technology

Geeking Out at #CUE15

/ Catherine Cabiness-Atkinson, Ed.D. / Leave a comment

If you’re looking for a place to recharge and reconnect, the CUE Annual Conference is the place to be.  Like last year, I had a blast!  It was great to meet new techies colleagues, reconnect with old ones, and share the triumphs and pitfalls of technology integration in the classroom.

This year’s offerings were larger than the last.  There were SOOOO many workshops and not enough time.  In fact, when I set up my Sched, I actually booked two to three workshops for each time period so that if one room was full, I had backup options.  And believe me when I say that I’m thankful for those backup options!

My take-aways from these past few days include…

  • Interest-based learning –> “What matters to you, matters!” – Glenn Warren
  • Voxer is a means to connect & collaborate
  • Finding the citation for an image taken from the Internet is quite easy
  • Bring humor into the situation when someone asks a question that is Googleable (yes, I know that is probably not a word) –> lmgtfy.com
Though this type of conference can be taxing on the mind (there is so much to remember and process…), it was totally worth it when one factors in the relationships built over shared triumphs and frustrations when integrating technology into the curriculum and PD. I left Palm Springs this morning with a heavy heart because I know that I have to wait a full year for the next CUE conference.  Having said that, I am confident that the connections made this past weekend will continue to grow as we reach out to each over over Twittersphere…and perhaps maybe Voxer.  😉

Moving Mountains

/ Catherine Cabiness-Atkinson, Ed.D. / Leave a comment
This past weekend has been fraught with dreams in which I was unable to control anything around me.  Having a background in psychology and an interest in dream interpretation, I took that to mean that I was internalizing a bunch of stress because I was locked out of my TodaysMeet account that I created using my GAFE credentials.  I previously posted my frustrations because this is not the first time that I have had to go WAY of out my way to get access to a technology tool that in all reality should be open.
And just to make things clear.  TodaysMeet was not blocked by my district’s firewall.  But I was unable to get the password reset email from TodaysMeet because we are unable to receive emails from outside of our domain.  
Because of my panicked emails which I sent to the Powers-that-Be, I started my day with a phone call from our Director of Technology who then spoke with “someone” in IS.  And within five minutes (I’m not exaggerating)…someone from IS called my room.  They wanted to see what was happening on my end.  
It was interesting to watch them work through all of the possible solutions to rectify my problem (we were screen-sharing).  But I know a little about technology, so I tried to troubleshoot things on my end before I sent the email last Friday.  I even troubleshooted this weekend on my home computer using my own network thinking that it was a district firewall issue.
And it was.  
It turns out that the password email I sent last Friday, prompted TodaysMeet to not accept my username/password combination even though I knew it was the right one.  The problem was that my GAFE account could not receive the password reset email from TodaysMeet because they are outside of our domain.
I asked if IS could somehow for one hour lift the ban on outside entities sending to my GAFE account so that I could see if TodaysMeet actually sent me a password reset email. I was told (by two very patient IS techs) that that kind of request needed to go up much higher than them.  They mentioned something about the Assistant Director of IT or even our Cabinet (we’re talking all of the Assistant Supts AND the Superintendent) being the only ones who could approve that kind of request.  
Geesh.  Things were getting serious.
I told the two IS techs that this was an expedited request because I needed the transcripts from my TodaysMeet classes for my CUE presentation.  I told them that it didn’t really matter if I could use my GAFE account ever again with TodaysMeet…I just needed the transcripts.  
They said they would try their best.
About 15 minutes later, my phone rang again.  It was the two techies from IS.  They asked me to check my GAFE email.  
My latest email was from TodaysMeet with a link to reset my password.
What?!?!
So, I immediately reset my password and logged in to my TodaysMeet account.  I finally had access to my transcripts.  I.mean.seriously.  Someone moved mountains for me.  And believe me when I say that I’m so very grateful.  
I have so many people to thank…starting with the two techies in IS (D+G), my principal, the Director of Technology, the Assistant Superintendent, and whomever gave the GREEN LIGHT to let an outside entity send an email to my GAFE account.  
All is right with the world again.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to sleep much better tonight. 

Late to the Party

/ Catherine Cabiness-Atkinson, Ed.D. / Leave a comment

I don’t know what took me so long, but all of the stars finally aligned last week to show me the way of documenting the learning journey of my students using Instagram.  For many years, photos of my students were featured on my class website…but it was so inclusive and isolated.

I noticed on my personal Instagram account that other educators were using Instagram to feature their student work and projects…and I figured, why not?  Why not!  I took to Instagram and though it was not as easy as I thought, I managed to find several classrooms to follow.  Discovering a couple of hashtags that connect educators together on Instagram was also a nice find (#teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram).

I had the account, the hashtags, and my students were already immune to my taking pictures of them…nothing was holding me back.

Time to move forward.

My students have been working feverishly on a variety of projects for our Feudal Europe Unit (#lifeinfeudaleurope).  I only have them for two more weeks before a new batch of 7th graders walk through my door.  So I’m trying to squeeze every last bit of their technical knowledge and creative prowess out of them.  I will be featuring their projects at #CUE15 and at the 7th Annual GATE Webinar Series for UCI Extension.  I tell you, I am just the facilitator of this journey…my students are the ones who are doing the labor.  And I’m documenting every minute!