So many conference goers skipped out on the Friday morning sessions and to me these were among the best offerings of the week.  In fact there were three I wanted to attend at the same time.  I finally chose Mobile Technologies and the Legal Questions You Need to Answer.  I wish it had been a seminar with a round table discussion afterward.  It was fascinating.  I understood the lawyer that spoke to us could not address our questions about a specific state but his insight and expertise into the law regarding this issue was very informative.  Some of us that gathered after the session discussed the topic and we agreed that rules and regulations weren’t necessarily the answer as much as the mind set of those who were supposed to follow them.  The idea that it is OK for one to text their child in class because it is “their” child is in a lot of ways the root of the problem.  Rules are not made to be broken but need to be changed if they are not working.  One of the other sessions I had wanted to attend Friday morning was Cell Phones as Classroom Tools.  I like the idea of not fighting an uphill battle so to speak and allowing cell phones to be used.  But, one thing that was very pointed out during this session: What if an emergency happens and all the students get out their cell phones and start making calls.  First you end up with jammed airways that are needed by emergency personnel, then you will have parents telling their children to do one thing when the people they should be listening to are physically with them and know what is best and safest for the student and these instructions might be the exact opposite of what the student is being told by their parent.  Something parents who think their child the exception to the rule about texting/calling might think about.

Today I visited the Denver School of Science and Technology and in part the visit was due to the kind generosity of the people at Smart Technologies and I want to publicly say thank you.  Large, very large, school districts as those in and around Denver have the capabilities of doing great things and this week I have been privileged to witness two different building sites that are leaders in the world of education.  The one thread I have found in common with the two site visits this year is they both say they are “small schools by design” .  The freedom of choice policy that is in place in the state of Colorado enables these large school districts to create pockets of “small school by design” schools.  The concept is wonderful,but two things I noticed about both districts I visited  is that they limit the number of students they accept to be able to meet their goals.  The rural America that I know is mostly made of small schools, but not by design, but by population.  I wish the parents at these rural schools wanted their children to learn as much as the parents at the Denver School of Science and Technology to be able to hold a student accountable for not doing their homework on the day it was due and not at the end of the term with a report card grade would greatly improve those all important test scores.  The teachers at the Denver School of Science and Technology seem to want to learn new things as much as their students do.  Again, not the norm in public school and something I hope is changing.   I think today’s site visit was a great trip.  The comments I heard on the bus ride home were also favorable with the exception the power point presentation was a little long.  I personally wish I had had some idea as to what their tech center actually was so I could have skipped it and not skipped visiting the Middle School.  Both the high school tour and the middle school tour could have included the tech center.

Today my goal was to discover ways to help my district without having to rob the US Mint and I believe I discovered several new ideas.  We often use our HS cafeteria for disrict wide professional development and use a projector for various presentations.  AVRover has a very nice little tool that is extremely portable, less than $1000 and when connected to a projector will may any surface an interactive whiteboard.  Not only is that impressive but the fact that the ONfinity will enlarge the image up to 15 makes it an outstanding value.  All three of our schools would be able to make use of this.  Also there is the RFB&D program that offers downloadable audio resources  and it is offers free home usage for students that qualify.  Two very exciting finds for my district in these times of financial shortages.

Today was the opening day for 2009 T+L and I started my day by attending a 7:30 session, The Virtual Science Lab put on by Tool Factory.  If you haven’t attended a Tool Factory session you need to.  Their products are great and you never leave a session empty handed.  Then off we all went to the opening session and this years keynote speaker Frans Johansson.  What a captivating speaker!  The weather seems to have kept some people from attending but I don’t think it has dampened the spirits of anyone who is here.  What a great place the Exhibit Hall is to learn .  I just wish all our students were as captivated by at the prospect of learning something new everyday as I am, especially while attending T+L.

What an exciting school concept Mapleton Public Schools have.  One building facilitating so many varied campuses.  They talked a lot about students and parents having a choice and that is wonderful.  They also talked a lot about purposely keeping their schools small which is a wonderful school idea.  Some of you, like myself, know this.  Our school district has just about 1000 students K-12.  Not by us wanting to keep it that way but because of geographic.  What I did see taking place today is that a school doesn’t have to have all the pretty bells and whistles to make a difference.

I hope everyone is as excited about another great T+L Conference as I am.  I also hope they have a smoother day of travel than we did.  Delayed flights, bumpy flights, wrong hotel rooms, running toilets, out of order hot tubs .  But all make for a great experience and laughable memories.  Tomorrow is the Site Visit which I personally find to be just about the best part of any T+L Conference.  Have a great time everyone, and network, network, network!