Author: Michael

  • New Technology Integrator Position

    As part of the reorganization of the district for next year, the building-based middle school technology facilitators are going to become district-based technology integration specialists. It will be a similar role to what was going on in one building, but in the new design, the integrators will be able to help teachers across the district. […]

  • Moving On

    I am delighted to report that the work to get my administration certificates has paid off. This past week I was appointed to an administrative position within my district, Williamsville. Effective July 1st, I will be the Instructional Specialist for Fine and Performing Arts, Business Education, and Home and Careers. That is a long and […]

  • Fast and Furious – Keeping Up with Changes at NYSED

    The New York State Education Department (NYSED), like many other states educational agencies, is undergoing massive restructuring due to the Race to the Top (RTTT) funding initiative. There are many arguments to be made about whether the RTTT program is worth it or just another national political toy. It does not matter which side one […]

  • Cogito Ergo Blog

    I reflect, therefore I blog. A tweet came through last week that caught my attention. I retweeted it, favorited it, and now have spent some time looking back, reading, reflecting, and now writing: As is the case with social media, the path to the origin of the thinking took a bit. Shelly Terrell sent this […]

  • Collaboration, Coaching and Reflection

    Professional development is a key component in helping students learn. When teachers are focused on improving student learning, they need support (i.e. professional development) for themselves to continue to learn. Some of the most inspiring colleagues I have worked with are those who, even after a long career, continue to seek out opportunities to improve […]

  • Staff Development Day March 2011

    Design Team Day on Prezi On Friday the district held a staff development day where we split up by curriculum area K-12. The focus for the day was on design questions from Robert Marzano’s The Art & Science of Teaching. Facilitators for each curriculum area were formed into what were called design teams, and included […]

  • Technology Integration in the New NYS Teaching Standards

    New York is a winner of the Race to the Top funding initiative sponsored by the federal government. There is a whole host of passionate conversation about what RTTT means for education. I’m going to skip that part of the dialogue for now and focus on what has been going on in New York, and […]

  • There’s an App for That

    We just received 4 iPads to use in the building. My initial thought is to put them in the library since that is one place that all students have easy access to, and would get them the most exposure. In order to maximize the potential for their use, we are going to start with a […]

  • Farewell, Friend

    This post is a tribute to a fantastic educator and colleague, Earle Holt. Earle is retiring from Heim Middle School after a 43 year career. His last day is December 23, 2010. Earle has touched so many lives in so many ways. Most importantly, as an art teacher he has had a great impact on […]

  • Web Literacy 101: Look Up!

    I have a geeky habit that I would like to admit…I prefer to type out web addresses, rather than bookmarking them. Why? Because it forces me to think about how websites are organized, and it tunes me into the browser address bar and what site I’m at. I completely understand that using the search box […]