educating for the journey

I find it refreshing to unplug from it for a while. You kind of forget how deeply you get embedded in it.
- Will Wright

Not a very good quote but there wasn’t a whole lot out there (taken from brainyquotes). Back at it here in Santo Domingo. Refreshed after a relaxing Semana Santa - ready to push through the final academic quarter. It’s amazing how difficult it can be to unplug for the week, but doing so was exactly what i needed. I love tech, but i also love unplugging - sitting on the beach, by the pool, reading a magazine and playing made up games with my son.

As always we hit the ground running and there is lots going on in the CMS tech world: another round of SumoBots, coding websites for the Optimal Learning Center, CAISSA season III tournament branding, and a course selection handbook, selecting the final two members of the ‘07-’08 technology team (HS Librarian and HS Technology Facilitator), finalizing and stretching budget dollars, planning for our PowerSchool data conversion and training, reflecting on goals made in September while at the same time looking to the horizon for new ways to improve. Never a dull moment.
Here is one thing on our horizon, AtomicLearning. This is a site of more then 25,000 tutorials. This would enable our school to continue providing basic software to our staff without dedicating the people hours to these basic skills, it seems its tracking features would enable us to see both the strengths and weaknesses of both our staff and students. If any of you have used AL and could comment on its effectiveness i would love to hear from you and would greatly appreciate any time you could afford me.

Finally, I will be representing TriAssociation schools at JOSTI2007 at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Washington, D.C. this June.  It is a great honor to take part in the World Virtual School discussion and to represent the American schools of Central America, Colombia, Caribbean and Mexico.  Talking about big global ideas with representative from around the world is an opportunity that i am really looking forward to and want to thank the Department of State for the generosity that is enabling me to go.

here is an old video about the joys of unplugging (shot in the fall)