Project review by a Classmate

This week we had the opportunity to meet with a classmate and "present" our culminating project proposal.  Sami and I were teamed up and I had a great time learning what Sami is doing for her final project.  Once we were able to talk, (I had some internet issues that needed to be worked through and we eventually spoke over the phone) we discussed our projects.

Sami is doing a great project that will give her students knowledge about Internet safety.  She has really thought things through completely and has been able to figure out a solution to teaching students who are too young to get accounts for many of the Web 2.0 tools we have used in the program.  However, instead of presenting these items on the web, she will have the students create posters and make public address announcements using the school newsletter.  However, she could also take pictures of the students work and put that into a slide presentation and put that on her school's website.  That would also reach more audiences.

I thought that Sami has done a wonderful job with this project and it was exciting to hear her speak about this project.  I hope that she does well and that her students enjoy the project.

Post session 2

Ahh, now I'm feeling a bit better.  First, I have to give a shout out to Rachel & Sami, two great people who gave me some very kind and needed words regarding my last post.  Wow, it has been a busy week and I am so glad to be moving forward again.  I can't even believe that I finally finished 555, which BTW was two classes ago.  But, now we are on to new and hopefully a fun filled conclusion to this master's program.

I met with Louis for the second time and I am much more excited about the progress that has been made this last week.  I have started putting my project together in SMART notebook and although it is currently ideas all over the place, it will eventually turn into 6 main music lessons (two total for this project), and all will be interactive on the SMART Board, and have assessments at the using the interactive smart response units - at my school we call them SRUs for short.

I am really getting into this project and enjoying creating these different lessons.  So far, it has been time consuming because I am also learning some of these techniques as I go, but I'm getting good ideas from colleagues from around the world.  I am a member of a Facebook group dedicated just to Band Teachers.  I contacted a few people and they were able to give me some ideas on what to create and what they have used that has worked well and what hasn't.  It was a great interaction with teachers that I have never met, probably never will, but were discussing some very positive things.

I see the end...but I'm not there yet.

599 - Here we come...

So we are in our last class and I am feeling way behind.  I am not thrilled with being in this position and I hope that I can get it all done in time.  Currently, I am working on a Smart Notebook lesson that will have two main lessons; music theory, and rhythm.  I am in the process of getting all of these different pieces ready but there are so many different aspects of this project that it is a challenge to know which one to do next, or if I even have all of the parts figured out yet.

After my meeting tonight, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.  It is time to get moving.  Let's go!

Final Blog for 565 - Almost Done!

It has been a tremendous year and half and we are almost finished.  I can see the end in site and I think it is going to feel awesome when WE all get there.








In our last blog for this class, we have been asked to answer the following three questions (see below).

• How has your definition of leadership altered or been reinforced? Your definition of teacher leadership?
• My definition has been reinforced beyond belief.  I have always felt that a strong leader creates a positive environment and helps others to succeed, among many other qualities.  This course has shown me that it is possible, no matter how much we get shot down or denied opportunities, to make a difference and to make real change happen for the better in our schools.  It has been a long time since I have felt rejuvenated like this and I am thrilled to have the feeling that I can shake this negative feeling and pick myself up and continue on.
• The definition of teacher leader has changed quite a bit.  I see so many similarities between being a leader and being a teacher leader, but they are not the same.  I have always struggled with the fact that I am trained in two very different methods of learning - one from the US Army, and one that is more education based from UW-Whitewater.  There have been some real changes to those philosophies over the years also.  After 9/11 I went into Mitchell International Airport to protect our country from future attacks.  That experience changed my views on so many levels.  At a later time, I changed jobs and moved to the Mukwonago area.  The experience there was different and so negative that it has changed my view of education and leadership.
  However, I feel that after learning so much in this master's program, I am once again feeling positive and have the resources to make a positive change to my district.  I have been so bothered by the constant denials that I have lost focus and plan to make more relationships within the district and cultivate positive ideas with others.  Hopefully this strategy will enable me and them to show these important changes are good.
• Has your opinion of your leadership potential changed?
• Yes.  I have always felt Mukwonago had enormous potential, but have lacked the vision and the strength to make it happen.  This program has helped me see that I can still be apart of the change, but I have to learn more about making that change happen slowly.
• Do you agree with our textbook's assertion about "improving education from within"? If so, what will you do to help?
• Of course I do.  As stated in an earlier assignment, it is the teachers who really make a difference, not the politicians.  We can't be overwhelmed with the negativity surrounding us.  We must find ways to enhance our school districts and create those ideas with research and discussion with others.  Once that discussion begins, the most important step is follow through.  We all have strengths and weaknesses.  But follow through is a must if we really want to make change and improve our districts so that they are the best possible schools in the state.

Leadership, Wk 5

It has been a busy week.  This week, in addition to really getting school going, on Saturday we also hosted a Marching Band Competition for the first time in Mukwonago, went to another competition on Sunday, and tried keeping up with recruiting 5th grade students into our band program and keep up with class work.  It's been a bit challenging.

This week's assignments was viewing a Jeff Skoll video about change and talking about data.  We learned a lot about data in a course earlier in the cohort, but this spoke more about how to make change happen successfully rather than just making data happen.  We learned in the game we played in August, about how much discussion was needed for positive change to really occur.  That has been a real test in education these past 9 months.  The scary thought is, if we don't act on our educational beliefs, who will?  What might happen if no educator fights for education?  How will America survive the global future?

These are all questions that require us to act and to do so smartly, so that we are as successful as our we desire for our students. This course has been a real eye opener for me, especially the game we played, and I hope that as the years go on in education, that we can all gain strength together and fight for our students.

Post Game

This game was really enlightening for me because I really didn't understand just how much discussion was needed in a non-formal setting before change could even be formally discussed.  Our group had some initial problems but quickly found out that we needed more discussion and more training so that people could make decisions that could be necessary for improved student learning.

This week, we then had an assignment that discussed changes that had taken place in our jobs or our lives that could have been better.  The chart showed how things could have been improved based on the things we learned in the game.  It was a great assignment after the game we played in August.

Post Game activities

So we've learned a lot this week about leadership and what it means to make changes.  Our team worked pretty hard at the game we were doing in class and we discovered, well maybe I discovered, that it takes a lot more talking with colleagues and other people in the district to really create an environment for change.  I really thought, probably naive of me, that we were all in this together and no matter who brought up the idea, we could make change.  I was dead wrong.  There are so many other aspects to think about and discuss with outside members in order to make that change happen.  It was quite surprising to me and really and eye opener.

This next school year I am planning to taking some of the ideas from the reading and focusing on one each month of the school year.  Since discussing this with my wife, who is also in education, I realized that I don't speak to my administrators as well and as thought out as I could.  So this year will be the year of learning how to better communicate with my administrator and how I can effectively communicate with not just him, but also with other staff members.  We are all in this together but it's the way I go about creating this environment of change that will really determine our success or failure.