Twitter

Do you remember when you have to walk down the hall to chat with a co-worker about some project or even what the plans were for the weekend? Then email came along and you could email them, taking a few minutes for it to get to them, then Twitter came around. It has been around for a few years now but is really starting to replace email since it is so much quicker to get from one person to the next. More and more companies are starting to use Twitter to replace their emails for that reason. Here at the Emmetsburg School District our High School teachers have been required to setup an account to follow our High School Principal Jay Jurrens. He is using Twitter for that purpose, to get the word out much quicker than email. If you would like to follow him on Twitter, he I.D. is ehawkprincipal. He will be sending out message via Twitter to keep parents, students and staff up-to-date on things going on around the school. You can also sign up for Twitter by going to twitter.com. If your into following technology like myself you can follow me online by following my I.D. of mmueller2680. I try my best to keep the best tweets related to technology out there to be re-tweeted so my followers can see them also. Twitter has become a great big tool in my day for all the things I can find on it. You should give it a try, it could be very useful to you even.

Getting Ready for the New Year

Welcome back to school, or at least on Wednesday. We will soon be starting school and with that a lot of new technology in Emmetsburg. This year we were able to purchase a full scale of laptops and desktops to equip our whole staff. Also with that we got a new computer lab in our High School that will be used for our CAD Program, a few online learning classes and accounting. With the new computers will be moving to Windows 7 and Office 2010 on almost every computer in our district with then allows us to move our older machines to West Elementary giving more computer and technology use to our students there. And now with that we should have at least two to four computers in each classroom down there for students to use. Also with the two COW's(Computers on Wheels) down there moving to Windows 7 and Office 2010 we are allowing the younger generation to experience the latest technology. Also we have planned on starting keyboarding at a younger age, in fact I believe we are looking at starting all the way down to 2nd grade with keyboarding skills. So by the time our students reach Middle School they have had some learning skills and maybe tools at typing to be a efficient typer.

At the middle school we have brought in a new lab also, not new to the district but to the Middle School, since we replaced the lab at the High School. Which bring the students up to Windows XP and Office 2003. Still not the latest but very close to what they will encounter at a work environment. Also they will have access to our three COW's at the library that does have Windows 7 and Office 2010 so there they do have the access to the latest items. Also in the Middle School we have teachers who have gotten new tablets, which are like notebooks but without paper. These items will allow our teachers to move around their room and still use their computer and projector to show the kids examples. I haven't gotten a chance to use these but I have heard a lot of good things about them so I don't know all the capabilities. Also we got new document cameras for a few of our teachers which is very exciting for them. Again we have really tried getting the newest and latest technology for our staff and students.

Now at the High School we haven't gotten as much but still have gotten some great tools. We did end up with a new computer lab for various programs and classes here at Emmetsburg High. With these new machines we will be able to do more with less time. Also our staff did get new computers here too so everyone at the High School with be with Windows 7 and Office 2010.

This summer has been full of new items, computers to cameras and software. We have gotten so much new software that I don't have enough time and usage to post anything good or bad about it. But we are looking at some online courses, new special education programs and so on. Hopefully I will know more about the programs on my next post and give you an update on them and my likes and dislikes.

Also I would like to thank my assistant this summer for all his hard work. He has been really great to have on board and hopes to have him more time from now on.