Even More New and Exciting

Well I am officially now 27 days into my new job as the Director of Technology and Instruction for The  Gibsonburg Exempted Village Schools I have learned a great deal in a short time, and one of the most important things I have learned is this: When we work in the field of education and we work closely with others we think we have a good idea of what they do in their job. Since moving into my new role I quickly discovered that I only had a vague idea of what a technology director really does.

It is an interesting job and one which really takes great people skills. Trying to support the technology for 100 staff members and 1100 students is a tremendous challenge for one person. Printers, computers, servers, phones, fax machines, oh yes and did I mention printers are problematic. Then if the wireless access points are making traffic too slow, people lose patience QUICKLY.

A few recommendations...Be sure to back up your documents and photos frequently!!  I recommend finding a cloud-based service such as Google to back up important docs and pics, in addition to your external hard drive or some other form of media. Cloud-based apps are free, or very low cost and as a Google engineer told me "your docs are sitting beside mine on a server, do you think we aren't going to keep things running and secure?"

The Director of Instruction part of my new position is one which I am very comfortable with. The new challenges of the upcoming new assessments in 2014-2015 are real, but certainly manageable with good planning and teamwork.

In other areas of our world...Amber is the new Cross Country Coach at Elgin High School outside of Marion, Ohio. They had their first Invitational last Saturday and she is already making a great impact on her runners, their effort and their attitude. Her excitement reminds me of my days as a cross country coach and my first meet back in the fall of 1988.....seems so long ago...yet I remember it like it was yesterday.

Stephanie is now 7 days into her senior year at BGSU and is planning for the fall softball season for the BG Club Team. She is also working at Buffalo Wild Wings and studying. So proud of her.

Brittany is now 7 days into her freshman year at BGSU. She has moved into her dorm and has a nice roommate. She'll be home for the long Labor Day weekend soon and I miss her (so do her doggies).

Love my family and friends!  God's Blessing to you all!