Could One Device Do Everything?

The July/August issue of Fast Company Magazine includes a look at the history and possible future of our electronic gadgets. Could one device eventually handle it all?

This diagram offers an interesting perspective.

Using Spare Minutes

In the last post, we talked about carving out chunks of time, allowing us to focus on something of worth. Drucker talked about being able to accomplish little with "dribs and drabs" of time. Life happens, however, and often leaves our days broken into fragments. Sometimes "dribs and drabs" are the only vehicles through which we can move forward. The ability to use those spare minutes allows us to reclaim time that would otherwise be wasted, sometimes fairly large amounts of time.

This post is one such example. On the day I composed it, our school system was in the midst of a professional development day. My role was to circulate from school to school and observe the training that was happening at each site. I knew ahead of time that my day would be spent sitting and watching. For that reason, I started the day by scanning my to-do list for items which could be done while I watched the various trainings. Writing a post on using spare minutes was actually one if the items. I changed the due date to move it to the top of the list where it would be easily seen. I grabbed a piece of paper, and off I went.

Everyone probably thought I was taking notes on the training being observed. I was, in fact, giving a goodly portion of my attention to the training. At the same time, I was writing this post which I completed in its entirety to later be keyed into this blog.

Other items I noticed as I scanned my list were phone calls which could be made quickly. I changed those due dates as well to move them to the top of the list. Between visiting schools, I was able to place these several calls from my BlackBerry while in the halls.

Reading material is always a good source for filling spare minutes. I have a section of my brief case reserved for reading materials. When magazines arrive, I throw them in there along with any book I happen to be reading at the time. When there is any chance that I will have down time, I either grab the briefcase or at least pull some of the reading material from it.

Nothing beats chunks of time. When life breaks those chunks into tiny fragments, choosing the right tasks can turn "dribs and drabs of time" into productive minutes.

Drucker on "Focus"

Cell phones ring, visitors drop in, e-mail comes rolling across the screen. Maintaining focus can be a challenge, and the challenge is only become worse in this age of constant and instant availability.
One of my favorite books is The Effective Executive by management guru Peter Drucker. Despite its 1966 copyright date, it remains a hallmark book on time management. One of my favorite passages is this one:

"To be effective, every knowledge worker, and especially every executive, therefore needs to be able to dispose of time in fairly large chunks. To have dribs and drabs of time at his disposal will not be sufficient even if the total is an impressive number of hours." (Page 29)
While opportunities to fragment our day increase, the fact remains that nothing of much worth is going to be accomplished without some degree of focus. How can we create the "chunks" of time in an age that so desperately tries to fragment our lives? Below are five suggestions:

1. Allow things to "pile up" and handle them in one group. This technique applies to such things as e-mail, voice mail, and the U.S. mail.
2. Stay ahead of deadlines. When we bump up against deadlines, we are invariably causing problems for other people. Naturally, they call, e-mail, and drop by for a "status report." Staying ahead of the game eliminates the need for others to "check up" on you, and provides more time to focus on the project at hand.
3. Visit other people on your own time schedule. If drop-in visits from the same few people are a problem, drop in on them first. In this way, you are doing it on your schedule. As a principal, I made it a point to be in the halls before the start of school and circulate through the building. If a teacher had a quick question, my presence coming down the hall provided the perfect opportunity. Those quick interactions in the hall reduced the number of interruptions throughout the day.
4. Plan your work, and make it easy. We interrupt ourselves. We often do so by turning from the difficult job at hand to some diversion that is easier and more fun. To combat that temptation, make what is at hand easy, and hopefully make it fun as well. Break the overwhelming goal down into manageable tasks that are clearly worded. All to often, the to-do list contains items which have rolled from day to day simply because they are ambiguous. Clear up the ambiguity by making decisions and asking questions.
5. Group related tasks. Grouping applies to more than e-mail and voice mail. When a few quick face-to-face meetings are needed, handle them all in a group. Go from one person to the next as you make your way through the building. Do the same with errands. Once you get in the car, go from one to the other.

When our work is easy, interesting, and fun, there is less temptation to succumb to the interruptions in our lives. Focused or fragmented? It's a choice. Nobody is going to protect our time for us. That one is up to us.

I Am the Flag

Google 411

Every time I present a workshop, I wind up learning something new. The day I spent at the Jacksonville State University Regional Inservice Center was no exception. Google 411 is a free alternative to the regular 411 we are used to. In addition, it offers more features.

Check out this demo of how it works:



Add the phone number to you contact list in you cell phone: 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411)
You are ready to start using this free service.

Pictures of My Home Office

The major project over the last several weeks has been moving out of an office and merging two offices (work and home) into one (home). In a later post, I will detail the list of tasks I worked through in order to wind things down at the office. Aside from the obvious tasks of collecting empty boxes, there are those less obvious tasks, such as organizing digital files that others would need and then wiping clean both my computer and office-issued BlackBerry to prevent others from seeing private information.

In this post, I will share pictures taken of my desk and files at home. In little more than a week following the last day at the office, everything is done except hanging the pictures and plaques on the walls. All of the books have found a home. Reference files are set up. All of this was in addition to spending considerable time finishing book #2. Here are some pictures of the desk at home.



The desktop is free of paper, sort of a trademark for me. There may be more in the way of memorabilia on the desk for some would prefer, but everything has earned its place. Everything is special in some way.





Some may wonder why I have two clocks. One is from my wife on my 45th birthday. The other is from the Pizitz Middle School Band as a going-away gift in 1993. For someone with no paper, I have quite a few paperweights. Again, each one has some meaning. A "Superior" rating medal from State Band Contest was made into a paperweight. Another is a medal from an honor band I conducted. There is a paperweight from a United States Senator during my childhood days. The "Outstanding Young Men of America" paperweight rounds out the quartet. The gold object in front of the paperweights is a miniature flute, a gift from my wife many years ago. (I have a degree in flute performance.) My wife, Davonia, is pictured at the corner. The candle is a present from a co-worker and very dear friend.




On the right-hand side of the desk is my Inbox. I picked that one up at Bombay Company for $10. It was s steal! The lid features a gold lion. The school bus paperweight in the left of the picture is a limited edition made from Georgia marble. The glass paperweight is a cube resembling an aquarium, a gift from a teacher during my days as principal.



From left to right, there is a picture of Davonia, a picture of Bonnie & Skipper (our two Shelties), a picture of me with a very dear friend from work, a collectible bear given to me by that same friend for my 49th birthday, a clock given to me as a retirement gift by one of our principals, and the "Simplify" box given to me by my friend as a Christmas present.



While I was presenting at the NAESP national convention in 2008, my wife was buying me a beautiful present, the globe which sits next to my Inbox. In front of it is a set of two cubes given to me as a thank-you gift for serving as an NAESP editorial adviser. Each side of each cube displays a different word or two. Together, the two cubes communicate a message. In all, 36 messages are possible. So whether I turn the cubes so that they say Be thankful...today, Recognize someone...without fear, or Think...with passion, it's all good!




Above the desk are bookshelves. On one shelf, you see my nameplate from work. Just behind it is an engraved silver bowl, a retirement gift from the school system. The book end is part of a set given to me by my school when I left as principal and moved to the central office.


Over the computer, is more memorabilia. If you have been counting, you now see the 4th clock. This one is a Lasercraft clock with a nautical theme. To the right of the clock is a pocket watch. The inscription on the watch reads, "John P. Buck from Sister Xmas '99." John P. Buck was my grandfather and died before I was born. The "99" refers to the year "1899." Just behind it is a framed note card picturing the front of the school where I was principal. The note cards were so attractive that framing one became a traditional gift for retiring teachers.



If the paper is not on the desk, then where is it? Anyone who knows me well will tell you the paper is in the tickler file. Mine is located in a drawer just under the computer, a 90 degree swivel from the desk.



Across from the desk is an ornate filing cabinet matching the desk. Here is my reference filing system.




Finally, here is my set of "A-Z" files. Those who have read the book know that the contents of these files do not need to be acted upon, are for short-term reference filing, and most of the contents will eventually wind up in the trash can.

That's about it. Everything I need is close at hand in a drawer. The desktop is clear. Perhaps a bit too much in the way of memorabilia, and certainly more clocks than necessary. But, everything there is a reminder of something or someone who has made a difference in my life. That's the home office!

Workshop Comments from Virtual AETC

In the last post, we talked about what workshop participants from Virtual AETC would do with an extra hour. In this post, you can read comments from the workshop as keyed into the comment box by participants:

• This is great. Motivates me to get organized!!
• So true!
• Sheer panic
• I've had teachers learn this lesson the hard way!!
• Learned the hard way
• It only takes one time to lose your data til you come up with a backup system.
• I learned when I lost a 27 page (in the works) research paper...thank goodness for Norton Recovery
• I have a couple of flash drives because I have lost my backup system before.
• Don't forget your pictures.
• This is exactly what i need
• This is what I need!
• Wow is right!
• Too cool! I always enjoy your presentations
• I always enjoy them, too
• Good presentation and information.
• Thanks so much! Very informative!
• Great for people like me who forget everything
• I love this! Exactly what I need!
• Great tool!!!!!
• Definitely!!!!!
• Great
• Great Presentation...Thank you
• I always enjoy your workshops. Great information.
• Thank you so much! Great presentation!
• Thanks so much- I have sessions from you before and as always get very useful information
• I ALWAYS learn new STUFF in your sessions! Thanks
• Great workshop
• Great ideas...thanks!!
• This session SOOOO informative!!!!

It's always a pleasure to present to people who are hungry for easier ways to navigate life. This year's Virtual AETC was my first experience with presenting via the computer. I learned a lot along the way, and for me, learning something new every day is important.

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

One of my summer projects is taking an online course to fulfill the requirements for a "professional learning unit," the new vehicle by which Alabama administrators renew their certificates.

One assignment asked the question, "What differences do you see between you as a student and the students of today?" Here is my reply:

I think the issue has to do more with the change in the environment than the change in the person. Students today were not genetically wired any differently than a generation ago. They are products of their environment, and it is an environment which offers far more choices than we knew as students.

I grew up with 3 TV channels (4 if the weather was just right), a radio, a turntable, one telephone in the house, and print media. Of those, the only one of them which was portable was print. In addition, only one held any type of suspense--the phone. Will it ring? If so, who will it be? The environment pretty much lent itself to focusing on the task at hand.

Contrast that scenario to the student of today who has access to over 100 channels, a go-anywhere iPod, go-anywhere cell phone (which rings, delivers text messages, and delivers e-mail), the internet, instant messaging, Facebook, MySpace, etc. The ability to take the cell phone anywhere means students are prone to being interrupted anywhere or interrupting themselves from anywhere and at any time. Curious about who may have sent an e-mail or left something on Facebook, self-interruption fragments their time.

The readings put a positive spin on "multitasking." Notice the dates--2001 and 2005. That's a long time ago in the world of technology. I did a Google search for "multitasking studies." Click the link and see if you get the same impression of what current thought says about multitasking as I did.

What all of this says to me is that time is as finite as it ever has been, yet the demands on that time grow. Our students have two choices. The first is to allow technology to be the master as they allow themselves to overwhelmed with new piece of input feeling as if there is no other choice. The results is that they do twice as much half as well, a result that looks like this video:



The other choice is for our students to use technology as a tool. Let technology perform a Google search that will return more relevant information in 2 seconds than two days in the stacks of the local library would yield. Use the "found time" for endeavors that require creative thought. Let Excel crunch the numbers in 2 seconds instead of spending 2 hours with the calculator. Use the "found time" to focus on something of quality.

In a world filled with choices and where interruptions and diversions abound, self-discipline and the ability to focus are going to be the keys to accomplish anything of substance. Like anything else, teachers are being looked to for guidance in this area. That's why we've got to be on the forefront, learning.

The frightening thing is that if someone is going to teach our young people how to use technology as a servant rather than letting it be the master, that someone is going to be us, the "digital immigrants."

If I Had One More Hour Every Day...

During my workshops, I like to ask participants to finish this sentence:

"If I had one more hour every day, I would..."

I ask this question because the concepts from the workshops, if implemented, will save at least an hour a day. In many cases, the amount of time could be far more.

Usually, workshop participants write their responses on slips of paper. During the "Managing Digital Data With Ease" session during Virtual AETC, participants keyed their responses in the comments box. Here is what they had to say:

If I had one more hour every day, I would:

• Sleep
• Spend with my family
• Sleep
• I'd realize how far behind I actually was
• Pray
• Spend time with family and prayer
• Rest
• Do laundry-- 3 kids under 8
• Relax
• Have quiet time
• Clean my house
• Mark more things off my list
• Spend it will my daughter
• Spend time with family, read
• Play with my dogs
• Spend it with friends and family
• Rest and spend time with family
• Clean my filthy house
• Volunteer more
• Sleep
• Relax and enjoy family
• Have quiet time
• Give myself a little more time
• Rest
• Play with the kids
• Sleep
• Spend more time with family and friends
• I would attend more virtual conferences
  
• Play more golf
  
• Read
  
• Enjoy family and friends
  

What about you? If you had another hour every day, how would you spend it?

My Checklists Part III

In this post, we will take one more goal from beginning to end. Putting quality teachers in every classroom is at the top of every principal's priority list. Most teaching vacancies occur during the summer, but they could occur at any time. Filling that position entails a process which includes quite a few steps. The process will differ somewhat from district to district. For me, hiring and inducting a new teacher encompassed the following steps:

1. Talk to superintendent regarding resignation and filling position
2. Position posted
3. Screen applicants
4. Check to be sure applicants meet certification and HQT requirements
5. Set up interviews
6. Contact references
7. Submit recommendation
8. Board approval
9. Notify successful candidate
10. Notify non-successful candidates
11. Add to birthday list
12. Assign copier code
13. Assign alarm code
14. Assign voice mail
15. Assign ikey
16. Establish e-mail account
17. Add to e-mail group
18. Label mailbox
19. Add to STI
20. Enroll in Lee v. Macon training
21. Add to School Renewal committee
22. Assign mentor
23. Put "Acceptable Use Policy" in box
24. Start a personnel file

Every one of those steps was required in order to hire and induct a teacher. When a position became available, my first step was to go to the Notes section of Outlook and drag to the Task button the Note entitled, "+Position has been filled and new hire inducted." In that Note were all of the steps listed above.

To start things off, I would amend the subject line to tell me which position is being filled. The line may then read something like "1st Grade Position has been filled and new hire inducted." Next would be to cut the first task, "Talk to superintendent regarding resignation and filling position," and paste it in the subject line just before the "+" sign. Then I ask when I want to see that task again and assign a start/due date.

From now until that new teacher is hired and inducted, I am working through the 24 steps. At all times, I know exactly what comes next. It's pasted just to the left of the "+" sign. I also know what comes after that. It's listed in the note section of the Task.

With this method, I can track many goals at the same time. Nothing slips through the cracks, because everything is in writing and dated so that it appears at the right time.

Checklists Part II

In the last post, I talked about the checklists which I maintain and house in the Notes section of Outlook. In this post, I will show how I work through these checklists using as an example one titled "+Grading Period has been concluded."

During the summer, the ending dates for each grading period will have been established. When each grading period ends, I want to be presented with a list of things that need to be done without my having to think about them. Armed with the ending dates of each grading period, I do the following:

1. Open Outlook and click the "Notes" button.
2. Locate the checklist which says, "+Grading Period has been concluded."
3. Click on the checklist and drag the mouse to the Task button.
4. When I let off the mouse, a new Task has been created. The subject of the task is automatically completed--It is the same as the title of the Note. All of the information in the Note is duplicated in the body of the Task.
5. Assign a start/due date to the task coinciding with the final day of the first grading period.
6. Save and close the task.
7. Repeat the process for each grading period, dragging the checklist to the Task button, assigning a start/due date, and saving/closing the task.

When the final day of the first grading period arrives, I see a task in the Task list which reads, "+Grading Period has been concluded." The note section of that task contains the following items:

1. Allow grade posting
2. Remind teachers to post grades
3. Run check to see who has not posted grades
4. Run "Missing Grade" report
5. Run Accelerated Reader Marking Period Report
6. Disallow grade posting
7. Reconcile grades (Utilities, Grading, Reconcile grades)
8. Run report cards
9. Run Honor Roll
10. Put Honor Roll ribbons in boxes
11. Send Honor Roll list to newspaper
12. Run grade distribution
13. Run failure list

With my system, the "+" at the first of the line indicates that I need to define the next step toward the accomplishment of my goal. Those steps are listed in the note section. I look at the first step, "Allow grade posting." In the student administrative software, I turn on grade posting, which will allow teachers to electronically report their grades to the office.

I look at the next step, the one which involves reminding teachers to post grades. I immediately open a new e-mail message and quickly send information to teachers that they can post their grades.

The next step says, "Run check to see who has not posted grades." I cannot perform that step right now. I will have to wait until teachers have been given a reasonable amount of time to post their grades. I can go no further with this goal right now and must stop. What I do is cut the step which says, "Run check to see who has not posted grades" and paste it in the subject line just before the "+" sign. Now the task reads as follows:

Run check to see who has not posted grades+Grading Period has been concluded

I ask myself, "When do I want to see this task again?" and assign a start/due date in Outlook. Now this task and this goal are out of sight and out of mind. They will magically reappear on the date I had prescribed.

When the deadline arrives for teachers to post grades, I can resume working on this goal. I know exactly where I left off. The next step is in the subject line of the task just before the "+" and the goal is to the right of the "+" sign. In the administrative software, I run a list of teachers who have not posted grades. If one or more teachers have not posted their grades, I can go no further with this goals. I send a reminder to the teachers and reschedule the task to appear the next day.

On the other hand, if all teachers have posted grades, I can go straight to the next step, "Run 'Missing Grade' report. If there are missing grades, I can go no further and must alert the appropriate teachers of what is missing. If there are no missing grades, I could continue straight down the list and accomplish steps number 5-13 to the extent that time and my level of concentration will allow.

My feeling is that when one starts to work on a goal, the best practice is to take that goal as far as possible before switching to something else. When you must leave that goal, put a bookmark in it. That bookmark consists on cutting and pasting the next step into the subject line just before the "+" sign. The next time you want to resume working on that goal, you know exactly where to start.

One final point is important. I need a trigger to cause me to look at the grading period checklist back in the summer and start dragging this and other checklists to the Task button. That trigger consists of one repeating task which comes back every summer. It instructs me to look at all of the checklists, drag them to the Task button, and start to assign start/due dates.

JSU Workshops Tuesday

There are still plenty of seats left for the Get Organized! workshop offered through the Jacksonville State University Inservice Center on June 23. The time is 8:30-4:00.

The inservice is providing a free copy of the book to all participants! Registration is limited to those in the JSU Inservice Center Region.

To register for the workshop, click here.

Virtual AETC Sessions Archived

The sessions from Virtual AETC have now been posted so that anyone who missed a session can view the archives. It is my understanding that they will be available for the remainder of the month.

You can view and listen to the my sessions by going to each of the following links:

Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes of Less
Managing Digital Data With Ease

These sessions are presented through Elluminate. You may be prompted to do some downloading of software one time.

Friends

A couple of days ago, my Inbox contained what was without a doubt the nicest e-mail I had ever received. New e-mail came rolling in a few minutes ago, and now it's a tossup.

For many years, I've practiced and preached the value of technology as a tool for efficiency, a way to get the mundane done more quickly, and a way to create more time for the creative aspects of life.

Lately, I've realized more and more the power of technology to maintain relationships. Sometimes important thoughts need to be expressed in the moment or they become lost forever.

Yes, I wrote recently that e-mail starts fights, and I could tell you some stories from personal experience about the ruffled feathers that have been caused by misinterpreted e-mail. At the same time, e-mail, and Facebook, and blogs, and my newly-found friend Twitter also serve to keep us close when we can't be face-to-face.

Out of sight need not be out of mind.

My Checklists

Making a coconut cake
Enrolling a student in school
Ending a grading period
Packing for an out-of-town trip

All of these activities have some commonalities:

1. They have a number of steps involved in order to be complete.
2. They will happen numerous times, so having a pre-defined list of the steps will serve as a huge time-saver.
3. They do not necessarily recur on a regular schedule (every week, every month, etc.)

As an elementary school principal, at the end of every grading period, we performed the following steps in the main office:

1. Allow grade posting
2. Remind teachers to post grades
3. Run check to see who has not posted grades
4. Run "Missing Grade" report
5. Run Accelerated Reader Marking Period Report
6. Disallow grade posting
7. Reconcile grades (Utilities, Grading, Reconcile grades)
8. Run report cards
9. Run Honor Roll
10. Put Honor Roll ribbons in boxes
11. Send Honor Roll list to newspaper
12. Run grade distribution
13. Run failure list

Working through the list was a cinch. Trying to remember everything on the list would have been a nightmare and surely manifested itself in forgotten items time and time again. But where does one keep this sort of information? How does it work into the overall system? Enter the beauty of checklists.

For me, the answer has been to use the Note section of Outlook. Each checklist is a separate note. Here are the checklists that I have in my Outlook Notes:

+Additional Academic Indicator of 95% has been met
+BBSST To-Do List
+Calendar dates have been scheduled
+Calendar for new school year has been adopted
+Code of Conduct has been revised
+Computer is set up
+Distribution lists have been updated
+District Accreditation review has been completed and paperwork submitted
+Evaluations have been completed
+Grading Period has been concluded
+Interpreter for PTO meetings and Awards Day have been secured
+Lee versus Macon Training has been completed
+Packing List
+Position has been filled and new hire inducted
+Professional Development has been planned
+Professional Development Plan has been submitted
+Recruiting Fair has been organized
+Renaissance Place is ready for new school year
+SETS is ready for new school year
+State Superintendent's Art Show has been held
+STI is ready for new school year
+Teacher of the Year/JSU Hall of Fame have been submitted and winners honored
+Time Management Workshop has been planned

Look at what each one of these titles has in common:

1. Almost without exception, the title consists of a statement which is either true or false.
2. As long as the statement is false, there is more to be done.
3. When the statement is true, the goal has been achieved. In other words, we can "check it off."
4. Each statement begins with a noun.
5. Each statement is preceded by a plus (+) sign
6. Each title represents a goal which will be undertaken once or more every year.
7. The exact dates involved with any one of the goals will vary from year to year.

In the next two posts, I will take two of the samples from the list and "think out loud" so that you can see how what seems to be an overwhelming list becomes a set of small, doable tasks which simply become part of my task list.

Why E-Mail Starts Fights

E-mail is great, but not for everything. This short video tells us when e-mail should not be used.

Click here to see the video.

Collecting Data

Every year, schools across America have in their computer databases a wealth of data that can be reported in any number of ways. Every year, schools across America dump a portion of that data as those computer programs promote students from one grade level to the next, promote the exiting grade of the system entirely, remove the connection between a student and the teacher from the previous year, and change the school year calendar. The challenge comes in making good decisions about what data to extract before the data is rolled over for the next year.

Here are the suggestions I gave our school system's reading coaches and elementary principals on what reports to run from Accelerated Reader and STAR. What is listed may seem like a great deal, but in less than an hour you will have data that can be used for year-to-year comparisons and will be useful for years to come. As far as where to file them, my filing cabinet has a folder labeled Assessment Data—Accelerated Reader and one labeled Assessment Data—STAR. There is also a folder for each of the other assessments we give (ADAW, ARMT, etc.). Each begins with “Assessment Data” followed by the name of the assessment. Each year is stapled together. That way, one folder holds all of the Accelerated Reader data for a number of years. By labeling the folders the way I have suggested here, every piece of assessment data is right together in the filing cabinet where it is easy to access.

Accelerated Reader

Schoolwide Summary—Set date range from the first day of the school year to the last. Group by Grade. This report will give you your year in terms of how each class earned points, the % of questions answered correctly, the book level on which the class is reading, and what % are at-risk. You see the same information for the grade level as a whole. This is your best “at –a-glance” report.

Diagnostic Reading Practice—Use the same settings as above. This report will give you a record of every one of your children in terms of points earned for the year, % of correct answers, and average book level.

Marking Period Progress—Select all marking periods. This report shows you how each class progressed over the year in several key areas (basically the same areas as the Schoolwide Summary).

Quiz Usage—Set the date range for the first day of the school year to the last. Select the 10 most taken quizzes. Sort by Rank. You will see the results for each class. This report will give you an idea of the most popular books for each class.

Point Club Summary—Select the date range for the first day of the school year to the last. Select the point clubs you would like to view. This report will give you an idea of which children the top point earners throughout the school.

STAR

Snapshot Report—Sort by grade level. For every student, you will see their score for the most recent test. Pay particular attention to the Grade Equivalent score. You also see group averages for each grade level.

Growth Report—You will be able to see the results of each administration of STAR for each student.

In a future post, I will provide some suggestions for other data that a school may wish to keep year after year and then how to organize that data.

A Sample "My Documents" Folder

Thanks to everyone who attend one of my breakout sessions at the North Alabama Administrators Conference yesterday.

We did run out of the handout that gave you a screen shot of a sample "My Documents" folder. The great thing about being able to refer to this blog is that we can get that information to you. You can download a copy of that handout by clicking here. You can also view it below.

My iGoogle Gadgets

iGoogle is my home page, and for good reason. It functions as a virtual dashboard, giving me access to a variety of resources all in one place. I first talked about iGoogle and how to set up an iGoogle page in this post. I talked about the links I have in my Bookmark gadget in this post.

Here is a list of the gadgets I have on my iGoogle page. Clicking on each link will take you to an explanation of that gadget and give you the opportunity to add it to your iGoogle page.

Bookmarks
Google Reader
Twitter
Inspirational Quote & Picture
Weather
CNN.com
Google News
Education (from CNN.com)
People.com
MapQuest Driving Directions
Zip/Area Code Lookup
Music
YouTube
Document to PDF
Movies
GoogleDocs
GoogleCalendar

Follow-Up from "Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes of Less"

This post is written for those who participated in "Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes or Less" through VAETC (Virtual Alabama Educational Technology Conference).

These are the sample blogs that we viewed:

• 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
• Raymond L. Young New principal's blog for the community
  
• Alabama Black Belt Arts Education Initative Collaborative blog for schools in a particular region of Alabama
• Ala NB Seekers Blog for teachers seeking National Board Certification
• Get Organized! Blog on organization and time management

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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.

This Friday, I am offering "Managing Digital Data With Ease" from 11:00-12:00 through VAETC. Search the PD Catalog for VAETC09002.

If you are in the Jacksonville State University Regional In-Service Center area, there are still seats left for "Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders." Click here for free registration. The in-service center is providing copies of the book free to all participants!

For those in the University of Montevallo Regional In-Service Center area, join me for "Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes or Less," a half-day version of "Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders" and a half-day session on "Get Organized With Your BlackBerry." Further information is located here.

I hope that you will check back here often!

Twitter...I Finally Gave In

After hearing about Twitter and how many people love it, I figured I probably needed to at least give it a try. The account was free and surprisingly easy to set up. If you are on Twitter and should be so inclined to want to "follow" me, I am located at http://twitter.com/drfrankbuck

There is an excellent flash demo which walks you through all of the capabilities. I viewed it very briefly and have it on my list to spend some time with several weeks from now. You can access that demo by clicking here.

One question came to mind quickly. If the whole idea is to tell people what you are doing at any given moment, shouldn't there be a way to do that easily from anywhere--such as from my BlackBerry? I found a site that walked me through how to do exactly that. Basically, I have added a contact to my BlackBerry. When I want to "tweet," I e-mail that contact. That set of instructions is here.

How much I will use Twitter remains to be seen. In many ways, the "what are you doing now" concept parallels Facebook. While I have quite a few friends with Facebook accounts, I cannot say the same for Twitter. Maybe that will change. Maybe it won't. Stay tuned!

The Master List

In the last post, I talked about a lengthy to-do list as being a positive thing. In this post, let's look at how to organize that list so that it can be lengthy without being overwhelming.

My to-do list is, in fact, one long list. It is organized chronologically. Since the BlackBerry does not have a "start date" field, every task from now on into the future is listed one after the other. As of this moment, I have an entry which comes due in 2017!

What is important for me is to see a well-organized list of what I want to accomplish today in the order I want to accomplish it. Each day, I quickly scan the list of items with a due date of today or earlier and adjust the due dates to move the things I want to accomplish early in the day to the top of the list. I look for a group of half a dozen or so items which fits together well and assign them a due date of five days ago. They move to the top of the list. I scan the list for another few items which I want to accomplish next and give them a due date of four days ago. I continue the process and have a groups of items dated three days ago, two days ago, yesterday, and the remainder left with today's due date.

What if I have additional time? A trick I use is to employ the last day of the month as a place for my "master list." Those tasks are the ones which have no urgency. Many do not have to be done at all. They are options that could add to the richness of my life. Whenever I have"cleared the deck" of those items which must be done now and am open to options, I always know that I can scroll to the last day of the month and pick up some ideas.

When the month ends, I will never have finished everything that was on the that "Master List." I wait for the next day, the 1st day of the month, and look at what is still on the list. It is then that I reassign due dates. There may be 150-200 such tasks. Many of them will simply be re-scheduled for the last day of the new month. On Outlook, simply putting a number in the due date field translates to that day of the current month. For example, if this month is June and I enter "30" in the due date field, Outlook converts that to "6/30/2009."

Other tasks will have gained some urgency or will seem to fit well on a particular day during the month. Those tasks will be given assigned a due date accordingly. Still other tasks are such that I know I do not want to see them again for several months. Those tasks will receive a due date for the last day of the month several months hence.

By maintaining that "master list" on the last day of the month, my list for the current day is manageable. At the same time, I have a place to store the rich supply of activities to which I can look forward.

JSU Workshop

There are still plenty of seats left for the Get Organized! workshop offered through the Jacksonville State University Inservice Center on June 23. The time is 8:30-4:00.

The inservice is providing a free copy of the book to all participants! Registration is limited to those in the JSU Inservice Center Region.

To register for the workshop, click here.

Overwhelmed

One principal who helped mentor me described the end of the school year as “…like being on a sled going down a steep, snow-covered hill. Things just get faster and faster and there’s nothing you can do about it. You just try to avoid running into a tree.” We forget just how much hits us until it arrives. The end of the year just seems the logical time to bring closure to just about any activity you can name. Everyone is trying to clear up everything all at the same time. Work shows up faster than we can possibly get it done. Without intervention, next year will be no different.

As the year comes to a close, we would actually like to enjoy it. Everything we have worked for all year long is now blooming. How nice it would be to savor the moment instead of feeling the stress of so much to do in so little time!

It doesn’t all have to be done right now.
Some of what is on our plates could wait until the dust settles. Our fear is that by the time we actually have the time, those good ideas will have been forgotten, so we try to cram it all in while things are fresh on our minds. Two simple tools allow us to take those worthy tasks and carve a place for them in our future. One more gives hope that we could prevent this onslaught next year.

The Tickler File
There are the physical things which are lying around in the form of papers and files. Their physical presence serves as reminder of the work to be done with them. Every time we look at them, we are distracted from the task at hand. That’s where the tickler file comes to the rescue. We have a pretty good idea of when the dust will settle and life as normal will resume. Drop those papers in the tickler file for that time. They will resurface exactly when you have decided you wanted to see them.

The Signature Tool
There are the mental things rolling around in our heads. Every one of them screams “Don’t forget to…!” yet still we forget. Those things which could be done later compete for our limited attention with those things which much be done now. Our signature tool, be it paper or digital, is the answer. Pick a date when things will be more settled. Write it down or key it in depending upon whether you system is paper or digital. Either way, you have earned the right to forget about it. It will come back on its own, and it will do so on exactly on the date you had chosen.

The Repeating Task List
Some of the avalanche is caused by other people. Some of it, we likely have nobody to blame but ourselves. It seems as soon as life settles down in June, we forget the feeling of overwhelm and what we might have done to minimize it.

The world of education is a cyclic world in which many of the same tasks and same projects repeat every year. Some of what we are doing in May could have been done in March, if only we had thought of it in March. You can structure a system which will cause you to think of it in March, or at any time you choose. I have spoken often of the value of the repeating task list, a simple tool which allows us to think of something one time and then let our system remind us at just the right instant.

Finishing teacher observations, scheduling next year’s dates, grading mountains of make-up work, or taking inventory of our equipment are just a few examples of the tasks which need not be able to left for the mad rush of mid-May. If all of what we are trying to fit into a small window of time was actually written down in one place, we would instantly realize that we have set ourselves up for failure and begin to do something about it.

Master these three tools and watch your productivity go up and your stress level go down:
1. Tickler File
2. Signature Tool
3. Repeating Task List

End the Insanity
Mid-May is a terrible time to fix the problems of mid-May. June is a perfect time to lay the plans and implement the procedures that will make next May the perfect end of a perfect year.


Our two greatest problems are gravity and paperwork. We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming.
— Dr. Wernher Von Braun

Follow Your Passion...

Graduation is always a special a time for the the graduates and their families. At this time of year, high school graduation are being held in every community in America. One, however, has attracted the attention of the media nationwide and worldwide.

Each year, Dr. Condoleezza Rice accepts only one invitation to speak at a high school graduation. This year, that one was Talladega High School. In addition to hearing the inspiring words of a fellow Alabamian, every senior met and was photographed with Dr. Rice.

Here is the news story as told by ABC 33/40:



Jeremy Campbell of ABC 33/40 spent time with Dr. Rice in this exclusive interview:



Coverage from Fox 6 is here:



Today's Birmingham News carries this excellent article.

Listed below is the Associated Press article which is appearing today throughout the country:

Associated Press
Published: May 29, 2009

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) - Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged graduates of Talladega High School to find their passions in life and follow them.
Rice a native of Birmingham, was the school’s graduation speaker Thursday night. She said she first studied music as a college student and later pursued international studies, although she said she “didn’t have a Russian bone in my body.“
She told the 150 graduates and their families that many years later, when she was leaving the White House lawn via helicopter with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife in 1990, she thought she had made a good decision in changing her major.
Talladega Mayor Brian York gave Rice a key to the city and declared Thursday “Condoleezza Rice Day."

Of all of the media attention, perhaps most notable is Chris Norwood's article in The Daily Home. That article appears here. This paper has proven to be a supporter of this school system time and time again. You may view a 29-picture slideshow of the event by clicking here.

To view Dr. Rice's address to the Graduating Class of 2009, click here.

Graduations are happening in every community in America. This one attracted the attention of the nation. As the Class of 2009 begins to make its mark on the world, who knows which of these graduates might just attract the attention of the nation. It can happen...just as it did for one Alabamian. Follow your passion...When you are convinced that you are right, find someone with a different opinion...Don't ever lose your thirst for knowledge. Wise words spoken by someone who has so much in common with the young men and women she was addressing.

Could He Fool the Whole World?

"The moral of this story is not that journalists should avoid Wikipedia, but that they shouldn't use information they find there if it can't be traced back to a reliable primary source..."

Suppose a person fabricated a piece of information and then posted it to Wikipedia. Would the fraud be snuffed immediately? Or, would the bogus information go down in history as fact? That situation happened recently, and you can read about it here.

The implications for the field of education are enormous. I had written recently about the need for us to check our facts before passing on what could be hoaxes. The Internet is a resource for information--both good and bad. The job of finding information is easier now than it has ever been. The job of verifying the accuracy of that information just got tougher. It's the universal trade-off. Students need to understand that. First, however, we must understand that.

Technology throws at us solutions, and it throw at us problems, and then it throws at us solutions to the problems it threw. Staying on top of developments in technology is a wise investment of time. Ultimately, it makes life easier.

As summer arrives, we have more flexibility in our days that at any other time. We have the opportunity to make the summer count for something, if that's our choice. Harnessing some aspect of technology and making it work for us isn't a bad way to make summer count. For the language arts teacher, it may mean perfecting research skills, something relevant to the story which begins this post. For the math teacher, it may mean learning Excel and then wishing you had taken the plunge ten years ago. For the elementary teacher, it may mean getting really good at using that Interwrite SchoolPad through some devoted practice time. For the physical education teacher, it may mean starting a blog to inform other people how they can stay physically fit.

Our school system's vision is moving forward to meets the demands of a changing world. For a system committed with that vision at its center, getting serious about technology is one of the surest ways to turn vision into reality.

Want to Know What a Scam Looks Like?

If you want to know what a scam looks like, look no further. This is an actual e-mail that I received. It looks oh so official. The bottom line is the scammer wants login information. It's not going to happen, at least not with me. Would you have recognized this was a scam or would you have taken the bait?

Your Webmail Quota Has Exceeded The Set Quota/Limit Which Is 20GB.
Your Are Currently Running On 23GB due to hidden files and folder on your Mailbox.
Please you are to follow the Below information to Validate Your Mailbox And Increase Your Quota.

First Name:
Last Name:
Username/ID:
Password:
Date of Birth:

Failure to follow this process to Validate Your Quota may result in loss Of important information in your Mailbox/Or Cause Limited Access To It.

*Important*
Please provide all these information completely and correctly otherwise due to security reasons we may have to close your account temporarily.We have been sending this notice to all our email account owners and this is the last notice/verification exercise.

Thanks
Localhost Support.

Please Remember Me

On this Memorial Day, we bring you a tribute to our fallen troops.

The music is "Dante's Prayer" by Loreena McKennit. The creator of this video does not give her name, but writes, "The pictures are from various sources on the web, and the editing is done painstakingly by hand using Windows Movie Maker. This took me forever, but I hope it will be appreciated."

Yes, I can assure you it will...

Thanks, Daily Home!

I was a little overwhelmed to see the front page of yesterday's Daily Home. The two huge color pictures taken at my retirement reception were really overwhelming. The cutline read:

Talladega City Schools Curriculum and Special Education Coordinator Frank Buck was honored at a retirement party at Magnolia's Tuesday evening. Buck has served in the current position for three years, and has been ad administrator at various levels since 1993. He launched his career in education in 1982 as a award winning band director.

Virtual AETC

Virtual AETC is just around the corner. Registration will be done on through STIPD. After logging in, search the PD Catalog for VAETC. You will see a list of all of the sessions being offered, and you can sign up for those you like.

I am conducting two sessions:

Managing Digital Data With Ease (VAETC09002) June 12 11:00-12:00

Your Own Blog in 10 Minutes or Less (VAETC09003) June 8 11:00-12:00

After registering, you will receive this e-mail message:

“Congratulations! You have successfully registered for a session in Virtual AETC. First, copy down your STIPD session number/title. Then, go to the following link and create a login to Moodle using your correct name (http://v-aetc.alsde.edu). If you are registering for more than one session, you will only need one login to Moodle. Save your Moodle username and password and use them to access your sessions. Once logged into Moodle, you may find technical requirements, help files, and session links listed within Moodle. For help on registering in Moodle, download the following file: http://ti.alsde.edu/aetc/sitepages/documents/Enrollment%20Instructions%20for%20Moodle.doc Please create your Moodle login as soon as you register so that you won’t be delayed getting into your sessions.”

Those outside of Alabama can register as well:

1. Go to the following link and create a login to Moodle using your correct name (http://v-aetc.alsde.edu).
2. Use this help file to create the Moodle login: http://ti.alsde.edu/aetc/sitepages/documents/Enrollment%20Instructions%20for%20Moodle.doc
3. Save your Moodle username and password and use them to access your sessions.
4. Once logged into Moodle, you may find technical requirements, help files, and session links listed within Moodle.
5. The links will be active on the day of the session.

Join us at JSU for Get Organized!

I will be conducting a full-day Get Organized! workshop through the Jacksonville State University Inservice Center on June 23. The time is 8:30-4:00. Because the inservice is providing a free copy of the book to all participants, registration is limited to those in the JSU Inservice Center Region.

To register for the workshop, click here.

To the Class of '09

This one has been around for a while. The advice was good a decade ago, and it's good advice now.

"Forever Young"

Sixteen months ago in a post entitled "Little Things are Big Things," I wrote, "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..."

The post spoke of the challenges of beginning leadership facing an interim principal. This post provides, in words reminiscent of Paul Harvey, the rest of the story.

As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, the little things began to add up. Grass and flowers began to grow where only dirt had been. A pothole-filled parking lot was re-surfaced. Awnings were erected to keep rain off of children and out of the building.

Inside the building, a spirit of cooperation united parents, teachers, children, and the community. The school became as financially solid as it was academically solid. All of it happened because of little things--little things all moving in the same direction.

Soon, it became apparent that the best person for the job was the person already doing the job. With more degrees, better people skills, a flair for creativity, and far more years of classroom experience at the elementary level than anyone around, fate had created the best of situations for this school.

This past Friday, the Board of Education made a great decision for the stakeholders at Raymond L. Young Elementary School. Ironically, it was on "Forever Young" Field Day that the Interim Young Principal became the "Forever Young" Principal. Congratulations to Pattie Thomas, and may the best days for "a good place to learn and grow" be those still in the future.

You've got to think about the "big things" while you're doing the small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.

-Alvin Tofler

You'll Never Walk Alone

With high school graduations approaching, I am always reminded of graduations when I was a student at Tuscaloosa County High School. Under the direction of Ronnie Lett, the mixed choir at the school was one of the finest in the state, and their annual rendition of this song seldom left a dry eye in the place.



The message is just as relevant now as it was when I was in high school, and is just as relevant as when this song premiered in 1945.

On Choices

Every day brings choices. We can’t go wrong with the choices we see in this video.

Checklists

Checklists are great for making sure we don't forget anything. A couple of weeks ago, I finally thought through a comprehensive "Packing Checklist" which lists everything I need to pack when I am going out of town as well as listing the few tasks that must be done before leaving.

In another post, I will talk about some of the checklists I have, where they are stored, and how I use them. The purpose of this post is to point you to a very simple web-based checklist maker.

Printable Checklists is a site that allows you to give your list a title, add as many items as you wish, and print your list. Think of all of the checklists you use over and over. The trip packing checklist is one example. If you have to plan lots of parties for children, composing a checklist for that activity would be a great idea.

The download seems to be the inability to save the list and then change it later. The upside is that it is so easy.

Who Puts His Trust...

In a blog all about saving time and getting organized, one of the questions we must keep ever present is, "Save time for what?" The answers differ for each of us. For many of us, the answer is that we can save time on the mundane and direct it to the creative aspects of our lives.

By the way, in this performance, it's not a band with a choir behind them. It's the band that's also doing the singing.

Stay Focused