Wayland+D


 * Wayland Dickson**


 * Mentor Report March/April**

I've begun my report by writing down a list of topic and events of note, then retuning to fill in some details for each.

__Macs, Wikis (thanks Jeff) and Webs! Oh my!__ - We've brought a few Mac computers into the district as a "Macs for Middles" project and so I've started exploring the mysteries of iLife, iMovie, iPhoto and all the other iStuff. Wikis have been huge on my radar these past few weeks as many teachers have been exploring the use in classes. I think I've finally wrapped my my mind around how to effectively organize a wiki. School web pages are a peeve of mine so I'm making an effort to help schools bring their pages up to speed. I'm finding this very difficult because Webpages don't really seem to be as interesting to most as they are to me.

__Open Source, David Warlick, Blogs__ - Had a great time at the Literacy conference and enjoyed presenting (with Bill N.) the Open Source session. Thanks to all who attended the session. Warlick was interesting but it was more interesting to read from his website and the various links off his site. The ideas in education are boundless. We really need to take time and reflect. I've read so many blog posts in the past month that I...I....well, I've read alot.

__Elementary Laptops in Dalhousie and Bristol__ - Visited with LER class using laptops as part of research for beginning a similar project at Bristol Elementary. Very impressive, but as ponted out by the classroom teacher, certainly the polished product is the result of much hard work (and solid practices, I would add).

__Native Reading Resources, SMART Boards__ - Spent a day with First Nations teachers creating an elementary reading resource. The tricky part was finding the correct symbols as the standard keyboard doesn't have them (eventually found them using the Windows Character Map). Did I mention SMART Boards? This stuff is hot! I wish I had shares in the company. There isn't a day that goes by that someone asks a question, shares an idea, or just plain smiles about this resource. We have more District PD planned for coming weeks.

__Joey!__ - (I say this in the same tone that Seinfeld says "Newman") China, for crying out loud!

__Science Fair, Heritage Fair__ - Got roped into judging a science fair, helped student reporters gather audio/video for provincial Heritage website.

__Online Banking__ - I'd like to stress the importance of verifying transaction details before clicking "OK"

__Confronting Injustice, compasionate teachers__ - I've met a teacher who talks to his students and his helping them talk to a larger audience using wikis, podcasts, YouTube, you name it. Really powerful stuff! I have no idea how he assigns a grade to students but I give him an A plus for "getting it".

__Virtual Art Museum__ - Got involved with one of Sandra M's projects (Again! When will I learn?). I really love the ( http://studentart.edublogs.org )blog format of displaying student art projects. We are hoping to use this model and grow the project through the district at all levels.

__PicoCrickets__ - Spent a morning with a combined K-1-2 class using PicoCrickets. It combines programming, logic, and arts and crafts. It directed me towards Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/) which is free and may be worth some consideration in math or technology classes.

__The Virus!__ - A virus ripped through a district that shall remain un-named. And although not mentioned, I can't help but think that Zal may have had a hand in this.

__Day to Day__ ...and 40-some emails later...."close and focus"


 * Mentor** **Report Dec06/Jan07**


 * Challenges**

Really only one challenge…. Turning off my computer.


 * Successes**

Webpages—schools are becoming more aware of their web-presence (or lack thereof). Great interest in Dreamweaver, FrontPage, Publisher, and WebDav. Expecting much more interesting the coming months!

Conferencing – With the KON project boom, Flash meetings, PolyCom, and IM have recently become much sought resources. We have also been working our Math and Literacy counterparts who have also been experimenting with PolyComm to deliver district wide PD.

Tech PD Sessions – We have been offering After school PD sessions for the district with topics ranging from basic File Management to Scanning/Image Editing to Communications.

One to Wonders initiative is going full steam ahead with full day, one to one teacher mentoring. Very positive impact!

Wikis are becoming popular. Thanks to Jeff, I actually look like I know what I’m talking about.

The SMARTBoards are coming! The SMARTBoards are coming! Our district has just purchased an additional 40 SB’s for classrooms. Training for this resource has been popular request and will be increasing in coming months. This all part of a district Tech initiative code-named FireFly!

Had fun (and success) with a claymation unit at CCS. Students loved it. Thanks again to the many mentor responses to my emails regarding this topic.

Speaking of responses to emails…..I would close this report with a call for a giant, collaborative round of applause for the tech mentors and supporting personnel (MJ, Dawn, Kevin, all the Supervisors, etc). The sharing of ideas and help is incredible and unparalleled by any group I’ve seen! Mucho clapping!