Thank goodness for my ITF!

Okay, first this post is a pleading request for our administrators and central office leaders to continue to fund and support our Instructional Technology Facilitators, or at least mine! : )  Today I was out with my son who fractured the growth plate in his left ankle.  Btw, I have his x-rays on a CD given to us by the doctor!  Very cool stuff, took a screen shot and emailed it to his curious grandparents!

Anyway, so I'm at home (the last day before Memorial Day weekend and the end of End of Grade Test week - a substitute's nightmare!) and I luckily have a wonderful partner who had reserved the laptop cart, but allowed me to use it for my kids today.  So I assign a Jog-the-Web assignment for my kids with some built in pieces they need to either email me using Gaggle or submit using their Edmodo accounts.  Well, my second block (I lovingly refer to them as my "helpless hand-raisers" because they still fear to tread and solve problems on their own - previous conditioning that incorrect answers will be punished??) has many questions.  My WONDERFUL Instructional Tech Facilitator and great friend, Danita,  checks in on them, realizes the problem, and sets up a Skype, using her laptop, between me and the kids!

Wow, it was fantastic!!  I could answer their questions, guide them with the directions, let them know how much I wished I was there, and they even talked to my son about his ankle and wished him well.  So a BIG shout-out to Danita, my wonderful substitute who kept things under control even when I left plans involving laptops, my school system for allowing us to use Skype, and to my kids for working hard while I was out.

It sure is nice to blog about something positive!  Tearing down the classroom walls one brick at a time!



Photo Credit: xjpxpyro's photostream
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