MARSHA
RATZEL
Diary #12
Some
Time to Rest,
And Puzzle Over the Future
After a hectic week, this week spelled a restful time. A time to sit back and take account of what's been happening and to make plans. So I can say that I've appreciated the quiet and opportunity to think.
Our district
is suffering from a budget cutting malaise. Almost 7% of next year's operating
budget must be trimmed which makes for a great deal of talk and anxiety.
Our state has created a formula that squeezes the more populated and affluent
areas by redistributing the tax dollars to the rural and less populated
areas. Technology purchases are made from capital dollars that are locally
controlled and not a part of the operating budget. So while my job is
in jeopardy, the computers, digital cameras, scanners, video,software,
and buildings themselves are moving full steam ahead. Quite a contrast.
No one cares what I think and I'm not going to be able to influence the
process. So I'm regrouping to accept whatever comes my way and hope for
the best.
On to brighter stars
Our brightest star this week is Marco Polo. A search tool that has been provided by WorldCom. It helps teachers find high quality lesson content that is tied to curriculum standards. We taught a session for our district's Alliance class. Our district in concert with a local university provides a master's program for brand new teachers. They go to school once a week for a year to complete most of their requirements. So this week the Alliance wanted to learn how to do online lesson planning.
The slick part of MarcoPolo is that you can teach the tool to K-12 teachers --- the lessons are divided into grade level bands. The training manual has excellent presentation tools, so it's easy training to implement. I wish there were more lessons in the database, so I'm hoping to help our teachers craft those lessons and submit them. Wouldn't that be a neat way to move this tool into more of an interactive repository? And what terrific feedback for teachers. Because not all lessons are accepted --- they have to meet content standards and provide unique ways to come to understanding.
Our virtual field trip is coming to an end. Unfortunately this end coincided with conferences. So getting teachers to consider doing a summative evaluation was impossible. Fortunately, the field trip's archival features allows teachers to time shift last week's adventure into this week. I'll be back into all those buildings trying to make sure our teachers don't just let the trip fade without pausing to help the kids summarize their experience and reflect on the learning that took place. I've been working on a Zoomerang survey to send to teachers because data speaks volumes.I presented the field trip to a sub-committee of the Board of Education this week. They seemed to see the value in the effort and asked neat questions. The most important question for next year is...how willwe fund it? I have decided to pursue funding the project through some type of grant tapestry.
I've been collecting parents that I've met through PTA presentations, board members who know about grant writing, teachers, students and other colleagues who can help me find a way to continue this field trip in the face of budget cuts. It will be challenging, but I won't dismiss this learning vehicle because of a funding crisis. I'm hoping where there's a will there's a way.
How do you invigorate early 19th Century history?
I also got to visit in the buildings during conferences. Met with lots of teachers about new ideas --- how to move art teachers into using technology more effectively in the middle schools. We want them to use technology tools and need to provide a very high end training support. But what an opportunity to give middle schoolers access to graphic design tools like Photoshop. I also brainstormed with library media specialists about how to invigorate their study of US history in the 1800s. They feel frustrated with student lack of interest and want to create a WebQuest. I'm not sure WebQuesting is the answer, but I talked with them and agree that the Web can give them access to primary documents. But now I need to wrestle with how to make those materials reading level accessible to students. And how to help them create meaning.....quite a task. So you can see that week has been full of thinking and planning. Planning on how to survive through a budget cut and knowing more severe cuts will come the school year after next. Planning on how to fund dreams in the absence of available dollars. But I enjoyed the relative peace of the week. Now I'm ready for a little excitement next week.
