Friday, December 31, 2010

Update for the New Year

This is an update to the earlier post concerning everything I was looking forward to during this school year.
As we move towards another calendar turn, I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.
2010 was a fantastic year in both  my professional and personal life. Professionally I continue to be blessed by being able to work with a great faculty and administration that has begun the process of looking for ways to collaborate, communicate and innovate. My PLN has expanded and I try to be an active member contributing to the idea bank when possible but certainly my life is richer for the collaboration through Twitter and other means of social media. Unbelievable educational tools for us to access and they are free. It is still amazing to me that we as a profession are still only at the tip of the iceberg so to speak, however the tipping point continues to move closer and closer. I have completed one SAIS accreditation visit and am scheduled for another one in April plus ours is scheduled for March.
On the personal side, we navigated the treacherous first semester of high school and are looking forward to what follows. My oldest son has applied for a college teaching assistant position for his junior year, he'll find out in May. He will also intern next quarter( if we can line up housing), in of all places, West Palm Beach.  He went through a noon to midnight shadow shift several weeks ago and did well enough to be offered the internship. That was an interesting trip to say the least.  There were several firsts, first time to see West Palm Beach, first time to see the ocean in December and first time to see not one but two Rolls Royces' sitting at a red light. Unbelievable amount of wealth down there, I don't remember my sophomore year in college being quite like that. At least I know where we'll be on Spring Break.
Happy New Year!!Follow me on Twitter @gkosater.
My new Diigo files are available for you to view also at  http://www.diigo.com/user/gkosater

Friday, December 17, 2010

Delicious bookmarks

Just a note, if you haven't heard Delicious the social bookmarking site we all know and sometimes love will cease to be at some point in the future. Yahoo is downsizing and Delicious is for some reason being allowed to fall by the wayside. A great alternative would be Diigo, which some say is even better than Delicious.  The swapping of all your bookmarks is painless too. It took all of 5 minutes. There will be a learning curve as we adjust to another site but hey that's what we should do best- LEARN. If you need help, feel free to email.
Merry Christmas and have a safe and innovative New Year.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Vision of School in the Future

At Thomas Jefferson Academy, we learned about the possibilities of what school may look like in the future. What is your vision of school in the future ten years from now?

Friday, October 22, 2010

MY Professional Learning Network

Effective 21st century education must be about the 4 C's- Connect, Collaborate, Create and the Conversation that follows.
With this in mind, I continue to utilize and be impressed by my professional learning network (PLN). Social media such as blogs, wikis, Google Reader and especially Twitter have become a part of my every day life. These tools enable me to connect with teachers and administrators from all over the world. From them, I learn new techniques for classroom activities(lesson plans), technology(cell phones, Ipads, Ipods and netbooks) and current trends in education(1:1 laptop initiatives, four day school weeks etc.). Simply put I am more knowledgeable and effective because I can connect with others who share similar passions.
I know Twitter from time to time is misunderstood by many as a "why do I need that" type of service, but I find it more beneficial each and every day. I recently discovered back channel hashtags# as a method of answering questions and eliciting feedback from students. I will  also utilize these back channels for my professional learning classes coming up the end of the month and then again in November. I'm looking forward to learning not only from those taking the classes but also from those  who may chime in through Twitter. Once again, 21st century education is about being able start conversations and connect, collaborate and create with people outside our own area we call home.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Another beginning of the school year

As I begin my 33rd consecutive start of a school year, I am in a state of high anticipation of the the coming year. Here is a partial list of what I look forward to. 
Of course the obvious,  another group of students (and parents) to guide in the proximity of the right direction. At times the right direction seems to be a moving target but I hold true to a core belief- what is right is right, it may not be popular but it is still right. I try to base all decisions on this premise. Sometimes this can be difficult but with the experience comes wisdom, so they say.
I am also looking forward to working with a faculty that has been with me for 2 consecutive years. I realize some would say familiarity breeds contempt but I prefer to look at it as the better we know each other the better we work together. This faculty has a chance to be one of the best I've worked with and I look forward to moving ahead with them.
On a personal note, my youngest begins that treacherous journey called high school, wasn't it a few short moments ago my oldest was doing the same? My oldest is now a sophomore in college and has used his God given gift of gab to secure an RA job and to be up for an even more prestigious Teaching Assistant job later in the year. Plus he will co op anywhere from Florida to South Carolina to Atlanta . Both of those will be interesting to watch unfold.
I am also scheduled to chair 2 SAIS visiting teams, 1 in Georgia , the other in North Carolina. I love visiting other schools and bringing back ideas. Collaboration is definitely the key.

It's shaping up to be a great year and and I'll try to keep you posted on the progress on this blog or follow me on Twitter at:  twitter.com/gkosater

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Professional Learning Network

Any professional development needs to include the creation of a  professional learning network (PLN). Whether you attend a seminar, take a class or listen to a lecture share what you learn and others will too.
If your current learning network only includes those friends across the hall or in the same building or even in the same city or state, you are missing an abundance of resources. Don't be disconnected with the world, move outside your bubble . Create a one world classroom by collaborating with others through web 2.0 technology.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

What is your vision of school for the future?

What is your vision of school for the future? If we didn't have what we have today in education how would we rebuild it to make it even better?

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Another question for my GWA colleagues

Now that I (hopefully) have raised your awareness levels for Web 2.0 technology, let's take it to a true 2.0 level.
If we didn't have what we have today, education wise, how would we rebuild it to be better? What changes or improvements would you create? How would it look compared to the present?
Remember Web 2.0 is read/write and is all about the conversations we start. Thanks and I look forward to your responses,
Gerry

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Question for the class

What have we learned about new technology and facing adversity?

Mr. Gerry Kosater

There are two paths you can choose but there's always time to change the one you choose