July 19, 2011

Installed GEOGEBRA on Macs in lab.

Talked to DIS about our connectivity issues - they have a possible solution but need to discuss with ADE.

Tested WAN connectivity while dialed into a video conference - no measurable difference.

New voice mail system should be installed today.

Scheduled to meet with Howard Technology and Xirrus to do a site survey of our building - looking at better coverage solutions.

Offered suggestions to help a school get started with Facebook:

I would create a page instead of a group. People can LIKE the page and get
updates that are posted there. Some schools create one page for the
district and then separate pages for each building. Then, assign "admins"
to oversee the pages (you do that in FB). Once the page is created, spread
the word and have people LIKE the page(s). Actually before that, I would
ask a couple folks (non page admins) to LIKE it and make sure they are getting
any updates being posted. Once you know everything works, spread the
word. In the page settings, you can set who is or is not allowed to post
new contect (pictures, posts, etc). I believe anyone can respond to an
existing post, no matter who posted it though. A couple schools I have
talked to about this had early issues with inappropriate content, but that was
handled with the person/people specifically and the content removed by one of
the page admins. I think it is a great way to reach out to parents,
students and community members because you are PUSHING the info to them. I
One school used theirs a LOT during the bad weather for closures, etc. Yes,
they still did the TV thing and the radio thing, but the word spread much more
quickly through FB than any other manner. They even have a phone system
that calls folks but people knew about the closure from FB long before they got
that phone call!

As a side note, I had someone ask me how one would tie Angry Birds into classroom lessons. i just happened to have saved this page that offers up some excellent ways to do just that:
http://thislooksgood.poste​rous.com/using-angry-birds​-to-teach-math-history-and​-s