Pre-Observation Chat

DeLana Lightfoot[8:00:54 AM] has joined the chat.

Lisa Rogers[8:01:03 AM]: noticed you were on - so are we ready?

DeLana Lightfoot[8:01:35 AM]: I do have a cup of coffee...so, I guess I'm ready. How are you today?

Lisa Rogers[8:02:07 AM]: Good - I did my short walk this morning. Poor Tiger - didn't make it

DeLana Lightfoot[8:03:00 AM]: Yeah...he did get a better trophy though. His daughter was born yesterday.

Lisa Rogers[8:04:46 AM]: So right - I think we are to talk about what we need to think about when we talk to our mentoree. Does your mentoree have a lesson in mind? I'm going to be working with a 7th grade science teacher that needs to add Access database to the curriculum.

DeLana Lightfoot[8:06:57 AM]: I do have a mentee that has given me a sample lesson plan. She teaches high school health. She has a lesson plan on drug abuse that she work like to incorporate more technology into. She is open to any new ideas on technology.

Lisa Rogers[8:07:41 AM]: Are you considering something like United Streaming, or creating a PowerPoint?

DeLana Lightfoot[8:08:44 AM]: She has suggested using powerpoint to present all data students gather.

Lisa Rogers[8:10:17 AM]: Do the students have computer lab access or will they do this out home? If they are in the lab computer lab management skills will be to be considered.

DeLana Lightfoot[8:12:05 AM]: We have a mobile, wireless computer lab with 24 stations that can come to her classroom. I totally agree about the lab management skills. Her class will have 9th through 12th grade students mixed. There will be all levels of maturity. Good times!

Lisa Rogers[8:13:39 AM]: Sounds great - our COWS (computers on wheels) aren't very reliable, so lessons need to be adjusted because only half of them work at a time. She might need some alternative assignments. How will she model what she wants the students to do?

DeLana Lightfoot[8:15:49 AM]: I think it is always a good policy to create a sample project of what you are expecting the students to do. Most students seem to learn and problem solve more easily if you show them detailed examples of their expected outcomes. What do you think?

Lisa Rogers[8:16:47 AM]: I agree, I usually create a barely passing one and tell them I know they can do better than this. What about reluctant students? How will they be encouraged to participate?

DeLana Lightfoot[8:21:12 AM]: Well...besides the obvious, health is a requirement to graduate, I think pairing students together for group work would help. Most students are reluctant because they are unfamiliar with technology. I know group work lends itself to promote laziness on some students parts, so, grades can be given on completed powerpoint, individual work (graded by instructor) and individual work graded by partner. Graded can then be averaged to coompile one overall final grade for each student.

Lisa Rogers[8:22:15 AM]: I know that this is probably not the first Powerpoint these kids have created, but consider technology guidelines. So many times they focus on the bells and whistles and forget the information. Rubrics work good for focusing expectations. What will be the teachers goal for the students?

DeLana Lightfoot[8:25:18 AM]: Yes! I love rubrics. Students can then choose what grade they want based on how much work they want to do. It also saves the instructor from explaining the directions 500 different times. Sometimes to the same kids! Her objective for her students is to find and document information about current commonly abused drugs, like cheese, for example.

Lisa Rogers[8:26:46 AM]: I'm always amazed at the capable kids that choose to do the minimum. What are you goals for the teacher and what are your professional goals?

Lisa Rogers[8:30:02 AM]: Sounds like you have it considered everything. Now it's my turn. The science teacher is required this year to teach Access. She wants the students to create a database of body systems and then do some searches. We will be a 1-1 campus so every student will have a laptop.

DeLana Lightfoot[8:31:11 AM]: My goals for the teacher are to continue to incorporate technology into her lessons. Health is an important course for the kids. Especially in our district . I think the more she uses technology...the more the students will stay engaged and focused on her lessons and will retain more vital information such as drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, exercise, etc. My professional goal is to continue to research and help her find new and exciting ways to introduce technology into each of her lessons. We don't want to get stale and boring.

Lisa Rogers[8:31:57 AM]: I fyou have access to United Streaming there are some great videos about drug abuse. We use them during our advisory time.

DeLana Lightfoot[8:31:59 AM]: Okay. I am not familiar with Access.

Lisa Rogers[8:32:21 AM]: It's Microsoft's database

DeLana Lightfoot[8:34:32 AM]: Okay. I will ask the same question to you about lab computer management skills. We continually have a problem with students trying to get around the firewall to visit myspace.

Lisa Rogers[8:35:53 AM]: I know, that and the music sites. As soon as you block them they find another proxy. Since we are going into unfamiliar waters with the 1-1, classroom management is going to be a big issue, what to do if a student doesn't bring his laptop, or it's not charged or he has lost his computer priv.ledges? Most rooms will have to be rearranged, you don't want to be standing at the front, looking at a bunch of laptop lids and no faces. We have lots of questions but not many answers. We will

DeLana Lightfoot[8:38:18 AM]: So...you check the laptop out to students and they are responsible for them? Brining them to class, etc? Wow...that always amazes me. What about a seating chart/system that has the students sitting a certain way for ease of presentation and teaching communication.

Lisa Rogers[8:42:30 AM]: I know, the kids are assigned a laptop at the beginning of the school year and it has their text books installed on it. They are responsible for charging it every night and bringing it to school every day. This from students who can't manage to bring a pencil every day. They have piloted the program at 1 elementary school with 5th and 6th graders and are moving it to the middle school this year. It will be very interesting time. Every class room has a projector that is mounted in the ceiling and faces the board.  The teacher will be providing step by step instructions on how to create the database and will have part of a database finished to show as an example.

DeLana Lightfoot[8:46:42 AM]: Awsome. Presentation using the projector is great. Students can observe the presentation while also working on their laptap at the same time. (I hope they can multi-task! This sounds like an awesome thing for these students. Do you have a way to monitor their computer activity during classtime? Other than walking up behind them to see where they are and what they are doing? Earlier in some discussions, someone was talking about some software that would do this? I use remote desktop to do this, but I have a mac lab.

Lisa Rogers[8:48:35 AM]: I hope they have considered some monitoring software. We teachers are usually the last to know. I have never had anything in my labs for the past 9 years.

DeLana Lightfoot[8:50:03 AM]: I'm looking through the posts from the earlier module to find what that software is. What other problems do you anticipate the teacher encountering?

Lisa Rogers[8:53:08 AM]: The range of abilities, you always have some that finish in no time and some that never finish. she will have to have some enrichment activites and some way to make modifications. The teachers goal for her students will be to produce a report from some specific searches, like what body systmes are involved in respiration. This teacher is very tech-savy so my goal for her is to be as comfortable with the database software as she is with the other software products.  My professional goals will be to not make too many suggestions, but help the teacher discover the answers for herself.

DeLana Lightfoot[8:59:17 AM]: Sounds good. Enrichment activities is a very good idea. I think this is a must. You certainly know the students well in that some will finish very quickly while others are just logging in. I did find some information on the monitoring software. SycronEyes or GenevaLogic. Here is a website for GenevaLogic Vision 6. http://www.touchboards.com/GenevaLogic/GenevaLogic_Vision-Upgrade-SyncronEyes.asp

Lisa Rogers[8:59:50 AM]: Thanks I'll check into it. Do you think we have covered everything we need to? 

DeLana Lightfoot[9:00:25 AM]: I also sent a screen shot for you to look at over in the attachments. Hopefully this will be something you can use. I think we have. How long have you been teaching?

Lisa Rogers[9:03:32 AM]: 7 years, I started as a tech aide and then got my teaching certificate. I have a degree in Computer Science so technology was a fit for me. I really love teaching technology applications, but since we are going to 1-1 that class has been eliminated. Next year I will be helping the teachers figure out ways to use the laptops and teach with their projectors. I'm excited about it. I will email you the transcript so you can put it into your webpage.

DeLana Lightfoot[9:04:49 AM]: Thanks so much. Have a great day. Good luck with you daughter. Thanks for all your help and information.

Lisa Rogers[9:05:29 AM]: It's suppose to be hot, so you better have an early tee time.

DeLana Lightfoot[9:06:32 AM]: Jake and I are about to go play golf. He's 7 and full of energy. Hopefully...he won't beat me too bad. Thanks.

Lisa Rogers[9:08:06 AM] has left the chat.

DeLana Lightfoot[9:08:19 AM] has left the chat.