Cheryl+Badger-Slavens

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It's going to be a GREAT year!
 * I am Cheryl Badger the Library/Technology teacher at Slavens K - 8 School. Today a very intelligent group of teachers met to start our PLC (Professional Learning Community) at our Welcome Back - Librarians/Tech teacher's meeting. Our PDU (Professional Developement Unit) is about getting our WIKI up and running for our school website. Please continue to see updates in the Blog below. Guaranteed fun and maybe even some techie info throughout the year. **=====

**April 12th, 2011**
Today was the final ILT mtg this year. Our PDU group is presenting Wiki and WordPress for DPS. I enjoy seeing all the presenters and sharing web 2.0 tools, free apps, playing with IPads, and seeing fellow colleagues! I have learned a lot about Wikis and creating web sites. I hope our ILT meeting continue next year.

**April 5th, 2011**
Today Anne W., Susan C., and I met to discuss our reflection, presenting at ILT, our websites and more. We are presenting WordPress and Wikispaces being used for DPS websites.

**February 16th, 2011**
Attended the ILT Winter workshop. We had sessions on LEAP,texting/phone technology, PLC time, Advanced Wikispaces, EBooks, and Databases. Always helpful, interesting topics, filling us in on the latest and more.

**Jan. 31st, 2011**
Met with Tom Moore, our "Web Dad" and our art teacher about putting more "stuff" on our Slavens Site. Tom is going to keep working on our Web site [] (and hopefully a few more years while his last son is here). Our art teacher is going to have more links to our site and I would like to incorporate more from other teachers and pictures from our sports teams, but posting pictures is a concern with our parents! Tom will continue t help me post things becuase our site is not a wiki, wordpress -- it is ASP.
 * ASP**.NET is a web application framework developed and marketed by Microsoft to allow programmers to build dynamic web sites, web applications and web services.

**Jan. 21st, 2011**
We met on Skype last night. Some could not get on video, some could not link with others, some could only talk to a few of us. Technology can be so great when it works. But this was a great learning night - learn for failure and mistakes and success!

**Dec. 16th, 2010**
I missed our Skype meeting tonight on Skpe. So sorry. I will plan our next meeting with everyone for Jan. and then we will meet in person in Feb. at our ILT meeting. It is tough to come up with a Skype time for everyone. No success in two days of emails and times. We'll work it out. I am meeting with Slavens "Web Dad", Mr. Tom Moore to work with him on our site. We have switched platforms and I have helped him with some corrections on the site/staff info. I am hoping to get some sports info on the site and some pictures of various 'stuff' happening at school. FUN FUN!

**Nov. 30th, 2010**
Tonight we met at Swansea to get our group set up for Skype so we do not have to drive across town every month. We had some difficulty because the lab is Macs and not Skype friendly. But it worked and we all signed each other up as contacts and practiced Skpe that evening. Mathew helped us load Skype as a app on our phones and we also walked around and practiced on our phones. Very cool. I Skpyed Nana and Papa on the way home (long drive from Swansea!). Technology amazes me everyday and drives me crazy everyday.

**Nov. 22nd, 2010**
Some changes were made to our website as far as staff member corrections and links. I would like to be more involved and get some sports updated on the web. Our school just made it to the Championships for girls Volleyball and flag football. Our school is so excited, because our Middle School is actually just 150 kids. This is huge! I really want to get pictures and scores uploaded. __//Funny: I had two 1st graders go to the restroom during library class Friday. When they returned they informed me they had met two football players in the bathroom and they got their autographs. Our football players are famous in our little kiddo's eyes! So cute!!//__ My husband. a mom, and I just wrote a grant to the school for the $100,000 DPS tech $$$. We are applying for us to get a STEM Lab or a Smart Lab. It took last week and all weekend. We are hoping it will go into our **new** school.

**Nov. 3rd, 2010**
Tonight we met as a Wiki team. It was helpful to meet in person. Mathew joined us and we compared a variety of Web hosts and what works for DPS and what does not. Which ones have calendars, good menu bars....... It was very informative. We all asked questions and worked from 5:30 - 7:00 in Slaven's library. I examined Slaven's site and it is ok for us to use the platform we are on now. I will contact our parent and make some changes to staff, suggest some links.....

**Oct. 23rd, 2010**
Yesterday, I took a Web Tools for Everyone class. It was a Sat. 9:00 - 3:00. I thought it would help with this PDU. We looked at a variety of Web hosting sites, tools, how to get more clicks/noticed, advertising.... The last couple hours were not helpful for school sites -- we are not going to advertise, we are not selling items. AHH - the more I am around tech folks and info the more I realize I need to keep learning and working!

**Oct. 13th, 2010**
I took a PhotoShop Elements class for our Tech III class next semester at Slavens. An extra three hours on a Weds. night from 6:00 - 9:00 is a long day -- BUT FUN! I learned how to move heads, eyes, change backgrounds and more. Now I just need tons of practice because I am no where close to being able to teach it! Check out my new graphic skills -- my son and daughter are now officially VIKINGS! All in parody, of course.

**Sept. 18th, 2010**
Tried to add information to the WIKI -- oops. I am not so hot at this, YET -- give me time! I erased some info Susan had started. SO sorry! Thanks! [|Slaven's current website]it is run by a parent. It has a couple of good links and some teacher wikis. I am signing up to take a web design class. I hope it will help me with all this info and PDU. I have enjoyed helping the first graders with Blabberize on our site. The middle school has two math blog spots for [|7th] and [|8th] graders. They use this daily for tutorials and homework assignments.

**Sept. 14th, 2010**
Today we started our PDU group at our ILT meeting. We took our picture for the Home Page, came up with our Wiki name and started planning.