April

Tech Mentoring has been going well.  We have been going through and filling out forms for what we would like as a department and school for the new proposal.  We are requesting 3 over head projectors.

Our Pre Algebra team found a great computer program that I have been using with my Pre Algebra students.  They have some issues with it at first, but then overall it becomes a great tool for assessments.

We are finished up with our WIB and it is finished on the BlackBoard site.  I will be looking into what the next step is.  We will also be offering a workshop for teachers in April to have them ask any questions or bring up any concerns with technology.

February

This past month the tech mentoring has been successful.  We were able to form a Jam Session, which allowed any high school teacher assistance.  Everyone who showed was very interested and thankful to have such a session.  We will be offering another one near the end of February

I also have been trying to find a software that will allow me to use Math Type effectively.  I did some research and noticed that iWork has a new  software out for 09.  I called up Mac and Math Type and they  told me that pages now allows equations  to be entered into the document.

Until next time…

January

Today we are starting to put together a list of items that are staff members are interested in.  We will be adding in workshops to further feed the desire.

Our workshop in a box went very well, we will not actually be handing this out till next year.  We have information added from all important parts of the school, which will help new teachers.

Our next meeting will allow us to review any final comments.

I still have been helping out with our new computer lab proctor and dealing with teachers who still do not have computers.  This brings us to another level of concern:  What does the chain of command look like for reporting computer problems?  Through time we are trying to get people the proper help and repair they need for their computer.  With effective communication skills and an outline of people to talk to, we are hoping to solve this issue as well.

Start Of A New Year

This year has been going well.  Been doing a lot of training with new teachers on their computers and battling with non served printers.  I am in the process of gathering information for a workshop.  I will be helping with a new teacher training in a box for the TM group here at the High School.

Our school has been waiting on the bulbs for an overhead projector so I have no updates on the Smartboard.  I did make a presentation on the Smartboard but showed it as a regular power point.  Unfortunately,  I  was not able to show the interaction with the  lesson.  Students were excited to use the Smartboard.

April Updates

Things have been going well, I have had a good turn-around  with the computer trainings.   I have still been unable to work with all of the material that is needed to use the SmartView (graphing calculator).   I  have  been  offering trainings via the Tech Committee and will be doing the second round of trainings next week.

Since last posting things have been going well, I have not had many issues with the new computers.  I am hoping the second round will flow as smoothly!

Prolem Solving

We have been given a second round of new computers, which is a great advance for technology. I have been transferring over my data as well as other teachers into the new computers. For the most part this has gone smoothly, I had the all of the issues while moving my information.

I have also had the opportunity to learn and use a new macbook with some new software. I have one issue with Smartview for the Smartboard, this cannot be used with the 10.5 macbook. I was very disappointed with this,and called up Texas Instruments to discuss this issue. I was notified that they do not have software out that allows this Smartview to work with the new macbook (Intel Processor).

I have been slowly adapting Blackboard into a few teachers lesson planning. Some have students sending them homework via the computer lab from Geometer’s sketch pad. I am excited to here that he was happy with how things turned out.

I am hoping to be able to get some of my students into a math lab and work with geometry tools. I am not sure when this will happen, but I have been looking over this topic with my PLC group.

I am hoping to continue to move forward with Blackboard and the Smartboard topics. The technology position at our high school will hopefully move towards a 21st century.

Teaching the Basics

Lately, with this tech mentor position I have been teaching others how to add printers and create shortcuts.  We have a few new printers replacing our damaged ones.  Teachers have been given replacement computers to replace damaged ones.

I am planning on offering a small workshop to help people understand the basics coming up soon. I am also going to try to offer something to the math department for the Smartboard. I need to decide what it is that people want to know before making the presentation.

Some teachers have had issues with signing on to the math network account. I was able to send them a link and they were comfortable with taking it from there. Many teachers do not know about the help inquiry that is offered online. I believe that would be a great workshop topic to tie in also.

So far things are going pretty well, I am enjoying being a tech mentor and even learning new things myself. Sharing and helping always promotes learning!

November TM Blog

During the month of November by mentoring has been towards computer issues and helping people with printer configurations. I have helped a few people with introducing them to the SmartBoard. I am also working with the Math department so we can set up our Blackboard site. I am waiting for our acting chair to return before much further can happen.

I plan on working more with the Smartboard, since I was able to get some graphing calculator software (Ti-84 and 83+). The program through mac is amazing! Relating to the Blackboard site, this is a whole department effort. I am not in any need of any support now; in fact the TM position is going quite for myself. I do feel that people are learning around me and becoming comfortable with their computers.

SmartBoard

I have been working quite a bit with the Smartboard and other departments.  Recently, the Science department expressed interest in using it this week.  I had an introductory session with couple of the staff members and showed them the download site for different tools.  They were pretty excited about the interactive instruction that could be implemented.

Welcome to my blog page

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!