And They're Off!

I'm noting a Red Letter Day.


The two high schools now have their laptops.


The classes are on their way to gamedom.


Let us rejoice and be glad!

Into It

I think we're on the right track with Globaloria. Greenbrier West's class has 16 students and Greenbrier East has 9 at present. Surveys have been completed and the students are getting a handle on the goals of the class. Teachers have been in contact with WVCPD to fill out purchase orders for Flash licensing. The laptops are to be delivered to the two schools next week, and Maitreyi will be visiting to install Flash on both desktops and laptops. It's been a liong haul to get this far; now the real fun begins.

I've moved into the background as the teachers have taken hold of their classes and it's full speed ahead. My job now is to stop in occasionally and make sure everyone is happy and the materials and hardware are working. Whew!

The new technology goals for the state, which have trickled down to our county with a vengeance, are causing both excitement and consternation leading to anxiety. Though we have a good number of computers, our labs are overflowing at all times of the day, and often there are slowdowns and freezes that are frustrating to say the least. Then there are the blocked sites - a problem particularly annoying to the Globaloria teachers. I remain cautiously hopeful that these things will sort themselves out before everyone falls to pieces, though it may be close!

Nothing else new to report - we soldier on.

And So It Begins...

The year is off to a shaky start with the computers down, files missing and everyone in a panic.
All four of my schools have "issues" with the computers, and the tech staff has been run ragged for the past two weeks trying to get the Edline pages and file folders up and running. WVDE has made things extra-difficult by not providing logins for the programs we want to begin - Acuity and Writing Roadmap. WESTEST results were late in coming, so we're trying to catch up and "disaggregate" the results. And so it goes....

The GOOD NEWS is that the Globaloria classes at East and West are unfolding nicely, thanks to the hard work of the teachers involved. Surveys are getting completed; blogs are being set up, and the students are bringing in their permission slips - and showing lots of enthusiasm for the program. We're looking forward to the installation of Flash on the laptops and desktops in both schools. The laptops are in, and the tech staff has promised delivery to the schools this week.