For all of the hard work and support that district technology departments provided during the trainings that LYS conducted this summer (and we are very appreciative), they still make the daily use of technology difficult. Here were some all too common roadblocks. Roadblock #1: Everyone has to have a password to access any computer. In not one case was a “guest” option ever made available. So if you didn’t have a district issued password (new hires) you just got to sit and watch. Roadblock #2: Oppressive Internet filtering. I understand the need for some filtering. But blocking darn near everything for everybody is not the way to go. And no, I shouldn’t have to call someone to have a site approved. As a teacher, the second time I was blocked in a middle of a lesson, would be the last time I wasted my time using on-line resources in the classroom. And don’t try to claim that this is a lack of planning on the teacher’s part. Most planning occurs at home, where appropriate web resources are not blocked per standard operating procedure. Roadblock #3: We found student computers that didn’t have Word (or any other word processing program) installed. If you can’t surf the web and you can’t create documents, just how are the computers being used by students. Roadblock #4: Excessive control of district and campus Wi-Fi. Even though this is standard procedure in almost every district I visit, no one has given me an adequate explanation why this is the case. When the only staff that are able to use the Wi-Fi are the technology staff, we have missed the point for providing Wi-Fi on the campus. But I’m not completely blaming the Technology Department entirely for this situation. If we as school leaders and teachers aren’t attempting to embed the use of technology in our classrooms, we don’t know these roadblocks exist. And if we don’t know they exist, we can’t ask (or tell) technology to fix it. So we all have to do our part. A number of you in the LYS Nation are now using bootleg technology devices to follow Twitter. If you haven’t done so yet, we want you to join us. To let you see what you are missing, here are the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of August 7, 2011, as tabulated by the accountants at Price Waterhouse. 1. Congratulations to LYS Superintendent Bonny Cain!!! She is the new Chair of the Texas State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). 2. I just watched a soldier with a full pack take the stairs two at a time instead of the escalator. Practice your fundamentals everywhere. 3. There is no shame in missing the mark. The shame is in the blaming, punishing and quitting. 4. Purposeful action and hard work is the recipe for overcoming adversity, not excuse making. 5. When I didn’t have a penny to my name I never noticed the heat. 6. If “parent satisfaction” is the new justification for vouchers, then sadly, state sanctioned segregation is making a come back. 7. Retire/rehire would be less controversial if the rehire returned at the bottom of the salary scale and contributed to the retirement system. 8. If you have 500 freshman and 300 graduating seniors – I don’t care that your formula says otherwise, you have a dropout problem. 9. Tonite’s Run Thought: It is wrong to hold those down-stream responsible if those up-stream are not held accountable. 10. With redistricting, we have a version of democracy where rather than voters choosing representatives; the representative chooses the voters. (By FareedZakaria) Think. Work. Achieve. Your turn… Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/4ydqd4t Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation