Campus Technology Teams

I'm at the point with the CTECs on my campuses now that we are ready to embark on creating campus technology teams. Up to now the CTECs have been lonely soldiers on their campuses. They have been asked to connect computers, convey messages, model instruction, and much, much more with no pay and no on-site assistance. But there has go to be a better way. The current way of managing the various technologies at the elementary schools I work at is inefficient. We have been blessed with multimedia equipment, state-of-the-art iMac labs, mobile computer labs, interactive white boards, etc. but there is a disconnect between ownership of the tools and usage of them in the classroom. Here are a few questions that come to mind on this topic. 

What would the groups look like?

How would they function?

What would be the goals, responsibilities, advantages of the groups?

What would be a plan of action to get something like that started? 

Convocation 2008

Dr. Linda Henrie addressed the teachers of Mesquite today at the annual Convocation. This year's theme was "Continuing Your Story" and the guest speaker was teacher and President of the Freedom Writers Foundation, Erin Gruwell. 

How can the technology tools available on your campus, in your classroom be used to facilitate written expression among your students? Even the littlest voices have something to say.
http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org

New Teacher Orientation

The Mesquite ISD is welcoming somewhere around 300 new teachers this year. At "New Teacher Orientation: Technology Resources" we introduce these newbies to the many systems in place within our school district to support the use of technology in the classroom. 

 

Introduction

Hello anyone out there reading. This is my first entry in my new blog, ETFaGoGo. For anyone wondering, ETF stands for Elementary Technology Facilitator. I just finished up an online staff development course, "Learning 2.0 - 23 Things" and my mind is a whirl with all kinds of ideas. I hope I can keep the momentum going once school starts, but mostly I hope I can convince a few teachers to jump on the train with me. One of the things I really hope to pursue is student blogging, especially among 4th graders. I taught 4th grade for many years and I know how hard it is to manage all of the writing samples students must produce in order to improve their skills. I think blogging could be a solution to some of the challenges faced in the writing lab.