Every morning, I stand and help traffic kids safely down the stairwell to breakfast. And every day, a first grader stops and updates me on his luck in the lottery :

“Still no luck.”

“No luck? I’m sorry.”

“I think I need to try the cherry ones.”

“Where are you buying these tickets?”

“At the Store 24.”

“Well, keep trying. Just remember me when you win. I could use a couple bucks.”

“500 dollars is not a lot of money! I need more.”
“Really? What do you need it all for?”
“It costs a lot of money to fix up this school.”

“Oh, you’re gonna fix up the school?”

“Yeah. It needs a lot of work.”

“Why do you wanna do that?”

“To make the learning process faster.”

“Wow!”
“I need at least 300 to fix the computers. And then my grandfather can come in and fix the rooms. He’s a construction worker. But that takes more money. That’s why I gotta save.”

“Well, it is really nice of you to want to help make the school better.”

“Yeah, and we need more floors. We need 20 floors so more kids can get here faster.”

“Wow! These are great ideas. I hope you win big.”
“Yeah. I think they are giving me little kid cards, though. I gotta look into that.”

“You do that, man! Have a great day!”

“You too.”

Web 2.0 technology played an integral role in President Obama’s campaign, and will continue to do so in his presidency.

For the first time, the United States government will have a national Chief Technology Officer to ensure that government agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. You can expect that President Obama’s adoption and agenda for technology innovation in government will be reflected in his educational initiatives. “President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to launch ‘the most sweeping effort … this country has ever seen’ to modernize school buildings and equip classrooms with computers as part of his economic-stimulus plan.”

( read more here : http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2008/12/23/03obamareaction_web.h02.html )

We returned to Boston after an information packed 2 day forum in Texas. It was impressive to the attendees as well as the HP reps that our Superintendent was there, showing an interest and support of technology in education, rather than leaving it all to the “techies.” (  :

I gained a much better understanding of thin client virtualization which sounds like a great way to manage multiple machines in multiple classrooms, but I still have many questions, and I know it is costly, and I am not sure if it is appropriate for our new school. It was unfortunate that our own IT Manager was not there, but I established a contact with an Ed Tech Director who invited us to visit and see their implementation of a Citirix farm with ClassLink. I had no idea about the rich reporting of computer and application usage that Class Link provides! That feature alone is invaluable for determining software purchasing and computer allocation based on data.

I was totally surprised by Acrobat 9’s capabilities as a portfolio housing and found out about the special pricing of the Adobe Digital School Collection with every new HP a school buys.

I engaged in some debate about Apple’s iLife suite of software vs Adobe’s RealLife suite. Adobe’s RealLife is an easy fit for a high school environment, but I am partial to iLife’s ease of use for younger grade levels. I also was unable to get an answer about what Adobe had to offer in response to Apple’s OS X Server. Apple offers a platform, along with its software and clients, that hosts an internal collaborative learning community. Adobe’s answer was to “do-it-yourself” with your own internal web server. And yet also part of their sell is to allow Adobe to take the ownership off of schools and “let the experts do it for you.” So…the debate goes on. I still ask, why not have both?

I appreciated their attempt to provide pre-packaged online professional development opportuinites in the form of segmented video tutorials and downloadable lesson plans. But I would like to see how teachers can contribute to the lesson plans and tutorials themselves, along with me!

What was clear among everyone there, was that the applications and instructional usage must drive the hardware purchases.

HP is one potential provider for schools. There are many solutions to consider that bundle hardware, software, and methods of professional development. Every Tech Director there, however, had the same burning question when all was said and done…”How do I pay for this stuff?!”

Finally, I got to run outside in the sun for a bit and NOT have to wear gloves!

Elite

Originally uploaded by msradden

I am really enjoying the hp elite tablet.

I experienced an information-packed day today at the Hewlett Packard K-12 Executive Education Forum! I found myself gazing longingly at not only the products, services, and partnerships that HP presented, but also at the sun streaming down on the green grass outside! There is no snow here and it is 70 degrees. It is a very nice change in the middle of February, however briefly I am actually experiencing the outdoors.

Unfortunately, due to the non-disclosure statement I signed today, I can not review the day in too much detail. I can say that, in addition to the a-ha moments I scribbled down during lectures like a staffing model for my department and a measurable pilot program plan, and the business card swapping and plans for site visits made with new and knowledgeable faces, I grabbed a few nuggets in this first of 2 days that are safe to share :

Curriculum and instructional needs should drive the selection of applications. And applications should drive the selection of hardware and infrastructure. It should NOT be the other way around. It is imperative, therefore, that Technology, Curriculum, and Instructional Technology planning mesh.

To help make data-driven decisions about professional development needs in IT, see icot.iste.org for a free assessment tool of the usage of technology in the classroom.

Technology plans must be livable documents that are reviewed annually and adjusted based on data.

Is your energy bill too high, and eating into your IT budget? See verdiem.com to install the Edison app that will significantly reduce the amount of energy your computers consume.

See freerice.net to enable students to study vocabulary while helping a 3rd world country.

Even free open-source applications (like Moodle, or Joomla) require IT staff time and training and ultimately dollars – so why not let someone else provide a solution?

Professional development models can and should include a variety of approaches like : (a) live face-to-face instruction (b) live online instruction via apps like Sype and GoToMeeting(c) posted online tutorials for self-paced learning (d) mentor-lead focus groups that follow the train-the-trainer model (e) summer boot camps with an incentive to attend and complete it…

HP claims that Apple’s iLife suite is not industry-standard but Adobe’s Digital Classroom Collection is. Apple would claim its suite of tools drives the quality of content and values the understanding of the creation process as opposed to application-specific skill-building. Which one is best for a K-6 learning environment? Why not have both? (  :

So what is on tap for tomorrow?

I came to better understand thin client virtualizaton today as a cost-effective solution for classroom student stations, especially the mobile thin client, but I need to know more…

I am intrigued by the usage of Adobe Acrobat 9 for eportfolio creation…

I wonder why I should be so excited about the tablets (when I had one for 2 years and was not utilizing its pen interface much)?!

…more to come…zzzzz

0210090854.jpg

Originally uploaded by msradden

I dont think I have ever seen a rocking chair in an airport before! I am at Logan waiting for my departure to the HP education technology conference in Texas. Wish I was waiting in that chair!