July 17, 2013

This was my last day of observations.  I spent the morning watching a smartboard training.  It lasted two and a half hours and covered everything from the basics to creating activities and recording sessions.  In the afternoon, we went over to Parkside High Schools to tour the building.  The school has three open classrooms with tiered seating for teamed teaching.  Every classroom has smartboards and 4-6 tablets for student use.  Seating is ergonomically designed for collaboration and comfort.   The media center has traditional areas, two distance learning classes and conferences rooms.  Each teacher has an office and teachers in the same subject will have common planning periods.  Overall,  the experience was useful and I learned a lot. 

July 16, 2013

I was able to watch two training sessions today.  One was for virtual field trips and the second was for iPad's.  Although both were very informational, the iPad was better attended.  I am unfamiliar with both devices so I learned a lot.  It was beneficial to watch the training sessions and see how the trainers interacted with the teachers.  I spent time with two teachers afterward showing them how to use Edmodo and Google Drive.  Tomorrow will be my last day of observation and the completion of my sixty hours. 

July 15, 2013

I spent the morning creating bulletin boards for the computer lab tying in Common Core and applications Montgomery Technology Department trains on.  In the afternoon, I attended a meeting with a representative from the career tech division.  The discussion centered on the mandatory online component required for the new diploma.   The curriculum will be implemented in the ninth grade starting this year.   Much debate was held on which learning management system to use.  Mr. Blair is worried the state department is not going to approve the use of Edmodo and is suggesting Moodle.  It has several advantages such as allowing the technology department over site of accounts and utilizes student user names and passwords.  Last year, MyBigCampus was used and it was being able to view the accounts was a large problem.  The team had to physical visit every teacher to access the students accounts.  The career tech's representative was unable to give much guidance because most decisions regarding the online component fall under the curriculum and instruction specialist Vicki Holloway.  A date of October 14th was set for training teachers on the whichever LMS is chosen. 

July 11, 2013

Second day of secondary technology coordinators was finished today.  We spent the day finishing the CIPA lesson plans from yesterday and the Common Core Resource page.  Steve Blair went over the goals for the State technology plan and discussed the approximate due date for the schools tech plans.  The coordinators again divided into groups and developed a resource page for teachers using the state technology standards.  I used the last part of the day to further investigate My Big Campus and Moodle. 

July 10, 2013

The workshop for chosen secondary technology coordinators was held today.  It was the same agenda as the workshop for the elementary technology coordinators.  CIPA was addressed and the group was divided into middle and high schools.  Each group developed a lesson plan to be posted for all schools to use to cover the requirements of CIPA.  The groups had an open share time for suggestions on the next year and the remainder of the time was spent developing resources for teachers to tie technology in with the new Common Core Standards.  The workshop will continue next week. 

July 9, 2013

Today was the second and last day for the elementary technology coordinators to meet with Montgomery Public Schools Technology Department.  The Core Curriculum Standards was addressed and technology coordinators participated in a share session.  They were able to share valuable information about the Go Math program and give each other insightful tips on several other programs.  I spent part of the time compiling the previous days work into one document for the technology coordinators to be able to access.

July 8, 2013

I participated in one of a two day session for elementary technology coordinators for Montgomery Public Schools.  Several things were on the agenda including CIPA, technology plans and brainstorming for next year.  Tech coordinators suggested training for several programs to occur at zones instead of downtown to help encourage better attendance.  Two groups were formed and lesson plans were devised to be used at all schools for internet safety.  The groups also agreed on a standardized form for documentation to address Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA).  Tomorrow's session will cover the Common Core and ways to encourage teachers to integrate technology in lessons to meet its standards.