Trouser Snakes and Google Docs

A war has been waged in my district. What web sites do you block? What sites do you allow? We are a mostly conservative community but have a lot of technology in our district. The tech director has been a huge advocate for supplying more and more technology (hardware and software)for the students in the district. The sites that have been monitored and blocked, however, are too numerous to mention.......

When I joined Twitter I had no idea that I would be introduced to such sites as Animoto, wallwisher, glogster, ning, etc. My excitement grew and grew and each day when I went to work, my disappointment clicked in - those sites were blocked.........

When I had CSD come into our school to train teachers how to integrate technology, most of the sites that the trainers wanted to access were blocked. Even after the technology staff tried to unblock, and believe me they did try, we were unsuccessful at bringing those sites up so that the teachers could access what they were learning about.

Even though "security" or as I like to call it, censorship, is tight, things that are inappropriate continue to get through.............

Did you know what the most venomous snake in the world is? According to Google, it is the Trouser snake, which when touched, becomes "aggressive and spits." The website goes on to describe the Trouser snake's habitat and mentions that when bit, a woman's belly grows and grows followed by excruciating pain..........

A few days ago I went to access a Google Doc file that I shared with my staff. Guess what? GOOGLE DOCS WAS BLOCKED! For me, that was the last straw. I immediately emailed my fellow principals, the tech. director, and superintendents. I want a meeting to discuss why these collaborative sites can't be accessed and used to teach our students.

I understand that we live in a conservative community. If we train teachers how to supervise the sites that they access and we are vigilant in supervising those sites, more good than harm will follow.

Wish me luck in my quest. If you have thoughts or words of wisdom, let me know! Until then I will continue to avoid the Trouser snake and look for ways to access Google Docs when people aren't looking..........

Come In Tokyo, Come In!

This year I've got all of the gadgets! I am determined to do several walk-throughs a day. To help with this, I purchased a little Notebook. I loaded my Drop In Observation Form and have been pretty successful to completing several a day. I even created a Google Doc so that the Assistant Principal and I can keep track of where we've been and make sure we are covering all classes evenly!

What's next?

I volunteered to make a video for the district - showing teachers how much inspiration they are and how important they are. I tried Animoto for the first time and loved it! I was so inspired by the video that I ran to Target and purchased a flip cam!

First thing this morning I brought out the flip cam and got my camera (still not trusting that I can export stills from flip cam - I don't trust myself). I headed out and took video and pictures.

When it was time to do my walk-throughs, I grabbed my Notebook, my flip cam, my camera. I must tell you, it was an enjoyable day! I saw some great things and was able to document those things with all of my electronics.

I think I looked pretty goofy carrying around more circuit boards than our district server. The kids were fascinated and teachers didn't know what to expect.

As I sit home tonight, my mind is going a mile a minute. How can I make sure that this enjoyable day turns into learning opportunities for the teachers? What will make the biggest impact?

I want this blog post to be a spring board for ideas. What do you think instructional leaders should do with pictures, videos, and items noted on walk-throughs. Yes, I know the normal things - have conferences, watch video together, self-reflection, inspirational videos, educational videos. Principals - what else do we have to offer? Teachers - what will be helpful to you?

Post your ideas under the comment section and check back in to see what comes up!

Until next time, someone needs to let me know if a lightening storm is coming because I'll need to head for the basement...............

Who Ever Yells The Loudest Gets Their Way

I have been more discouraged this week than ever. In my 19 years as an educator I have never come upon so much controversy as this one little speech is making. President Obama wants to tell our children to work hard, stay in school. He wants to stand in front of them and tell them how important school is and that they should make goals for themselves. FOR SHAME!

I, for one, am thrilled that students will be hearing a positive message from someone other than a sports star or celebrity. If you ask students today who their hero is, 9 out of 10 will say someone famous, or worse yet, not know what a hero is. This is a definite problem we have in today's society, which is why character education programs are running rampant in schools.

I'm sure this speech was not meant to cause such controversy. If President Obama and his staff could have predicted the fiasco it has turned into, I wonder if they would have planned it. Even so, this speech has caused controversy, and now it is up to schools to decide how to deal with it.

It is our job to teach children how to debate. It is our job to introduce various viewpoints and allow children to explore the pros and cons of any controversial issue. I'm sure President Obama is an intelligent person (even his opponents must admit this). He will not make this into a policy forum. He will not mention such things as his way to reform health care. But, let's examine if this worst case scenario would happen to come true........

Shouldn't children be exposed to the problems that are happening in our nation? Should they be able to think about the causes and effects of various issues? I, for one, want my child to think about both sides of an issue. Don't you?

In my school district I have been disappointed in the reaction. I have been called by parents who do not want their child to hear the speech. When asked about it, they do not even know what it is about. I have been asked if the government was having me keep a list of all children that do not participate - asked if I was going to forward such a list to the government. Around the country school districts are succumbing to those who are yelling the loudest, instead of thinking about what is best for children.

To me, I am having flash backs of the past: burning books, and censorship. This reminds me of one of my favorite films Footloose (yes, now you can date me) when the students couldn't have a dance. Ren McCormick didn't stand for that and we educators shouldn't stand for it either! It is our responsibility to respect the wishes of a family but for schools to not allow for any student? That is a crime! Maybe that list should be sent to Washington.