Wasn't Tony Franklin a kicker for the Philadelphia Eagles?
Answer: yes between 1979 and 1988, but that's not me.
Welcome to the School of the Future Blog! I'm Tony Franklin, a Solutions Specialist with the Microsoft Innovation and Business Development team. Hopefully you're visiting this blog because you've had a chance to visit the school for a tour or your searching for information on the latest innovation from the School of the Future (SOTF), maybe you've received this link from me and you're wondering what this School of the Future project is all about.
I've been with Microsoft for 5 years within the Education group and have worked with districts from around the country helping them intigrate technology into the classroom. Over the years, I've spoken with CIO's, Superintendents, Teachers and Students from all over the US, all in preperation for this role at the school. I thought I was walking into a job - do this, complete that, boy was I wrong. I am a believer in Microsoft technologies (there's a surprise) but I also believe that our solutions can make a difference in engaging Learners (students) in the classroom. Armed with that belief and knowledge of the Education industry I came into this role with expectations and hesitations, would I be able to make a difference? would I be able to work with Educators (teachers)? I wonder if school lunch tastes the same? Mary Cullinane and my manager Stacey Rainey had the confidence in me to do this job and with every job or role at Microsoft your committing to a variety of things whether that be the number of events attended or how many people youv'e spoken to over a period of time. One thing that they didn't tell me was that I would commit personally to this role, and that I would no longer see it as a job but as a responsiblity to these students to ensure that they are receiving every possible opportunity to achieve in a place that would just as soon sweep them onto the street - that is my committment. Mary told me that as long as you keep what's best for the learners in mind, you'll make the right decisions, and that's what I'm doing.
So here I sit, at my office in the school and on a daily basis bearing witness to the success and challenges that working within an innovative school present. What do I do? That's a great question, I'll list a few responsibilities:
Integrate technology into projects and curriculum
Conduct professional development for Educators, Learners and Parents
Work with Education partners to bring relevant solutions into the school
Develop the school of the Future Portal guide
Coordinate and welcome visitors from around the world to the School.
Figure stuff out
What's this blog about?
Well, as the title suggest the "day in the life" will attempt to chronical the latest and greatest innovations and projects at the school, as well as the sharing of projects, best practices, insights and commentary from the Educators, Learners and other SOTF affiliated people. I'd like this blog to serve as a portal into the day to day activities at the school. We'll discuss the technology and how it's being implemented and integrated, we'll discuss curriculum and project based learning, we'll discuss pressing issues that the Educators want to share with the global education community. This blog will be a single source of information and content regarding Microsoft Education technologies being used at the school, we'll post, demonstrate and write about how to implement and use specific technologies in your classroom or school district.
Ultimately, the goal of this blog will be to share and be as transparent as possible about the School of the Future, if you have ideas or suggestions for topics please email me or post up!
I hope you enjoy your visit.
