The 2007-2008 Carteret County school year has been an exciting one for those of us in the media and technology arena!  The $2 million partnership with our county government became a reality and has resulted in 1475 new computers (laptops and desktops), 264 data projectors, and 96 network printers.  In addition, several schools have received new network servers and wireless canopies. 

Now that our students and teachers have access to state-of-the-art technology, it is more important than ever that our schools support 21st Century educational opportunities.  And, it is my belief, that our school media coordinators, who spend countless hours assisting students and teachers with media and technology, are some of our most outstanding 21st Century leaders!  In an effort to support these leaders with their 21st Century initiatives, the following activities have taken place during the last eight months:

• In September, 2007, laptops were purchased for 10 of the 16 media coordinators (those who did not receive a laptop will receive one for the 2008-2009 school year!)
• 21st Century Leadership staff development sessions have taken place as scheduled
  • Oct. 24:  Distribution of laptops/Overview of the staff development opportunities
  • Dec. 7:  Research Models (Super 3/Big 6)
  • Jan. 31:  Destiny Upgrade/Document Camera Demo/Introduction to Web 2.0-Wikis
  • Feb. 20:  Summer Reading-Lexiles/More Web 2.0-FireFox, Bookmarks, RSS, Themes, Clipmarks
  • March 19:  Lexiles/More Web 2.0-blogs
• In November, 2007, 15 of the 16 media coordinators attended the North Carolina School Library Media Association Seventh Annual Conference in Winstan Salem

Throughout the year, our media coordinators have submerged themselves in new and innovative technologies and concepts.  These skills and ideas have, in turn, made a difference in the way that our teachers are teaching and our students are learning.  Now…that’s 21st Century Leadership!

Way to go, Carteret County Media Coordinators!

During the 2006-2007 school year, Director of Media and Technology, Joe Poletti, initiated a plan to purchase laptops for each of the school system’s Instructional Technology Facilitators.  The result of this initiative landed over 15 of the school system’s employees with brand-spanking new Dell Lattitude D820s.  Mr. Poletti, along with the school system’s network administrator, Harry Smith, spared nothing when it came to the specs for these machines.   

I was fortunate enough to be one of the 15+ recipients of one of these high-tech beasts, and, I must say…the result of this effort has changed the way that I do business!  The wireless capability has been a real plus for workshops and hotel stays.  The software upgrades have given me the opportunity to learn about the newest features before the students and teachers have access to the software.  Video editing, which is a total disaster with our school’s older machines, is a breeze.  I’m even willing to bet that I have added 30 minutes to my workday just by benefiting from the speed of this computer.  But, most of all, the use of this laptop along with the staff development that I have received has had a direct impact on the educational environment at Croatan High School. 

As an ITF, it is my responsibility to share my knowledge of technology with the faculty and students at my school.  I teach technology workshops each Friday for the faculty/staff and many of the topics that I have covered have been the result of the new and innovative concepts I have learned from the the Laptop Initiative training.  For example, several of our teachers who are bloggers (http://butlerj59.wordpress.com/) were not familiar with RSS.  Now, they tell me that they don’t know what they did without it!  Many of our teachers have stepped out of the box and started using Firefox and have experienced great success in their daily activities as a result of the many features and add-ons that Mozilla offers.  It is not uncommon for me to go into a teacher’s classroom and see their Google Homepage displayed on thier teaching station.  They have raved about the features such as the stop watch which they use to time student assignments.  They are convinced that this small feature has helped them with their pacing and encourages students to stay on task!  Also, several of our teachers who refused to create blogs because of the fear of complexity, have a real interest in blogging now that they have learned about the simplicity of WordPress.  

So, as you can see, the Laptop Initiative has not only changed the way that our ITFs “do business;” but, it has also inspired our teachers to grow technologically.   This will, in turn, contribute to the overall goal of our schools and entire county–to impact student achievement.  It has been a win-win situation.  Thank you, thank you to those responsible for this wonderul opportunity!! 

Three years ago, several students approached me and asked if I would sponsor a video game club at our high school.  Well, I have to say that I was somewhat reluctant at first.  For one thing, as I have aged, I have not been too involved in playing video games.  And, as a classroom teacher…in a room full of computers…I had gotten very frustrated with my “game freaks” who wanted to play computer games instead of listen to my instruction.  I do remember the days, however, when I rushed in the house after getting off of the bus to play Frogger, PacMan, and Asteroids…gosh, those were the days!  So, with an open mind (and permission from the principal!), I tried to think about the ”passion” that this select group of young people had for their activity of choice and I agreed. 

 The club now has over 25 active members and meets almost every Thursday afternoon in the Media Center for an hour and a half.  The members bring their own gaming systems and games.  Club officers are in charge of setting up and planning the meetings.  They develop agendas for the meetings that consist of ideas and discussions regarding things such as new and improved game systems, upcoming “game festivals” and tips for writing stories for games.  After the agenda items are addressed, the students are free to play their games.  They play everything from baseball to Mario to DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) to Guitar Hero.  And, yes, I even allow them to play Halo sometimes. 

 The adults who enter the Media Center on a Thursday afternoon sometimes question my sanity.  I certainly understand the skepticism, but I also believe that my committment may be making a difference in someone’s life.  I’ve seen many students get involved who might otherwise go through four years of high school without joining any extra-curricular activities.  Some of the members “appear” to be somewhat withdrawn, but, believe me…they come alive when they start talking “game stuff.”  I’ve seen students make new friends who may otherwise be sitting alone during lunch.  Our school has even listed the Video Game Club in the School Improvement Plan as a means for providing activities that reach diverse populations. 

So, overall, I believe that the VGC has been a success.  I must say, that I tried to make a little glass of lemonade three years ago with those lemons who were standing in my doorway with unkempt hair and big brown begging eyes.  Any thoughts of your own?