Point A to Point B

Category: Russo’s Ramblings

  • A Friend, A Colleague, and A Good Time

    Today Heim Middle says farewell to a good person – Mr. Talarico. Since the beginning of the school year he has been with us for his student teaching experience. He is not your typical out-of-college youngster – he is young at heart, but brings a lifetime of experience to his teaching career. I believe more and more that having life experiences prior to teaching really helps – seeing how the “real world” works is incredilby valuable. I don’t mean for a moment that going into teaching right out of high school/college is bad – just that experience in other places is really good.

    Mr. Talarico brought his warm, open, pleasant style into Heim, and became an integral part of our family quickly. He grew a lot as a teacher, and it has been a pleasure working with him. I for one will miss our daily interactions.

    Hats off to you, Mr. Talarico, and best wishes for the future!

    JoeTalarico.jpg

  • Let the Fun Begin!

    ScienceFictionPaintingoftheFuture.jpg

    We just received word that it is time to update our 5 year technology plan, formulate the 2007-08 wish list, and also identify any building needs that would have a major financial/structural impact (wiring rooms, etc.). I really enjoy this part of the process – this is where we ask what should we be doing, and how can we get it done. We are in the middle of the 5 year plan we started 2 years ago, and are making excellent progress. This will be a good time to reflect on what we are doing and make sure we still want the same things (or, if we need a change, figure out what those changes are).

    This 5 year plan turns into a “wish-list” of items that has a really high price tag (typicallly $200,000) – we never get nearly that much, but if we don’t put down what we need (and how much it costs), we won’t have the necessary direction.

    So the questions that come to mind…

    What should students and teachers using technology in learning look like at Heim Middle?
    Are the right technologies in the right places?
    Are we using technologies that are worth the expense (in time and money)?
    Are there other ways to focus resources (time/money) to maximize learning with technology?
    Are there physical issues/needs in the building related to technology placement?

    Image citation:
    “Science Fiction Painting of the Future.” Online image. PowerMediaPlus.com. 29 November 2006.

  • Video is Hot

    Reflecting back on one of my predictions for this year, video IS hot. As NYSCATE continued, I heard from many different people about how excellent projects involved video. In a session I attended presented by Apple Distinguished Educator Carol LaRow titled Exemplary Student Technology Projects, ALL of the projects had video as the product.

    Video is a powerful medium – and the reason it is a great learning tool is because it forcesvideostudio.jpg the creators to perform their knowledge, not just recall it. It is harder to manage video projects, the learning is messy, but it is so worthwhile. The tools for great video production arrived a few years ago, and we are finally starting to see the possibilities come to life.

    Image: “Attic studio: Enough Computing Power?” by moriza, via Flickr

  • Why I Come (revisited)

    In my post from yesterday, I talked about why I come to conferences – to hopefully see and hear from the leaders and visionaries I would not normally get the opprotunity to see. Today I had the opportunity to be in with Will Richardson for 3 different presentations.

    One of the great things about blogging is that you get to know people you have never met face-to-face. I’ve been reading Will’s blog for a couple of years now, following his path and listening to what he has to say. Today was the first time I ever saw him live, but since I’ve been reading/listening to him for a while, it was like seeing an old friend again, rather than a new face. Thanks, Will, for some great conversation and ideas.

    Of the sessions he did today, the one I enjoyed most was titled “From Information Literacy to Information Leadership.” He spent time sharing how he tackles the information/learning landscape on a daily basis. He made his daily routine transparent so we could see how he learns and utilizes web 2.0 tools to locate, assess, manage, and share information. It affirmed some of the practices I have gotten into as well. One of the points he made is that in this new information landscape, it takes time to do all this reading/writing. Something has to go to make the time – for him he said reading books is one thing that is happening much less. For me at first I could not figure out what I gave up, because I do spend time reading/writing on the web now, and see its importance. But it just hit me what it was – TV. A couple of years ago my wife and I made a conscious decision to give up cable TV (but kept the cable modem…), mainly because of the ridiculous price we were paying when all we really watched was 1 or 2 channels. I totally missed that we gave it up, because the web 2.0 tools snuck right in and took the time. Much less vegging, but more rewarding use of time as far as I’m concerned.

    The other thing that was great about that last session is that it helped me to clarify what I believe is the best way to approach web 2.0 with people who are new to the concept…but that’s for the next post.

  • If I were stuck on a desert island with one piece of technology…

    Suddenly this week, CPS (“the clickers”) became the hot-ticket item. Their use goes in spurts – for a while noone uses them, then all of a sudden everyone wants them. At the Erie 1 BOCES Technology Integrators Forum (TIF) thiis week, 2 teachers presented about their use of CPS. At Heim, quite a few teachers signed them out this week.

    On the way back from TIF, Mr. Talarico and I got into a discussion about what the most important technologies are. We talked about many of the current and new tools out there, along with their pros and cons.

    This leads into my question (revisiting a common idea) – If you were stuck on a desert island and could only have one item/piece/type of technology, what would it be? I have my thoughts about what it would be for me, but I’m going to hold back for a few days and see if I can get some other responses.

  • A Good Track Record So Far

    We had our first technical error today that prevented us from broadcasting video announcements. It became clear right afterward that the issue was not enough disk space on the hard drive of the computer. These video files eat A LOT of space, and the show was not saved as we expected. The crew (especially Amy as announcer) handled it great, and switched over to the PA announcements instantly. Although I’m bummed that the show did not go on, looking at the bigger picture, this is the first time this year this has happened. So, I think we have a pretty darn good track record so far.

    On a different note, the time has come to begin the transition to 5th grade students doing the show. We have learned so much this marking period about what it takes to put on the production. There is quite a lot of management and technical work to make it happen, and the 8th grade crew has been outstanding. Some of them will be part of the “transition team” to show the 5th graders how things work. It will be interesting to see how this goes, but I’m looking forward to what happens!

  • And then October flew by also…

    CarAfterTheStormBut this time, we have a reasonable excuse! Dubbed the October Suprise, we in WNY spent almost 2 weeks recovering from a snowstorm that caused havoc by snapping major branches off of almost every tree in the area. The Russo household fared about the same as most – we lost power for 6 days, had some minor car damage, and our yard was a disaster. The picture does not do justice for how our street looked, but it gives you an idea.

    Anyway, we missed 7 days of school, and will have to make up 2 of them during April break. At first it was weird returning to school, but very quickly we were “back to business.” With some schedule adjustments, we are back on track, and some good projects are on the way.

  • In your words…

    …what is a podcast? They are everywhere, but I’m curious how you define what one is. Do you usemic them/watch them/listen to them? Post your reply here (by clicking on the comment link above, just under the title of this post) and describe as best you can what a podcast is.

    Image citation:
    Weave. �Podcast Hotel: Open Mics.� Flickr. 3 Oct. 2006 .

  • Where Did September Go?

    So the last post was the day before the computer lab opened, and now *blink* and its the end of September already – yikes! Its been an awesome couple of weeks – the labs are humming with business, Open House went well, and some of our Staff Development initiatives are under way. Wow, what a month!

    Its only the beginning – there are some new projects in the “hopper” that look exciting. A lot of interest in video already, and its going to be cool.

    October, here we come!!!

  • Welcome!

    The computer lab opens for business tomorrow morning – its been a busy start to the year, but we are ready to go (for the most part – seems like there are always “loose ends” to take care of!).

    New question – now that we have settled in for a few days, what are you most excited about for this school year? What are you most looking forward to?

    Post here by clicking on the comments link above (underneath the title of this post).