4.29.09 Tech Team

At the tech meeting we talked about the tech plan and how we continually have to update it. The updates we need to make include:
-a timeline for the network and its infrastruture, a mobile lab for the high school this year and next, a forcast for room 201 in the middle school, how many new machines will be purchased a year for teachers, and VHS

3 and 4 and 5 HPT

The 3-5 team separated into its component parts Wednesday needing to discuss the upcoming enrichment clusters, last minute report card details, and end of year trips. As grade levels we were also able to utilize some much needed meeting time to keep up with reading and RTI, our foremost team goal.

K-2 HPT

We started off talking about extending the lunch time for primary students for next year, as they are rushed to eat, or throw their food away because they want to get out to recess. Discussed different ways this might be possible, and will bring it up to Mrs. Boshka for further discussion. Earth Day activities were brought up and paint has been ordered to start painting the animal tracks on the sidewalks for those grade level sections of the campus that have a paintable surface to work with. We tallied the Internet Survey that was sent home with students.
Do you have a computer at home? 95Y 5N
Do you have internet access? 84Y 16N
Is your child allowed to get on internet sites without supervision? 1Y 99N
Do you have child safety protection instaled on your computer? 26Y 43N (Not all teachers asked this question)
Sharon Lamar is participating in the Pennies for Peace campaign again this year and invited the other primary classrooms to participate if they wanted too.

9th HPT

We chose a representative principal advisary. We discussed new possibilities for the School Picnic. Many suggestions were made. We also brought up many concerns for our representative to take to principal advisory. We edited and copied the freshman school supply list to be sent home for the current 8th graders and would appreciate any input from other staff of anything that needs to be added to that list. Unfortunately, we are still waiting to hear back from the bike company in regards to lowering the costs of our 9th grade field trip.

11/12 team discussed the calendar for next year, problems accessing the computer lab, and greed to examine some web sites on critical thinking at our next meeting.  MB

Tenth HPT spent the time doing several different things. Hans and Stormy went to the parks department and set up our tree planting day set for May 1st. We will be taking all of the sophomore class to plant trees at Beardance Trail and Nine Pipes lodge, with a picnic between.
We also spoke about a reworking of the picnic, perhaps asking student council to come up with a little more structure, and adding an assembly to show off all of the good things that we have done this year, awards, scholarships, etc.

6-8 HPT

The 6-8 team did some problem-solving and some brainstorming during this weeks meeting. One issue was students being released from classes early and then lingering in hallways, disturbing other classes. Solutions involved synchronizing clocks, and urging teachers who don't have bells to carefully watch the clock and keep students until the appropriate time.

Next, grade checks for the current track season were organized, followed by a brainstorming session on how to organize some of the elementary school into a track and field day later in the spring. Planning is still in process, but will involve advisory teams organizing and running track events for some elementary students in a fun and community-building afternoon in May.

Intervention and Tech collaborate

The Intervention and Tech teams that were able to meet together did just that and discussed the upcoming Cinco de Mayo lunch collaboration. To those who could not attend, please check your email for your specific assignment.

Three of the team members met and discussed Moodle, and tried to download the program to begin using this new technological hybrid. Unfortunately due to administrative issues, we could not in fact use or later uninstall the zipped files, and will wait for further instruction as to where the program will have to be housed. For you who are completely lost by this discussion, do not despair as it will undoubtedly resurface in coming weeks. If you are interested, check out moodle.org online and see what you think.

The Intervention team will meet again to discuss students who are jeopardizing credits by not passing classes, and how we can redirect them toward success.

Tech Team on 4.15

The tech team spent individual time researching different aspects of Web 2.0 tools. For example I learned about Twitter. Sue spent some time researching Moodle and talking to other teams about Moodle. And Roberts spent time updating the tech plan with our new goals and looking through the stimulus package to see what was available.

Will We Be Ready For Her?

She's posed for learning in the digital world! She will come to school unafraid of technology and she will be skilled at using it to produce creative work. Using technology will expand her vocabulary and deepen her ability to think critically. She might even teach herself to read! The notion of literacy for her will be much expanded beyond the traditional print literacy.

Thank you TECH HPT for pushing us to become more comfortable with using technology. We might not become as tech savy as our digital natives but we can be open to developing our expertise.

11-12 HPT-Agate

The 11-12 hpt will examine ways to increase critical thinking in the curriculum and our assignments. I will attend the AGATE conference in Missoulla later in April.

K-2 team early release meeting

During our meeting, we discussed the question; What is the potential and use of this blog site? Obviously it can be a great communication tool for all staff K-12, as long as it focuses on professional issues and is accessed by all staff. Time factor is the first thought that comes to mind for most of primary. During the day, because we work with such young children who need constant direction and attention, it is rare to find even a moment; unless it is our prep time, when there is a priority list of things to be done,to read the blog. To access it later at home would not be possible for all of the primary teachers, as 5 do not have a computer at home. It could also be a huge time saver, in not physically attending meetings that some times go in complete circles and it seems like there is alot of talk but nothing is accomplished. But then again, blog discussions can also go down rabbit trails. Some of the questions that arose were: Would it at any time be used as decision making tool? or just as an informative venue to keep the teams in touch?