CEdO Program Review

This week the blog assignment is to review what we have learned over the last 18 months and discuss if the program has been worthwhile.

It is hard to tell in words how much I have learned during this program. It has dramatically changed how my department and school operates. From switching to Google Apps for Education to the many websites, resources, and management skills I have learned more than I can express.

Many of these classes came at the perfect time. Online Facilitation came when I was exploring online professional development for our teachers. And Leadership and Planning came along just as I was learning of my new position at Messmer.

For the last 10 years I have been the Director of Technology for Messmer Catholic Schools. This year has been a year of transition. Our president has been calling on me to lead some big projects that are not technology related. About three weeks ago our president asked me to take a bigger role in the school and named me Vice President.

So, as I finish this program, I am leaving the field of technology. I still plan to be involved and will be pursuing the Instructional Technology Coordinator license from the State of Wisconsin. I have already started the classes and this summer will be completing the program.

I cannot say enough about this program. It was definitely worthwhile. This is something I was not interested in pursuing until John Sklar talked me into it one summer. I am glad I signed up. It has made huge differences in how I lead, research, and conduct projects at work. I have enjoyed working with all of my colleagues in the program as well as all of the professors. This program took me from my limited view of technology and opened up my mind to alternative ways of thinking, researching, and delivering technology to my school.

There are areas that I want to explore more that were not at all included in this program. I plan on exploring the world of mobile apps in the classroom as well as writing and programming my own apps. Once I am finished with my license process this fall I will take up this project. I have some great ideas on how mobile apps can help our school communicate with its stakeholders.

I have really enjoyed working with everyone and wish everyone good luck in the future. Take care.

Culminating Experience - Week 2

Feedback and information. That is what this week has been about. Between face to face meetings, online discussions, and survey results I have been bombarded with data. It has been an interesting process. There has been some really important feedback. There has also been some feedback based on personal wants and not necessarily what is best for the students. I have had to go through this data and prioritize the requests. Everyone wants something and not everyone is going to get their requests fulfilled.

I will be taking the next week to look over the data and requests. I am hoping that next weekend I will be able to start putting a schedule together. I have downloaded all of the minute sheets so I know the requirements. I very nearly have all of the data I need to make my schedule.

Now comes the hard part…squeezing everything into a 8-3:15 school day.

Culminating Experience - Week 1

My culminating experience is one that I have been looking forward to for some time. At the beginning of the school year, our grade school principals made changes to the elementary schedules that caused some major problems when it came to reporting, GPA calculation, and meeting minute requirements. As a result, our school president asked me to look at developing a schedule that could be used at both grade schools.

This new schedule had to address certain shortcomings of the current schedule. The biggest challenge was that the two schools share teachers. So, in addition to prep time, I also had to figure in travel time between the locations, about a 10 minute trip.

I have been thinking about this project all winter and am now ready to move forward. I think I have a good plan in place and I should be able to accomplish my goals in the given time.

Writing the proposal for the project really made me realize how much time had to be put into this project. I have done schedules before but have not had to write down all of the steps involved.

As this project moves forward, I will be taking tips from the change game that we played in our last course. I have lots of talking to do and lots of questions to ask before putting together something that will solve the majority of our issues. I have never been one to back away from a challenge. I cannot wait to get started.