Last night as I was watching the Alabama football team go down in defeat, I was going down to defeat at the hands of a spreadsheet I had been so proud of. It was a masterpiece in the art of taking a paperwork nightmare imposed from the State Department of Education and turning it into a simple, paperless procedure.
The fly in the ointment was a formula--one formula. I knew what I wanted to happen but didn't know of an Excel formula which would do it. A Google search revealed other people searching for exactly the same formula, but it seemed what I wanted didn't exist.
As the the 4th quarter was drawing to a close, an idea occurred to me that would work. It wasn't elegant. It wasn't pretty. But, it would work. Two to three hours was a good estimate of the time required to make the needed adjustments--major adjustments. As the ga,e proceeded into overtime, I realized I was looking at a task which would require far more time and energy than was available. As the opposing team scored the winning touchdown, I was making notes about where I would pick up in the morning. Then, I went to bed.
How many times in our lives have we been given the advice to "sleep on it"? While I slept, evidently my brain kept working--and did so at a very creative level. The next morning, I awoke with another idea to solve the "missing formula" problem. This one was elegant, very elegant. Better yet, the modifications took exactly five minutes to make. Best of all, the solution worked!
Tomorrow, I am meeting with one of my favorite people in the education world. Last spring she had described to me how she had papers scattered all over her living room floor in an attempt to tackle this one report. It was not a pretty picture! I can't wait to see her reaction when we go over how this spreadsheet works and I give her a copy of it.
I guess this story has two morals. The first is that when confronted with the paper avalanche, we must train ourselves to look to technology for a solution. So often, it's there. The second message is perhaps there is something to handing over our problems to our creative subconscious. Perhaps it is the force which can take today's insurmountable problems and turn them into tomorrow's solutions.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Student planners
I participate in several time management/personal productivity discussion groups. The exchange of ideas healthy and even when disagreement arises, I think we all come away a little smarter.
One of the things about these groups is that you never know when something you write off the cuff, totally on the spur of the moment, resonates with someone else. Such is the case with a reply on the subject of helping students be more organized. Tonight I found the idea struck a chord and a fellow blogger quoted what I had to say on his blog. The link is here, and the post goes as follows:
Everyone open your planners...
I absolutely love when I find pieces like this where schools at the administrative level down are grasping basic organizational concepts and teaching the kids how to do them. Oh if I had only been taught these skills in school…
— In AnalogGTD@yahoogroups.com, “Dr. Frank Buck” wrote:
Deb,
One of the best things I did as an elementary principal was to purchase student planners for the entire student body. As far securing funding, I was able to get a couple of small grants a couple years. School systems also receive some federal finding earmarked for parental involvement. Our use of the planners qualified for that.
The secret was getting all teachers to use them and use them in much the same way. Teachers had to stop telling students “Now, don’t forget to…” and instead to say, “Everyone open your planner. On tomorrow’s square, write down (whatever).” At the beginning of the week, my morning announcements would include events coming up. My comments would always start with’ “Open your planners.” I would tell them what to write, where to write it, and then tell them that when they saw those few key words what it would remind them to do.
Teachers used the planners to write a quick note to parents, knowing that the planner would be the one thing every parent would look at every night. (We really stressed that to parents, so after a while, the value of the planner as an easy way to keep parents informed just became part of the culture of the school.)
About half of being successful in school is organization. As for the other half, well, most of that is organization as well.
Frank
Yes, the planners worked like a charm for us. If I were to accept another principalship (and most certainly if it were a secondary principalship) establishing student planners would be among the first orders of business. Everybody talks about how they need to be more organized and manage their time better. Yet, nobody teaches this. Simple time-management tools can, and should, be part of the culture of schools.
One of the things about these groups is that you never know when something you write off the cuff, totally on the spur of the moment, resonates with someone else. Such is the case with a reply on the subject of helping students be more organized. Tonight I found the idea struck a chord and a fellow blogger quoted what I had to say on his blog. The link is here, and the post goes as follows:
Everyone open your planners...
I absolutely love when I find pieces like this where schools at the administrative level down are grasping basic organizational concepts and teaching the kids how to do them. Oh if I had only been taught these skills in school…
— In AnalogGTD@yahoogroups.com, “Dr. Frank Buck” wrote:
Deb,
One of the best things I did as an elementary principal was to purchase student planners for the entire student body. As far securing funding, I was able to get a couple of small grants a couple years. School systems also receive some federal finding earmarked for parental involvement. Our use of the planners qualified for that.
The secret was getting all teachers to use them and use them in much the same way. Teachers had to stop telling students “Now, don’t forget to…” and instead to say, “Everyone open your planner. On tomorrow’s square, write down (whatever).” At the beginning of the week, my morning announcements would include events coming up. My comments would always start with’ “Open your planners.” I would tell them what to write, where to write it, and then tell them that when they saw those few key words what it would remind them to do.
Teachers used the planners to write a quick note to parents, knowing that the planner would be the one thing every parent would look at every night. (We really stressed that to parents, so after a while, the value of the planner as an easy way to keep parents informed just became part of the culture of the school.)
About half of being successful in school is organization. As for the other half, well, most of that is organization as well.
Frank
Yes, the planners worked like a charm for us. If I were to accept another principalship (and most certainly if it were a secondary principalship) establishing student planners would be among the first orders of business. Everybody talks about how they need to be more organized and manage their time better. Yet, nobody teaches this. Simple time-management tools can, and should, be part of the culture of schools.
Be quick...but don't hurry
Sometimes, the best thing to do is jump into a task and get it done. Sometimes, the best thing to do is step back, relax, and plan. Yesterday was a prime example for me.
With about an hour and a half left before time to go home, I started a project involving the assimilation of data which had just become available. My goal was to enter the appropriate parts of the data onto our school system's "Balanced Scorecard" and get the updated scorecard to principals as soon as possible.
"No better time than the present to just knock the whole thing out," I thought. For about the next hour, I put shoulder to the wheel watching the clock all along. The clock seemed to be going faster than the progress on the task at hand. In addition, two phone calls which had to be made before leaving weighed heavily on my mind.
With 30 minutes until time to leave the office, it was obvious I had severely underestimated the time required for the task. Furthermore, I was not enjoying what I was doing. At this juncture in my life, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that being happy doing what I am doing in the moment ought to be a primary focus. Furthermore, I felt frazzled. I found myself feverishly looking for a particular flash drive only to find it was in the pocket of the coat I was presently wearing!
I made a decision which may turn out to be the best decision I make all weekend. I put the project in the briefcase. That left me 30 minutes to plan my weekend and my Monday. I left the office with a clear picture of what I wanted to accomplish that evening, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon, first thing in the office Monday, early Monday, late morning Monday, and Monday afternoon. I had also charted pretty clearly what I wanted to tackle Tuesday. Finally, I had blasted into the future quite a few things sitting on the task list that stood no chance of being handled in the next few days.
Saturday morning, I put the flash drive in the computer at home, pulled the printouts from the briefcase, and resumed the data project. Just yesterday, I was watching the clock wondering what I had done to deserve such torture. This morning, I was having fun. I was relaxed and listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, an episode of Mission Organization, and a Jay Leno, all from a VCR tape from earlier in the week playing in the background to keep me company.
During my 23-minute commute to and from work, I have listened to many books on tape and CD. Yesterday's ordeal brings to mind one of them: Be Quick But Don't Hurry. The book was written by a former UCLA basketball player who recounted his days under legendary coach John Wooden. The title refers to a piece of advice Wooden gave his players. At first glance, it seems contradictory. In actuality, it's right on the money.
When we are relaxed and "in our zone," we can be quick. Everything flows. Everything is effortless. The activity is fun. When we hurry, we make mistakes. We stumble and find ourselves having to re-do and re-think.
Yesterday, I was trying to hurry. Today, I was quick. The task was the same. The difference is yesterday was work while today was play.
Sometimes, the best thing to do is jump into a task and get it done. Sometimes, the best thing to do is step back, relax, and plan. I think I just got better at distinguishing the one from the other.
With about an hour and a half left before time to go home, I started a project involving the assimilation of data which had just become available. My goal was to enter the appropriate parts of the data onto our school system's "Balanced Scorecard" and get the updated scorecard to principals as soon as possible.
"No better time than the present to just knock the whole thing out," I thought. For about the next hour, I put shoulder to the wheel watching the clock all along. The clock seemed to be going faster than the progress on the task at hand. In addition, two phone calls which had to be made before leaving weighed heavily on my mind.
With 30 minutes until time to leave the office, it was obvious I had severely underestimated the time required for the task. Furthermore, I was not enjoying what I was doing. At this juncture in my life, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that being happy doing what I am doing in the moment ought to be a primary focus. Furthermore, I felt frazzled. I found myself feverishly looking for a particular flash drive only to find it was in the pocket of the coat I was presently wearing!
I made a decision which may turn out to be the best decision I make all weekend. I put the project in the briefcase. That left me 30 minutes to plan my weekend and my Monday. I left the office with a clear picture of what I wanted to accomplish that evening, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon, first thing in the office Monday, early Monday, late morning Monday, and Monday afternoon. I had also charted pretty clearly what I wanted to tackle Tuesday. Finally, I had blasted into the future quite a few things sitting on the task list that stood no chance of being handled in the next few days.
Saturday morning, I put the flash drive in the computer at home, pulled the printouts from the briefcase, and resumed the data project. Just yesterday, I was watching the clock wondering what I had done to deserve such torture. This morning, I was having fun. I was relaxed and listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, an episode of Mission Organization, and a Jay Leno, all from a VCR tape from earlier in the week playing in the background to keep me company.
During my 23-minute commute to and from work, I have listened to many books on tape and CD. Yesterday's ordeal brings to mind one of them: Be Quick But Don't Hurry. The book was written by a former UCLA basketball player who recounted his days under legendary coach John Wooden. The title refers to a piece of advice Wooden gave his players. At first glance, it seems contradictory. In actuality, it's right on the money.
When we are relaxed and "in our zone," we can be quick. Everything flows. Everything is effortless. The activity is fun. When we hurry, we make mistakes. We stumble and find ourselves having to re-do and re-think.
Yesterday, I was trying to hurry. Today, I was quick. The task was the same. The difference is yesterday was work while today was play.
Sometimes, the best thing to do is jump into a task and get it done. Sometimes, the best thing to do is step back, relax, and plan. I think I just got better at distinguishing the one from the other.
The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both.
- James Michener
Thursday, September 20, 2007
iGoogle
I have made the statement more times than I can count that "I learned something every day this summer." That statement holds true in a number of arenas, but especially in the area of technology. One of the neatest things from my summer experiences is discovering "iGoogle."
I shared all of this information in an e-mail with a friend, so to kill two birds with one stone, here is basically and copy/paste of that e-mail for others who might like to have iGoogle as a home page. Here is how to set it up:
At home, I have this set as my homepage, and...
My laptop is set with this as my homepage, which means...
...for those sites I go to all the time or the GoogleDocs I have, I don't have to bookmark them on three different computers, and...
...If I am away from home and on a computer in a public library, someone else's school, etc., I can go to Google, click iGoogle, log in, and I am looking at my bookmarks, my GoogleDocs, and the whole nine yeards just the same as if I was sitting in my office.
So..there it is. Have fun!
I shared all of this information in an e-mail with a friend, so to kill two birds with one stone, here is basically and copy/paste of that e-mail for others who might like to have iGoogle as a home page. Here is how to set it up:
- Go to Google
- In the upper right corner, click on "iGoogle". (If, by chance, in the upper right corner it says "Classic Home," then never mind, you are already at iGoogle.)
- Click on "Sign in" in the upper right corner.
- Sign in if you have a Google account, or create a Google account (it's free).
- Google Bookmarks-You can add to or take away as you see fit. I gave you pretty much what I have.
- The movies at the local theater or you can click where it says "Movies" and see what's on in other locations.
- The weather is particular to our city.
- Driving directions starting with my place of work as the default starting point. (You can change the default on any of these by clicking the little down arrow and choosing "Edit settings.")
- Same with the Map Search. My work location is right in the center.
- I have list of GoogleDocs which I can share with other individuals or with the whole world.
- There are other things you can add by clicking on "Add stuff" just above the Inspirational Quotes. (What a handy word "stuff" is!)
- You can get rid of any of the "stuff" by clicking on the "x."
- You can re-arrange where each window is located by clicking and dragging it somewhere else on the screen.
- There are different "themes" for how the top of the page will look. Click on "Select theme" right beside "Add stuff." Some themes will change appearance with the time of day and others change according to the weather in your particular area. How cool is that?
At home, I have this set as my homepage, and...
My laptop is set with this as my homepage, which means...
...for those sites I go to all the time or the GoogleDocs I have, I don't have to bookmark them on three different computers, and...
...If I am away from home and on a computer in a public library, someone else's school, etc., I can go to Google, click iGoogle, log in, and I am looking at my bookmarks, my GoogleDocs, and the whole nine yeards just the same as if I was sitting in my office.
So..there it is. Have fun!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Say "yes" or say "no," you are always saying both
Education is a "helping" profession, and those who embark on a career in this arena have the natural tendency to say "yes." Whether the request is to provide extra help to a student, serve on a committee, complete whatever paperwork appears, or do all of these at the same time, we are a people who tend to say "yes" first and figure out how we will accomplish it later. After all, doesn't saying "no" make us seem uninterested, uncaring, and selfish?
In today's world, the demands on one's time generally exceed the time available. Choices must be made as to what gets done and what is left undone. When we say "yes" to one request, we are ultimately saying "no" to all else available to us at the moment. Therefore, the question becomes not one of whether we say "yes" or say "no," but which request get which answer.
Why is it that when we are saying "yes," so often we wind up feeling bad. Perhaps the answer is that, at some level, we realize more important responsibilities received a "no."
This past week, a principal related to me a situation where a veteran teacher was approached during instructional time by an agency representative with the request to compose a memo and to do so right then. Saying "yes" to this request meant saying "no" to the instruction which should be happening in that classroom. The teacher wrote the memo yet felt bad about having to choose to between two poor alternatives--saying "no" to the agency representatives or saying "no" to the students.
We need not feel bad about saying "no." In fact, it is a necessary tool in our arsenal of time-management tools. Without the word "no," our time will never be our own. Instead, it will be free for asking by those who scream longest and loudest and present themselves at our doorstep the most often.
As school leaders, we help those around us reach their goals by helping them understand than saying "no" is not only OK, it is an absolute necessity if they are ever to accomplish anything of significance.
Today, you will encounter opportunities to make the day significant. You will also encounter the trivial disguised in royal garb. Will you be able to distinguish the one from the other? Will you be able to say "no" to the one and "yes" to the other. Say "yes" or say "no," you are always saying both.
In today's world, the demands on one's time generally exceed the time available. Choices must be made as to what gets done and what is left undone. When we say "yes" to one request, we are ultimately saying "no" to all else available to us at the moment. Therefore, the question becomes not one of whether we say "yes" or say "no," but which request get which answer.
Why is it that when we are saying "yes," so often we wind up feeling bad. Perhaps the answer is that, at some level, we realize more important responsibilities received a "no."
This past week, a principal related to me a situation where a veteran teacher was approached during instructional time by an agency representative with the request to compose a memo and to do so right then. Saying "yes" to this request meant saying "no" to the instruction which should be happening in that classroom. The teacher wrote the memo yet felt bad about having to choose to between two poor alternatives--saying "no" to the agency representatives or saying "no" to the students.
We need not feel bad about saying "no." In fact, it is a necessary tool in our arsenal of time-management tools. Without the word "no," our time will never be our own. Instead, it will be free for asking by those who scream longest and loudest and present themselves at our doorstep the most often.
As school leaders, we help those around us reach their goals by helping them understand than saying "no" is not only OK, it is an absolute necessity if they are ever to accomplish anything of significance.
Today, you will encounter opportunities to make the day significant. You will also encounter the trivial disguised in royal garb. Will you be able to distinguish the one from the other? Will you be able to say "no" to the one and "yes" to the other. Say "yes" or say "no," you are always saying both.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Preparing for accreditation visit and our first wiki
Our school system is preparing for a District SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) Accreditation visit later this school year. One of the projects at hand is to articulate how our school system meets each of the 7 SACS standards and their indicators. We have formed 7 committees of 4-5 people, each being charged with developing ideas to support one of the standards.
Other than sitting down together in the same room, how can a group share their ideas over time? Our answer will be to use a wiki. This afternoon, the group will be introduced to this concept using this video:
We are going to use a "Peanut Butter Wiki" and devote one page to each of the standards. AS our project unfolds and there is really something to see, I will keep you updated here.
Thanks to Pattie Thomas, my colleague for talking me into the idea, and Dr. Jan Borelli who had posted this same video to her blog, giving me a wonderful way to introduce this concept to our committee members. A special thanks to those at Common Craft who produced this and other outstanding instructional videos.
Other than sitting down together in the same room, how can a group share their ideas over time? Our answer will be to use a wiki. This afternoon, the group will be introduced to this concept using this video:
We are going to use a "Peanut Butter Wiki" and devote one page to each of the standards. AS our project unfolds and there is really something to see, I will keep you updated here.
Thanks to Pattie Thomas, my colleague for talking me into the idea, and Dr. Jan Borelli who had posted this same video to her blog, giving me a wonderful way to introduce this concept to our committee members. A special thanks to those at Common Craft who produced this and other outstanding instructional videos.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
New name...same purpose
As of today, this blog has a new title! The driving reason for the change is in preparation for the publication of a new book.
Over a decade ago, I found myself reading practically everything on the subject of time management I could find. The research all fed a dissertation entitled A Study of the Time Management Practices of Alabama Principals. The work that led to that dissertation also spawned the original workshop I started in 1997, a workshop that has evolved over the years as the needs of the participaints have grown and changed.
A little less than a year, Bob Sickles, President of Eye on Education, contacted me. After having read my article in "The 24 Hour Principal" issue of Principal magazine and reading parts of this blog, Bob contacted me about the possibility of writing a book. What followed has been a wonderful journey as I have attempted to harness the verbal message presented for the last 10 years in a face-to-face format and transform it into the written word for an larger audience.
What make this book different from other books on organization or time management already on the market? This book makes a contribution to the literature in two ways:
First, it is written with the school leader in mind. Books typically approach the subject from the standpoint of the business world. We must take and adapt them for our purposes. The scenarios in this book are from education and the problems addressed are the real problems which face us every day.
Secondly, the book provides a comprehensive system for getting organized and managing time. Many books provide a smogasboard of suggestions and stop there. This book goes further and ties it all together. We handle the paper, the ideas, the digital data, and the people aspects of the job.
Making a decision about the title was actually one of the last tasks. The idea on which we finally settled--Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders was a suggestion for one of the people who reviewed the manuscript.
As of now, the expected date of publication is this Christmas!
Over a decade ago, I found myself reading practically everything on the subject of time management I could find. The research all fed a dissertation entitled A Study of the Time Management Practices of Alabama Principals. The work that led to that dissertation also spawned the original workshop I started in 1997, a workshop that has evolved over the years as the needs of the participaints have grown and changed.
A little less than a year, Bob Sickles, President of Eye on Education, contacted me. After having read my article in "The 24 Hour Principal" issue of Principal magazine and reading parts of this blog, Bob contacted me about the possibility of writing a book. What followed has been a wonderful journey as I have attempted to harness the verbal message presented for the last 10 years in a face-to-face format and transform it into the written word for an larger audience.
What make this book different from other books on organization or time management already on the market? This book makes a contribution to the literature in two ways:
First, it is written with the school leader in mind. Books typically approach the subject from the standpoint of the business world. We must take and adapt them for our purposes. The scenarios in this book are from education and the problems addressed are the real problems which face us every day.
Secondly, the book provides a comprehensive system for getting organized and managing time. Many books provide a smogasboard of suggestions and stop there. This book goes further and ties it all together. We handle the paper, the ideas, the digital data, and the people aspects of the job.
Making a decision about the title was actually one of the last tasks. The idea on which we finally settled--Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders was a suggestion for one of the people who reviewed the manuscript.
As of now, the expected date of publication is this Christmas!
Monday, September 03, 2007
One of the real pleasures of my career in education has been the privilege of serving as an "Editorial Adviser" for the National Association of Elementary School Principals. One of the last acts in this role was responding to a request to share something for this "best practices" issue of Principal magazine. For about the last 20 years, technology has played a significant role in making my job easier, whether the role was that of a band director, an aspiring administrator looking for ways to help other people in the building, a middle school assistant principal, a principal, or now as a central office administrator.
You can view the article here. For more along the same line, I invite you to read my article on Saving Time and Paper with Basic Technology which appeared earlier this year in Principal magazine.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Maintenance requests go "Web 2.0"
Maintenance requests have been a source of frustration in my school for as long as I have been there (going on 11 years now). The paper form is completed and forwarded to the maintenance department. What happens after that is sometimes anyone's guess. Ours was a system beyond "tweaking."
What we needed was something totally different. What would a better system look like? First and foremost, it would let all involved in the process see the "big picture." The superintendent would be able to see the totality of requests--what had been completed, and what was outstanding. Those who schedule the work should be able to see all outstanding work at a glance so they could make the the best choices in making assignments. Principals and teachers would be able to see progress on the items which impacted them.
GoogleDocs has proved to be the answer for us. All maintenance requests are housed on one spreadsheet. Every principal has the ability to add requests to the spreadsheet. The maintenance department activates a request by assigning a date and an maintenance employee to it. Requests are marked complete by filling in a completion date.
The beauty of the system is that everyone can see everything. On our employee blog, TeachTalladega, we have a link to the maintenance requests. I think all of our eyes have been opened as to the sheer number of requests and can perhaps be a bit more patient as a limited staff works its way through the list. By the same token, that same limited staff can make better choices about how the day is planned now that all of the cards are on the table.
What we needed was something totally different. What would a better system look like? First and foremost, it would let all involved in the process see the "big picture." The superintendent would be able to see the totality of requests--what had been completed, and what was outstanding. Those who schedule the work should be able to see all outstanding work at a glance so they could make the the best choices in making assignments. Principals and teachers would be able to see progress on the items which impacted them.
GoogleDocs has proved to be the answer for us. All maintenance requests are housed on one spreadsheet. Every principal has the ability to add requests to the spreadsheet. The maintenance department activates a request by assigning a date and an maintenance employee to it. Requests are marked complete by filling in a completion date.
The beauty of the system is that everyone can see everything. On our employee blog, TeachTalladega, we have a link to the maintenance requests. I think all of our eyes have been opened as to the sheer number of requests and can perhaps be a bit more patient as a limited staff works its way through the list. By the same token, that same limited staff can make better choices about how the day is planned now that all of the cards are on the table.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Smooth sailing or overwhelming frustration? School has begun!
School has begun! The beginning of this school year, like any school year, includes gathering data. How many students do we have? What classes are overloaded? Who is authorized to check Tommy out of school? What's my locker combination?
Technology is our friend in these areas, just to name a few. For those who have figured this out, the beginning of school tends to go smoothly. For those who don't, the works "overwhelmed," "disorganized," and "frantic" typify those first days and weeks as random pieces of paper fly between the classroom and school office, generally ending in a big pile on the desk of some poor sole in the school office. Life does not have to be hard!
Why do the leaders in some schools "get it," and use technology to simplify the process while others continue to operate as if LBJ still occupied the White House? I will go out on a limb and propose that the answer lies in a mindset. Some people look at a problem, and immediate the wheels in their heads begin to turn as they think of how their school administrative software or an Excel spreadsheet can make a molehill out of their mountain. Others retreat to that which is more time consuming, yet more familiar.
I have little sympathy for principals or office personnel who ignore better ways of doing things and wind up making their own jobs harder. They get what they deserve. For me, the travesty is the unnecessary paperwork that is invariably passed to their teachers. Perhaps the day will come when teachers will no longer double as stenographers or accountants and can concentrate their full attention on the craft of teaching. We are not there yet, but I am delighted to be associated with some wonderful leaders in my school system who are getting pretty close.
Ironically, the school leaders who really seem to "get it" the best are also the ones who are hungry for the next trick, the next morsel that will make lives just a little easier for their teachers. The ones who need it the most, however, rock along 20 years in the past.
Earlier this year, my article on Saving Time and Paper With Basic Technology appeared in Principal magazine. It deals with using the tools schools already have at their disposal to save time, save paper, and save our sanity.
For my friends who are in the school business, I wish you a great year and hope you find a few words of wisdom in these posts that will impact you and the students you teach.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Don't open that greeting card...
This week, I have been receiving daily e-mail messages that someone has sent me an electronic greeting card and prompting me to click on a link to retrieve it. A quick Google search for "Greeting card scam" returns numerous hits for the latest assault on our Inboxes.
This link from the Internet Crime Complaint Center gives a particular good and concise explanation. For a little more lengthy and technical article, see this one from TechNewsWorld.
Even if you are sending someone else a legitimate e-mail greeting card, watch out for the fine print. That little user agreement that you check off without reading could contain permission for the company to download software to your computer which will send stuff to everyone in your address book. This explanation from snopes.com explains.
This link from the Internet Crime Complaint Center gives a particular good and concise explanation. For a little more lengthy and technical article, see this one from TechNewsWorld.
Even if you are sending someone else a legitimate e-mail greeting card, watch out for the fine print. That little user agreement that you check off without reading could contain permission for the company to download software to your computer which will send stuff to everyone in your address book. This explanation from snopes.com explains.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
RSS (Real Simple Syndication)
I talked earlier this week about Web 2.0. With so many people producing so much, one can easily become overwhelmed by good stuff. What if all of the good stuff could be organized in one place? What if every time there was an update to a blog you like that update was delivered to you instead of you having to go and check multiple blogs or news sites?
That is what "RSS" (Real Simple Syndication) is all about. I use a program called "intraVnews." It's free and works with Outlook (not Outlook Express). Once I have identified a site that I am interested in keeping up with, I add it to the list. That list includes blogs from principals across town and principals from across the country, educationally-related discussion groups, and alerts from the National Weather Service anytime there is an advisory for this county. I don't have to do anything. It all goes straight to my e-mail. There's enough in life that's complicated. RSS really is simple.
That is what "RSS" (Real Simple Syndication) is all about. I use a program called "intraVnews." It's free and works with Outlook (not Outlook Express). Once I have identified a site that I am interested in keeping up with, I add it to the list. That list includes blogs from principals across town and principals from across the country, educationally-related discussion groups, and alerts from the National Weather Service anytime there is an advisory for this county. I don't have to do anything. It all goes straight to my e-mail. There's enough in life that's complicated. RSS really is simple.
Monday, July 16, 2007
"Stirring Up the Dust"
When you conduct a workshop, you can never be sure who will take what you have to give and use it and to what extent it will be used. I was delighted to find "Stirring Up the Dust," a brand-new blog created by library media specialist Kitty Forbus. Her first post, "The Journey Begins," is a treasure that I would encourage anyone to read.
Kitty attended a workshop on blogging at the Alabama Educational Technology Conference a year ago. She is a shining example of one not only implemented everything presented, but she has taken it to an even greater level.
Kitty attended a workshop on blogging at the Alabama Educational Technology Conference a year ago. She is a shining example of one not only implemented everything presented, but she has taken it to an even greater level.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Notes from Mega Conference
Here are some of the major ideas I gained from the Mega Conference held in Mobile this past week. The major thrust of the Mega Conference each year centers around Federal Programs and Special Education, although the sessions do extend into all areas of school life.
Response to Intervention
This term "Response to Intervention" is one which is probably unfamiliar to the majority of teachers, yet it's impact on general education is significant now and will continue to grow. "Federal law now prohibits labeling students as 'LD' unless the districts can prove that research-based instruction has been provided, for a lengthy period of time, in regular education classes, by highly-qualified teachers, using instructional programs 'with fidelity.' The process of gathering the required data is called 'Response to Intervention,' or 'RTI.'" This quote comes straight from Melinda Baird, a nationally-known attorney whose specialty is representing school systems in special education issues.
The good news for us is that the teacher who is using research-based reading and math materials, is implementing them "with fidelity" (That's not a term we dreamed up locally; that's the way the law reads.), and is progress monitoring students as prescribed in the program is going to be in good shape. As you read about RTI, you will see the terms "Tier 1," "Tier 2," and "Tier 3" As you review the reading programs up for adoption this year, you are going to see the same language. Easy translation:
To be honest, RTI is an area where there are more questions than answers. My suggestion is to keep "RTI" on your radar. When you see the term mentioned in a professional journal, read it. If you have an opportunity to attend a short workshop on it, go. In this last reauthorization of IDEA, Congress came very close to removing the discrepancy model (the way we currently determine eligibility for LD which measures the discrepancy between IQ and performance) and replacing it with RTI. Congress did not do that. They are allowing either method for now. With the the next reauthorization of IDEA, we may well see RTI become the sole way to determine LD.
Reading Adoption
The reading adoption is a huge topic and one that is sure to be the source of interest and controversy statewide. Earlier this summer, 11 textbook companies submitted their core reading programs to a large panel of reviewers. We will be receiving their report this fall. Each core reading program is rated in a variety of areas, much like one would see in the magazine Consumer Reports. In fact the instrument used to rate the programs is entitled A Consumer’s Guide to Evaluating a Core Reading Program Grades K-3.
We will begin receiving samples from the publishers in November. Dr. Morton's recommendation is going to be that school systems narrow their focus to three or four core programs using the results of the report and then make their own selection from there. The rationale is that school systems will not have time to adequately evaluate all 11 programs submitted for review.
Web 2.0
This buzzword got it's start in 2003 and has been gaining steam ever since, but most people still haven't the foggiest notion of what it means. In a nutshell, Web 1.0 was about you and I being consumers. Information on the web was put there by people in far-away places who knew lots about programs such as Deamwaver or FrontPage and had access to servers where they could host their stuff.
Web 2.0 is about creation and participation. What you are reading right now is an example of Web 2.0. It's about the average person being able to share knowledge with the whole word. It's blogs and wikis. It's MySpace and YouTube. It's the ability for you and me to have space on the internet absolutely free where we can post our pictures, our thoughts, and our very best ideas. It's the idea that we are givers as well as takers in a global exchange of ideas. It's the absurd notion that an encyclopedia could be constructed by simply letting anybody who wanted to write whatever they liked, a notion so absurd it's actually working.
To this point, our challenge has been to find what others have written. Our generation learned about the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. This generation knows about Google. The challenge of Web 2.0 is not just in finding what others have created, but in making it easy for others to find what we have created. That, however, is another post for another time.
Free Technology Resources
Every one of the links on this list is worth your time to explore.
APTPlus and United Streaming
Many of our teachers are finding the value of the United Streaming videos. You can download short clips to play in class. You can store what you have downloaded in a folder on your computer so that you can find it the next time you teach that particular lesson. If you have not used this resource before, this blog post tells you what you need to know.
One of the points brought out was that rather than go directly to United Streaming, we should be encouraging you to go to APT Plus. At that site, you can search for resources available from United Streaming, but you will also be able to search other sources at the same time.
ACCESS
The final topic is the distance learning opportunities provided through ACCESS. This program is part of a dream to access to education a function of your aspirations rather than a function of where you happen to live. Extensive information is available at their website.
Response to Intervention
This term "Response to Intervention" is one which is probably unfamiliar to the majority of teachers, yet it's impact on general education is significant now and will continue to grow. "Federal law now prohibits labeling students as 'LD' unless the districts can prove that research-based instruction has been provided, for a lengthy period of time, in regular education classes, by highly-qualified teachers, using instructional programs 'with fidelity.' The process of gathering the required data is called 'Response to Intervention,' or 'RTI.'" This quote comes straight from Melinda Baird, a nationally-known attorney whose specialty is representing school systems in special education issues.
The good news for us is that the teacher who is using research-based reading and math materials, is implementing them "with fidelity" (That's not a term we dreamed up locally; that's the way the law reads.), and is progress monitoring students as prescribed in the program is going to be in good shape. As you read about RTI, you will see the terms "Tier 1," "Tier 2," and "Tier 3" As you review the reading programs up for adoption this year, you are going to see the same language. Easy translation:
- Tier 1="Benchmark" or that vast majority of students (hopefully 80% or more) who are experiencing success. "Tier One" materials are those one would use with the entire class.
- Tier 2="Strategic" or that group of students (probably around 15%) who need a "double dose." "Tier Two" materials or instruction would be used to help accelerate these students.
- Tier 3="Intensive" or that very small percantage (5% or so) who are having severe difficulty and require intensive intervention. You will hear the terms "Tier Three" and "intervention program" used interchangeably.
To be honest, RTI is an area where there are more questions than answers. My suggestion is to keep "RTI" on your radar. When you see the term mentioned in a professional journal, read it. If you have an opportunity to attend a short workshop on it, go. In this last reauthorization of IDEA, Congress came very close to removing the discrepancy model (the way we currently determine eligibility for LD which measures the discrepancy between IQ and performance) and replacing it with RTI. Congress did not do that. They are allowing either method for now. With the the next reauthorization of IDEA, we may well see RTI become the sole way to determine LD.
Reading Adoption
The reading adoption is a huge topic and one that is sure to be the source of interest and controversy statewide. Earlier this summer, 11 textbook companies submitted their core reading programs to a large panel of reviewers. We will be receiving their report this fall. Each core reading program is rated in a variety of areas, much like one would see in the magazine Consumer Reports. In fact the instrument used to rate the programs is entitled A Consumer’s Guide to Evaluating a Core Reading Program Grades K-3.
We will begin receiving samples from the publishers in November. Dr. Morton's recommendation is going to be that school systems narrow their focus to three or four core programs using the results of the report and then make their own selection from there. The rationale is that school systems will not have time to adequately evaluate all 11 programs submitted for review.
Web 2.0
This buzzword got it's start in 2003 and has been gaining steam ever since, but most people still haven't the foggiest notion of what it means. In a nutshell, Web 1.0 was about you and I being consumers. Information on the web was put there by people in far-away places who knew lots about programs such as Deamwaver or FrontPage and had access to servers where they could host their stuff.
Web 2.0 is about creation and participation. What you are reading right now is an example of Web 2.0. It's about the average person being able to share knowledge with the whole word. It's blogs and wikis. It's MySpace and YouTube. It's the ability for you and me to have space on the internet absolutely free where we can post our pictures, our thoughts, and our very best ideas. It's the idea that we are givers as well as takers in a global exchange of ideas. It's the absurd notion that an encyclopedia could be constructed by simply letting anybody who wanted to write whatever they liked, a notion so absurd it's actually working.
To this point, our challenge has been to find what others have written. Our generation learned about the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. This generation knows about Google. The challenge of Web 2.0 is not just in finding what others have created, but in making it easy for others to find what we have created. That, however, is another post for another time.
Free Technology Resources
Every one of the links on this list is worth your time to explore.
APTPlus and United Streaming
Many of our teachers are finding the value of the United Streaming videos. You can download short clips to play in class. You can store what you have downloaded in a folder on your computer so that you can find it the next time you teach that particular lesson. If you have not used this resource before, this blog post tells you what you need to know.
One of the points brought out was that rather than go directly to United Streaming, we should be encouraging you to go to APT Plus. At that site, you can search for resources available from United Streaming, but you will also be able to search other sources at the same time.
ACCESS
The final topic is the distance learning opportunities provided through ACCESS. This program is part of a dream to access to education a function of your aspirations rather than a function of where you happen to live. Extensive information is available at their website.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Weather alerts delivered to your e-mail
Your e-mail can be a handy source for the latest weather advisories. The National Weather Service provides RSS feeds for watches and warnings. To subscribe:
- Go to this page.
- Go to the column labeled "By County/Zone" and click on the orange "XML".
- Click on the county you desire.
- Copy the URL you see and paste it in your aggregator.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
"Shower" a new teacher with gifts
We all know what life can be like for the new teacher. He or she walks into a classroom that may be totally bare of even the basics. All-too-often, other teachers have divided up anything of value left by the last teacher. This "Dear Abby" letter from today's Birmingham News offers a wonderful way to endure that a new teacher begins a career with the essentials:
Dear Abby: I teach aspiring elementary school teachers in a credential program in California. The family of one of my students came up with a great way to celebrate her graduation from the program and help her prepare for her new career as a teacher. They threw her a "teacher shower."
To help her start her classroom library, each guest brought a hardback copy of his/her favourite children's book. She was also given baskets of teacher supplies such as Sharpie pens, Post-Its, stickers and coloured paper for the school copier.
I know the shower meant a lot to my student, and in states like California, where teachers often spend hundreds of their own dollars for classroom supplies, throwing a teacher shower can be a terrific way for families and friends to show their support for the new teacher.
Julie, a Teacher's Teacher
Dear Julie: Dedicated teachers are among the unsung heroes in our society. They guide and shape the members of future generations, and rarely receive the credit or the income they deserve for their efforts. I love the concept of a teacher shower to help young, idealistic educators get off to the start they need, and I hope the idea will be popularized not only for new teachers, but also more experienced educators who would find it helpful. I'm sure there are many.
Friday, June 22, 2007
When you teach, you learn
It never fails that when I teach a workshop, I wind up learning something new. Such is the case with the latest session I conducted Wednesday for the Jacksonville State University Inservice Center.
Thanks to Haylee Black for putting me on to a neat trick for opening multiple pages at once when you open your browser. After the workshop, she was sharing what she had learned with her husband when they stumbled upon this ability. She shared it with me in an e-mail, so I got busy researching it.
You probably know how to change your homepage. You probably also know how to open a new tab so that you can go back and forth between multiple websites. Suppose, however, that there are several sites you use every day and you would like all of them to come up at once (on separate tabs) when you open your browser. There is a way for this to happen:
When I teach, I always wind up learning. Isn't this a neat profession?
Thanks to Haylee Black for putting me on to a neat trick for opening multiple pages at once when you open your browser. After the workshop, she was sharing what she had learned with her husband when they stumbled upon this ability. She shared it with me in an e-mail, so I got busy researching it.
You probably know how to change your homepage. You probably also know how to open a new tab so that you can go back and forth between multiple websites. Suppose, however, that there are several sites you use every day and you would like all of them to come up at once (on separate tabs) when you open your browser. There is a way for this to happen:
- Open your browser.
- Create a new tab for each site that you want to open automatically.
- Go to Tools>Internet Options (or on Firefox, Tools>Options).
- Click the "General" tab in Explorer (or "Main" tab in Firefox).
- Click "Use Current" in Explorer (or "Use Current Pages" in Firefox)
- Click "Apply" and "OK" in Explorer (or simply "OK" in Firefox)
- To test it, close your browser and reopen it (or simply click the "Home" icon).
- Your school webpage
- Your search engine (Google, Yahoo, etc.)
- Renaissance Learning (If you use the web version)
- STI Classroom
When I teach, I always wind up learning. Isn't this a neat profession?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Installing a counter on your blog
If you are creating a blog, you might be interested in having a counter. The most basic advantage is that you can see how many people visit your blog. You can go further and generate reports which show how many hits you have on any given day and how many are new visitors as opposed to returning visitors. You can also see what percentage of people viewed your blog for only a few seconds versus those who stayed for 20 minutes.
The counter I use is StatCounter. It is a free service. Clicking on the link will take you to that site. You will be asked to choose a login. The site will walk you through step-by-step as you select the style of counter you would like as well as numerous options.
In the final analysis, the StatCounter site will return a block of html code. You will highlight and copy it. StatCounter gives you step-by-step instructions on how to insert that code into your blog template. (Don't worry. It's not nearly as complicated as it sounds.)
If you have a blog, installing a counter is one of those little things that will make a big difference.
The counter I use is StatCounter. It is a free service. Clicking on the link will take you to that site. You will be asked to choose a login. The site will walk you through step-by-step as you select the style of counter you would like as well as numerous options.
In the final analysis, the StatCounter site will return a block of html code. You will highlight and copy it. StatCounter gives you step-by-step instructions on how to insert that code into your blog template. (Don't worry. It's not nearly as complicated as it sounds.)
If you have a blog, installing a counter is one of those little things that will make a big difference.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Great time at JSU!
If you are visiting for the first time as a result of the workshop at JSU, welcome! In the archives, you will find a great deal of information that I hope you will enjoy.
Thanks for coming to the workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed the day.
Thanks for coming to the workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed the day.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Increasing productivity with dual monitors
Microsoft has released an article regarding the benefits of multiple monitors. The story is located here.
My set-up at work includes two monitors. I have been using this configuration for a year and love it! Here is a post I wrote when I changed jobs/offices/computers and went to this arrangement.
Bob Rankin wrote a great article that provides the technical aspects for those those would like to pursue the idea further.
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