Gopher Nation...Revisited

I had the pleasure of visiting some colleagues and students of the recent past and I must say it was bittersweet.

I believe teaching for me is not really just about getting kids to memorize a series of facts, it's more about showing them that they are more intelligent than they sometimes give themselves credit for. It takes time to build relationships with colleagues in the building and the students in the classroom. What I really miss is the stage in the game where we're past the small talk and establishing who is alpha, beta, etc., and can really get down to learning. I love when I'm excited about a new topic and learning about it and the students and I feed off of each others' excitement and new projects are born out of just the desire to see what's what cool things we can do. I suppose it reminds me of that "zone" where you are just on the high-end of what you know and starting to find out you really DON'T know everything about a topic, but are willing to pursue it because there is no fear of ridicule from teacher or other students. That's the environment I strive for because it's fun and makes me feel as though I actually did make some sort of difference.

All in all, I love my new school and feel like I'm adjusting to the students as much as they are adjusting to me. When sarcasm gets lost in translation, people react differently. At this point, I feel as though there is great potential, there are very bright and talented kids, and I still feel as though it's a fun challenge getting the students technologically proficient in multiple areas. There's a nice staff I'm still getting to know and hope that enrollment in my classes balloon in the coming year to create a demand for MORE classes!

Hope everyone got home safe in the ice today...
M. Suter

Ustream

With a webcam, you can broadcast anything you want, live to the Internet. Powerful stuff.

My tech II class today discussed practical business or educational uses of Ustream (as opposed to streaming World of Warcraft raids) We came up with these:
- Announcing a new product for a company
- Promoting your small business services (imagine a poor but talented graphic designer offering a screencast for a few scheduled hours every week to allow people to see how well they work from scratch) Or even a professional photography session for "Focus on You" photography... ;)

My tech class could teach a lesson in Photoshop, or how to present a PowerPoint, or act out a skit. We could even be answering questions that come up in the simultaneous chat that appears beside the video.

Limitless possibilities.

About Me

I am happily married with a beagle and cockerspaniel at home. My house is an old farm house and we have a 1/3 acre pond to swim in. I love computers and sports. I am what you might call a "nerd", but not the "loves to write programming code" type of nerd. I did football, basketball, and track in high school, and ran track at college (high jump). My wife and I love to travel through other states and countries. Our most recent trips include Boston (pictured here) and Europe (France/Germany/Italy).

Professionally, I am a computer technology teacher in a rural school in Ohio. I used to work for a newspaper with 100k Sunday readers doing Internet advertising, but I got bored with it and enjoyed teaching my coworkers about technology than I did selling and building Internet ads. That's when I became a teacher, and have enjoyed the last 4 years immensely.

One of my long-term professional goals is to be a part of a team that helps steer how professional educators teach. One of the methods I prefer is using real-world scenarios. These encourage students to think creatively about how to solve problems, but also to not be afraid to sweat (usually figuratively) a little through hard work.

Tech Lab Video Tour

Turns out I'm the official tour guide of my new school's tech lab. (Remember, NO NAMES! Internet Safety thing) So watch and be impressed.

First Day at P-G

The last students of the day just left and I'm exhausted and losing my voice. There's 5th grade through seniors in my day and it's a mental adjustment to have to switch between them.

I can tell that there will be some great kids who do fun and interesting projects. For the record I sincerely miss my old students and the great relationships I was able to build with them. I hope they are still getting a solid dose of tech and geekiness in their day. I have a very special box of gifts, letters and earrings(?) in my room here from them. Makes me feel appreciated.

My goal is to have evaluated the students and put in place a challenging but interesting curriculum before the week is over on Friday, 8/27/10.  The installation of the 12-cup coffee maker in my room is a nice touch.

Exams and Wii bowling: The last day

Had a wonderful last day today with my students. I noticed a few singing and dancing along with the surround sound system "Our song is the slamming screen door...". The jubilee that is the end of any school year. I remember the liberating feeling of the great release of stress as your stressful exams are finished and you have the whole summer to look forward to. I was very excited to receive some goodbye letters and even a collective group gift box with goodies in it. You guys rock.

Thanks to my tech students for making my job so fun. You're a great group, and would love to hear from you in the future after all your hard work pays off. Look me up in 5-10 years.

Stay Focused Seniors...

Just had a few seniors drop by to say goodbye (I'm referring to YOU bright yellow shirt and Hurley). Of course, it goes without saying that I wish success towards all of the graduating seniors.

I encourage all of you to stay focused on what your biggest goals are. It may be a certain degree followed by a certain job. You probably know some people that did NOT stay focused on those goals and got distracted by the many *ahem* opportunities that presented themselves at college or in their new living scenarios.

"Just having some fun" ruined a lot of great potential careers, so stay focused. I want to hear from you all once you have a great job (and free tickets to cool events, I accept those too.)

Mr. Suter