Forward Progress and Happy New Year!

Landon has made progress today!!! At rounds this morning we decided to go back to feeding every three hours with a specific volume goal. His goal per three hours is 56 mLs, fortified to 27 calories. He met his goal in one of his feedings! Although he had some spit ups during the feeding, he still drank all of it from the bottle. During his last feeding he took 50 mLs, which is also great! I really feel like his body is starting to figure out this eating thing! Hopefully when he is weighed in the morning, he has gained weight. That is a big factor that the doctors look at. And, of course, they will look at how much he actually took in himself. I feel like all the prayers are working, so please continue to send them!

We had a quiet day today. Kurt, Becky, and Sam Cohen stopped by today to say hello.

Happy New Year!! Landon is hoping for a great 2013!

Celebrating Christmas

Today, Grandma and Grandpa Bausman and Aunt Megan and Taylor came to celebrate Christmas. We had  some impatient adults in the family! Megan made pasty for lunch and Mom brought salad and cookies. Landon slept through most of the party and woke up when everyone left! Carrie Bartels and Tom and Sue Burkhalter also stopped today to see him for the first time.

As far as eating, there isn't much change today. He took in 97 mLs but threw up twice. He pulled out his NG tube this morning and I told him that if he didn't want it in, then he needed to start eating better. We didn't get very far with that! Nick and I just wish that this would get figured out! I think I am frustrated because people will tell me that their child spit up a lot for the first six months. I feel like the only reason this is an issue for Landon is because we are already in the hospital and he has people keeping an eye on him all the time. We understand that he needs to eat in order to sustain himself, but we aren't sure what the solution is. It seems as though what the doctors think will work, isn't working.

On a totally unrelated note, I put on real clothes today! When I say real, I mean something other than sweatpants or leggings! I actually got a pair of jeans on and a sweater. It felt great! I am hoping that if I feel better and more positive then things with Landon will turn around. I may be grasping at straws here though...

Tom and Sue brought this bib for Landon, as well as other gifts, and Dad found it!

Such an amazing present!

And.....right before he threw up the last time!

Latest medical tests

Today, Landon had more tests done to see what exactly is going on with his stomach and eating problems. After all of that, the doctors decided he has reflux. Unfortunately, that was proposed by someone a couple days ago and was dismissed. If only people had listened to that person. (BTW, it wasn't Nick or I. It was someone on staff.) So now, Landon has to take medicine to get it under control. But...that makes him throw up until his body is adjusted to it or until his stomach is adjusted and functioning properly. Also, when they decided to do these tests, he couldn't have anything to eat. So....when we are trying to get him to eat on his own, we tell him he can't. That was frustrating as well. He has eaten since the tests, but has thrown up, so he is way down on his daily intake. We were told that it may be a couple of days before his body is adjusted to the medicine. Poor guy :( So, as of right now, it's looking like we will be ringing in the new year in the hospital.

Megan and Taylor came and got me today and took me home for a little while. Taylor and I took decorations off the tree, Megan cleaned, and then I wrapped Christmas presents. It was great to be home and with the dogs and cat for a while. Patsy was so calm, which is unusual, and acted like she had been bad and that's why we have been gone! She was even nice to Taylor! Normally she stays far away from Taylor!

Today, our friends Jake and Kim Soden visited on their way home from Beaver Dam. They generously brought us food gift cards and two stuffed animals for Landon!

Real clothes!!

Hi everyone! Not much to report today. We did get the doctors convinced that we weren't totally crazy...at least we have convinced someone! Anyway...we were allowed to feed him strictly from the bottle today. He has done okay with it. For some reason he did not wake up as often as he has on other days during the day. Normally he has a lot of awake time during the day and sleeps a lot at night. He woke up around 6:30 tonight and took 1 ounce in 10 minutes!!! That is amazing for him! He normally won't eat that fast. But he did do his usual...eat for 10-20 minutes and then fall asleep. So, what we were hoping would be a very successful feeding, turned into only a successful feeding. As I type, Nick is making one last attempt before they start feeding him through the tube all night. So thus far, he has had 103 mLs from the bottle today. I think we are both happy with that. I was fearful that he wouldn't even come close to the 100 mark with how slow he started today.

Our high note of the day is that he got to put REAL clothes on!! I happened to bring a couple sleepers that snap and we were able to put one on today. His wires can be thread between the snaps! It was nice to see him in something other than the green hospital blanket!

Grandma and Grandpa Bausman came today and Aunt Megan returned with our laundry!

More generosity toward Landon

Today hasn't been much different than yesterday, unfortunately. One change has been made to his feeding and that is that his milk is now fortified with some powder formula to get more calories in him. He hasn't had problems tolerating that so far, but most of his problems seem to occur during the night. We aren't sure if he is still full from the rest of the day and his stomach can't keep up with the digesting, but he tends to throw up most of his feedings during then night. Often we have to wake him to eat, which isn't easy, and then once we get him awake, he has past his 20 minute "limit" that we have to try to feed him. It is frustrating because once we get past that 20 minutes, he will wake up and want to eat from the bottle. But we can't feed him from the bottle when he already is receiving his food through the tube. We are really looking for some solutions and aren't feeling very heard. I know that there are some potential changes for tomorrow, so we will see what tomorrow brings.

On another note, Landon received another gift today! We had people bring him a bag that has a tie blanket, stuffed dog, book, and Memory game. The people who brought the gift were the Team River of Hope. They represent a little girl name Riviera who passed away shortly before she turned 3 years old. She spent some time here at the Children's Hospital and they brought the gifts on her behalf. There was a sticker for their Facebook page, so I immediately went to it to thank them. We still are overwhelmed everyday with all the generosity from people and are trying to figure out how to give back down the road.

No visitors yet today, but Aunt Megan will be here shortly with KFC!!

This is actually a couple days ago before his NG tube was put it.

Landon's eating progress

Hi everyone! Landon made some progress with eating today. We are trying to keep him on a schedule of eating every three hours so that he can have some consistency with his eating habits. Our nurse helped the doctors understand that their expectations for Landon were just too much for him to handle. So, his end goal for the day is to take in 60 mls per feeding, that is 2 ounces. He began the day with 50 mls and has now increased to 60 with our most recent feeding. Hopefully he keeps it down! He drinks 20-25 mls on his own and then the rest has to be tube fed. Obviously the goal is to take all of it in on his own, but we were asked to only work on his eating for about 20 minutes, so he doesn't tire and have bad feelings about eating. He can't take in that much in 20 minutes, so we are gradually working up to it.

We were told today that it is possible that we will be moved to St. Mary's because of our insurance. He would be moved to the NICU there instead of being in the PICU here. I believe the thinking is that, if he is recovered enough from his surgery then the important thing to focus on is his eating. The NICU will be able to help with that. His eating will be the main focus. So, we are waiting to see what happens with that.

We will continue to update everyone with Landon's progress and if we move or not. Again, thank you to everyone for the prayers and support. Please continue to send those prayers, they mean so much to us.

Yesterday, Landon's Christmas visitors included Grandma and Grandpa Bartels and Uncle Mike and Aunt Kelly. Today, Grandma and Grandpa Bausman, Nick's Aunt Judy and Uncle Terry, Aunt Megan and Taylor, and our good friend Holly paid visits! We did manage to get Landon's mustachifier in and get a photo!! It's a little big, but funny all the same!

Merry Christmas from Landon!

We had a small setback today. Landon has been struggling to meet his quota for food on his own, so he had an NG tube put into his nose that goes down his throat to help him get the food he needs. We really feel like they have high standards for him at this point, but we have to trust that they know what they are doing. Nick was feeding him today and got about 25 mls in him and he threw it all up. That is the first time he has thrown up...EVER! That was a bit discouraging. Hopefully he can adjust to the feeling of the tube in his throat and be able to still take food from the bottle.

Since it is his first Christmas, we couldn't miss a photo opportunity. Aunt Megan brought him a Christmas tree and we have a couple gifts here for him. I took a brief opportunity of when he was awake to get some pictures. He looks so great!

While this is not how we planned on spending our first Christmas together, we are trying to stay positive. It is difficult though, especially for me, because I love Christmas so much. We just keep reminding ourselves that we are lucky that he is here with us. Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends!

Landon, one week old!

Landon had another exciting day of having things removed and improvements. He had the line that went into his left chest removed. This was used to draw blood and to keep an eye on his blood pressure. That was the last line The got a bath today...finally! He hadn't had a bath since the day he was born, so he was in dire need!

As far as eating goes, he has made some improvements. The goal for the day is to get 585 mls, which is just under 20 ounces, into him. That seems to be an impossible feat for him. He struggles to get an ounce in himself in an hour. We were hoping to go home tomorrow, but that won't be possible with the eating expectations. We are okay with being here longer, but that would've been an incredible gift to go home on Christmas. We don't want to rush him and go home too soon.

He was given a different bed today also. Since he is able to maintain his body temperature, he was given a crib to sleep in now.

Probably the most exciting part of the day was when Santa visited!! I was out when he came, but Nick got a picture of Landon's first visit with Santa. He received a teddy bear from Santa.

We had visits from Grandma and Grandpa Bausman, the Fosters, and Aunt Megan, Michael and Taylor. Grandpa spent a lot of time getting him to eat.

Landon's continuing improvement, Day 2

I feel like I am starting these posts the same way every time, but Landon has had a great day! He had many things removed today and is maintaining very well! The first thing to come out was his arterial line. That came out late this morning I believe. After that, his oxygen was reduced to 1/2 liter per minute.

At 2:30, his chest tube was removed. That has really improved his pain. Despite the chest tube being removed, he had some pain earlier in the day and had to have 2 doses of morphine. That was kind of a step back, but we are okay with it. If it means he is more comfortable, we will take it.

A respiratory therapist came in this afternoon to do a little therapy for him because there was a little something that showed up on his chest x-ray. After she left I attempted some eating and had him sitting up to burp and he coughed at me a little, so her therapy did its job.

At 5:00, his oxygen came out completely! Since then he has been able to maintain his pulse ox at anywhere around 96-98. That is great!

He has attempted some eating today and has taken in only an ounce. We are hoping that he will make a lot of improvements with that now that he doesn't have the oxygen or chest tube in. One more little side note, his cord came off today! We weren't expecting that this early at all! He still has a little bit on his belly button, but the majority of it came off.

He had more visitors today! Aunt Megan, Michael and Taylor came and brought him a Christmas tree. Grandma and Grandpa Bartels and brought his sister Lexi, and Matt and Hayley Jordan visited also. We are expecting a pretty quiet night tonight to relax and try to get him to eat a lot! We really appreciate all the visitors and support we are receiving.

I have to send out some thank yous that are well deserved. Our neighbors, Kurt and Eli Schaefer and Lacey Stoerp cleaned our driveway. My cousin Elizabeth has helped my dad with the dogs and cat. My coworkers banned together and got us several gift cards to eateries nearby as well as cash that will help us pay for the fuel needed to make it here and home. Nick's brother Mike is planning to spend his time off this week working at the shop to make sure things get caught up. My sister Megan has made sure we have everything we need, which seems to be very random items like a razor and nail clipper, as well as bringing us Toppers today! And our parents and family have done a great job making sure that people are informed of Landon's situation and progress and getting us all the prayers we need. And, most importantly, we have had the best staff working with us while we are here. Landon's nurses have paid such close attention to him and have made sure he has everything he needs and is comfortable. Our doctor, Dr. A has been amazing! We participate in rounds when they get to our room so we know what is going on. Yesterday, they were discussing how long Landon's surgery lasted and one person said the surgery lasted about 20 minutes. Dr. A interrupted and said, "Actually, it was 16 minutes. My record is 15 minutes, so I was close." We got a good laugh out of that! I'm sure I have forgotten someone, so please forgive me. Again, thank you to everyone for all the love, support, and prayers!

Landon with Grandma and Grandpa Bartels and Daddy.

After the oxygen tube came out of his nose!

Landon's night

Landon had such a great night that I couldn't wait to update everyone until this afternoon! He woke up a few times and wanted to eat. His total intake was 55mls, which is almost 2 ounces!!! And he was able to burp as well. Right now his tummy is pretty bloated, but that is one of the side affects of the anesthesia. The anesthesia slows down the function of his stomach, so we are waiting for him to start passing gas and pooping. He has been peeing really well. Because of his progress with eating, he will be able to have the IV with nutrients turned off today. He did not need any morphine overnight, just some Tylenol! He is very much more alert without the morphine and isn't really fussing like he is in pain.

Our expectations for the day are pretty high. He should be able to have his chest tube removed, his arterial line removed, as well as his oxygen removed. He has kept his pulse ox at 99 or 100 consistently, which is amazing! After he has the chest tube removed, he will have to be monitored to make sure that his pulse ox doesn't change and then he will be able to have the oxygen removed.

I just asked about his weight. When he was born, he was 7 lbs. 9 oz. Yesterday he weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz.  I know that sounds crazy, but he has a lot of extra fluid in him and the tubes and wires will account for some of that weight. This morning he weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz., which is fine. He has bee releasing a lot of the fluid in him and as he gets lines removed, his weight will continue to lower. They expect him to get back to his "dry" weight and then go from there.

We are expecting some visitors today so it is time for me to eat and take a nap!

This was a couple nights ago, but he really likes to hold on to things.

Landon's recovery, Day 1, Part 2

Landon is still doing very well with his recovery. His morphine has been reduced, his breathing tube was switched out for a slower flow one that will help him be able to eat better, and his oxygen flow is all the way down to 1 liter per minute! He has eaten three times today!! We were very excited about that! That is the first step we need to take for him to be released. The two main stipulations for him to be released are for him to eat and gain weight. For lack of a better saying, it's baby steps. The total amount he had was 30 mls, which is 1 ounce. However, with the first 15, he probably spit out 5 of them. So his total intake has probably been 25 mls. That doesn't sound like much, but that is a lot for our little guy!

We are expecting the chest tube to come out tomorrow, which will really improve his pain level, which will also mean reducing his morphine even more. We aren't sure if anything else will be removed tomorrow, so we will see what happens.

We had a few more visitors today, Kurt and Becky Cohen stopped briefly this afternoon, with gift cards in hand from people at school, and Mike and Kelly came tonight. Thank you again to everyone who has sent prayers and support! We can't say enough how blessed we feel through all of this!

You can see how groggy he looks here! He is being burped after having the last of his milk!

Landon's first day of recovery

Landon is doing very well today!! He has been receiving medication to help control his pain. He has had one thing removed so far and that is the blood flow sensor that was on his forehead. He has a breathing tube in his nose and his oxygen started at 6 liters per minute and has now been brought all the way down to 3 liters per minute! He is maintaining his pulse ox very well and the goal is to wean him off of that today. He should also have his catheter removed today! His cry is starting to sound more like him too, so that is great!

He had some moments of alertness during the night, but has slept most of the morning. He is awake now because we moved to our own room!! We had been sharing a room and it was a tight squeeze, so when we got the news that room opened up, we took it!

As I type this up, he is getting some food!! This is the first opportunity he has had to eat since he ate on Wednesday at 11:30 am! He seems very happy to have some real food instead of sugar and protein through a tube that he can't even taste.

While I was out to take a shower, Child Life came by and delivered a fleece tie blanket for him. It was made by a 3rd grade class in Middleton! We feel so lucky to have such generosity around us!

I'm sure I will have more to update everyone later as well! Keep praying that he continues down this road of improvement!

These are from when he was still in Monroe, but Aunt Megan and Michael visited last night.

Grandma and Grandpa Bausman are here now!

Landon's surgery

Landon's surgery went very well!! We are absolutely ecstatic and have gotten great news! He handled the surgery very well. We were told that he absolutely needed the surgery to repair the narrowing. As far as the holes in his ventricles, they are not concerned. They should close as he grows and be fine.

He came back from surgery without the breathing tube, which is great! We were very happy to not have to see him intubated. We were told that he did not bleed a lot and that he has been crying and his cry sounds good. We are waiting to see him, but caught a glimpse of him on our way out of the room. It felt so good to see him for that very brief moment.

We don't know an exact timeline for going home, but it should be next week sometime. The doctor said he needs to learn how to be a baby and eat well and gain weight before he can be released.

Today we had a very cool experience offered to us. We were able to go "shopping" for him for Christmas. Everything was complimentary, but when he is only four days old, much of what was offered was inappropriate for him. We passed on much of it so it was available for other kids. Even though he is only four days old, we really thought it would be nice to have pictures of him with Christmas gifts. One of the gifts we didn't have wrapped and gave it to him immediately. Nick chose a reindeer for him because it has his eyes.

I will continue to give updates as we know more and will include pictures every time. We love him so much and really appreciate all of the prayers that everyone has sent. We really can't thank everyone enough for all of the support we have been getting!

We hadn't had a picture taken of the three of us, so we had the nurse take one last night.

This morning we were able to cover him with his blanket. 

That was the first time he was able to have it.

Landon with his new reindeer.

He was very alert this morning.

Landon pictures

Here are some pictures of our Landon. He has been a real trooper!

Tonight at the hospital

At the hospital in Monroe

 Snuggling with Daddy in the blanket Aunt Kelly made.

We brought it with us to Madison and now we snuggle with it until he can again.

Landon's surgery

Hi everyone! Yesterday afternoon Landon was brought to UW Children's Hospital because of a defect in his aorta. He has a narrowing that is a concern for circulation. He also has two holes in between his ventricles, that are less of a concern, but the combination of the two problems can be pretty severe. The plan that several cardiologists have come up with is to repair the narrowing with surgery tomorrow. Landon has been on a medication to help increase that part of his aorta to help blood flow to the lower portion of his body. It has worked, but they don't want to just rely on that and see if that has done the trick. They are thinking that the holes will repair themselves as he grows.

This morning he had ultrasounds done of his head and abdomen, which is standard procedure to make sure that everything else looks good. They also serve as baselines for them to check and make sure that nothing happened after surgery.

The surgery will be done tomorrow afternoon. We are very pleased to hear that because originally we were told that he wouldn't have surgery until early next week. They are planning to go in through his side to do the repair. This is ideal because if they go through the front there can be many more complications and a longer recovery time.

He has been doing great and handling everyone bothering him very well. I think he is handling it better than me! He is so amazing and we feel very blessed to have him and can't wait to be able to bring him home. We are able to hold him despite all of his wires and lines, but it's very difficult to not snuggle him close to me. Nick and I truly appreciate all the support we are receiving from family and friends. We are able to stay here at the hospital. There is a bed in Landon's room and we also are provided a sleep room. Last night we split shifts so that we both could get some decent sleep. We will probably continue that.

Please continue to send out some prayers for our precious little guy. He is very brave and very strong, but we need all the help we can get. Below is an amazing picture that Megan was able to get on Monday night at not even 24 hours old. He has very long legs, long feet and long fingers!

Final Blog for MEIT

This past year and a half has been an interesting time for me. I have learned an incredible amount throughout all the courses.

After going back to the beginning of the blog, I found it very interesting, and humorous, what I said at the beginning of the program! Below is from my very first blog:

     "As a business teacher, I am hoping to get many things from this program. I use technology in my classes everyday, but would like to improve assignments and increase opportunities for students to learn. I have wanted to incorporate tools like Moodle or edmodo and have not had the chance to learn about the programs and their capabilities. If there is a way that I can minimize paper use in my classroom, I would like to do it.
I teach in a small school district and we continually have problems with technology and server space. I am excited to learn more about google docs and tools that can be used to eliminate space used on our server at school. I would also like to become a resource for other teachers in my district who are wishing to improve their technology skills or wishing to incorporate more technology into their classrooms and lessons."

I was able to achieve some of my goals. I have been able to incorporate a lot of new technologies into my classroom since beginning this program. One of the first things I did was incorporate Google docs. It has been very successful. The students have adapted well to it and have embraced the advantages to using them. Incoporating Google docs has allowed me to cut down on the amount of paper being used in my classroom, as well as saving room on our district servers. Rather than printing their homework, students have been able to share their document with me. I have not incorporated Moodle or edmodo, but have been able to incorporate My Big Campus, which is very similar. It has also assisted me in being able to minimize the amount of paper used in my classroom. Another of my goals for the program was to become a resource for other teachers in my district. I have been able to achieve that goal as well. When other teachers began incorporating Google docs into their classes, I was able to answer many questions they had.

This program has introduced me to so many more tools than I thought could ever be available to me for free! I have been able to greatly improve my classroom with these tools. I also have been introduced to the concept of flipping a classroom, which has peaked my interest greatly. So much so, that I have worked on flipping one of my classes. Since I will be taking some leave this coming school year, this will be very beneficial to me and to my substitute teacher. My goal is to have another course flipped by the time I am taking my leave. Without this program, I never would have been given the opportunity to flip even one of my classes.

Overall, I am very happy with everything I have learned in the program. It has had a huge impact on my and my classroom. When I was thinking about getting my Master's degree, I didn't want to get it in something that I couldn't apply to my classroom. I am so happy that I chose this program. It has been so relevant to me and helped me become a better teacher.

My Final Six Weeks of MEIT, CEdO 599

The last six weeks have been very interesting for me as I have completed my project for my MEIT program. I had a slow start on my project as I was finishing the school year and track season.Once I made it through those, I was able to get going on my project.

After some initial guidance from Louis, I knew what I needed to do. My original proposal was to flip four of my classes to non-traditional instruction and incorporate more Web 2.0 tools. After talking with Louis, he made me realize that perhaps my original proposal was a bit too ambitious. So, I changed my proposal from four classes to one class, Introduction to Business.

Over the course of a semester, I cover seven chapters in our book, as well as a unit not provided by the text book. I decided to have six of the nine presentations ready for the beginning of the school year and four of the screencasts that are needed. I plan to use our social network platform that corresponds with our security system, My Big Campus. MBC allows me to upload documents, online presentations, and screencasts to be used in the class. It also allows me to create a "Bundle," which includes everything the student needs for the course in one convenient location.

As I thought I was nearing the end of my project, I learned of the Bundles, which is new to MBC. This added a bit of time to my project that I wasn't expecting, but actually is a great addition to the site. I spent more time on MBC than planned, setting up my Bundle and organizing it so it looked how I wanted it to.

I am very excited about implementing this project into my classroom! By flipping my classroom, I will have more time to incorporate more real-life projects and valuable assignments. My final project can be found within my portfolio.

Leadership and Planning Week 6

In our final blog for Leadership and Planning, we were asked to answer a few questions.

How has your definition of leadership altered or been reinforced? Your definition of teacher leadership?
Leaders can be found in many places in a school district. The most obvious form of leadership comes from administration, but that is not the only place that leadership can be seen in a school. Many teachers don't realize that they are exhibiting leadership skills. Sometimes a teacher leads by the way they interact with students. This can be seen by other teachers as well as having an effect on the students. My definition of leadership and teacher leadership has not changed, just been reinforced.


Has your opinion of your leadership potential changed?
No, my opinion has not changed. I am perfectly happy where I am. I really have no desire to become an administrator. Someday, when I have more than eight years of experience in, I will pursue more forms of teacher leadership. Eight years seems like a lot of experience, but I am still one of the lowest people in my building. Many people in our building have 15-20 years of experience. When the time is right, I will focus more on being more of a leader in my school. 


Do you agree with our textbook's assertion about "improving education from within"? If so, what will you do to help?
I do agree. How is a teacher to improve the learning environment if they are not improving their own education base? The improvement of education needs to be encouraged from fellow teachers and also administration and the school board. Administration and the school board should want educators to improve themselves with quality programs and courses that will only improve student performance.

CEdO565 Week 5

In week 5 of 565 we finished the in-class simulation that focused on change and convincing people that the change would be good for the district. We learned a lot of things during this simulation and some things we were just reminded of that we already knew and may have forgotten.

One thing we were reminded of is how much administration likes to talk about things. "Beating a dead horse" sometimes comes to mind when I think about how much administration likes to talk about things. Another thing we were reminded of is that there will always be people who resist change. Those people think that whatever the change entails, they don't have time for it or they just don't see the advantage of it.

We began earning "Bens" in the first year, but it was only once we really got people moving on our game board and began including everyone that we really started earning Bens. We found that sometimes when we included certain people, i.e. community members or students, that we would earn more Bens.

This simulation made me think a lot about how I view change. Sometimes I will resist change because of who it comes from, which is very petty of me. Sometimes when I resist a change it is because I think that it is not in the best interest of the students. And I have found that sometimes it is just easier to go with the flow and jump on board with change than to resist it, even though I may think it is not the best idea.

CEdO 565 - Week 4

This week didn't involve much work outside of class, but did include an in-class simulation. We worked in groups as members of the Verifine School District and we were asked to help change the district into a continuously improving learning community. There were many "players" involved, whom we needed to convince our ideas were great. We had to select which activities would be best to move people along with us and "buy into" our learning community. After some initial roadblocks, my team got on a roll and moved several people across our game board. We found that communication is key, especially with administrators, if we were going to get people to agree with us.

Outside of class, we were asked to think about how climate can affect success, influence leadership, and learning. In my opinion, a healthy climate is key for everyone to be successful. In a poor climate, or environment, it can be difficult to want to be a leader and make changes to improve the climate. In a negative climate, those attitudes can be very contagious and tough to break. Keeping a positive climate and environment is needed.

We were also asked to consider morale in our current teaching position. Every school is different and I think that administration has a lot to do with morale in a school environment. Actually, administration and management have a lot to do with morale in any work environment.

CEdO565 - Week 3

This week we were asked to watch Who Moved My Cheese? I had never watched it before, nor have I read it. I enjoyed the brief video that can inspire adapting to new ideas or materials. This is a concept which I think is very important. Our world is constantly changing and we must change with it, especially as teachers. It is our job to teach students the most up-to-date information. In order to do that, we must be able to adapt our curriculum and increase the relevance of our lessons.

We also read about Millennials, people born between 1978 and later, who combine teamwork and technology to increase students' understanding of lessons. Millennials multitask well, love technology, and have a high tolerance for change, innovation, and learning. Millennials are ideal teachers because they adapt easily and can create an ideal classroom for modern students.

Leadership and Planning, Week 1

This is the first week of 565, Leadership and Planning. We were asked to watch a video about leadership skills, do a few leadership assessment surveys and read the beginning of our book, How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader.

I found the leadership assessments to have accurate results. I think at this point in our lives/careers, most of us have a good idea of our leadership qualities and virtues. I found for leadership qualities I scored high in dynamic supportive and in the leadership virtues I scored high in impartiality, empathy, judgment, and enthusiasm. All of those things are what I would consider to be my strong traits as a leader.

I found the leadership profile difficult to complete. I have no interest in being a principal, so it was difficult for me to put myself into the mindset of a principal. I found myself answering how I think my current principal is, and then going back and changing answers. However, I found I scored high in communication and relationships, two areas that I think are very important for a principal to excel in.

CEdO555 Week 3 - Project Proposal and Portfolio

This week I have been working on creating my portfolio and finishing my project proposal. Both of these projects have been very challenging, but for different reasons.

I have found my portfolio to be challenging because of the amount of time that has to be put into it. It is a very detailed site with many pages and links required. However, it is a fun project to be working on. It is amazing how many different things we have learned about and how much work we have done. It is nice to see it all in one place.

My project proposal has been a challenge because it has forced me to really think about how to accomplish the goals I set for the project. My goal didn't have to do with portfolios, but rather improving my classroom in order to enhance the futures of my students. Creating an effective rubric was definitely a challenge and took some thinking to get there, but I eventually made it.

I am at a point that I am taking deep breaths and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I am really enjoying this class and the guidance I am receiving on my portfolio.

CEdO555 Week 2 - Vision and Mission, Project Proposal

This week we were asked to write our vision and mission statements for our portfolio. It took me some time to think about where I think my career is heading and what I am going to do to get there. Once those statements were written we were to add them to our portfolio. It was exciting to finally start this huge undertaking!

The other task for the week was to draft our first project proposal. I am finding this task to be a bit difficult. I'm a little unclear on what exactly is expected for the project. However, if I understand it a little bit...I would like to find a way to make my classroom nearly paperless, flipped to be a non-traditional learning environment, and fully functional if I am not there. I plan to use our district's social learning platform to assist in most of my proposal, as well as other web 2.0 tools.

CEdO555 Week 2 - Vision and Mission, Project Proposal

This week we were asked to write our vision and mission statements for our portfolio. It took me some time to think about where I think my career is heading and what I am going to do to get there. Once those statements were written we were to add them to our portfolio. It was exciting to finally start this huge undertaking!

The other task for the week was to draft our first project proposal. I am finding this task to be a bit difficult. I'm a little unclear on what exactly is expected for the project. However, if I understand it a little bit...I would like to find a way to make my classroom nearly paperless, flipped to be a non-traditional learning environment, and fully functional if I am not there. I plan to use our district's social learning platform to assist in most of my proposal, as well as other web 2.0 tools.

CEdO555 Week 1 - Professional Portfolios

This is the first week of CEdO555 in which we will propose our culminating project and begin creating our professional portfolio. I recall in 515 that we were told we would be creating a portfolio using a Google site. So after creating our Google site for 515, I continued to update that site in hopes it would help me at this point in my Master's journey. At this point, I am thankful I have done that.

This week we were asked to research other professional portfolios. I found one that is for a fellow business educator and two who have gone through the MEIT program. Below are the three that I found.


Nick Havlik's portfolio

• Nick Havlik is a technology education teacher who created his portfolio as a requirement of his MEIT cohort. He chose to organize his portfolio according to the National Educational Technology Standards. He included an artifact for each course taken and a description of each artifact. His side headings are easy to follow and functional.

Ann Perry's portfolio

• Ann Perry is a science teacher who also created her portfolio as a requirement for her MEIT cohort. She chose to organize according to the NETS. She included artifacts from each course and descriptions of the artifacts. Her portfolio is very easy to navigate and easy to read.

Jennifer Morgan's portfolio

• This portfolio belongs to a teacher who teaches in Utah. She begins by giving some basic information about herself and explaining what will be seen in the portfolio. The portfolio is very easy to navigate with clear side headings. The site is easy to read with little distractions, colors are appropriate and fonts are readable. It included artifacts with links and descriptions.