Introducing "Bitstrips"

Sharing Del.icio.us Bookmarks

Suppose you were interested in fishing and were interested in good internet sites to give you pointers. Have valuable would it be to sit at the computer of someone else who was an avid fisherman and who had already saved tons of great sites in his Favorites?

Suppose you are a math teacher. How valuable would it be to see what other math teachers had saved in their Favorites? Suppose you didn't actually have to sit down at a person's computer and do this, but could view what they have saved from hundreds of miles away?

That is the beauty of del.icio.us. I have talked about it here and here and provided a video which explains it here. In addition to being a great place for you to sites and then be able to view them from any computer, you can also view someone else's bookmarks, provided they have chosen to allow this to happen.

I am composing this post simply because I happened to stumble upon just such a set of bookmarks at this address. The person sharing these bookmarks is a technology teacher, so naturally they are going to be heavily technology oriented.

We are all familiar with how to use Favorites and realize what I time-saver that feature can be. Del.icio.us takes that basic idea and expands it. It's a tool well worth the precious little time it takes to learn it.

Workshop Review

The group at Thursday's workshop was fabulous! Obviously a bunch of very sharp people to begin with, they were so interested and responsive all day long. The questions were thoughtful. There is no doubt much of what they learned is going to be put into practice quickly. We were able to cover a great deal of ground on both the paper and digital end of things.

Thanks to the University of Montevallo Regional Inservice Center for sponsoring the workshop. For the inservice center to purchase a copy of the book for each participant was outstanding!

This past Monday, I had a great time with the administrators from Bibb County. In just over an hour, we were able to touch on about 5 major tools. Thanks for Dr. Judd for providing books for all of the administrators.

There are 9 seats left in the Get Organized! workshop this Tuesday at JSU Fort McClellan. The workshop is open to those in the JSU Regional Inservice Center. To register, click here. All attendees receive a copy of the book.

There are seats left in the Get Organized! workshop to be held June 20 at the University of Montevallo Regional Inservice Center. To register, go to PDWeb and search the PD catalog for Get Organized! Montevallo is providing a copy of the book for all who attend.

Create Your Own Paper Planner

If you are looking for forms to create your own paper planner, D*I*Y Planner is the place to go. This page allows you to download pretty much any form you would ever need. Duplicate them, hole lunch them, and you are ready to go!

Check Those Statements—Part II

The last post chronicled the story of a dishonest receptionist whose shenanigans were foiled because my wife and I take the time to match every item on our credit card statement with its receipt. An item in the statement which does not have a corresponding receipt bearing the same total sends up an immediate red flag.

This saga is a little more complex. Every month, you send money to the mortgage company. Does the proper amount get credited to the principal and the proper amount to interest? Could some of it simply be disappearing into a black hole? How would you know?

Recently, we refinanced our mortgage to take advantage of a substantially lower rate being offered. Several months later, my wife noticed the balance on the principal was hundreds of dollars off from what our records showed it should have been. Phone call after phone call to the mortgage company produced little results. Rather than having the motto, “The customer is always right,” it became painfully obvious this company operated under the assumption that “The customer is always a bird-brain.” If our records didn’t agree with theirs, it must be something wrong with our records—end of story.

If you ever find yourself dealing with a company whose representative is supposedly taking copious notes about your problem so that they can pass them along to the person who will solve your problem, try this technique. On your next call, ask the person to whom you are talking to pull up the notes about your problem and read them to you. I never cease to be amazed at how incomplete those notes can be. We certainly found this to be the case with our mortgage company.

Interestingly enough, during two calls, a semi-helpful employee examined our history and mentioned a transfer of hundred of dollars from our account made on a certain date by “Tiffany” with no explanation of why the funds were being transferred or to where. (I have omitted the last name to protect the identity of the guilty.)

On a hunch, my wife called the mortgage company and asked to speak to that particular employee by name. There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone. It seems Tiffany “no longer works here anymore,” and with good reason. Within a few seconds, my wife was transferred to the head of the department who personally got the wheels turning to fix the problem.

How many other people were victims of Tiffany’s scam and to this day do not know it? Obviously, Tiffany was the major player in this game of cat and mouse. But what about the other employees to whom both my wife and I had spoken? What about the lack of follow-through on the part of two different employees who saw the “Tiffany” transaction, found it odd there was no explanation attached, yet did nothing about it? What about the executives who fired Tiffany, yet made no concerted effort to find and correct these transfers of funds?

Yes, there are some great businesses in the world and some extraordinary people who work for them. At the same time, there are those companies who are at the other end of the spectrum who masquerade as the “good guys.” When dealing with them, keeping good records is a must. Examining and questioning statements is a must. Caveat emptor!

Check Those Statements

Part of dealing with the U.S. mail each day is handling the variety of bills and statements which come our way. In this post , I gave some tips on how to organize all of the paperwork.

The question I have today is this, “How closely do you examine those statements for accuracy?” In a world where we are slow to disclose our social security number yet all-too-quick to hand over our credit card to the 18-year-old at the local restaurant, keeping an eye on those statements is your only defense in avoiding your hard-earned money being taken by someone else. In this post and the next, I will describe two situations from my own experience which illustrate what I mean.

Several years ago, my wife opened one of our credit card statements and began to ask me about a purchase to a “home shopping network.” After all, she did not make the purchase and neither of our Shelties knows how to use the phone, so it pretty well narrowed the culprit down to me! As I was trying to explain my innocence, my wife noticed two other charges to other home shopping networks totaling in the hundreds of dollars.

In addition to these three bogus charges was a small but interesting charge--$20 to a doctor. My wife had visited that doctor, and the visit appeared on the statement. On the following day was a $20 charge to the same doctor even though my wife had not visited that doctor a second time. On each of the next three days, a charge appeared for the home shopping networks.

Could that $20 charge have something to the do with the hundreds of dollars being charged to our credit card for purchases we had not made?

Our calls to the home shopping networks enlighten us as to the how well their employees are trained to give very little information. “Your records show I made the purchase and you are shipping the merchandise to me? Well, what is the address to which you are shipping it?”, I asked. You will not get an answer to that question—unless you happen to stumble upon an employee who is very new and didn’t know she was not supposed to be quite so helpful. That is exactly what happened with one of the three home shopping networks we telephoned.

A quick Google search of that address revealed the name associated with it. My wife was astonished to see that the name on the screen was exactly the same as the name of the receptionist at the doctor’s office!

It seems that the receptionist had been copying down names and credit card numbers from the doctor’s customers and was using them to rack up quite a treasure for herself. Not only was she the one who handled the credit cards, but she was also the one who both prepared the deposits and then took them to the bank. Her practice was to take any cash paid to her and pocket it. She would then charge that amount to one of the credit card numbers she had stolen. Nobody ever realized that no bank deposits were ever being made, because she alone handled parts of the process which under good accounting practices would have been divided up among multiple people.

In the final analysis, we did not pay one dime of the bogus charges. A couple of the calls to our credit card company constituted the extent of our time and energy involved. The receptionist was arrested, and life was good again.

Yes, looking at that credit card statement and matching up the receipts takes a little time. It is, however, our best defense. People make mistakes. People sometimes attempt to rob you blind. A little awareness go a long way.

And Then There Was the Blog

The Friday Memo did its job well for 8 years. It was good, but in the back of mind was something better.

I had been maintaining the blog you are reading now for about a year. The simplicity was appealing. I could compose it from anywhere. People could read it from anywhere. It required no paper, no ink, no toner. It was self-saving. Where to "file" the information was a non-issue. It was already filed in cyberspace, and the click of a mouse could take you to any post from the oldest to the newest.

When school began in the fall of 2005, the Friday Memo had been replaced with a blog dedicated the faculty and staff at our school. That initial post is here.

Posts appeared weekly throughout the school year. I tried very hard to maintain the same concept as I had with the Friday Memo. There would be one post which would contain all of the information people would need to know for the next week. Checking the blog just once a week was enough.

At the end of that school year, I moved on to a position at the central office. The blog was not something that was maintained after I left. It does remain as a sample of how a principal can communicate with faculty and staff in a paperless manner.

Furthermore, the blog offers a huge advantage over e-mail. I find few people who have mature systems for managing the information they receive via e-mail. This blog provides a medium that is focus and is maintained in a single place. Information from a week ago, a month ago, or a year ago is retrievable from any computer.

In a world where far too much is far too complex, the blog is something easy enough that I will actually maintain it.

The Friday Memo

For those who may be interested in the kinds of information I included in the Friday Memo, I have posted a set on GoogleDocs. You can see that collection here.

A great deal of formatting was lost in the process of saving to GoogleDocs. Each issue of the Friday Memo consisted of a single page with a header at the top. The text appeared in two columns.

If you would like to see the a set for the year as it actually appeared, e-mail me, and I would be glad to send a pdf to you as an attachment.

Del.icio.us Browser Buttons

I had talked about why I use del.icio.us in this post. I had also referenced a short video explaining the concept of social bookmarking. That video is here.


One of the time-saving components of del.icio.us is the set of browser buttons. This short movie explains how to get them.

Time Management for College Students

High schools across America are holding graduating ceremonies, and high school seniors are now becoming college freshmen. With college comes more freedom, more choices, more opportunities to succeed, and more opportunities to royally mess up.

To say the least, time management is a key to success in college. Fiona King sent me this link to "57 Time-Management Hacks for College Students." I hope you will find it interesting

Focused or Fragmented?

Communication is easy these days. With one quick e-mail or one quick phone call, you or I can get the thought that is in our heads to the other person.

Is that a good thing—or a bad thing—or both?

To fully answer the question, I think we have to look at the scenario from the receiving end. How many e-mails are you getting during the course of a day? How fragmented do you feel as the result of re-focusing your attention from one topic to the next?

How truly significant are those e-mails? If the author had to wait a day before sending it, would the significance still be there? Would he have thought through the problem in his own just a little more before asking you to solve it for him?

How truly significant are those phone calls? Just because the person on the other end had a few spare seconds in the grocery store line and a thought in his head, does that mean the thing to do is interrupt something potentially more significant you were doing?

As I look back over the past decade at what really “worked” for me, the “Friday Memo” was one of those key elements for me. As an elementary principal, I composed a one-page memo and placed it in the mailbox of every employee every Friday. On that one page was everything I needed to tell them for that week. Announcements, birthday greetings, calendar events—they were all there. What did not make it on this week’s Friday Memo waited until next week. Save the Friday Memo throughout the year, and you had in one place everything I had told you all year long. Not sure how much a box of copy paper was going to cost when requisitioned from the central office? Look back at a Friday Memo from the fall and you find your answer.

A year into my principalship, we established e-mail accounts for our faculty and staff. The Friday Memo, however, continued to live. Why?

Even though I am a digital person and quickly latched on to the benefits of e-mail, I realized its ability to fragment communication.

How well can the average person put his hands on information from e-mails or phone calls? My experience is “not very well.” E-mails tend to be fragmented bits of information. One line of substance is accompanied by a paragraph of pleasantries and an obligatory closing.

What if we were to hold off for a moment on that e-mail? What if we were to wait a day of so and include several questions in that one e-mail? What if we waited to make that phone call and called tomorrow to talk about several topics? What if other people did the same for us?

What would it take for all of this to happen? In my way of thinking, it would require us to have a system that would trap those thoughts. Rather than making the phone call to get the thought off of our minds, we could let our system take that responsibility. Rather than fire off the e-mail because something was one our minds, we could let our system handle that responsibility.

Please do not get me wrong. I am all for picking up the phone on the spur of the moment, but not to simply transfer the responsibility for some bit of data from me to the other person. Meaningful, enjoyable conversation on the spur of the moment. That is something I enjoy giving and receiving.

More later on the Friday Memo and its digital replacement—the blog!

Workshops Offered This Summer

Listed below are some of the workshops I will be conducting this summer:

June 5-“Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders.” This full-day workshop is being sponsored by the University of Montevallo Regional Inservice Center and open to teachers in that region. Details of the workshop are here: http://www.montevallo.edu/ic/currentoffer.shtm To register on PDWeb, “Search the PD Title Catalog” for UMINS. Montevallo is purchasing copies of the book that they are giving free to all who attend.

June 10-“Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders.” This full-day workshop is being sponsored by the Jacksonville State University Regional Inservice Center and is open to teachers in that region. To register, go to https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=10802&I=433706&H=1 Jacksonville is purchasing copies of the book that they are giving free to all who attend.

June 18-“Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes or Less.” (9:45) This one-hour workshop is being presented at the Alabama Educational Technology Conference. Presented at both AETC ’06 and AETC ’07, this workshop has inspired the creation of many blogs at the personal, classroom, and school level.

June 18-“Get Organized With Outlook.” (11:00) This one-hour workshop is being presented at AETC. Outlook is the most popular and powerful time-management software. Whether you are new to Outlook or have been using it for quite some time, you are sure to learn something new. If you are tired of staring at on overflowing e-mail Inbox, you will leave knowing how easy it is to get “In” to “Empty” every day!

June 18-“Get Organized With Outlook.” (1:45) In this three-hour hands-on workshop at AETC, participants will learn the program from scratch.

June 19-“Get Organized With Outlook.” (8:30) This is repeat of yesterday’s three-hour hands-on workshop.

June 19-“Get Organized! Managing Digital Data With Ease” (1:45) Every year, more and more information comes our way in digital form. Our ability to organize it, put our hands on it when we need it, protect it from loss, and do all of this with ease is becoming a critical skill set. Nobody ever taught us how to handle the digital tidal wave. This workshop is designed to help provide that answer.

June 30-“Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders.” This is a repeat of the full-day workshop held on June 5 and is being sponsored by the University of Montevallo Regional Inservice Center It is open to teachers in that region. Details of the workshop are here: http://www.montevallo.edu/ic/currentoffer.shtm To register on PDWeb, “Search the PD Title Catalog” for UMINS. Montevallo is purchasing copies of the book that they are giving free to all who attend.

July 18--“Get Organized With Outlook.” (8:15) This workshop is being presented at the Mega Conference in Mobile. It is a repeat of the three-hour hands-on workshops from AETC.

Paul Sings Nessun Dorma

Talent we have not discovered is all around us, and perhaps within us. This video is one of those heart-warming examples. Looking at Paul, a seemingly average man engaged in an average life, who would have expected the musical gift that he displayed?

Click here to view the video.

Doesn't it make you wonder what treasures are around you which have yet to be discovered?

Introducing Animoto

I read about a site called Animoto.com and gave it a try. If a picture is worth a thousand words, probably the best way to tell you what the site is all about is to show you:



After creating an account (which takes less than a minute), you can create your first video:

1. Upload pictures from your computer or other source (such as flickr). You must have at least 10 pictures.
2. Select the music. Animoto lets you choose the genre and choose from a list of music within that genre.
3. You upload the video.

It takes a little while for the site to put your video together, and you know what they say about a watched pot. So, go and do something else and before you know it, you will have an e-mail telling you it's ready and giving you a link to your video.

The site is free if you are creating short videos (around 30 seconds). To create longer ones costs a fee. You can save your video to your computer. You also have the ability, as we show here, to embed the video in a blog.

The demonstration video I put together, using photos of our dogs, took less than 5 minutes to create. Most of that time involved waiting for the computer to complete the upload of the pictures.

I shared this site with Pattie Thomas, principal at R. L. Young Elementary School, and by the next morning, she had created a video of her own and posted it to her school blog.

If you are looking for a time-saving way to create a short "commercial" presentation, Animoto is a good one.

Podcasting in Plain English

We have all certainly heard the term “podcasting.” This short video explains how to do it:



A special thanks to those at Common Craft who produced this and other outstanding instructional videos.

So What Is "Creative Commons"?

On the right-hand side of this blog, you see the message "This work is lisenced under a Creative Commons…License" What does that mean? This short video tells all about it.

GoogleDocs in Plain English

Do you need a place to store your documents online. Are you collaborating on a document and need for multiple people to be able to edit the document? GoogleDocs is the answer. This short video will help. Thanks to Lee and Sachi LeFever for producing this video.

881,000,000 Answers. Now What Was the Question?

Yesterday's post was about questions. Today, I put the word "Question" into a Google search. My search resulted in 881,000,000 hits. The first of those hits was the image of a question mark you see in this post.

How many of those 881,000,000 "answers" were of value? Were any of value? It's hard to tell, because the question was so vague. The 881,000,000 is evidence that in our world of technology, finding answers is no problem. Finding good answers, well that requires asking good questions.

Forget the Answer. Do You Know the Question?

Our world is moving forward at a blinding pace, and technology is leading the charge. No matter where we are on the continuum of "tech-savviness," there are those who look to us as being the "tech guru" while we are awed by others who are so much farther down the road than we are. Those who can solve the problems and find the answers are essential. There is, however, another group who is as valuable--if not more valuable. They are the ones who ask the right questions.

Perhaps the most memorable of these experiences happened some 20 years during a talk with the school system's transportation director. Those who work in small school systems wear many hats, and Jim was a prime example. He began to show me the paperwork nightmare that was his system for keeping up with field trips. Calendars with multiple pieces of paper stapled to them littered the desk. Invoices had to be typed at the end of each month for each school listing every field trip taken and the amount owed. In the midst of lamenting about his paper avalanche, Jim asked the question that over night changed that transportation system.

"Frank," he said as he glanced at the AppleIIGS sitting across the room, "is there any way the computer can help me?"

Jim knew little about computers, and at the time I knew even less about transportation. However, Jim was able to describe the kind of information he needed. It would be a conversation which would have long-lasting effects on both of us.

The next day, I was back in Jim's office with a database I had created on AppleWorks. The input screen was designed to parallel the paper request forms that were submitted to him. Input, thus, was made so simple he could delegate it to an assistant. Jim could simply assign drivers and then view reports which would show him information by date, by driver, or by school. Best of all, the labor-intensive task of typing end-of-the-month invoices was now a simple matter of running one report. What had previously taken hours now took less than a minute.

For years, that school district ran its transportation system from that simple database. Along the way, Jim found shortcuts. That tends to happen when average folk like you and me start to sit down and actually use technology. We get better. Eventually, we get very good at it.

Twenty years later, the names have changed, I have changed school systems twice, and technology has improved dramatically. The essential elements are still there, however. We still need people who can solve problems. And, we still need people who can ask the right questions.

My present school system has come a very long way in terms of moving from paper housed in filing cabinets to digital creations housed on our intranet. Spreadsheets we have designed locally are being used statewide. Above all, we are doing it all with minimal staff and with tools that practically everyone already has at their disposal. The key to it all is that we have a few people who have been around technology long enough to appreciate the promise it holds. When confronted with a problem that involves data or copying information from one place to another, their first thought is to ask the same question Jim asked 20 years ago.

"Dr. Buck, is there any we could get the computer to..." That's a question that those who have worked closest to me tend to ask frequently. "Yes" is the answer they tend to get, and then I can get busy figuring out how to do it.

We need those who can find the answers. But first, we need those who can identify the questions.

I am beginning to understand that we can never find an answer to a question which has not been asked. Whether we are good at finding the answers or good at asking the questions, we can all play a valuable part in the bigger game, provided we choose to play at all.

What questions in your environment have gone unasked for too long? What role can you play in asking them? What are you waiting for?

Del.icio.us is Delicious

My last post explained “social bookmarking.” My choice is “del.icio.us” and I have been using it for almost a year. I no longer add any website to my “Favorites.” If the site is one I am going to use quite frequently, I add it to my iGoogle, which I talked about here and here. Less commonly-used sites will be saved to Del.icio.us.

Like the video said, the secret is in the tagging. The intriguing part to me is that you are allowed to have multiple tags for a single item. No more trying to figure out how to “cross reference” an item. All I have to do is think of the multiple categories by which I would think of an item I want to add. If I find a good site related to special education law, I can tag it “special education” and also tag it “law.” Now, anytime I want to find “special education” sites I have saved, that site will be amongst them. Likewise, I look for sites on “law,” that site will also be one of the hits.

The Daily Motivator

A year or so ago, a great friend got me hooked on The Daily Motivator. I never ceased to be amazed at how often its simple message is right on-point with a current real-life situation. This site gives me a slightly different perspective, and a more positive perspective.

Education is a "people" business, and when we are dealing with a variety of personalities, the possibility of veering to the negative side is ever present. Pretty soon, the ox has veered clear off the road and into the ditch. A proactive approach, such as the message of hope this site provides each day helps keep us going down the center of the road.

I know there are those who say motivational sayings and talks don't last. Of course, neither does a bath. That's why you take one every day!

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.

Can I Sync My BlackBerry to Entourage?

Following the Outlook workshop at NAESP, I received an e-mail with a question regarding synchronizing the BlackBerry with a Mac. The Mac equivalent of Outlook is a program called "Entourage."

In order to sync a BlackBerry with Entourage on the Mac, you need a program called "PocketMac for BlackBerry." The direct link to the download site is here.

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.

Please Say "Thank You"

I was recently moved by an article written by Gary Stager for DistrictAdministration. In his article "Please Say Thank You," subtitled "The time is now to thank your heroes and mentors," Gary reminds of us of...well, exactly what the subtitle says.

Any of us who has had any success can surely trace much of the responsibility for where we are to someone else. Someone went out of his or her way for us, saw something in us that we perhaps did not see in ourselves, and nurtured those qualities. It reminds me of a few people I am overdue in thanking.

That article appears here. It's enjoyable reading. Thanks, Gary!

Play from Your Strengths

Over the last year, I have become quite a fan of John Maxwell's writings. His positive message wrapped in beautiful prose make reading his books a delight. The point I focus on today is from Maxwell's The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.

At one point in the book, John Maxwell discusses strengths versus weaknesses. In the book, he suggests:

• Focus 70% of your time and energy on strengths
• Focus 25 % on new things
• Focus 5% on weaknesses

Maxwell suggestion is simple: Play from your strengths. Furthermore, if echoes the message of virtually every leadership and management book I have read lately. As just one example, in The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker talks of making strengths productive, and doing so in such a way that it makes weaknesses irrelevant.

Playing from one's strengths is opposite from what we are often encouraged to do...especially in education. Our typical evaluation system is designed to identify our weaknesses and lead us through the formation of a plan to shore up those weaknesses.

Certainly I am not in favor of overlooking flaws which significantly hinder performance. Ignoring strengths while continuously focusing on weaknesses, however, is a formula for mediocrity.

What about the weaknesses? Can they be delegated to someone else who has some strengths in that area? Can you "swap out" and handle for someone else an are where you are strong and he/she is weak while the other person does the same for you? Does the weakness necessarily need to be addressed at all? If the impact is not terribly negative, ignoring it may be the best alternative. Generally, the areas where we are strong are also the areas where we like to spend time. The reverse of this point is also true. Playing from your strengths is not only more productive, but more enjoyable.

I think Maxwell is correct. We should spend the majority of our time honing those areas which are strong.

Presentation at ASCD

If you are coming here as a result of attending the session at ASCD, welcome! I hope you will come back often. As I mentioned, 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 workshop. 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.

Thanks to Jan Borelli for the kind words she posted. Jan is blogging about her experiences at ASCD on their blog. Her post is here.

Other comments from one of the attendees are posted here on a blog entitled "Human Voices Wake Us."

RSS in Plain English

Thanks for visiting this blog. I hope you will visit often. If you are like me, you probably have at least several blogs you like to read on a regular basis. One that number grows, the amount of time it takes to visit each one grows as well. Often, you find there is no new content since the last time you visited.

Wouldn't it be great if the e-mails came directly to your e-mail? That capability is here now, and it's called "RSS" or "Really Simple Syndication." I talked about the program that use to do this in this post. Here is video that explains the concept of RSS:



Thanks to Lee and Sachi LeFever for producing this video and making it available through the Common Craft Show.

Extended Daylight Saving Time Once Again

About this time a year ago, I first wrote about the challenges posed by Extended Daylight Saving Time. That post is here, and dealt primarily with the need for those who have smartphones with any age on them at all to download a patch. Without the patch, the time would "spring forward" several weeks late.

Yes, the starting time for DST changed a year ago. It used to change on the first Sunday of April. Now, DST kicks in the second Sunday of March.

We all need to think in terms of two elements:

1. What clocks and other devices are we going to need to "spring forward" this Saturday night?
2. What clocks and other devices are programmed to "spring forward" on their own, but won't be doing so until the first Sunday of April?

The second question is the one for focus. We are going to have to manually set those devices. That's only half the battle. We are then going to have to come back in several weeks and set them back an hour when they automatically jump ahead.

Source for Graph Paper, Flags, Calendars, Staff Paper, Storyboards

You probably don't need polar coordinate graph paper, the flag of Lithuania, or SSATB staff paper very often. When you do, however, it would be nice to know where you can get it.

PDF Pad is a free site which allows you to print calendars, flags of every country in the world, graph paper, staff paper, story boards, and even Sudoku puzzles.

That's a bookmark I am adding to my del.icio.us (and "del.icio.us" is another post for another day).

Daily Home "Friends & Neighbors"

Our local newspaper, The Daily Home is a wonderful friend to our school system and has been so gracious to me personally in helping us spotlight the good things happening in our midst. Sunday's paper included a special "Friends & Neighbors" section in which an entire half page was devoted to me, my background, and the work I have been able to accomplish through working with some very talented people.

The text of that article can be found by going here.

Online Photo Storage and Sharing

Storing photos online is easy. They can be shared with others as well. Here is a short video that shows you how to do it.



Thanks to Lee and Sachi LeFever for producing this video and making it available through the Common Craft Show.

ELPP Spreadsheet--Let Technology Do the Work

Welcome Special Ed. coordinators! Those who know me well know how passionate I am about letting technology handle administrivia and free our time for other things. This article, written for Principal magazine, illustrates that passion.

This post is designed to give you an explanation of the spreadsheet I designed to crunch the ELPP numbers and give you instructions on how you can download it and use it.

I have included two spreadsheets. One has some sample names and data in it. Feel free to add more names, change the data, and “play around with it.” The second is a blank spreadsheet that you can use for your own purposes.

Here is how to use the spreadsheet:

1. When a pre-school student qualifies for special education, enter the student’s name and the year they will exit to kindergarten (For example, those exiting to kindergarten this spring would have 2008 in that column). Also enter the dates asked for in the first several columns.
2. Tab across and fill in all of the entry data (0,1,2). The items on which the child is being scored appear at the top of each column.
3. When the student exits to kindergarten or moves away, fill in the exit data. If a student moves away during this year, you would change the date of exit from kindergarten to “2008.” As you see, all data for one student goes on one line of that spreadsheet.

All of this is done on that first tab, the one marked "Input."

During the year, you can check on how things are progressing by having your pre-school teachers e-mail the spreadsheet to you. Once you look at them, you could delete them OR save them in case your teachers have not learned the value of backing up their data and a hard drive bites the dust.

When it's time to report your numbers:

1. Have your teachers e-mail the spreadsheet to you.
2. Copy and paste the data into one spreadsheet.
3. Click on the "Entry Data" tab and fill in the yellow squares. The whole spreadsheet hinges on the yellow square for the year. When you enter that number, everything calculates. This spring, you would enter 2008 in that square.
4. Print that sheet.
5. Click on the "Exit Data" tab and hit print. (Everything will be already filled out, including the name of your school system, the year, etc.)
6. Fax the two sheets.
7. Celebrate not having to do all of the paperwork you did last year!!!

When it's time to crank up next year, you can leave all of the old names and just add new ones. The spreadsheet will hold up to 999 kids before anything would have to be done to it. By then, either the ELPP will be handled by SETS or won't be in existence anymore.

What about the paper forms you had been filling out and then putting in student folders? I am all for doing away with those forms and letting the data be simply entered into the spreadsheet. Jan and Cathy say that Washington requires the paper form and that it be housed in the child’s folder. (Bummer)

Once you have looked at the spreadsheet and played around with putting some numbers in there, I think you will be pleased with how easy it makes the process. Please feel free to call me if I can help you get started or at point along the way. My direct number at work is (256) 315-5617.

To get the sample ELPP spreadsheet with sample data, click here.

To get the blank ELPP spreadsheet click here. In either case, you do not need a password. If asked for one, simply click "cancel."

Blogs in Plain English

Mrs. Pattie Thomas and I enjoyed sharing our school system blog with the Talladega Kiwanis Club earlier today. For the members of the Kiwanis Club, and for the community as a whole, we hope you enjoy this short video explaining blogs.



Thanks to Lee and Sachi LeFever for producing this video and making it available through Common Craft.

AETC Keynote

You can be among the first to know that the keynote speaker for this summer’s Alabama Education Technology Conference with be Dr. Tim Tyson. Dr. Tyson was the closing keynote for the National Educational Computing Conference this past summer. To see and hear that keynote address, go here. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Closing Keynote.” The first 10 minutes consist of introductions, so just be patient and have some reading material handy. It’s going to be worth it. The address centers around the projects done by middle school students.

iGoogle

I am continuing to enjoy iGoogle as my home page. In a previous post, I told you about the organization of my iGoogle page. In this post, I focus specifically on the "Google Bookmarks," one of the sections on that page.

In that square, I want to see those sites I use most frequently. In addition, I want access to my most commonly used forms stored on our server. Often, it helps to see an example of what someone else has done to serve as a starting point for setting up your own. Here is a list of the links in my Google Bookmarks:

• Accelerated Reader (so that I can view data and run reports)
• Alabama State Dept. of Education
• Blogger
• Data Warehouse (a new feature from the Alabama State Dept. of Education)
• Delicious (so that I can access all of my bookmarks)
• Field Trip Request (a common form stored on our server)
• Frank Buck (my own blog)
• Leave Request (a common form stored on our server)
• The Daily Motivator
• PDWeb (professional development records)
• SETWeb (special education records)
• Talladega City Schools (our blog for the community)
• Teach Talladega (our blog for employees)
• Travel Form (a common form stored on our server)

You can see a screen shot of my iGoogle home page here.

Saving STI Classroom Reports

During the "Managing Digital Data with Ease" workshop on January 2, once of the topics we discussed was the ability to save any STIOffice report as a Word document. That capability allows the school the flexibility to modify the report, add information to it, copy and paste data, and even e-mail that data.

The question was asked if that same capability is available in STI Classroom. I explored that issue this morning, and the answer seems to be "yes." I have a demo loaded on my computer, so the student data I have (and hence the reports I can run) are limited.

When you run a report on any STI product, the report is first simply printed to the screen. At that point, look at the row of icons at the top of the screen. Starting at the right-most icon (the door), count back to the 4th icon from the right. That icon will look something a world. When you click on it, you have the choices "Export to HTML" and "Export to RTF." You want the later, which stands for "Rich Text Format." Basically, it's going to be a Word document.

The next part is something I think is not very well done. You see a box labeled "Export Report." It's wanting to know where you want to save the report. Click the little button with the 3 dots. My suggestion would be use a flash drive. At the bottom of the box where it says "Drive," choose the correct letter for your flash drive.

If you have ever found yourself looking at STI data on your screen and copying it on paper by hand, this one feature may be a big time-saver for you.

Removing the Blogger Navigation Bar

Two of my earlier posts have involved directions on how to remove the Blogger navigation bar. The objection is the "Next Blog" feature which takes your readers to a random blog. The risk always exists that the "Next Blog" will contain inappropriate material.

I have simplified the directions for removing the "Next Blog." To view those directions, click here.

“Simplicity allows people to act.”

The November 2007 issue of Fast Company included an article by Dan & Chip Heath entitled, “Analysis of Paralysis.” The essence of the article is captured in the sentence which ended the article’s first paragraph: “Simplicity allows people to act.”

I find that when I look at to-do list, I gravitate to the tasks which are easy to do, and you probably do as well. We like that which is simple and easy. When complexity and ambiguity set in, we procrastinate on that activity and choose something which presents a little more clarity.

Perhaps the answer is to make everything simple and make everything clear. The paradox is that some work is required in order to make things easy. The work consists of thinking a project all the way through from beginning to end. The work consists of figuring out all of the steps as well as knowing when it may not be possible to know all of them. Furthermore, keeping all of the notes and documents related to that project neatly organized takes some thought.

The good news is once we have structured a system and are willing to spend a little time keeping it clear, the rest becomes easy, incredibly easy.

Imagine looking at your list and knowing in which order to tackle the items and exactly how to proceed on each one. How simple that would make your day. Simple enough, you would actually act.

Let it Snow!

Just proof that it really does snow down here in Alabama. Even thought it only happens once every 10 years and lasts for about an hour and a half, none-the-less, it's snow! Our two Shelties got their first experience with this new phenomenon this past weekend.

This is a Test...

I have written previously about e-mail hoaxes and how to tell what is real and what is not. One of those posts is here. You can also read about the hoax that almost hooked me. Last night, I received this e-mail:

Tax Notification Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

United States Department of the Treasury
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $184.80. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to process it. A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline. To access the form for your tax refund, click here.
Regards,
Internal Revenue Service
Document Reference: (92054568)

Is it for real? Is it a hoax? How do you know for sure? You've got 15 seconds to find the answer. Go!

Well, how did you do?

A generation ago, we could place some trust in what we saw in print. Print information was limited to the newspapers and magazines we purchased, and all of the content went through some type of screening to insure accuracy. As long as we knew that the newspapers at the grocery store checkout were fake, we were OK. Even then, our English teachers taught lessons on propaganda and how to recognize it. That lesson was on page 237 of the textbook.

The story for kids today is different. Exercises in exposing the untrue aren't just in the textbook--they show up in your e-mail, and they show up on the Internet. And they don't wait for your teacher to first warn you about them. Web 2.0 allows anybody to publish anything, and it's up to our kids to be savvy enough to be able to separate fact from fiction. In part, they are looking to us to give them the tools to do it. Are we up to the challenge?

Google Docs

Quite a few people in our school system, as well as readers from all over, now have blogs. At some point, bloggers will have a document or a PowerPoint presentation that to share with students or the whole world (which on the Internet is really the same thing).

Problem: How can I post a document somewhere?

Answer: Google Docs

Google Docs is a free service which allows you to upload Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. You can allow others to view them. You can allow selected other people to even change them. This video explains the concept:

"Innovative Educator" Recommends Get Organized!

Thanks to Kerry Palmer for the post on his blog where he talks about Get Organized! Kerry is both a vice-principal and band director, each of which is a full-time job in itself, and does an outstanding job in both arenas. His post can be found on the Innovative Educator.

Look Ma, No Wallet

Somewhere around 8 years ago, I stopped carrying a wallet. Since that time, there has been not the slightest urge to go back.

I guess I had always thought a wallet in the back pocket was one of those things that simply went along with being a member of the male species. Never mind that sitting on the thing was uncomfortable or that the bulky wallet was unattractive. Furthermore, the wallet in the back pocket is a target for the pick-pocket.

One day I stopped, cold-turkey. This post is devoted to giving you the nuts and bolts of the items I do carry and how I am able to get by without the wallet:

1. Right front pocket—Keys and a flash drive. On the key ring, I have keys to ours cars, a key to the outside door of the house, a grand master that opens any building in the school system, my office at work, and the choir room at church. As for the other keys in my life, they do not earn a ride in my pocket everywhere I go. In lap drawer of my desk at work is a key ring housing keys to all of the filing cabinets. In my desk at home are keys to various locks at home. I only carry on my person those keys which are vital.
2. Left-front pocket—Magnetic money clip and a small amount of change. That’s it.
3. Shirt breast pocket—Waterman ballpoint pen and a credit card wallet.
4. Suit coat pocket—BlackBerry

The credit card wallet is really the key to allowing me to eliminate the wallet. In that credit card wallet, I carry:

1. 2 major credit cards
2. Driver’s license
3. Medical insurance card
4. Automobile insurance card
5. Business cards
6. A small memo pad (so that I can quickly jot down whatever comes to mind at odd moments)
7. An outside pocket on the credit card wallets provides a place for me to put credit card receipts I collect during the day.

The BlackBerry houses the following information:

1. Calendar—So there is no need to carry a pocket calendar
2. Task List—So there is no need to carry random scraps of paper
3. Address Book-So there is no need to carry a paper version
4. Notes—So there is no need to carry reference material somewhere else.
5. Pictures—Having the pictures digitally prevents having to carry paper ones.

Personally, I do not miss not sitting on an overstuffed, uncomfortable wallet.

Reviews from Barbara Blackburn

Thanks to Barbara Blackburn for a very nice review on Amazon.com and on her blog! I had the pleasure of reviewing two of Barbara’s books: Cassroom Motivation from A-Z and Classroom Instruction from A-Z. Barbara is an exceptionally good speaker and was our guest in Talladega for our beginning-of-school inservice. More on Barbara here.

Eye on Education Newsletter

Eye of Education has just released an e-mail newsletter featuring Get Organized! You can view it here. Eye on Education is offering a 10% discount and free shipping through the remainer of January with the coupon code thatthey list.

Also check out the information directly on their home page. They include links to two good articles published by the Anniston Star and Daily Home.

Introducing Photobucket

I learned about Photobucket just the other day. What you are seeing here is the result of spending about 5 minutes at the site. The pictures are simply digital photos of Bonnie and Skipper (our two Shelties) that I already had on hand.

How do I intend to use Photobucket? When I have a number of pictures I want to post on a blog, that series of pictures posted to Blogger can encompass quite a bit of real estate. By posting the photos to Photobucket and putting them together in a slide show, I can show quite a few pictures in a limited amount of space. Here is a an example that I used on our school system blog.

A Photobucket account is free.

Little Things are Big Things

One of the most rewarding experiences of my career has been mentoring those who are going down the same road I have traveled. That opportunity presents itself once again as a close colleague was recently appointed to a principalship literally overnight. During the past week, I have spent some time each day at the school in an honest effort to give this principal the kind of support that every new principal deserves yet few receive.

Seeing my colleague in action serves as a reminder of the challenge the principalship brings and the tools needed to meet that challenge. Input comes from all directions, often at the most unlikely of times. Even lunch is fair game. The requests for the principal’s time and attention are by in large little things. The challenge comes in handling the sheer volume of them. Now, more than ever, I am convinced that the “signature tool” is the secret to making things happen while maintaining sanity.

The “signature tool” can take many forms. It can be paper-based, such as a notepad, a loose-leaf planner, or a legal pad. It can be digital, such as a Palm or BlackBerry. Whatever form it takes, the signature is always available, must be quick, and must be easy to use. It is that trusted partner who never forgets anything and holds everything in one place. Over time, the appearance of that tool gives confidence to the observer that what is being talked about at the moment will not fall through the cracks. That little tool becomes unmistakably linked to accomplishment.

Over the last several days, a goodly share of the talk between me and my friend has included that particular idea. How and where will she record all of the requests, all of the ideas that strike while walking down the hall, and all of the positive activity that is happening in a school which already does so many things so well? How will she trap all of those “little things” while staying focused on the task at hand? We discussed the pros and cons of entry directly in the BlackBerry, initial entry on a notepad, and even the use of Jott.

During my most recent visit, a teacher walked into the principal’s office and in words which obviously came from the heart, began by saying, “I just want to tell you how much all of the little things you are doing means,” and went on to tell of how word of little things getting done was spreading into the community.

Doing little things, and doing them well, is a big thing. Virtually every task we perform is insignificant when viewed alone. Knit together, those small accomplishments move mountains.

My friend and I set up a voice mailbox, imported scores of repeating tasks into Outlook, devised needed forms, and ironed out all sorts of organizational details which will later save time for the entire faculty. Our work, however, was interrupted numerous times…by children. A child came to read to the principal, another came to show off her artwork, and another simply needed a little morale boost. This principal stopped and spent time with every one of them. A couple of minutes here. A couple of minutes there.

Little things, yet big things. Big things in the eyes of a child. Big things in shaping the direction of a school. Big things in defining a leadership style for a new principal.

I came away that day with the distinct impression that “a good place to learn and grow” just got a little better.

In the end, it is the attention to detail that makes all the difference. It's the center fielder's extra two steps to the left, the salesman's memory for names, the lover's phone call, the soldier's clean weapon. It's the thing that separates the winners from the losers, the men from the boys, and very often, the living from the dead. Professional success depends upon it, regardless of the field.

--David Noonan

Thanks for Attending!

Thanks to each of our teachers who attended one of my workshops today. Presenting to people I have known for years is a real pleasure. If you took from today even one idea that you can use on a regular basis, the time today was well spent.

Charging Lunch (and the Teachable Moment)

This morning I was reviewing a blog I maintained for my teachers during my final year as a principal. Just as I had suspected, I found a few gems that I want to share with teachers throughout our school system via a blog we have for that purpose. Here is one that I think speaks to students everywhere:

We are likely to have a Board policy which will limit the number of days a student may "charge" lunch for only one day. This really should not pose any student or family a problem, although we know that "should" and "do" are often two different things. Just as you and I put gas in the car when the needle approached empty rather when the tank is bone dry, the prudent thing for a family to do is regularly add money to the lunch account when it begins to get low. That way, if something happens and the plan doesn't go exactly as expected, they have a buffer of a few days before their child reaches a zero balance.

I realize this concept would not occur to some folks. After all, I am one who believes that the time to add "toothpaste" to the grocery list is when you pull the last unused one from under the counter, not when I realize I can't squeeze any more out of the very last tube in the house. That way, getting toothpaste never becomes a crisis. Buying toothpaste sometime within the next month will do instead of having to go to the store before I can brush my teeth again.

We can help students avoid the situation of having to charge lunches by doing two easy things:

1) Use analogies such as what I have listed above.

2) Stress to students that when they realize they are out of money, get that thought on paper ASAP. The student planner is the tool for that. Writing it down works. Trying to remember everything does not.

We need to teach students to handle routines rather than hop from crisis to crisis. Very few of us had anybody teach us these kinds of things as children, and as we grown up in the world that has become increasingly complex, far too many adults are eaten alive by the little details that tugs at their lives day after day. What do we think the world will be like for the children in our classrooms now? Less complex? Not a chance! We have the opportunity to do teach them the basic organizational skills that will spell major differences in what they are able to accomplish and their ability to avoid the plague of stress years down the road.

Photo Story

Nothing spreads a good idea like word of mouth. Two years ago, when Janet Taylor conducted a summer workshop on Photo Story for teachers in our school system, probably none of us had heard of it. After teachers were able to see the projects their colleagues who attended had created, last summer's workshop was nearly full.

This Christmas, several of us at the central office surprised close family members with projects we had created using Photo Story. I have no doubt that the interest in the program is going to exceed the capacity of the people available aroudn here to teach it. I have been able to find a pretty good tutorial on the internet, and that link is here.

A novice could use this tutorial and teach himself/herself the program, although half the fun is having someone guide you through the process and help you share in the joy of creating something meaningful and lasting. Whether the project is for your students or a project you create at home for loved ones, this free program is a winner.

Warning—Using this program may cause excessive use of Kleenex.

Organizing Your Gift Cards

Christmas day has passed, and if you are like me, you have your share of gift cards to your favorite restaurants and book stores. Figures I am seeing keep talking about $8 billion in gift cards going unspent because people lose or simply forget about their gift cards.

Wouldn't it be great if you had a place where you could put these little gems, a place where every so often they would hop up and say, "Remember me? Spend me."

For those who have adopted the "tickler file," that place already exists. Take all of those gift cards and put them in an envelope. Pick a date you would like to see them again. Drop the envelope in the tickler file for that date. The envelope with all of the gift cards magically appears on the desired date and serves as its own reminder to look at the cards. During that quick scan, you and your spouse can make decisions on what restaurants you might like to visit over the next week or two. (I like to see them once a week. The ones we plan to use over the next week go in the credit card case I carry at all times.) I throw the the envelope back in the tickler file to resurface a week later.

Examining the gift cards takes only a minute, and the process insures that the gifts given to me will be used and not become part of that $8 billion that is wasted.

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

This post is scheduled for Talladega City School teachers on January 2nd. During the workshop, we make reference to several blogs. Listed below are those blogs. Clicking on the links will allow you to view each of the blogs:

• 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
• 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
• Stirring Up the Dust Initial post from a technology blog for teachers
• Get Organized! Blog on organization and time management

In addition to the blogs we discuss in the workshop, here are several created by teachers to use as communication tools with their classes:

• Brandi Caldwell, a teacher at Mountain Brook High School, composed Mrs. C's Senior English Blogs. From her last post there, it seems the school system began blocking Blogger, so you will see a link there to another venue she now uses. Here, you see Mrs. Caldwell composing the posts and her students responding with their comments.
• On Mrs. Myrmel's Classroom Blog, we see a blog used as a tool for a 3rd grade teacher to communicate with parents.
• At the Room 303 Blog, Mrs. Huff's students compose the posts. The most recent posts at present relate to student insights into The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Other students post comments where they respond to what their classmates have composed. This one is definitely worth a look.

Here is the link for ImageChef, the site which allows you to add your own text to a host of images and post them to your blog.
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.

Doing the Best You Can With What You Have

Some people spend their time complaining about their lot in life and looking for someone else to solve their problems for them. Others look within themselves. One of the lessons life seems to have taught me is that when we do the best we can with what we have, the result is usually remarkably good. Of course, all too many people are all too quick to put a label of their "best" on an effort that is far from it.

While I had planned to write about this subject anyway, I read something earlier in the week which explains my point far more clearly that I ever could. Click here to read an account of how the students, parents, and faculty at Oklahoma City's Westwood Elementary School came together during a snow storm that Oklahoma rarely sees to display a spirit that I wish we could spread to every school in America. Once known for low student achievement, this school turned around in a very short time despite the incredibly high percentage of students coming from Spanish-speaking homes.

The story talks about their fund-raising project--coming together to make tamales to raise funds for a marquee. Despite a language barrier, they found joy through the universal language of music and demonstrate an understanding of each other which transcends the spoken word.

Perhaps the story of how this school coped with Mother Nature may be a clue as to how they approach the other challenges they face--looking at what they can control, working together, and enjoying the ride. Jan, thanks for using the story of a snowstorm in Oklahoma to spread sunshine all the way to Alabama.

When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or the life of another.
-Helen Keller

House of 1000 Mirrors

I feel especially privileged to work with some very positive people who make coming to work every day a joy. This is just one example of the something a co-worker shared with me. A simple story, yet it illustrates just how much the attitude we bring to the table impacts others, and ultimately impacts us in return. Pattie, thanks for sending this gem my way!

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

by: Author Unknown, Japanese folktale

Who Do You Want to Jott?

"Jott" is my new toy, and it is so easy, I can't believe I haven't used it before. The idea is that you speak into a telephone and your message is transcribed into an e-mail which winds up in someone's Inbox.

To get started, go to http://www.jott.com and create an account. You will have the opportunity to add people to your Jott address book. You will also be asked the telephone number from which you want to "Jott." In my case, I chose my BlackBerry since it is with me all the time. That's all the setup that is required.

Now, when I am in traffic and want to sent someone an e-mail message, I pull out the BlackBerry and hit a speed dial key that I have programmed to call Jott. The next thing I hear is a voice saying, "Who do you want to Jott?" I reply by speaking the person's name. The voice repeats the name and asks if it is correct. Once I say, "Yes," I start recording my message. Jott will let me talk up to 30 seconds.

Once I have sent the first message, Jott will allow me to compose a second message to a different person. There is no limit to the number of messages I can send during that one phone call to Jott.

Best of all, Jott is absolutely free! Who do you want to Jott?

Where are My Holidays?

If you use Outlook 2003, you may notice you are missing your holidays for 2008. To download an update which will supply those dates through 2012, click here.

Time Out the Wazoo

Greg Farr has just posted a very thought-provoking post on LeaderTalk entitled Time Out the Wazoo. His post illustrates how many different inititatives have been put into our school day. Each initiative is good and has the best of intentions. After all, this one will only require 10 minutes a day. That one only requires 20 minutes twice-weekly. Every snowflake in the avalanche pleads "not guilty"!

I wish I had a quick and easy answer. I did wind up copying and saving the post and do intend to re-read it from time to time.

What's the answer to reclaiming time? Is it through the little decisions--saying "no" to the little requests for 30 minutes here and there? Is the answer to lay everything on the table and make decisions about what goes and what stays? Since so many of the decisions about what goes into our days are made at the state and national levels, how do we best approach the decision makers? Greg, thanks for starting the discussion.