I am not sure if we were supposed to have a wrap up blog based on a total view of the mentoring process based on the questions that were on th eImet webstite along with the mentoring process forms. In the last post I discussed the final meeting and my mentee's repsonses. This post will be a final wrap up based on this post in the Imet webpage:
Answers to the Following Mentor Questions:
What challenges occurred in the process?
What successes occurred in the process?
What did you learn about the mentoring process?
What did you learn about yourself in the role of mentor.
Did your style of mentoring change over the course of the project?
Did you feel mentoring was worthwhile?
How would you have done things differently?
How did you feel you did overall in the relationship?
-----Challenges and successes abounded in this process. I feel I got a man who for all practical puroposes does not like technology that much or thinks that it is to hard for him or it takes to long to learn things to actually feel good about learning some new things on the computer. The letdowns came in the process of finding time, with our busy schedulesit was hard to find time to sit down for an hour. Another thing that was a struggle is that I tend to get impatient when I think that people are timid with things that they should't be. I know that this is not a good mentor but I really had to work on it. I think at times my mentor felt this from me, which caused them to not focus on the learning but to just make me happy.
I just kind of answered the next batch of questions I learned that the learing curve of a mentee is whatever it is going to be. I have to allow that process to happen. I am there to be encouraging and guide and reflect, not to push the learing curve to fit my expectations. In the final response I really think that my mentee liked the process and embraced his learing with my guidence. What I just described above was what was happening to me mentally. I think I for the most part worked with Jay well because he reponded that I did not make him feel uncomfortable like I have in the past when I have worked with him.
I would only change one thing and that is be more proactive of setting up a schedule and being committed on both ends about keeping that schedule. Jay and I worked well together. We have known each other as peers and friends for a long time and Jay has come to me many times for technology help. It was nice to work as peers to reach a learing goal.
I would like to wrap up this blog by stating that this was one of my favorite assignments. It actually gave me a chance to work with technology in a manner that I feel that I persued this degree for. I look forward to partially running a professional development program with leadership on my campus next year and this was a good test drive for that upcomming event.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Fianl Session Process Form
Mentor: Keith Dello Russo
Mentee: Jay Lottes
Location: Room 82
Date: 5/9/09
Well it took long enough to get this post up!!!!! Jay and did this meeting nine days ago!!!! It took an e-mail from the prof. to get this thing up because i certainly do not want a "D" for this class! So here is the form questions and how Jay answered them. They are not the deepest of thoughts but they answer the questions. I couldn't really make him say things he didn't want to.
Following these questions are my end post for the class, answering the litany of questions that were posted for us on the Imet website.
1. How did you feel about the process as a whole?
" Great!" " I have learned a lot if things that will help me in the future."
This is all Jay said but to be specific I think he means the social networking that we did as well as the e-mail organization and embedding videos.
2. What did you learn about the mentor/mentoring process?
" He was more patient than I thought"
I think Jay is referring to other times I have helped him when he has asked question that I presumed everyone knew how to do on the computer (especially someone who has a masters in technology like Jay does)
3. What did you learn about yourself as a mentee?
" I can do anything with technology if someone spends time walking me through things."
This is the scary thing, what if Jay needs to explore on his own to find something out and there is no one there, is he just going to give up?
4. Do you feel the goals of the process were met? Why or Why Not?
"YES!"
I agree, he added no further comment on the paper.
Mentee: Jay Lottes
Location: Room 82
Date: 5/9/09
Well it took long enough to get this post up!!!!! Jay and did this meeting nine days ago!!!! It took an e-mail from the prof. to get this thing up because i certainly do not want a "D" for this class! So here is the form questions and how Jay answered them. They are not the deepest of thoughts but they answer the questions. I couldn't really make him say things he didn't want to.
Following these questions are my end post for the class, answering the litany of questions that were posted for us on the Imet website.
1. How did you feel about the process as a whole?
" Great!" " I have learned a lot if things that will help me in the future."
This is all Jay said but to be specific I think he means the social networking that we did as well as the e-mail organization and embedding videos.
2. What did you learn about the mentor/mentoring process?
" He was more patient than I thought"
I think Jay is referring to other times I have helped him when he has asked question that I presumed everyone knew how to do on the computer (especially someone who has a masters in technology like Jay does)
3. What did you learn about yourself as a mentee?
" I can do anything with technology if someone spends time walking me through things."
This is the scary thing, what if Jay needs to explore on his own to find something out and there is no one there, is he just going to give up?
4. Do you feel the goals of the process were met? Why or Why Not?
"YES!"
I agree, he added no further comment on the paper.
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Final Session------Yeah Right.....He's Hooked
Mentor: Keith Dello Russo
Mentee: Jay Lottes
Date: 5/1/09
Room: 82 & 83
1. What was our goal for the night?
For our final session the goal was to be get a YouTube video downloaded in to a PowerPoint video that can be used offline. This was supposed to happen yesterday, unfortunately this did not happen due to some mentor oversights of how unsimplified this process was going to be. I kinda rested on previous victories but yesterday proved that new issues can arise when situation are taken for granted. Left from yesterday, I still needed to find a file converter program that work work on our school machines. I did and once I was able to connect the dots between video, video down-loader, and file converter. I was ready to rock and roll.
2. Do you feel like we met the goal? Why or Why not?
Today the goal was met. Jay was able to see the whole process and he was not super overwhelmed. I cannot lie. He said he needs to run through it a few more time with me to truly feel comfortable. I can totally agree with him. This process took me a couple of time to do to really feel that I had the ability to do this process without reference to the video I watched the first time.
The goal of having Jay work with the application on his own was still not accomplished. Jay sat back and watched me do the process. He took noted. He ended up with about 18 steps. I said that your steps are literal, click here and go there. I tried to ease his anxiety with the short explanation that you are really doing four steps. Finding a video, downloading a video and converting the file and then putting that file into PowerPoint. I think the more he plays with it the easier it will become.
3. If the goal was not met, what could be done to help to attain the goal?
Well, as for most goals, time was the main factor of not meeting the goal of having Jay embed his own video today. He got to see the process but did not get to become tactile in the operations of embedding a video. I am not going to leave Jay high and dry because we are on our fourth meeting. I will be working with Jay to have him put in a video on his own with my help as he needs it.
4. How do you feel about the process in general?
The first two sessions were very different than the last two session. The first two session were very much hands on for Jay and the last two were not. I felt that the more technical the sessions were the more Jay let me lead and the more I did lead. I think that I should have put Jay in the driver seat more with finding the programs and applications for file downloading and file converting. It would have been good for him. I think in the end the process was fine because he got his original goals met of multimedia in a PowerPoint, e-mail, and social networking in all about 4-5 hours.
5. What do you feel should happen at the next session?
Well, there is no official next session but Jay and I will be working together to get him to manually on his own download a video into PowerPoint.
Mentee: Jay Lottes
Date: 5/1/09
Room: 82 & 83
1. What was our goal for the night?
For our final session the goal was to be get a YouTube video downloaded in to a PowerPoint video that can be used offline. This was supposed to happen yesterday, unfortunately this did not happen due to some mentor oversights of how unsimplified this process was going to be. I kinda rested on previous victories but yesterday proved that new issues can arise when situation are taken for granted. Left from yesterday, I still needed to find a file converter program that work work on our school machines. I did and once I was able to connect the dots between video, video down-loader, and file converter. I was ready to rock and roll.
2. Do you feel like we met the goal? Why or Why not?
Today the goal was met. Jay was able to see the whole process and he was not super overwhelmed. I cannot lie. He said he needs to run through it a few more time with me to truly feel comfortable. I can totally agree with him. This process took me a couple of time to do to really feel that I had the ability to do this process without reference to the video I watched the first time.
The goal of having Jay work with the application on his own was still not accomplished. Jay sat back and watched me do the process. He took noted. He ended up with about 18 steps. I said that your steps are literal, click here and go there. I tried to ease his anxiety with the short explanation that you are really doing four steps. Finding a video, downloading a video and converting the file and then putting that file into PowerPoint. I think the more he plays with it the easier it will become.
3. If the goal was not met, what could be done to help to attain the goal?
Well, as for most goals, time was the main factor of not meeting the goal of having Jay embed his own video today. He got to see the process but did not get to become tactile in the operations of embedding a video. I am not going to leave Jay high and dry because we are on our fourth meeting. I will be working with Jay to have him put in a video on his own with my help as he needs it.
4. How do you feel about the process in general?
The first two sessions were very different than the last two session. The first two session were very much hands on for Jay and the last two were not. I felt that the more technical the sessions were the more Jay let me lead and the more I did lead. I think that I should have put Jay in the driver seat more with finding the programs and applications for file downloading and file converting. It would have been good for him. I think in the end the process was fine because he got his original goals met of multimedia in a PowerPoint, e-mail, and social networking in all about 4-5 hours.
5. What do you feel should happen at the next session?
Well, there is no official next session but Jay and I will be working together to get him to manually on his own download a video into PowerPoint.
Third Meeting----Something had to go Wrong
Mentor: Keith Dello Russo
Mentee: Jay Lottes
Date: 4/30/09
Room(s): 82 and 83
1. What was our goal for the night?
The goal for session three was to bump the technology jargon and applications up a notch. Jay wanted his powerpoints to become multimedia. So, we were going to embed a Youtube video into a power point for offline use. I had taught myself from a Youtube video how to do this last year so I thought that this would be a cakewalk from the tech side. The part that I might need to have to worry about would be the mentoring side. Jay as much as he wants to do this gets lost pretty fast when the technology starts flying. This is not meant to be a put down. This is form eight years of knowing him. Jay even makes fun of the fact that he has a masters in technology but is very basic in his knowledge and application of technology.
2. Do you feel like we met the goal? Why or Why not?
Like the title reads....It just wasn't a cakewalk that day. I had an extended prep that day due to star testing so I was going to set Jay's computer up with everything so that after school I could shorten the learning curve and confusion if I had a file converter already downloaded and such. This was the dream. I was working on his school desktop MAC. I am not that comfortable on MAC's and it took me about an hour to realize that the file converter that I wanted to use was for PC's. (SUPER is the app.) The the file down-loader site would not "save target as" (like it does when I am at home and using it). So know I do not have a file down-loader or a file converter. I am at square one and my two hours of extra prep are almost up. So I switch to his school laptop which is a PC. I spend some time and find a file down loader that will take Youtube videos and "save target as" (KEEPVID). So two hours in and classes start. Fast forward after school and now working with Jay. I try to explain the problems and they are clearly going over his head, so I break down the fact the Youtube videos cannot be directly embedded into PowerPoint. It requires that the file be converted to a different format. After slowing down he grasped what has to be accomplished but seems a little apprehensive of what seems like a lot of steps just to put a video into a PowerPoint. I tell him that words are more complicated that the actual process. Look at the clock all of this is more than an hour and really I have spent over three hours that day and we didn't get a video into a PowerPoint. Mission failed.
3. If the goal was not met, what could be done to help to attain the goal?
I really should have taken his laptop and set up the pathway to get to the goal. I thought that really I could have everything set up and ready to go. Platform conflicts I did not really think anything about, they just were roadblocks for me. I never really thought that an application wouldn't work the same. So I really should have do some legwork before had to really lower his anxiety. Jay saw me getting frustrated bu not finding the right applications and this raised his anxiety level because for him I am the one that is supposed to know this stuff. Jay questioned whether he should be trying this or not and that did not make me feel good as a mentor.
4. How do you feel about the process in general?
The process is still overall very pleasant. Jay works well with me but this time I had to take a little more control over the process and I really feel that the process is meant foe the mentee. It wasn't real practical to have him navigating to find application that he knows nothing about, so he kinda watched me this session and that could not have been very fun.
5. What do you feel should happen at the next session?
well the final session goal should be to get a video downloaded in a PowerPoint and step through the process with Jay and then have him do one all on his own.
Mentee: Jay Lottes
Date: 4/30/09
Room(s): 82 and 83
1. What was our goal for the night?
The goal for session three was to bump the technology jargon and applications up a notch. Jay wanted his powerpoints to become multimedia. So, we were going to embed a Youtube video into a power point for offline use. I had taught myself from a Youtube video how to do this last year so I thought that this would be a cakewalk from the tech side. The part that I might need to have to worry about would be the mentoring side. Jay as much as he wants to do this gets lost pretty fast when the technology starts flying. This is not meant to be a put down. This is form eight years of knowing him. Jay even makes fun of the fact that he has a masters in technology but is very basic in his knowledge and application of technology.
2. Do you feel like we met the goal? Why or Why not?
Like the title reads....It just wasn't a cakewalk that day. I had an extended prep that day due to star testing so I was going to set Jay's computer up with everything so that after school I could shorten the learning curve and confusion if I had a file converter already downloaded and such. This was the dream. I was working on his school desktop MAC. I am not that comfortable on MAC's and it took me about an hour to realize that the file converter that I wanted to use was for PC's. (SUPER is the app.) The the file down-loader site would not "save target as" (like it does when I am at home and using it). So know I do not have a file down-loader or a file converter. I am at square one and my two hours of extra prep are almost up. So I switch to his school laptop which is a PC. I spend some time and find a file down loader that will take Youtube videos and "save target as" (KEEPVID). So two hours in and classes start. Fast forward after school and now working with Jay. I try to explain the problems and they are clearly going over his head, so I break down the fact the Youtube videos cannot be directly embedded into PowerPoint. It requires that the file be converted to a different format. After slowing down he grasped what has to be accomplished but seems a little apprehensive of what seems like a lot of steps just to put a video into a PowerPoint. I tell him that words are more complicated that the actual process. Look at the clock all of this is more than an hour and really I have spent over three hours that day and we didn't get a video into a PowerPoint. Mission failed.
3. If the goal was not met, what could be done to help to attain the goal?
I really should have taken his laptop and set up the pathway to get to the goal. I thought that really I could have everything set up and ready to go. Platform conflicts I did not really think anything about, they just were roadblocks for me. I never really thought that an application wouldn't work the same. So I really should have do some legwork before had to really lower his anxiety. Jay saw me getting frustrated bu not finding the right applications and this raised his anxiety level because for him I am the one that is supposed to know this stuff. Jay questioned whether he should be trying this or not and that did not make me feel good as a mentor.
4. How do you feel about the process in general?
The process is still overall very pleasant. Jay works well with me but this time I had to take a little more control over the process and I really feel that the process is meant foe the mentee. It wasn't real practical to have him navigating to find application that he knows nothing about, so he kinda watched me this session and that could not have been very fun.
5. What do you feel should happen at the next session?
well the final session goal should be to get a video downloaded in a PowerPoint and step through the process with Jay and then have him do one all on his own.
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