565 wk 5

I have begun reading articles on change and it has proven to be quite an in depth topic. I am slowly learning that if you really want to have real change you cannot do it on your own. I have always been and independent operator, but if I needed help I could always talk people into it. Real change requires more communication than that. I have also started to interview some of my classmates on the change game, it sounds like I really missed a great experience. Kara told me that the most important thing she learned is communication. Talking to one group of people, going to talk to another group, and then going back to check on the first group. In other words VERY thorough communication. I look forward to learning more about this topic.

565 wk 4

Wow! Its nice to be back, but it is busy. I have been married for one month (which is great) but I have only been home for a few days and I have lots to do. Getting back into the swing of things is tough, but I have enjoyed exploring these leadership topics this week. I know that I can always improve my leadership skills, especially when it comes to leading in technology. I also enjoyed going throught the analysis of change worksheet because it helped me see the process of change and that it does not come right away. It was nice to think through this process, instead of just winging it like I usually do!

565 WK 3

This week I have semi enjoyed the videos I watched during the course work. Some where a bit repetitive, but I feel as though there are some good points. I especially like the discussion about mellinals and how they relate to older (sorry veteran) teachers. This has been a really big thing in my young career because I came in 3 years ago with a bunch of energy, ideas, and a world beater attitude. Not that any of that is bad and not that any of it has worn off, but there was some adjustment from my ideas to the real world. I have made a lot of changes to my program since I started teaching and a lot of these changes are new tricks that are technology based. I have always known how to value experience and take the advice of those who have been there. There WAS a teacher that started the same time as me that wanted to change everything in her area and did not listen to anyone. She was too smart and too stubborn, and now she is looking for a job. I apprecieate the help and guidance of other teachers and my administration and I mix that with my own feelings and ideas and hopefully when the day is done I continue to grow and make changes, learn, and get better at this job.

565 wk 2

This week I am very interested in looking at statistics for my district. I have used WINSS and the DPI site before for my PDP, but I have never looked at testing or anything like that. There is a lot of information on these sites and it is interesting to see how your school performs and how it compares to other schools in your area and the state. I was glad to see that Freedom performed well and it averaged about what I expected. It is also interesting to see how the scores can fluctuate from year to year. I don't know how to drastically improve these scores and since I am not a regular ed teacher, I am not going to be the one to tell the math department (for example) that they need to do a better job. I am looking forward to hearing the ideas and opinions of others on this topic!

565 wk 1

I am crazy busy and this is the latest I have ever posted a blog. I have not even started course work for this week which is also uncharacteristic. I am working 60+ hours a week which is less than I have for most of the year, but still too much to have time for homework. I am moving into my new house, painting, and redecorating. The wedding is only 3 weeks away and my bride and I are still working on that too! Oh well, I dont know what to expect from this class, I know its about leadership in our schools, but that is hard when your not even off probationary status yet. I am looking forward to finishing up this program, I have learned a lot more than I thought I would, I have enjoyed myself to a certain extent, but I am ready to be done.

555 blog 3

Well I have made good use of our time off in the last couple of weeks and I feel like I have the course work under control. I have been crazy busy with our semester car projects at school and I feel like we are way behind, but I think every spring goes like that. This week I tackled the 3.1 culminating experience proposal and I must say that it was very frustrating at the start because I did not have a clue where I was going, but now I am looking forward to 599. I think I have a great proposal and a good project to put into my classwork and classroom. I am going to explore the Auto Repair Reference Center which is an online resource for automotives. It is full of information on vehicle repair and it will be a great tool for my students. I feel like the end is near for us, but yet so far away!

555 blog 2

We are on spring break this week and I am sadly taking the time to do most of my course work. This week I am working on my artifacts and standards for my portfolio. I am very glad that we have used google docs throughout this program as it is very easy to link documents to our portfolio websites. I made an e-portfolio when I was at Stout and I spent a ton of time scanning documents and trying to upload to the portfolio.

This process thus far has gone pretty well. I found the creation of my Google site pretty easy. I have already made all of the pages that I need and I am finishing up with all of the artifacts and reflections to go along with them. I am glad to say that I have found 1 or more artifacts for each class that we have taken thus far and I am hoping to be able to keep up to date as we progress through our last classes. I look forward to finishing this portfolio and this program!