference) did a whole episode on the game, and how it brought this group of friends together to unite, communicate, and strategically defeat their opponent.* With the facts given we might want to consider spreading this nation wide and maybe blizzard will create a game just for schools? If Mr. T is in, I am!

My challenge to everyone, including myself, is to drop many of the “Educational” games, and rather develop into our environment and curriculum games that kids want and can actually learn from, not just go through the motions.  Could we be blurring the lines between home life and school? Or developing habits that parents will not like? Or understand?  If we want to create life long learners out of our students, we need to blur those lines a bit so they come to understand that the world is their classroom.

My thoughts are if teachers and administration can handle the possible feedback let’s go for it.  I mean if the students do not learn anything or no improvements in school and social life are made, and interaction decreases, then pull it out of the class. Remember we are not our kids, they are growing up in different times as we all know.

I hope to keep this conversation going, it would be great to incorporate new and different tools for learning in schools today.  If WOW isn’t something you want to pay for, check out this site: Quest Atlantis

*Disclaimer: If you happen to watch it not all kids will react that way to the game. It was an addiction with no supervision and an exaggerated case for humor.

Reference sites:

http://www.learncentral.org/event/86942

http://wowinschool.pbworks.com/

“Smart” Boards

“Smart” or interactive white boards that use a projector and touch sensitive board are very common now.  Many schools are rolling them out and projectors are becoming the new overheads in classes.  We all know this, and love to see it happen as Tech people in our schools.  They are great if you have used them before.  I know I have had some fun with them, but there are several drawbacks.

I know that there are schools that host other events and share facilities with others that might not want someone accidentally writing on them with a marker especially a permanent marker. I have seen this happen and I saw tears come quickly after that. Let’s just face it storage can become an issue as well in a scenario like this.  I won’t bore you with details…but it’s a large problem some places.

The benefits are great! You get students up in the front of the class like we all did with chalk on a blackboard before the computer age.  This is a great practice to learn how to develop teaching elders and peers simultaneously.  I know through out my career the public speaking practice then has helped out far beyond what they can imagine. So a quick thanks to all of my past teachers who I have taught recently .  Let’s also look at another piece of technology widely recognized by educators today as tools, the teaching slate.

Slate Technology

The slate or “mouse on steroids” as I refer to it is also a great tool that can turn any computer into a virtual smart board.  They are also great tools if every classroom has a projector.  I can see some more points of contention though. As you can tell I like to hit the negatives first then sweep you back with the positives.

The slate technology has some limits, like it has to be attached to a computer and most require blue-tooth to operate. Let’s face it, we all don’t have cutting edge technology at our schools and so the slates can have their limits when working with older computers. The adapters are USB driven and I know if you are like me we are all struggling to find an open USB adapter.  Between using an external mouse, charging a phone, a printer, flash drive (for the students projects or work I have done at home), external keyboard, downloading photos off of a camera, or uploading video; the tiny blue-tooth device has now dropped to 8 on the list of necessities. I feel like I am missing a few of them too, phew.  Well, I think you get the point.  Other than the lack of USB Space if you have blue-tooth built-in, than you are lucky! If you don’t have a large classroom!

Switching gears to the positive… The slates are great for students to draw, write, and type on any computer screen.  Student’s always enjoy hands-on activities and the slate gives them a little more security because they can present from their seats to ease into public speaking.  Teaching from the seat can be a great tool for the shy student.  There is no storage issue, and they can do pretty much everything a “smart” board can do.  Did I mention they are very cost-effective?  That’s right they are! So if you are on a smaller budget (like we all are) then they are a great compromise.

You might be asking where the phones come in…Well now!

Smart Phones

There has been some small buzz about the use of phones in class.  I think we are not ready for it because not all of us adults have a reign on the capabilities of them.  I know my issue is security and setting them up.

I would love for students to control the projector or sideshow with a phone application.  I know there are several out there, but they are rudimentary (the ones I can find).  I know technology is heading in that direction, but let’s put the learning in the palms of students.  Let’s give them the tools for school in their pocket.  We can build an application that has instant feedback for not only multiple choice but short answer, then change apps to have a particular student control in a “slate” style atmosphere.

What are the negatives? Well, not every student will have a phone (most do) but then does the school provide phones instead of laptops?  Would we become a 1:1 Phone school? How can we secure the lines this way?  Wi-Fi is the main concern, because you put the computers on the same network, but whats stopping one student controlling a computer across campus?  If we can work and develop the answers to this we have then moved ahead of the curve in many schools and can be truly cutting edge.

I think this might be closer than we think since I can store a video I made, edit it, create a document, sync with Google Docs, e-mail, share, and post to WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, and have all of my friends see it within minuets. Not only can we have posted it, but teachers can grade via phone.

The technology is there and this would be the most cost-effective way because for $200 students can have a device that will do this and much more if they need it, or can be their 1 and only school supply for many years to come (until version 10 comes out).

I would love to see a curriculum in private schools include a computer science course that included a major project of not just iPhone apps, but actual jail-breaking and phone software development. Does anyone out there have such a curriculum in place in Private Schools? (I’d love to talk to you!)

However, all of this about the iPhone, blah blah blah. You may ask yourself is that all the U.S Government can do for education and technology?!  I am here to say no! This is one major part that is functional in where we are headed with technology and “Web 3.0″.

But wait! There is more! The EFF made another change to their policy…

Let’s dive into the realm of video mashups, and think of all of those times students or professors want to use clips from Harry Potter, Top Gun (terrible references), or Planet Earth to help bring their point to life using works of film. Well, the fact the EFF has restricted education from putting commercial videos online intertwined with educational videos .  Well now you can put that short clip of Fight Club in with your video project on “apostolic” fiction on YouTube and post it on your schools site or Facebook page.  This will be a huge help for many schools out there who strongly utilize video throughout their classes.  I am glad to see that we can open the doors to strengthen the content of video that not everyone has the chance (or time) to create.

I know this will be a great help, but will it hinder our students creativity to recreate those scenes themselves?  Also, are we as education just becoming billboards for partial “subliminal” advertisement?

I’d love to hear back on both areas!

http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/07/26

This is a very interesting argument.  I agree with many aspects that private schools should defiantly open up the doors and become part of a social buzz, or “Cocktail Conversations” happening everywhere.  Blogging, Twitter and Facebook are all great tools to accomplish this, however there is something to say about the brand as well.

However, I disagree that schools should drop their brand and logo.  My personal opinion is to take your idea and possibly take it to the next level. Let’s simply combine the ideas.  I think that private schools should have their audience who “creates the brand”.  Lets open up the doors to students and see how they would brand their school.  I mean after all schools belong to the students, we just facilitate.

This way we (as private schools) can open up the ideas to the public and welcome that “cocktail conversation” even more.  Let’s create the buzz within and build the community around such a drastic change, not in action, but in thought.  It has been my experience form the inside that this change needs to start from the top, and trickle down.  Change is hard for everyone, but like students Faculty love it, that is, if it’s fun.

We all need to incorporate what students know and love into school and social media is something we all love. Not to get too far away from the topic, the brad is spread through social media.  Let’s think of placing the logo students created, and the board approved everywhere on the internet.

I agree we should leave the stationary behind! Let us embrace the brands the community already gives us as private schools.  This brings me to the next question…Does our community recognize an “official” brand, or is it just image recognition at its finest?

Keeping the conversation going…..