January+7

toc Welcome, and it's great to see so many people get involved in this process. One of the ideas is to be able to come into these meetings and continue to get those of us who are attending to be able to both contribute and take away some new knowledge from each of these events. Make sure to email Sue Sheffer of Jeff Rothenberger to be added to the Google Docs email list about upcoming dates.

Congrats to Jim Gates for his award for [|his blog] for Best Resource Sharing Blog.

=Finalize plans for CFF Collaboration Days=


 * The next Central PA CFF Day is for Language Arts. See the English Information page for more info, including a map to area restaurants. Remember, parking is at the church across the street. In case of inclement weather, check the news for Warwick School District as to whether the day will still be on or not.
 * The event will be BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop...and charger).
 * We are still looking for teachers to present sessions during the day. This day will be for them to share ideas as well as come out with new ones. We are also looking for coaches to blog each session by taking notes on this wikispace. The teacher sessions are aimed to share educational ideas. We are not looking for technical things from the teachers. This is what coaches will be able to do.
 * Coaches are able to sign up for technical sessions. These will be short, 20-minute sessions that provide for //how// to use various technologies.
 * There are four big labs (30 people in each), a smaller lab that holds 12, the library, and the LGI room to do some of these sessions. The LGI does NOT have an Interactive WhiteBoard (IWB). There will also be other rooms available throughout the day that we will be able to access if necessary.
 * The teacher sessions will not overlap with the coach sessions, so you will still be available to help your teachers if they are presenting a session.
 * If you or one of your teachers are looking to sign up for a session, please sign up //**by January 15**//.
 * Teachers should create an Action Plan/Step for how to progress from this point in time. This will help add closure and reflection for each of the teachers. What did you get out of the day? What do you plan on doing with the information you obtained? How are you going to work with your coach from here on out? What would I like to learn more about? Coaches should sit with their teachers and work on some of the reflection.
 * Remember that the wikis are here to help us to collaborate. However, it is not the only tool you can use to collaborate. You can use phones, email, Skype, blogs, etc. to collaborate. Just because the day ends does not mean that you cannot continue to collaborate amongst colleagues. We are modeling a wonderful initiative here to show the rest of the state how CFF can work.
 * Begin signing up for Science and Social Studies days (if we use the same set up for the agenda, we can use the same sign up process. We'll just duplicate what we have for this one).

=**Discussion**=

How we get everyone to buy into the change?
21st Century Skills ([|http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/).] Many of us are very lucky to have administrators and districts that buy into the process that is involved in CFF. We have been working very hard and closely with our teachers, but have we been involving our administrators?

media type="file" key="Did you Know 4.mov" width="425" height="425" [| Karl Fisch's Did You Know 4.0]

media type="custom" key="408005" [|42]

Jeff Rothenberger worked from this to make his own version. He would like to give credit to Barry Bachenheimer, who creatd the original version shown above. media type="file" key="Writing43.mov" width="425" height="425"

With the videos above in mind, what can be done to move us to the next step?

=Q and A=
 * Display issues with projectors: Can be fixed in the System Preferences (Apple).
 * What about student teachers in CFF classrooms? Many of us feel that the student teacher should use the technology, and at first, it should be monitored closely by the classroom teacher. An issue that comes up is what happens when the student teachers needs to use the laptop? Some districts might be able to image another computer for the student teacher, but if not, it is important to make sure that the teacher laptop is for use in instruction. The teacher signed the computer back in to the tech staff/coach, and then it gets signed back out to the student teacher.
 * I have a content teacher that works with a learning support teacher for co-teaching. The teacher is a CFF teacher, but the co-teacher is not. What can be done to help the co-teacher? Some districts say that if you are going to be using the CFF equipment, then you should also take the eMbedded Learning course.
 * Think about this: A teacher had posed the question, "Can you think of another career where the use of technology is optional?" There are so many corporations that say, "You //MUST// use this technology!" and if you don't, then you lose your job! It is amazing the amount of leeway that is given to educators in these cases.
 * Are there any ideas that we need to have for administrators (principals, superintendents, etc.) to help make sure they get more involved. We are at the point where we have "awareness" of CFF, but that's about it. It is time to make the connections to start looking at the creative part of education and making the classes more student-centered, creative, and collaborative while //STILL// covering all of the content. If you have any ideas, email Joanne Romano.
 * If you haven't been to the trainings that your classroom teachers have been to, maybe you should look at attending some of these presentations. You are there to coach the teachers in improving instruction, it's important you are also up to date with all of the other initiatives out there (LFS, RTI, etc.).
 * Setting meetings on a regular basis with the admin team is important to make sure you are continuing to advance in the CFF classes. Many districts meet once a week, and it is very important to continue showing what it is teachers are doing in the classrooms, what the coaches are doing with the teachers, and what the building admin are doing to help facilitate and encourage the use of the technology.
 * You should stress that your CFF admin team should take the eMbedded Learning courses so they know what the teachers are going through in the course, and what to look for at the conclusion of the course. This way, the admin team can work //with// the teachers to make sure that they are working on moving instruction into the 21st Century.
 * In order for technology to be able to take effect, it is imperative that the users are comfortable with using the technology. If there is a movement to reimage, why not wait until the summer? If you do it in the middle of the school year, you will take away some of the familiarity that the teachers have latched onto.
 * There are many issues where Tech Directors are restricting the usage of the machines, which restricts the ability to use the machines for educational purposes. There are control issues about what should and should not be available to students (and staff).
 * The tech guys are not trying to be difficult, and oftentimes the tech guys don't understand the teachers concerns and vice versa. As a coach, you often act as a buffer between the two to try and get them to understand the views of the other side.
 * When there are tech issues and we know there is a solution at one district, maybe that tech director/person should host a meeting to show others how to address the problem. Make sure your tech people are signed up to the listserve. And is there a possibility that the CFF higher-ups could say, as part of the grant, that networks must do this and teachers must have access to that, which would eliminate much of the power struggle that is currently out there.
 * Is "Flip-the-Switch" required? When should it be done? The biggest idea is to do it when you legislator can come see it. Contact your legislators to see when they can show up. As you begin organizing it, prepare those that will be participation (students, teachers, administrators, etc.). This is to be a tremendous amount of publicity for advocation for CFF, and there will be days where you will want to present to the school board, go to Senate sessions, etc. to make sure that the CFF advocacy is out there.

=Upcoming Meetings= CFF English Day: Wednesday, January 30, Warwick High School PETE&C: Virtual Meeting: February 14, 10 AM, Jim Gates will contact us as to how we will run this meeting CFF Social Studies Day: Wednesday, February 20, Warwick High School CFF Science Day: Tuesday, March 4, Warwick High School Coaches Meeting: Monday, March 31 Central York School District 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM (Total sharing agenda)
 * Coaches Day Saturday, February 9 Hershey Lodge and Convention Center
 * The Actual Conference: February 11 & 12 Hershey Lodge and Convention Center