Sean Sharp’s ITRT Blog

This is cross-posted at my VSTE Ning Blog.

Obe Hostetter’s email to the VSTE ITRT Listserv got me to thinking (nice job Obe!). He shares some fantastic resources that all of us can use as we start this school year, that is for sure.

The question that I’ve been wondering about, after reading his email, is what do other ITRTs do in terms of getting ready for a new school year? Are you refreshed with some great ideas to try? Does your school division have a specific set of assignments for you to take on as the year starts?

In Floyd County we’re pretty busy making sure that all of the new teachers to our school division are set up and feel reasonably comfortable with the software and hardware that they’ll be using every day. Starting school, especially for a new teacher, is a huge undertaking. With this in mind, we try not to overwhelm them with too much to learn. In addition to this I sit down with our computer lab assistants and teachers and plan out the first few months of the year. This involves going over the SOLs that the teachers are covering and then brainstorming ideas that they’d like to try when their students come to the computer lab. Plus we consider any special technology projects that they are interested in working on, too.

This year we’re also really pushing the integrated Internet Safety that teachers must present to their classes on a daily basis. I imagine it will take some specific, concerted efforts on our part to help teachers provide those safety nuggets to their students. Does anyone else want to share what they do to help get their school year off to a good start?

The Random Thoughts of Louis Schmier

Should teaching be any different? It takes a lot of work to live, care, and love; it is a lot of work to reflect, articulate, imagine, devise, activate; it is a lot of work to prepare, design, deliver, evaluate to what extent it worked or needs reworking; it is a lot of work to get to know each student, to be in their thoughts and emotions; and so, it is a lot of work to know of the currents students are swimming against in order to offer the support and encouragement for each of them to have a chance to make it.

Louis

I’ve always like Louis’s writing. I’ve always gotten something out of what he has to say about teaching. He’s a people guy and I like that. He reminds me on a regular basis, through stories and anecdotes, what teaching is all about at the center and core. Good stuff to ponder as we roll into a new school year.

It’s Time to Reboot America. | Rebooting America

This came via dana boyd’s blog and I’ve started reading the introduction. What I think about in terms of this book (which can be downloaded here as a pdf file) is that it is our students that will continue to have the chance to change the way our representative government works. Change is slow and churning at times I know, but it seems to me that the essays in this book address a wide range of issues that involve our connectedness in ways not too often expressed. It’s worth a look over, I think.