Project Update

Well, my ANWR project has had it's ups and it's downs. It seems like anytime you are pushing the technology envelope there are big chances that you could run into trouble no matter how well you have planned. My first issue was that I had students use bubbl.us to create a idea web that helped them organize their thoughts as they conducted their research. I tested this site out for several days, I created a step-by-step how-to guide, and I reserved space at computers for the students to work. Even with all of this planning, the site crashed once the whole class tried to use it. It initally let a few people log in and for others it took 10 mins. Then when students went to try and save their work it would just scroll and scroll. Several students ended up loosing a lot of work and were really disappointed. We switched over to using Inspiration and things seemed to go a little better. The students actually were working along just fine for a while and started creating their Google Earth files. On the day of the presentation, though, students were pulling up their files and photos and image overlays were missing. We thought that the computer in the classroom had the same version of Google Earth, but after class I figured out that it was a slightly older version and that was what was causing all of the problems. It caused the presentation day to be much more hectic than I had hoped for. Overall, I have learned a lot of hard lessons, but I think that I will be better for it in the long run.

My county and the 1:1 laptop initiative

I am a media specialist in Cobb County, but only arrived after the 1:1 program initiative seemed to fall apart. I have a feeling that this topic will not be broached for a while after the last experience. The county is really investing in technology, but just in other forms. At Sprayberry, we have been a pilot program for the 21st century classroom equipment for the last two years. This increase in technology has been a wonderful thing. I do think that one of the limiting factors for the school is the constant competition for computer labs. As teachers we are encouraged to create lessons that utilize technology, but it is often hard to reserve space where students can get their hands onto technology. One day, once the bad feelings are past, I hope that we will revisit the idea of laptops for each student. It would really open up the types of lessons and the overall classroom environment that we could have.