Blog Post #12

Blog Post I Created

Baldwin County - Digital Renaissance Initiative

My Blog Post #12 Question: In your area of specialty, how will working in Baldwin County differ from working in Mobile and other counties, not having one to one laptops for their students? Watch the video on local channel 15 news on Digital Renaissance Expands to Baldwin County Middle Schools, to help answer the blog question. http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Digital-Renaissance-Expands-to-Baldwin-County/XzZuu94wW0Cv2lU9bQYTaw.cspx?rss=217

When I read the assignment for blog 12, I thought it was going to be one of the most difficult assignments this semester. Having us to create a blog assignment, I didn't know where to start. I came up with this blog, based on conversation I overheard between my parents. They were discussing the financial aspect of the Digital Renaissance initiative in Baldwin County. My mom is a middle school principal in Baldwin County and her school and other middle schools in the county are receiving their Mac Books this fall; all of the teachers will get theirs in May. Yep, all high school and middle school students and teachers will have individual Mac Books this fall.

I questioned my mom about the role-out of the laptops to all middle school students. First of all, my mom thinks that having this class is a plus for us. I was told that the knowledge we gain from this class, will help us gain employment faster than someone with less technology training. She thinks we will be ahead of many of our peers graduating from other universities. She said she wishes more of her teachers had the experience I am receiving in this class; many of her teachers are fearing this technology move. She said her teachers who are eMints and Amsti trained are learning what we are learning and are ready for the Digital Renaissance move. This is the first time I ever heard of eMints and Amsti, but it is something we as future educators should probably look into. My mom told me that she began offering her teachers professional development(training), over a year ago, when they found out they would be next in line for laptops. She said she has sent and is sending her teachers to training in advanced technology to Missouri, a(STEMS) conference and North Carolina (Mooresville). Mooresville is a school district that has one to one laptops for their students and from what I can gather, where Baldwin County got the idea of Digital Renaissance. She has a Digital Renaissance Team of sixteen members who attend special monthly training from the county. In turn, these teachers are supposed to return and train the remaining faculty and staff. She also has professional development called Mac Monday. This is where a specialized trainer comes each Monday afternoon and train her faculty and staff. I found out from our conversation that Gulf Shores Middle School has been one to one laptops for the past year. They received funds from the city of Gulf Shores. I then asked what she thought of this move and what would help teachers feel more comfortable with this new technology? She told me that she believes Baldwin County is making a bold move promoting Digital Renaissance. She believes that Baldwin County will be a system ahead of other systems. She said that there was a lot of apprehension because of the unknown, money being the biggest part. She thinks her teachers will become more comfortable when they have the computers in their hands and able to practice on them. Mom thinks that more training is a must.



Now, to answer my blog post question. In my area of specialty, which is physical education, I will use technology to communicate with my colleagues, students, parents and people around the world. I think when technology is used, you have to use blogging as a tool. This is why I said around the world. I know I will be teaching PE, but through the assignment in Project 10, on Finding the Right Tools, I found many useful tools that I plan on incorporating in my lessons. It would be sweet to land a job in Baldwin County, where technology is in full force, but if I am unable to do this, I plan on incorporating technology wherever I may be assigned. Working in Baldwin County will help me communicate with my students from day one. Teaching students who have their own computers will help improve the communication gap between students, parents and teachers. I'm sure Mobile County has computer use for their students but one to one computers is the way to go. I definitely would like to teach in a system that is promoting technology the way Baldwin County is. I think I will be a stronger teacher wherever I go, with the knowledge I have gained in EDM 310. However, I do intend on taking more classes in technology before I leave the University of South Alabama.