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My digital pen arrived today in a huge box

And it works now. 

Very nice since I am teaching math and science this year and I think it will come in handy.  Took 4 days to accomplish and most of that was travel time.

I’ve been fighting a problem with my Wireless Slate since I came back to the lab (over a week).

I finally bit the bullet and filled out a customer service form and shocker of all shock, I got a response the same day!  About two hours later.

After troubleshooting all morning (I’m out of here at 1:30) tech support is sending me a new pen.

I actually think that will fix it because I finally turned my old one on at the house, and it is working both there and here.

Someone on tweeter keeps asking for ideas for a motivational speech for the first day or week of school. Sorry, but please don’t waste my time.

I’ve felt that way since day 1.  The first week of school is hard — I’m usually in tears at least once that week.  The worst year is the year we got a new principal, dog’s eye popped out of her head the weekend before we reported, and I was just stressed out.  Someone said something nice to me about my dogs and I just melted down in the office.

Another year, same principal, they kept telling me my teaching schedule and I melted down when I found I out I was getting kids for math who didn’t speak English.  That actually turned out to be cool.

I’m sure I’m not the only teacher who has personal problems going on the first week and who is stressed out over their schedule and who they want to deal with it.

So here’s what I DO want.  I want you to tell me my schedule as soon as possible and room assignments.  I want you to spell out any procedures that have changed or are important (we’re getting a new computerized attendance system which will probably end up being a major stressor since I’m campus technologist.

Then get out of my way so I can get my room ready, get my lesson plans ready and my first couple of week, handouts and ready.

AND LET ME TEACH!

I like teaching.  Don’t like sitting in meetings.

I have two Smart Board Wireless Slates, and so far I have been extremely unhappy.

I got the first one about a year and a half ago, and when I came back to school last year, it completely stopped working.  I charged it, read all the technical support articles and even put in a trouble ticket.  I finally decided that it needed a new battery, ordered it for a small fortune and continued to wait.

Finally in late October (months after the ticket was put in), I got a response and was told how to completely reset it.  It worked!  I was able to cancel the order of the battery and get on with my life.

Then I got a second one in February, but it came with a scratch in the plexiglass.  Filled out a second support ticket, they said they would send me a new cover, but it has never arrived.

So do you wonder why I haven’t called their tech support and asked them for help?  This year the second Wireless slate isn’t working right — the mouse work fine but the pen doesn’t?  I’ve got through their troubleshooting site, reinstalled the software and it still doesn’t work.  It was in June.

<sigh>

Gong good — the bad part about the fact I don’t like to drive in traffic when I can leave 15 minutes early and miss it , is that you’re the first or second in the building and I end up supervising/entertaining, rather than getting something done.

Today went well, all but 3rd period spent all of hte class period on Alice (Okay, people could have snuck off and I didn’t notice but came back).

Third period wanted to know how to blow things up (well, one kid did), showed him out to set something on fire (make flame small, use a for loop to increase it size), and suggested using Alice to throw body parts around.

I always START them thinking but don’t give the entire answer.  Works well for me.

Stil having fun, and the admin in charge said that one group of kids said my class was the most fun.

It’s going well, we have somewhere around 30 students, not bad for a program that has gotten very little publicity.  We will still be enrolling tomorrow.

I’ve got about 5 students each of 4 class periods.  Nice kids, though the third period didn’t want to play, and I have run into one kid who claims to have done Alice before.

We signed supplement pay forms for last weeks hours and this weeks, don’t have biometric clock codes, which is fine.

Also found out today that when my pay gets approved late, they are pushing through the pay so that’s why I have gotten paid on the 1st twice.  (Supplemental pay only).  Weird, in years past, they didn’t care how long it took to pay me.

Man, I am so glad to be home and not traveling in the foreseeable future.  Seriously.

This trip wasn’t bad.  Kansas City International TSA was very nice and very kind.  DFW wasn’t bad, but they always stress me out.  Difference I believe – the total number of people they have to deal with.  There were three people in the KCI area when I was going through.  Easily 25-50 at DFW.

I spent a lot of the day sleeping, but that’s okay.  Next week is going  to be busy and I need the extra sleep to heal.  My knees are really bothering me, and I’m seriously thinking of getting a temporary handicapped pass just because any type of shopping is really wearing me out.

I packed well, was only missing one sock and charger for phone.  Not bad considering everything I do need to take with me.

I am REALLY looking forward to the next two weeks and our early start program.  I got told about this about a week and a half ago.

Okay, actually we were asked to volunteer for it back in July.

Basically we’re asking 9th graders to come back early, from 8:30 – 1:30 and we’re going to feed them breakfast and lunch for two weeks, Monday through Thursday.

Training was last Monday and pretty good.  Our goal is to connect with our students so that they know the building and have at least 4 adults they can go to for help.

Hopefully that means we’ll retain them.

It was confirmed yesterday that I can participate.

I am basically going to with them what I did with the 8th grade girls – I am going to have them create an Alice world, using any of the characters of Alice, and I am going to start by having them go through the four tutorials.

Okay, I’m also looking forward to $20 an hour! 

I am finally home and able to reflect.

This was a really great workshop for me.  It gave me three days to concentrate on media computation and how I want to use it.

I am seriously thinking of putting Python in place instead of Raptor, but I still have to find a way to teach flowchart symbols.

I’m also thinking of putting it in at the end of the year instead of Pong.

We’ll have to see.

Super workshop though, and some really good stuff.  Some can easily be adapted over to Visual Basic.  Watch this space.

Some more thoughts on the actual trip:

Most used tech items:  Scottee T-Shirts – wore on the airplane and kept the phone close.
                                          ATT Aircard – used at DFW airport and at the hotel, they almost had WiFi

Most useful place: Walmart – walked over there 4 times total, spent money there 3 times

Kindest TSA – Kansas City International Airport.