Welcome Participants in "Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes or Less"

This post is written for those attending my hands-on workshop, "Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes or Less" at the NAESP Convention in New Orleans.

These are the sample blog that we will view:

• Talladega City Schools Collaborative parent/community blog
• Teach Talladega Collaborative blog for school system employees
• Graham School Parent/community blog for a school
• Graham Staff Principal's blog for employees
• Dr. Jan's Blog Pricipal's blog offering general thoughts
• Raymond L. Young New principal's blog for the community
  
• Alabama Black Belt Arts Education Initative Collaborative blog for schools in a particular region of Alabama
• Ala NB Seekers Blog for teachers seeking National Board Certification
• Get Organized! Blog on organization and time management

The site we will use to create customized title banners and other images is www.Imagechef.com

For instructions on how to to remove the Blogger navigation bar, click here.

Do you know of other examples that would benefit teachers who are interested in using a blog in their classes? If you do, please leave a comment.

NAESP Workshop--"Managing Digital Data With Ease"

If you are attending NAESP, I invite you to my workshop, "Managing Digital Data With Ease."

Today’s school leader is flooded with an every-increasing amount of information, and much of it comes in digital form. This session focuses on practical tools and techniques for managing digital data. Participants learn how to establish a logical filing system on computers and how to backup data easily so that nothing is lost when the hard drive fails. The session examines some lesser-known capabilities of Google, the convenience of iGoogle, and the potential of Del.icio.us. Participants are introduced to a method for using one document to house a year’s worth of digital documents, websites, videos, and presentations, all with clickable links. Finally, the session explores e-mail best practice and offers a methodology for getting the e-mail Inbox empty every day.

The session will be held on Monday, April 6, beginning at 8:00.

NAESP Workshop--"Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes or Less"

If you are attending the NAESP Convention in New Orleans, I invite you to attend my hands-on session, "Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes of Less." We will look at some well-established blogs to show some of the ways people are using blogs, look at the features of blogs, and then create our own from scratch.

We will examine how to do perform techniques you see on this blog: insert links, include pictures, embed video, and use clip art. We will also look at sites where you can find good clip art and photographs. Participants will leave with a blog created that they can continue to enjoy for as long as the tool is useful to them.

This workshop will be held on Sunday, April April 5 starting at 1:30 in Room 202.

Scenes from "Get Organized With Outlook"

The room was packed Monday afternoon. The number of people who are very interested in how to use this program to organize their lives is encouraging. The greatest interest seemed to be as we discussed "drag and drop" to get the e-mail Inbox empty each day.

A short book-signing session followed the workshop. Out of the two large stacks which were in the NAESP bookstore (at least 50 copies), a mere three copies of the book remained.

Divine, the Living Grapevine

One of the neat attractions in the hotel was Divine, the Living Grapevine. Obviously a master of walking on stilts and sporting an amazing costume, Divine was a real hit. The pictures really don't do her justice.

More Photos from the Gaylord Opryland Hotel

Today's post contains more photos from this beautiful hotel. Stay tuned for photos of "Divine, the Living Grapevine" and photos related to the workshop on Outlook.

I had written about Photobucket in this post. It's a nice touch, but a little bit of it goes a long way. I try not to overdo it.

Scenes from the Gaylord Opryland Hotel

The NAESP Convention was held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. The next several posts will bring you scenes from that beautiful hotel.

NAESP Review

If you are visiting this blog as a result of attending Get Organized With Outlook at the NAESP National Convention, thanks for stopping by! I was thrilled to see the overwhelming response and know just how much interest there is on organizing digitally. Maybe next time, they will give us a bigger room, because we certainly used every square inch of the one we had!

I hope you will come back often. In addition to the book and the material here on my blog, I have a set of approximately a dozen essays that follow-up or expand on the material from the session. If you would like for me to add you to the list of people who receive these monthly essays, simply e-mail me by clicking here and let me know you would like to receive them.

If you would like to talk with me about professional development for your teachers or administrators, simply e-mail me. I would enjoy the opportunity to make a difference in your school system.

Proud to Be a Principal

The National Association of Elementary Principals is sponsoring a "Proud to Be a Principal" campaign which runs through November 15 of this year. NAESP had invited comment on its blog, and seeing none from anyone, could not resist the opportunity to comment on a job which brought so much joy to my life. Here is what I had to say:

Having been away from the principalship and at the central office for almost a year and a half, I am at a stage where I think I am close enough to remember what he job was like, and far enough from it to have gained some perspective. My mentor, Dr. Henry Clark, often remarked, “I enjoy being a principal.” During my nine years as an elementary principal, that same statement was often on my lips. 

Aside from being enjoyable, I honestly believe the principalship to be the most influential position in education. I began to realize in those early days that students, teachers, and other adults were hanging on my every word and looking to me for answers to the most perplexing problem.

I’ll never forget the day shortly following 9/11 when a mother recounted the day her daughter came home from school, a day on which I had to figure out how to explain a real-world tragedy to children who should never have to experience such. “Don’t worry, Mom,” she said. “Dr. Buck said we are going to be OK.”

I am proud of those nine years for the opportunity to make life a little better for the teacher in the classroom, for all of the times I tried to deflect the limelight away from me so that learning could be the star, and for the opportunity to be part of the magic of turning young boys and girls into young adults.