I learned so much at NCCAT and other professional development sessions and classes but have often found as wonderful as some of the programs are, it is hard to get support in the classroom lab.  Getting software added to the computers in a lab can be a challenge too. This year our LEA is moving from XP to 7 since XP is no longer supported. They will be changing the computers in my lab and will need to have software that controls the PLC station, the CNC Mill, the 2 robotic arms, and the MecLab station.  I  will need to be prepared for the technician as soon as I get back to school if they allow me to operate stand alone.  I hope I will be able to use them at the beginning of the term since my curriculum is dependent upon the equipment. There is  a solar trainer newly  assembled and a new MecLab with extensions waiting when I return. I have the manuals open on the dining room table to look at during the spare time all teachers have.  Challenges! Challenges!  So much of what I do  in class is manufacturing technology and not social or information technology.  (I try to keep up with it too!) My externship at Mertek is wonderful.  I plan to hitch my wagon to the PLC (Programable Logic Control) writer  Monday.  I learned so much talking to him Thursday afternoon and asked if I could sit next to him and learn. I know some about what he does but I want to learn more as it is applied in a real world problem.  I digress. Often in my classroom we have something called “Jutson’s Rule” like “Murphy’s Law ” but more localized.  You know when the technology works perfectly 20 times until you need to demonstrate it to a group or a teacher (Mrs. Jutson).  It happens frequently  so we just laugh and try to have a plan B.  I hope to get things situated as soon as possible when we get to Fall Semester.  I am grateful everything is on Edmodo so I can revisit the technology we learned in at NCCAT.