UPDATING MY INVENTORY OF APPLICATIONS/SOFTWARE USEAGE

As anyone who has been reading this blog lately will know...I am getting ready to get back into the classroom on October 5th and have been attempting to prepare myself for this transition.  Part of this has been learning what applications and software I will have available to me on the MLTI MAC computers that will be used by the students and myself.

I have been a long-time Windows user and fan (since Windows 1.0) and haven't used anything else.  I am not saying that I haven't been tempted by the allure of Apple or the "simplicity of Linux, but that I have never actually had the  opportunity to be converted.  It was easier to be safe and keep using Windows.

Well now I have no choice in the matter, I will be working with a MAC at school, so I have to learn to use one.  The problem is that the MLTI computers are not "open" and have restrictions on websites (at school) and what software I can use on them.  Knowing this I have had to look at the applications and software that I am using on my HP tablet Windows machine and match it up to the MAC as much as I can.  This means that I am going to have to do a few things a bit differently than I did previously.

Browser:  I am sorry to say Opera has to go, even though it is my favorite browser.  I can't add it to the MLTI machine the school will provide me and it doesn't make any sense to have Opera on one machine and Firefox on the other as my main Browser.  I never really liked Firefox all that much and had enough reasons to switch to Opera, but compared to the choices that I will have available to me it is the clear winner.  So the other night I downloaded Firefox (I had gotten rid of it this summer, as it had been just too buggy and froze up too often on me) and uninstalled Opera.  I will miss several features of Opera, but want to be able to utilize the same setup as much as possible on both machines.  I have FireFox setup pretty much the way the I want it using the below addons:

Now I have to set the MAC up with the same ones and I will be ready to go.

Blogwriter:  The next to go was LiveWriter, I won't be able to access it on the MLTI MAC, so even though it is very powerful and in my opinion the best blogwriter software out there.  Due to the above reasons, I have chosen to go with the Firefox addon ScribeFire.  ScribeFire has improved significantly, since I used it last year and I have written 4-5 posts with it today and it did everything I want it to, especially being able to resize my photos which was a huge problem for me in the past.  The biggest thing that I want to see improved now is their use of Zemanta which still is not at the level of other application's integration, but it will come I am sure.

Also as part of this I am starting to use the FireShot screenshot addon in place of VISTA's Snip for image management to include in my blogs or to document something from a screen and I will probably have to figure out an online photo storage application like Flikr or Picassa, dependent upon what the school blocks or does not block.


PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE:  I currently use Office 2007 and am very comfortable with it.  I have a feeling that I will have to continue using this to submit my Special Education paperwork, but otherwise will have to use the same things that the students have available on the MLTI MAC I will be issued NeoOffice, Pages, OpenOffice or cloud apps such as Google Docs or Zoho.  So it appears that I will be using a combination of the Office 2007, OpenOffice or Google Docs as my primary productivity application/software.  I would really prefer to use only one of them, but from what I am seeing now it doesn't appear it will be possible initially.

These are actually very major changes in the way I will approach my browsing and application/software useage.  This is an effort to simplify what I use in the classroom prior to starting, because once I begin, I have a feeling that I won't have time to do this kind of research and adaptation and want to have these applications/software already in place and being used, so I am familiar with their capabilities and quirks.  Now I just have to figure out what the school will actually block versus what I can access there.

I hope these changes work, but only time will tell...in December, I will do another post on what I found worked, what didn't and needed to be changed, to allow me to more effectively teach and prepare special education paperwork properly.

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UPDATING MY SPECIAL EDUCATION RESOURCES

I have been busy today looking at different blogs, people to follow on Twitter and web applications/software to use in my transition back to teaching.  I have found several fantastic people to follow and especially want to thank
 
Deven you provided me with some great advice on the use of hashtags, which allowed me to find some really great Special Education Resources this afternoon.  THANK YOU!  This is the Personal Learning Network that I missed so much and enjoy coming back to.

The best Special Education resource I found today was Jennifer Laviano's Connecticut Special Education Lawyer blog, it contains so much information on Special Education law and IDEA that I believe it is a must read for all older students, parents, educators and school administrators, not just Special Education Teachers or Directors.  She gives the perspective that educators/schools will face if a parent does bring a lawyer into the PET process and what kind of questions we will need to be able to answer, if we get to that level of contention.  Jennifer explains the laws in simple English and cites the references to IDEA to give more credence to what she says.  It is an outstanding resource for anyone involved in Special Education.

I sincerely hope that I never get to that level of disagreement with a parent/guardian, but it is helpful to know what kind of i's need to be dotted and t's need to be crossed to ensure that we have done all that we can do to meet the needs of the student and their family in the PET process.  I have a feeling that if I was on the other side of the table from her, it would be a pretty long day, if I didn't have my ducks in a row.

I probably could have used her a couple of times when I was advocating for my daughter, when I was in the military and she was a Special Education student, it would have made things a bit easier. Now that I look back on some things that were done, with a bit of a different perspective that I have gained as a Special Education teacher and would do differently with this knowledge.

You will also notice that I include older students.  I strongly believe that students need to learn their rights and be able to advocate for themselves to the maximum extent possible and it is up to us as individuals and team members to help them get to the point where they can.  That is one of my soapboxes that I will not get down from.

My reintroduction to Special Education took a couple of good steps forward today and I feel as though I getting more prepared.  I definitely have a ways to go, but some of it is starting to come back as I read more and more stuff.

HIKING ROUND TOP - BELGRADE, MAINE

This was such a beautiful day that we decided to play hookie on work around the house and go hiking on our favorite local trail.  Round Top up in Belgrade, Maine.  This was the first hike in a long time that I didn't suffer afterwards.  Usually after each hike the back of my Right Achilles where I injured it in the roof fall almost two years ago is very painful.  I had suspected it was caused by the irritation of the height of my hiking boots and today proved that was the culprit.  I got a new pair of Earth Shoes that I can use as both work and hiking shoes and tried them out.  At the end of the hike (which has a pretty quick but steep climb in the middle) my leg didn't hurt nearly as much.  Hopefully this relatively minor adjustment in equipment will now allow me to hike without having to pay the price for doing something I love to do.

Here are some of today's pictures

Mary and Katie coming up the trail

Me sitting up on a big rock unfortunately you can't see how big the rock was and the lighting was pretty tough

Animal burrow and it's leavings right beside the trail.

Mary going up the trail

Interesting rock formation on the way up the steep part of the trail

Good picture of us

Good sized snake for up here in Maine, was over 2 ft long

Me beside a big rock that I had my picture taken the first time we walked this trail

To show that we were on the trail :)

We are almost back to the trail head (20 more minutes) and I just liked the lighting in this picture.

It was a glorious day for a hike and I am sure glad we decided to go instead of doing house/yard work.

hiking, hshawjr, Belgrade, Maine

Classroom2.0 - Interactive ePortfolios

I was wandering around my Google Reader and came across

Welcome to NCS-Tech!

by Kevin Jarrett and which provided me a link back to a Classroom 2.0 Live.  I have been a member of the Classroom 2.0 for a long time (just not very active).  So I took a look at what is going on and found this presentation that Dr. Helen Barrett gave last week.  I am sorry that I missed it and I plan to listen to the other links tonight.

When I was teaching at my previous position this something that I really wanted to begin doing with my students. I am not sure of the KSA's of my new students yet, but would like to think that this might be a possibility? I will find out soon and look forward to the possibilities and ideas that this presentation by Dr. Barrett will/has given me.

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Classroom2.0

View more presentations from Helen Barrett.

 I know it sure is good to be back looking at this kind of information and getting back into the Classroom 2.0 community.

IN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

Have you ever felt like you are between two worlds and in neither?  That is how I feel now.  I gave my two weeks notice last Friday and finished the first week yesterday.  I really, really want to leave on a good note and keep my reputation as a good worker and positive team member intact. 

So I am getting as much work done ahead, helping with the Recovery Act reporting requirements that need to be met right after I go, making constructive comments on future projects, issues with data bases and other office/subgrantee relationships that need to be maintained after I leave. 

At the same time I have to prepare myself for the new position and get myself back in "teacher" mode.  At night I have been setting up my Personal Learning Network (PLN) again, attempting to review the more recent trends in Special Education and teaching English, reading the theory on how my new school views teaching Literacy, etc. 

During this upcoming week, I know that it will be even more difficult to focus on getting through the week and finishing up on a positive note as I get closer to ending one career and re-starting another. 

I have two questions:

How do you get through that final week at an old job?

What are some of the best resources for a returning teacher?

I just know that I will be glad to back in the world of teaching and having only one world to worry about professionally.