Leaders with iPods!

I had the opportunity to present at the leadership camp for administrators in our county this week. All school and district level administrators were asked to come to the week-long camp to learn about leadership, procedures and, of course, technology! I was asked to present 3 sessions on iPods and Podcasting. I took enough iPods for everyone and also borrowed a Macbook cart so we could use GarageBand for podcasts.

As the participants entered the room, it was fun to see their reactions to ipods and laptops on each desk. "Ooh, this one looks like it will be fun" and "Oh, I'm glad I signed up for this one" were common remarks that I heard in each session. All that before they even knew what we were going to do!

The first part of the session was dedicated to ipods. We talked about apps, cost, student involvement, etc. and I allowed lots of time for them to "play". I stopped at one point in the first session to see everyone totally involved in the apps they were studying and I asked them to take a look around and see how engaged people in this room were (funny, no one did because they were too busy with their apps). I explained that this engagement was also evident with the students and part of the reason I believe this is true is because they are working at their own pace with their own personal tool. It was fun to see their reaction to what, for many of them, was something brand new.

After the iPods, we went to the Macbooks and opened GarageBand. I had showed them a few podcasts and explained what a podcast was, but now they were going to create their own. Of course I got a few looks like I was insane to ask them to make a podcast with only 15 minutes left in the session. We kept it very simple. We recorded their voices from a script with fill in the blanks, then we added music in the form of the podcast jingles included with GarageBand. I was going to have them add pictures, but in the end opted to just talk about the fact that you could. Only one person in all three sessions had ever made a podcast, so I really didnt' want to overwhelm anyone.

Interesting, but not surprised by it, many of them wanted to buy a mac after they left! I think a few of them would have stayed and played with GarageBand all day! I was also very impressed that I didn't hear any comment all day that they just couldn't do technology (a response I am learning to get used to). I had a wide range of age and skill levels and impressively, they were all interested in what I had to share with them. It was a really fun day and I was glad I had the opportunity to be involved with such a great group.

iLab Gets Furniture!

I have been working for almost a year now on this new lab at my school and today it all started to come together. SMART Board installers and table installers are here today. I am so excited to see it finally start to look like a computer lab!

I scheduled my first training in the lab for August 3rd (mostly because I knew I'd be pushing to get it all done and wanted to have a date so people would get in here and do it-before normal beginning of year stuff starts-yeah, a little sneaky). Now everyone is rushing around to do final touches. Left to do: finishing plates for the networking cables, ceiling outlets for projectors, paint, connect the new networking to the new server and of course set up all of the equipment.

Still deciding on a paint color, although, I think the my principal wants it to be white. Next week will be interesting, but I can't wait to get it all done.

Five Essentials of Technology Facilitators

I encourage anyone that is, or works with, a technology facilitator to take a look at the Tech & Learning article, "The Five Essentials of Technology Facilitators: Successful On-Site Help for Technology Integration". It was written by Cheryl Whitfield back in 2005, so it is a little older, but I like the view of the position that it gives the reader.

According to the article, there are five things anyone hired for a technology facilitator position should possess. Those are:

1. Experience in teaching. Our state actually requires 3 years of experience and I truly believe in this. As a technology facilitator, I have to be aware of the constraints of the classroom and understand how things are run from a teacher's and a student's perspective before I can effectively integrate technology into the school.

2. Enthusiastic Technophile. I love her choice of words here and can't say enough about how you need to be excited about technology AND be willing to explore and find new tools in the field. One of the saddest things I see in my position are technology facilitators that refuse to change. Working in technology, you have to accept that your job will always be changing and you need to be the driving force of that change by exploring all the options available.

3. Effective Trainer. I hear teachers say all the time that they just don't understand the way some "technology people" talk. As a TF, you need to be able to talk on a non-techie level and mentor teachers in the way they are familiar. I'm also learning now that it is important every once in a while to re-evaluate your presentation skills. Some times we get into our own little groove of doing things and forget what the real goal is. Take some time to read a book on presentation or take some tips from an excellent presenter to make sure you're still on the right track.

4. Eager Mentor. I see the non-eager mentor quite often in my line of work (and have honestly been guilty of it myself at times). This part, in my opinion, is one of the most important. People need to feel comfortable coming to you and know that you're going to do what you can to help them. Being approachable in this position is so important because not only will it help the teachers in your school, but it will also help them to trust you when you are selling them those new tools we talked about in #2 above!

5. Excellent Administrator. To be quite honest, when taking this position the first time, I had no idea how close this job is to being an administrative position. Now that I've been in it for a while, it becomes even more so as I work closer with the administrative team. I'm not totally sure this article explains the administrative duties quite like I had expected, so I will add a few things here myself. I believe the TF needs to be a leader, and not just any leader, but a good one who is not scared to look a tough situation in the face and push through. A TF also needs great communication skills and be willing to put those to work to sell new ideas to students, teachers, administrators and sometimes even district leaders or school board members. And the last thing I'd like to add is flexibility. One of the things I love most about my job is that when I walk through the front door in the morning, I have no idea what the day will bring. One minute I could be helping a student log into a computer and the next figuring out how I'm going to spend a thousand dollars by the end of the day. There are a wide range of tasks given to the technology facilitator and we need to be able to accept those and easily move from one to another depending on importance.

The position of the technology facilitator is always changing. I feel it is important, however, to keep these 5 fundamental parts in our minds and make sure we are keeping in tune with the overall idea of what we should be doing on a daily basis.

Second Life, OpenSim, What do you want to be?

Changes for mrslachance

I have been thinking for some time now that I want to remove my last name from my username. As I'm getting more followers on twitter and here on my blog, I figured I had better do it now or accept it forever. So, yesterday I made the switch. My new username is ejulez.
I'm very excited about the change and look forward to being able to use it in some projects I am working on currently. For a few more months, you will still be able to access my blog through mrslachance.com, but you can also get here by typing my new url: www.ejulez.com.
You can also find me @ejulez on twitter and at ejulez@gmail.com.

Tables are in!!

The tables for the new lab arrived last week and today I went in to place them so the electrical poles could be installed. Got a few of the first pictures as well, so wanted to share those with everyone.
Wasn't able to coordinate table installers and electrical folks, so we had to lay the table tops on the floor so the poles could be placed in the correct spot. We found that the tables were a little larger than we expected so the layout of the room had to change a little (they're 8ftx6ft). Our tables were ordered from Custom Educational Furniture and I worked with Cindy Lubin there. I found them while wandering the vendor floor at the NCTIES conference and Cindy has been fantastic at answering all of my questions and working with me on a fairly specific delivery date.
As soon as the poles are in place and the tables are installed, I'll begin setting up the computers. My first workshop in that room is scheduled for 2 weeks from now, so I'm really hoping all goes as planned.

How a book, a flight and a conference changed my life

Recently attended NECC in Washington D.C. and had some great experiences there that I'll outline in another blog soon. This one is dedicated to the thoughts and feelings I took away from the trip and how I grew a little more as a leader while I was gone for those 5 days.

The Background

A few months ago, thanks to my awesome experiences at NCTIES, my life turned into a whirlwind of uncertainty and excitement. Had a lot of opportunities coming my way and found myself so busy I couldn't focus on what I was really wanting to do. A few months after that I started to rebel against myself. Found I had this inner conflict that couldn't be resolved and wasn't really sure what to do about it.

I spent a lot of time in Second Life exploring, meeting new friends and just having fun. Made some awesome connections with people that became very close friends and without their knowledge, they helped me along the way. I started to feel like something big was about to happen. I had no clue what that something would be, but I was really excited to see the outcome. I knew NECC would be fun and packed full of information and great experiences so I looked forward to it like I've never looked forward to anything else.

First Flight

Oddly for me, I packed for the trip at the very last minute, throwing things in my suitcase without really thinking about too much of it. As I was out in the garage putting my suitcase in the car, something caught my eye. A book. It was titled Building the Bridge As You Walk On It, a Guide for Leading Change and I immediately knew I needed to bring it on the trip. Was something from my husband's graduate courses so of course he looked at me odd after seeing my excitement!

During the flight to D.C., I read the first two chapters and felt like the book was written with me in mind. The stories being shared related to experiences and thoughts I had been having over the past few months. Also during this flight I met a wonderful woman from NC that works for a company called Destination Imagination. I listened to the stories she shared about children setting and achieving outstanding and virtually impossible goals. It gave me goosebumps to listen to the successes of this organization and made me think more about the stories in the book.

The Conference

Arriving at NECC I had a new outlook. The book says that you need to accept that you want to change and be the driving force of that change-no matter how difficult. For me, I knew I needed to focus on the conversations. Approach this conference from a whole new level and make the networking priority.

I attended sessions, spent a lot of time networking and attending events and had an absolute blast! One of the things that I really enjoyed about this conference was connecting with friends from second life and spending time with them in real life. The connections I have made with people in second life have been amazing and to sit with them over dinner or at a conference event was so wonderful. It took our second life friendship to a totally new level and gave me lifelong friends that mean the world to me.

Return Home

After all of the great experiences I had at NECC, I was floating on a cloud and feeling pretty emotional about the whole event. Hopped on the plane and had some delays. I sat on the runway for about 3 hours which gave me time to read some more of my book.
I read chapter 3 and reflected on a friend that I knew had achieved the level of leadership described in it, but opening chapter 4 is where everything started to fall into place. Chapter 4 explained that being a good leader does not necessarily relate to work. Part of it involves your personal life and making sure that it is sound. I had known for a while that I had been working too hard and that my family life really needed some nurturing. A good friend had been telling me over and over that it was necessary to focus on family and to not lose sight of its importance. Not sure why hearing him say that didn't make it click in my brain, but I thought of his comments as I read the chapter. More or less, it hit me like a ton of bricks and I knew what I had to do. I needed to have a heart to heart with my husband and rethink our family time. I was a little nervous about this, but as the book says, a good leader will push through that and take the challenge to make things work.

The plane took off and I saw the most beautiful things. Storms had passed through and the clouds were gorgeous with a sunset behind them. (pic below) Tears came to my eyes at the sight before me and the feeling of realization within. For the first time in a while, I truly felt like I was on my way and had a complete vision for the future.


Photo courtesy of Photographer, Kate McFarland: See more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/k8izgr8/

Finally Home

Made it home safely, talked with my husband and we both committed to spending more family time together and more time together as a couple. I'm going to be very busy over the next year so this "calm before the storm" called summer break is a great time to talk about this. In a couple of weeks, things kick into high gear at school, I start the doctoral program, my husband goes back for a second Master's and our little girl wants to be a dancer. So, even though it is rewarding and oh so fun to be a professional, I'm keeping in mind that it is just as much so to be a Wife and Mother.

NECC in Review

Had the wonderful opportunity to attend the National Educators Computing Conference this week. My original plan was to blog every day, but I tell you, it was busy. I barely had time to tweet! So, my plan is to sum it all up in one post without making it too long and boring!

Keep in mind, this post will not all be about learning. I like to talk about a little of everything including the restaurants, so enjoy! Hopefully it will give you some thoughts for the trip to Colorado!


Packing

Before I even started packing, I attended a session with NECC Pros at DEN SL and ISTE SL. Both of those sessions gave me great packing tips (wear comfy shoes, pack a power strip, bring an umbrella, etc). I took most of those tips and used little of them in the end. Probably the biggest thing I needed was a super charge for my blackberry. I had to charge that thing constantly! The internet service at the convention center left much to be desired, so after day one, I quit carrying my laptop. I also went out an bought a backpack as I tend to have back issues when carrying around a bag all day. Turned out that a backpack does the same, so in the end, I used a small tote bag and just carried less. This is really just personal preference, but wanted to share my experience. You don't really have to carry all of that stuff around! It was hard for me to let go at first, but in the end, it was a good idea.

Day One: Edubloggercon (Saturday)

I arrived super early on day one-my flight landed on time at 7am, hopped a cab to the hotel, dropped off my bags and immediately headed to the convention center. I wasn't sure what to expect with edubloggercon. Yes, I had heard a lot about it and had looked at the webpage, but still didn't totally understand what it would involve. The first part of the morning was dedicated to connecting with friends. I spent some time chatting with a few that I hadn't seen in a while and some that I had never met face to face. It was nice to allow this time as I knew so many that I wanted to meet. After that came my favorite part of the entire conference: the smackdown. This involved several edubloggercon attendees from all walks of life walking up to the stage and sharing something they knew was worth sharing. It started out that htey had 3 minutes each and as time passed, it went down to 30 seconds (because there were so many volunteers). This was perfect for me-quick looks at neat websites, gadgets, etc. I do something similar tot his with my technology minute at school so it was exciting to see it on a little different level.

After the smackdown, we did breakout sessions on various topics, I went to one on ipods and one on google apps. A large group of us went to lunch together at RFD and shared more ideas, then there was also an after party to connect even more with the people you had met throughout the day. This was a very well planned event and my favorite of the entire 5 days.

Day 2: A little Down Time (Sunday)

This day didn't have a lot going on-especially in the morning, so it was a great opportunity to do some sight seeing. Headed over to the mall with a friend, enjoyed a wonderful day seeing the attractions and then headed back so we could attend the Second Life Meet and Greet. This was so much fun as it was the first time meeting many of the people I talk to on a regular basis in second life. After the meet and greet, we all headed up to the keynote. I only made it through the opening stuff (preview of the new electric company and the conference opening) before my phone started to die. I had great conversations going on through IM on that phone so I opted to go back and charge it so I would have it for the rest of the evening. Turned out to be a good plan, but I know I missed a great keynote speaker.

We had dinner at a lovely irish pub with fantastic food. We started with 2 people and ended up with 5 so it was fantastic conversation and an asbolutely wonderful time. Great end to the day and one of my favorite (if not my favorite) places to eat during the trip.

Day 3: The beginning (Monday)

Yes, it was day three and only the beginning! I was already tired! I got up and headed to the conference center for the first day of sessions.

I attended a session on building leadership which happened to be given by a person whose hotel room I tried to break into (accidentally) the day before! I already had it on my list to attend, but after having met her, I decided that I definitely needed to go! She shared many great ideas about leadership and focused on it being a way of life, not a position that you hold. I liked this and since I was reading the book Building the Bridge As You Walk On It, I found that many of the things she said were related to my current thoughts. I'm hoping she'll post her presentation soon as it had many great quotes and tips for building leadership.

We had tapas for lunch at La Tasca (the first time for everyone in our group). What a fantastic way to share a lunch with friends! Highly recommend the experience to anyone dining in a group. We had the most fun trying new foods and sharing stories.

After lunch, we all headed over to the poster session area to support our friend, Andy, in his presentation on Virtual Pioneers. We are all members of the organization and Andy is a great friend of ours so seeing the excitement for the program and watching his presentation was awesome. Virtual Pioneers is an organization within Second Life for expanding professional development opportunities for social studies teachers. More information about it can be found at the links above.

My next stop was the Birds of a Feather session on ipods. This was my first BOF session and wasn't sure what to expect. We divided into interest groups in the beginning and discussed ideas for using ipods in the classroom, writing grants for funding, etc. Then, some of the people running the session shared their use of ipods, ways to enhance their use in the classroom, etc. Scott Meech shared a great resource he is workign on called IEAR. I encourage you to check this site out if you are interested in using ipods/iphones at all. I enjoyed this session even though I was so tired I could hardly pay attention. I ended up heading back to the hotel for a quick nap as I knew the night was full of more activities.

This evening was full of parties!! We first started at the volunteer's reception which was held at the convention center. The music was absolutely fantastic and my friend Massimo won a year of webinars! Had a lot of fun talking with people there, but then we were quickly off to the tweetup. This one was in a true bar. By the time we got there, the free tab was already gone, so we stayed for one drink, some mingling and then headed to a late dinner. By this time we were all starving so we ate at an italian restaurant across the street. Again, just have to say how cool it is to spend time with friends that I've known so well in Second Life, but have never met. This night was just so much fun!

Day 4: Slowing down (Tuesday)

You can tell everyone is slowing down just a bit today. Everyone is mentally and physically tired. I actually slept way too late this day and got a late start. I was volunteering at the second life playground so I headed straight there. Had so much fun helping a couple of the new folks. It's fun helping someone get started in SL, but helping them in RL do the same thing is really cool!

After volunteering I headed up to Leslie Fishers presentation on ipods and iphones. I've seen this presentation before (with a few differences) but I knew I had to see it again because my thoughts had changed and some things had also changed in the ipod world since I attended the last one. She does a fantastic job at sharing new and exciting apps available. You can find her presentation on her webpage. I encourage everyone to check it out as she shares many apps that are fantastic.

For lunch we headed to China town and had dim sum. I was a bit skeptical about this, but it turned out to be wonderful. It's similar to tapas, but with chinese food. We ordered lots of different things and tried them all. Lots of fun and a few new friends came along for this one so it was great getting to know them as well.

Spent a little time at the Second Life playground which has served as a bit of a home base for me on this trip. I checked in there a few times a day and usually started there in the morning. Several of us then headed to Peggy Sheehy's presentation on Ramapo Islands which was absolutely fantastic. Peggy is a gem to the second life educational community and I feel so honored to know and work with her. The work she has done with her district is phenomenal and if you ever have a chance to hear her speak in RL or in SL, you should jump at the opportunity. Read more about her projects on her blog.

We headed to Legal Seafood for dinner tonight, knowing it was our last dinner with our usual group. We lived it up and had a ton of fun again. I had to leave pretty quickly for an event by the new CRSTE group, so we headed out, said our goodbye's and I headed to the museum of history for a party. CRSTE, I learned, was just started the week of NECC and includes several states around NC as a way to build friendships with surrounding states and share information with each other. This organization stands for much of what I believe in as an ed-tech person. As soon as I heard the background of why they got started, I was totally sold. Got a chance to meet some of the organizers of the community and can't wait to work more closely with them in the future.

Day 5: The last day

Even though it was the last day, and I was a little sad to leave, I was ready to go home too. Tired of walking, tired of carrying a bag and my brain was fried!
Got up and headed straight to the Second Life Playground. Spent most of the day here actually and some time away saying goodbye to a few friends. I didn't attend any sessions this day except for those that went on in the SL playground. This was my time to wind down and enjoy the last few hours.

At the SL playground I got the opportunity to hear Claudia Linden talk about grants for SL. I thought it was interesting that no one in the room or in the sl auditorium had written a grant with success yet. No one was turned down either, so that gives hope. Three of us, however, had written some and were awaiting a response. I have one in through ING right now and hoping for a response soon.

I'm pretty positive I've forgotten something important (and may add it later), but overall, the networking and friendships were the theme of the conference. Absolutely enjoyed every single minute of the trip and can't wait to go back next year. Have a few things going on behind the scenes right now (more on that later) that I think will make next year's conference even more exciting with new opportunities and adventures.

See you at ISTE 2010!