FRIT 7739 Week 5

Hello (and goodbye Hurricane Irma)! Why is it that shorter school weeks are more chaotic than normal 5 day school weeks? After having Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off due to Irma, I dove right into my busy schedule upon returning on Thursday. My main goal for September is to ensure all students have received their Microsoft Surfaces in order to make our innovative technology class run smoothly. We are currently having issues with students refusing to complete the Digital Citizenship course and sign the permission form; however, the biggest issue I am noticing (and the main reason we are delayed in our full deployment) is parents. It's quite unbelievable how many emails I have received from parents saying technology has no place in the classroom and "technology is what makes my child have bad grades" (that is a real quote from a parent). I am spending an exhausting amount of time responding to parents, explaining the benefits of technology in the classroom and the path of a 21st century learner. The majority of parents end up warming up to the idea of their child having a Microsoft Surface in the classroom, but a few parents have stood their group saying "we are creating a world of social media obsessed robots" (another real quote from a parent). Besides that, my other weekly goals involve finalizing my face-to-face staff development where I will deliver a lesson on teacher digital citizenship and Office Mix and working with our iSchool team to develop a training for my Gladiator Tech team.

TOTAL HOURS: 6 HOURS