Unanticipated complications from a new school server set us back about 4 weeks.  We did not have prompt and adequate tech support to keep us up and running. Our school principal (and tech leader) helped get us over the bumps and hurdles but it was not a smooth trip.

One thing I was not prepared for was the amount of time I invested in this technology project.  Many hours were spent where one teacher was working on classroom instruction while the other was independently working on planning, editing and more often than not, troubleshooting.  This was very artificial in the sense that it would be very difficult to reproduce similar activities in a normal (one teacher) classroom setting in the timeframe which we did.

In fact, after reflecting about the feasibility of reproducing tech projects without the assistance of a student teacher, I realized I would need to come up with some form of assistance if I were to continue to be an ambitious user of technology in my classroom.

What to do now?
I decided to write a grant to help support my "tech wizard" training model.  In my grant I outlined how I would train a group of four parent volunteers and four students on the fundamentals of PowerPoint, IMovie, and Kidspiration just like I had to do during my involvement in the MITTEN Project.  These tech wizards would be available to any teacher to help in the production of any classroom tech projects. 

In this grant proposal, I also asked for funding for a G4 Titanium Apple Laptop.  This computer would serve as a production device allowing us to easily produce any tech projects similar to the ones we made for our MITTEN Project activities. With this G4, we would be able to burn our own DVD IMovies of school projects and allow students to take them home and share them with their families. 

I have already started training my tech wizards.  Stay tuned to hear what happens!