This TedTalk is about 6 years old and many of you have probably seen it before; however, it is one of those talks that I go back to periodically and re-watch because of its powerful message. It is absolutely worth the 18.5 minutes. Please take some time to watch it.
I am generally very skeptical of relating to education, books or talks that are business oriented. This is one of those talks that I connect with as an educator. Simon Sinek lays out for us the power of "WHY?" He demonstrates how leaders who are successful understand and use that power to their benefit while those who don't, fail or simply get by.
If you are in a position of leadership or aspire to be, I encourage you to think about why you do what you do and how you share those ideas, as opposed to focusing simply on what you want to do and how you want to do it.
I find this notion very powerful. What are your thoughts?
This is a place where I can make connections, both literally and figuratively. Hopefully, a place where we can learn together.
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Leading - The Power of Why
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Monday, April 6, 2015
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
I have always been a proponent of the philosophy, "change is good." Having said that, I was much
more open to change in my own life and career when I was younger. I pursued my Masters in Educational Leadership in my twenties and willingly sought out and took on the challenges of leadership positions. It was exciting and new and fresh.
For the past 11+ years I have been the principal and lead learner of Bear Tavern Elementary School, a wonderful community that is dedicated to education. Recently, I had the opportunity to make a change. It was frightening to contemplate. My superintendent and I discussed the need for assistance on some of the district's critical technology related projects. With my passion for technology and its appropriate use for teaching and learning, I was intrigued. But, how could I move on from my position as principal to work in a role that is so different and may or may not be there in the future? That took some real reflection.
After considering the options, I came to the conclusion that I needed to take a risk. I thought back to those early years in my career when I was eager for a new challenge and willing to take those leaps. I decided to go for it. So now, my title is "Principal on Assignment." I am working on projects including implementation of PARCC assessments district-wide, development of a plan for the district to transition to a new student information system, and supporting and actualizing the expansion of our 8th grade 1:1 Chromebook initiative to grades 9 and 7. Those are some of the major responsibilities among other things.
I was unsure if I would be comfortable working out of our central office and not being based in a school; however, this position has afforded me the opportunity to interact with teachers and students in all six of our schools from preschool through 12th grade. Every day is something new and different. Additionally, I am involved in educating students (and teachers) in an entirely different way.

So, I guess the point of my post is more of a personal revelation. I have been professing the virtues of change to the teachers and students with whom I have worked over the years, but while doing so, I slipped into a position that provided me with the opportunity to engage in what I can only describe as "comfortable change." I firmly believe that the work we have done at Bear Tavern during my time there was positive, good for children, and affirms the reasons that I went into education all those years ago. But, now I have taken one of those leaps into something less defined and less secure. It is exciting and invigorating!
What does the future hold? Who knows? I am ready for it. I feel like I am truly living the advice I have given others so often over the years.
What changes do you need to make? It is worth some thought.
more open to change in my own life and career when I was younger. I pursued my Masters in Educational Leadership in my twenties and willingly sought out and took on the challenges of leadership positions. It was exciting and new and fresh.
For the past 11+ years I have been the principal and lead learner of Bear Tavern Elementary School, a wonderful community that is dedicated to education. Recently, I had the opportunity to make a change. It was frightening to contemplate. My superintendent and I discussed the need for assistance on some of the district's critical technology related projects. With my passion for technology and its appropriate use for teaching and learning, I was intrigued. But, how could I move on from my position as principal to work in a role that is so different and may or may not be there in the future? That took some real reflection.
After considering the options, I came to the conclusion that I needed to take a risk. I thought back to those early years in my career when I was eager for a new challenge and willing to take those leaps. I decided to go for it. So now, my title is "Principal on Assignment." I am working on projects including implementation of PARCC assessments district-wide, development of a plan for the district to transition to a new student information system, and supporting and actualizing the expansion of our 8th grade 1:1 Chromebook initiative to grades 9 and 7. Those are some of the major responsibilities among other things.
I was unsure if I would be comfortable working out of our central office and not being based in a school; however, this position has afforded me the opportunity to interact with teachers and students in all six of our schools from preschool through 12th grade. Every day is something new and different. Additionally, I am involved in educating students (and teachers) in an entirely different way.

So, I guess the point of my post is more of a personal revelation. I have been professing the virtues of change to the teachers and students with whom I have worked over the years, but while doing so, I slipped into a position that provided me with the opportunity to engage in what I can only describe as "comfortable change." I firmly believe that the work we have done at Bear Tavern during my time there was positive, good for children, and affirms the reasons that I went into education all those years ago. But, now I have taken one of those leaps into something less defined and less secure. It is exciting and invigorating!
What does the future hold? Who knows? I am ready for it. I feel like I am truly living the advice I have given others so often over the years.
What changes do you need to make? It is worth some thought.
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Wednesday, July 2, 2014
#ISTE2014 Newbie: With A Little Help From My Friends
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image from https://www.isteconference.org/2014/ |
I just attended my first ISTE Conference & Expo! Did you hear me? I just attended my first ISTE Conference & Expo! Sorry, I'm just very excited and energized after my time in Atlanta. So much so that I wrote this post in the airport as I waited for my flight home and on the plane. If it rambles a little, bear with me.
Over the past few years, since I started building a PLN via Twitter, I have been watching the stream of tweets with the #ISTE conference hashtag as my school year would come to an end. As I read all of the tweets going by with links to amazing resources and nuggets from thoughtful sessions, I knew that eventually I would have to go myself. This year, I was able to attend in Atlanta and it was an exhausting, rewarding, learning, connecting, type of experience.
Fortunately, I got by with a little help from my friends. I was able to hook up with members of my PLN from the moment I got there and they helped show me the ropes. A big thanks to Billy Krakower (@wkrakower), Kyle Calderwood (@kcalderw), Liz Calderwood (@liz1544), Kate Baker (@KtBkr4), and, of course, Jerry Blumengarten(@cybraryman1). There were many people that I met and had the opportunity to talk with because the folks above took me under their wing and mentored me during my time at #ISTE2014.
Everyone told me that the informal conversations are as valuable as the sessions themselves and I truly understand what they meant now. The learning and connecting can take many forms; a brief chat with Nathan Stevens (@nathan_stevens) and Jenny Grabiac (@techgirljenny) at a social event, a conversation with Jessica Allen (@jessievaz12) over dinner, a dialogue about a project from one of the poster session presenters (they are GREAT) in the Galleria, a warm, wonderful hug and words of encouragement in the Blogger's Cafe from Paula Naugle (@plnaugle), a
great opportunity to go to lunch with Jerry, Billy, and Kathy Bloomfield from Readworks, or a quick conversation in the conference hallway with Angela Maiers (@AngelaMaiers) to remind that "You Matter!" These real life connections are part of what make the virtual connections via social media so valuable.
me and Paula Naugle |
#ISTE2014 was also filled with fantastic sessions. The biggest problem was deciding which ones to choose because there were often several sessions of interest to me at the same time. I came away with some great ideas from Kyle Pace (@kylepace) and Michelle Baldwin's (@michellek107) session "Full STEAM ahead: Cultivating connections with the arts." I learned that I can start a maker space in my school and classrooms and I don't have to break the bank from the folks at Digital Harbor Foundation's (@DHFBaltimore) session: "Classroom Makerspace: Your Guidebook to Inexpensive Making in the Classroom". I was inspired by the session
with Levar Burton (@levarburton) whose Reading Rainbow has helped so many children over the past decades. That barely scratches the surface of what I have learned (fodder for more posts).
Levar Burton speaking to a packed room. |
You never know what opportunities will present themselves at #ISTE2014. I arrived on Saturday and that evening received a message asking if I would help out in a session as a Twitter Mentor. So my first professional development opportunity at the convention was actually working with Elana Leoni (@elanaleoni) from Edutopia and Kyle Calderwood in their session "Saved by Twitter: 10 ways to use Twitter to Connect" (#savedbytwitter) as they worked with a room of 150 new Twitter users to show the power of the social media platform for connecting and professional development. Awesome! The next night I went in to support Jerry Blumengarten and Susan Bearden (@s_bearden) in their session "Twitter 101: Build Your Personal Learning Network" and was asked to do something similar.
I'm going to stop now because now that I have my initial thoughts down I need to process them a bit more. I am sure there are more posts coming when I collect my thoughts. Stay tuned...
So, a few takeaways from this post....
1. Go to #ISTE2015 in Philadelphia if you can
While there:
2. Talk to people, they will talk back
3. Take a risk and leave your comfort zone
4. Take the time to explore the Expo floor. There are some wonderful things there and a great deal to learn (I didn't even mention that above!)
But, Right now:
4. Get on Twitter and start to connect with the amazing folks out in our education community.
5. Follow all of the people I mention in this post, you won't regret it!
6. Leave a comment and let's start a conversation here or on Twitter
P.S. Thanks to all of the educators with whom I've interacted during the last several days. It has been wonderful.
Me, Nathan, Kate, Aaron, Liz, & Kyle |
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Saturday, March 29, 2014
Telling Our Story on Social Media
Recently I have challenged the staff at Bear Tavern Elementary School to engage in a variety of technology related activities to help expand the idea of technology as a curricular tool. The specifics of that challenge are fodder for another post; however, I would like to highlight a fantastic by-product of the challenge that has been playing out over the last several weeks.
One of the things that I asked the staff to consider is using Twitter for either personal professional development or to share the amazing things that are happening in their classrooms and the school. I offered several "sessions" on setting up a twitter account and following educators of interest. These sessions were well attended and various staff members who could not attend set up individual times to sit down and learn. For me, personally, this has been very rewarding because it has helped to provide an additional opportunity for me to teach and learn with my colleagues.
One of the major points that I have made in discussions with the staff is the idea of writing our own story. Our school has had the experience of reacting when others have written our story. Often these stories are negative ones relayed by those who are unhappy with something. While there are always going to be these types of stories, if they are the only ones out there, then that is the reality of what the world knows about your school. With this in mind, I have been encouraging the staff to tell the story of the amazing things that are happening inside our walls each day, one tweet at a time. It only takes seconds to post a note or a picture and a caption to relay the magic that happens constantly within our school. This message truly hit home for me after reading Digital Leadership by Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal) and hearing him speak on the subject this winter. We want to be the authors of our own story!
As of today the following Bear Tavern teachers are on Twitter and many are actively sharing the things that they are doing in their classrooms.
One of the things that I asked the staff to consider is using Twitter for either personal professional development or to share the amazing things that are happening in their classrooms and the school. I offered several "sessions" on setting up a twitter account and following educators of interest. These sessions were well attended and various staff members who could not attend set up individual times to sit down and learn. For me, personally, this has been very rewarding because it has helped to provide an additional opportunity for me to teach and learn with my colleagues.

As of today the following Bear Tavern teachers are on Twitter and many are actively sharing the things that they are doing in their classrooms.
Jill Leestma - @MrsLeestma
Ana Lopez: @atlc_a
Joslyn Johnson: @artrocksbt
![]() |
Image via CrunchBase |
Liz Machado: @lizmachado68
Phyllis Bernard: @BernardALRALMEA
Lori Ayres: @MrsAyresClass
Paula Muhlbauer: @IheartDewey
Lori Drake: @lbdteach
Shannon Mann: @SM_TeachBT
Kim Niefer: @MrsNiefersClass
Breanne Scullin: @MsScullin_BT
Connie McCann: @cmccannbt1
Jill Novak @jillnovakBT
Mandi Perez: @letsgo2lbi
Britt Dominick: @brittmariemusic
Bruce Arcurio: @PrincipalArc
Bear Tavern: @beartavernes
Not all of the above are actively tweeting on a regular basis; however, they are easing into it and I applaud them all. There are also several of the above mentioned teachers who have joined the Bear Tavern Twitter Team. This is a group who also have access to the Bear Tavern twitter account (the last one listed above) and help me tweet out things happening all over the school.
Twitter is not the main communication mode for our school. We still use the traditional channels for that (email blast, virtual backpack, online calendar, etc.); however, Twitter is becoming a way that parents and the community can get a real time glimpse into the day to day learning that is happening at our amazing school. For those who have not jumped into the the Twitter stream YET, we have also placed the school's twitter feed on our school webpage. I encourage you to follow any and all of the Twitter accounts above!
Now I look forward each day to see what amazing things get tweeted, because I can't be in all places at all times either!
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Thursday, February 27, 2014
Integrating STEM in the Classroom: Resources
This past Tuesday, February 25th, we held our weekly #NJED Chat at 8:30pm EST. Our topic was: Integrating STEM in the Classroom. I was very excited about this topic because we are in the planning stages of opening a 4th Grade STEM Magnet Class for our district at Bear Tavern Elementary School. I will be writing various posts about our progress as we continue to move forward; however, after the chat I received this tweet:
The easiest method seemed to be on my blog. So here is a list of the hyperlinks that were shared during our chat. It is a pretty good list of resources for anyone interested in STEM Education; HOWEVER, if you have others, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE share them in the comments below so that we can all benefit.
Why Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy went MAD!
Framework for 21st Century Learning
Don't Squelch the Creativity #SAVMP
Falling isn't Failing
Infographic: The Value of STEM Education
12 Steps to Great STEM Lessons
If school is supposed to prepare students for real life, then why doesn’t it look more like real life?
The easiest method seemed to be on my blog. So here is a list of the hyperlinks that were shared during our chat. It is a pretty good list of resources for anyone interested in STEM Education; HOWEVER, if you have others, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE share them in the comments below so that we can all benefit.
Why Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy went MAD!
Framework for 21st Century Learning
Don't Squelch the Creativity #SAVMP
Falling isn't Failing
Infographic: The Value of STEM Education
12 Steps to Great STEM Lessons
If school is supposed to prepare students for real life, then why doesn’t it look more like real life?
NASA Explorer Schools
Also, here is a link to the entire chat archive. I encourage readers to peruse the chat because the interaction between the participants was rich with insight, suggestions, and ideas.
Also, here is a link to the entire chat archive. I encourage readers to peruse the chat because the interaction between the participants was rich with insight, suggestions, and ideas.
"Integrating STEM in the classroom" #njed Chat 2-25-14
Please join us each Tuesday evening for our weekly chat. Our topics are varied and focused on what we do as practitioners. We welcome participants from all over the country and all over the world!
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Tuesday, July 16, 2013
ClassCharts - A Classroom Management Tech Tool Worth a Look
If you have not checked out ClassCharts yet, it is worth giving it a look. This past year in my school my special area teachers were looking for a mechanism to provide consistency with behavioral expectations across all classes. ClassCharts is a tool that can give them that consistency in a unified fashion without unending meetings and set-up time. I intend to suggest it to them when they return for next school year.
I had an opportunity to test drive the Website with a free account. ClassCharts is a free teacher tool created by teachers in the UK. As one who finds visuals very appealing when working or learning, this tool is well suited for my needs. The ClassCharts interface provides teachers with a data-rich seating chart that provides flexibility and customization for various classroom needs and functions.
At its core, ClassCharts is a seating chart, into which you can import pictures of the students and arrange them according to your classroom layout. The system then allows you to add specific data about your students that can appear on the seating chart. Some of the built-in fields include, behavior data, aftercare status, free meals, gender, group, literacy target, and reading age. Fields can be added to meet the data needs of your classroom. A teacher can then have the 4 most pertinent pieces of information visible on the chart, which can be printed or viewed on the computer or mobile device, while all of the other data can be seen in reports or other views on the computer.
It is a rather simple set-up and the knowledge base section of the website is quite well done. There are video tutorials for some of the main functions and informative descriptions to help with most questions. There is a digital brochure that discusses some of the major components, but I suggest setting up a free account and taking it for a test drive.
Two of the features that I was most impressed with include the collaboration tool and the ability to upload students via excel spreadsheet. Collaboration allows teachers to be consistent over the course of a day, a week, a month, etc.
I had an opportunity to test drive the Website with a free account. ClassCharts is a free teacher tool created by teachers in the UK. As one who finds visuals very appealing when working or learning, this tool is well suited for my needs. The ClassCharts interface provides teachers with a data-rich seating chart that provides flexibility and customization for various classroom needs and functions.
At its core, ClassCharts is a seating chart, into which you can import pictures of the students and arrange them according to your classroom layout. The system then allows you to add specific data about your students that can appear on the seating chart. Some of the built-in fields include, behavior data, aftercare status, free meals, gender, group, literacy target, and reading age. Fields can be added to meet the data needs of your classroom. A teacher can then have the 4 most pertinent pieces of information visible on the chart, which can be printed or viewed on the computer or mobile device, while all of the other data can be seen in reports or other views on the computer.
It is a rather simple set-up and the knowledge base section of the website is quite well done. There are video tutorials for some of the main functions and informative descriptions to help with most questions. There is a digital brochure that discusses some of the major components, but I suggest setting up a free account and taking it for a test drive.
Two of the features that I was most impressed with include the collaboration tool and the ability to upload students via excel spreadsheet. Collaboration allows teachers to be consistent over the course of a day, a week, a month, etc.
By sharing students with colleagues teachers can have a fluid view of various data, including behavior. This enables them to respond appropriately. The system allows teachers to award points for positive behaviors and subtract points for negative behaviors. Depending upon your philosophy with this type of information their are also functions that allow for giving access to real-time data to parents and the students via individual accounts. From a practicality perspective, the ability to upload a spreadsheet of students is very important since most districts can provide teachers with a CSV file that would be easily uploaded from Excel.
I can't stress enough the flexibility of the tool and its visual nature. It makes the data easily accessible and user-friendly. The long and short of it is that I recommend taking a look at this versatile tool. It will be a wonderful way to manage some key classroom data, collaborate with colleagues, and provide substitute teachers with printed visuals that they need. Also, as a teacher created tool, using it supports innovation among educators world-wide.
Also, if you are an edmodo user, it is currently (as of this post) the #1 free app in the edmodo store and can be downloaded right into edmodo! (Note - you do not need to use edmodo to use ClassCharts)
After you try it, I'd love to hear your comments below!
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
I Need that Watch!!
I remember a TV movie from 1980 called The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything. It starred Robert Hays (Ted Styker from Airplane) and Pam Dawber (Mindy from Mork and Mindy). To be clear, it was a hokey movie at best and really wasn't very memorable except for the premise, which involved the main character inheriting a watch that allowed him to stop time for everyone but himself!
WHAT I NEED IS THAT WATCH!
Have you ever felt like you had so many things going on at once that you would never get them all done? I have been a Principal for over a decade so I am very familiar with juggling numerous things and managing many deadlines, but I have to say that I have never really found the right formula for getting it all done efficiently. It all gets finished and usually finished pretty well, but not without angst and stress.
WHAT I NEED IS THAT WATCH!
I know I'll never get it, but I have to dream. Don't get me wrong I have employed many different types of
systems. Before the higher tech ones I used notebooks, binders, color coding, white boards, etc. Now that we have mobile devices I use things like Evernote, Wunderlist, email, Google Apps, etc. But, I want something more magical!
WHAT I NEED IS THAT WATCH!
Since I understand that I will likely not get one of those watches, I ask you: What do you do to keep organized and stay on track? Do you have a system? Do you have a program? Do you have a plan? Do you have any good advice? This post is mainly for venting about the many things that are going on right now including a 50th Anniversary Celebration for my school, NJ State Testing, and all of the normal things that go along with school administration in the Spring (Annual Evals, budget, staffing, etc. etc. etc.) All of this stuff is part of the gig and I love it, but this is my space for writing about this stuff. Teachers and administrators all feel the heat during the last month and a half of the school year, and I am sure that I am preaching to the choir.
So, as I mentioned:
WHAT I NEED IS THAT WATCH!
But, unless you have one of those, can you share with me what you use to keep it all straight. If you have never commented on my blog before, this is the time I ask you to consider commenting.
I leave you with one of my favorite exchanges from one of my favorite films; Shakespeare in Love.
Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.
It will all get done. Thanks!
WHAT I NEED IS THAT WATCH!
Have you ever felt like you had so many things going on at once that you would never get them all done? I have been a Principal for over a decade so I am very familiar with juggling numerous things and managing many deadlines, but I have to say that I have never really found the right formula for getting it all done efficiently. It all gets finished and usually finished pretty well, but not without angst and stress.
WHAT I NEED IS THAT WATCH!
I know I'll never get it, but I have to dream. Don't get me wrong I have employed many different types of
systems. Before the higher tech ones I used notebooks, binders, color coding, white boards, etc. Now that we have mobile devices I use things like Evernote, Wunderlist, email, Google Apps, etc. But, I want something more magical!
WHAT I NEED IS THAT WATCH!
Since I understand that I will likely not get one of those watches, I ask you: What do you do to keep organized and stay on track? Do you have a system? Do you have a program? Do you have a plan? Do you have any good advice? This post is mainly for venting about the many things that are going on right now including a 50th Anniversary Celebration for my school, NJ State Testing, and all of the normal things that go along with school administration in the Spring (Annual Evals, budget, staffing, etc. etc. etc.) All of this stuff is part of the gig and I love it, but this is my space for writing about this stuff. Teachers and administrators all feel the heat during the last month and a half of the school year, and I am sure that I am preaching to the choir.

WHAT I NEED IS THAT WATCH!
But, unless you have one of those, can you share with me what you use to keep it all straight. If you have never commented on my blog before, this is the time I ask you to consider commenting.
I leave you with one of my favorite exchanges from one of my favorite films; Shakespeare in Love.

Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.
It will all get done. Thanks!
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Saturday, April 27, 2013
#TCRWP - Cornelius Minor Session on the BYOT Movement

First let me say that Cornelius Minor is a fascinating guy and you can get more insight into his work and passions on his blog: Kass&Corn. As I mentioned in my last post on #TCRWP, I am fond of the bullet point when I take notes. The notes begin with some background and information regarding the movement and then some practical ideas for implementing, starting, and fostering use of technology in Workshop and beyond. I have cleaned up the notes a bit, but they are mainly in their raw form. My comments are at the end. If you
have any questions or would like to discuss further, please leave a comment.
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Cornelius Minor |
- What is the BYOT Movement?
- The movement has always been around
- Socrates had a stick and that was high tech at the time
- Movement has begun to shift from legislating what comes into the classroom to building teaching around it
- Modern BYOT has been around for about 5 years
- The Digital Divide has been changed by mobile devices
- There are more ways to have access
- It is important that kids know how to leverage the technology they have (xbox?, etc.)
- Those who know how to use tech tools well are the most economically successful in our current economy
- Who you are as an economic being is cemented by age 14
- Producer
- Consumer
- We need to invite technology into our classrooms so we can help teach kids how to use it so they can go out and feed their families
- We need policy to shift to relieve teachers of the legal responsibility for student devices if brought in for BYOT
- Resources and steps
- Get smart on using various items
- cell phones
- tablets
- Google Suite of applications
- blogging
- Do schools have a point person for all of this stuff?
- We should be thinking about hiring people who know how to "speak the digital language."
- We have to have a decent classroom culture in place
- We have to have high expectations in place
- We need to welcome kids to our classes with their devices
- How do I get the devices out of pockets and onto desks and back?
- This is basic classroom management - but updated!
- Should take 3-4 days to teach
- Make sure you have a way to reach each child
- Many districts have student email addresses
- If not, collect them.
- Make sure kids know how to check email
- mini-lesson
- assignment
- Make sure kids understand that the work of tech in the classroom has wider implications in the outside world
- The idea is not for everyone to have "one of those" devices
- It is to know how to get access to "one of those"
- "Part of teaching technology is teaching the hustle"
- Curricular Stuff
- 1st 5-8 days are more procedural and cultural than curricular in a BYOT program
- How does tech find its way into the workshops we discuss each day?
- Writing
- In the traditional analog version, the process is thus:
- collecting - 4-6 days
- rehearsal/draft - 1-2 days
- revision - 4-6 days
- editing - 4-6 days
- publish/share - 1 day
- In the technological version:
- publishing/sharing is the most important thing
- How can i position that published piece in the world so that people this kid cares about have access to it? (younger kids = teacher, older kids = peers, etc.)
- Teacher blog?
- post student work
- get it in the world
- parents need to sign a form
- C. Minor feels that the best thing he has done is to publish his kids to the world.
- Don't "select the best work" to go online
- There is no community in that
- Publish 3 pieces per month
- provides consistency for student and readers
- 3 imperfect attempts is better than one perfect attempt
- Learning is in the attempts
- Use pseudonyms for writing
- then only those who know the pseudonym (classmates, families, etc.) know who wrote the piece
- greater safety
- targeted audience
Time ran out on the session; I could have participated for several more hours in this discussion. Cornelius Minor helped me to see that BYOT is not simply a high school idea that does not translate to elementary schools. As an elementary principal I am seeing more and more children come to school with some sort of device (eReader, smartphone, iPod touch, handheld games with wifi, etc.) and I hear stories of their game systems, computers, and devices at home. With all of this technology at their fingertips, it seems almost wasteful to ignore the potential of using them for greater learning opportunities.

As educators we need to use the tools at our disposal to continually improve the way that we meet our educational goals while connecting with the modern child. This is not to say that at times Socrates writing in the dirt with his stick is not effective; however, I believe that if Socrates had access to what we do, he would have taken his questioning digital.
Once again, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.
Related articles
- #TCRWP Saturday Reunion - March 2013 - Laurie Pessah's Workshop (principalarc.blogspot.com)
- #TCRWP Saturday Reunion - A New Can't Miss for Me! (principalarc.blogspot.com)
- New Units of Study (twowritingteachers.wordpress.com)
- Embracing Bring Your Own Technology #byotchat #byod @mysa @ectechhornet (mguhlin.org)
- BYOT Bring your own technology to work? (dealarchitect.typepad.com)
- BYOT with Fotobabble/Educreations (lgb06.wordpress.com)
- Byot (thesmallstreetjournal.wordpress.com)
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Sunday, March 3, 2013
Bear Tavern - iPads in Kindergarten
Bear Tavern Kindergarten teachers and students were highlighted on the front page of the Trenton Times on Saturday March 2nd for the use of iPads in the classroom to augment instruction. I am very proud of the work our school community is doing to use technology as a tool for learning. Please check out the article at:
Please leave comments below. I would love to share them with the teachers.
Hopewell Valley school district experiments with iPads in the classroom
Please leave comments below. I would love to share them with the teachers.
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Sunday, February 10, 2013
Twitter - What's in a Number?
Image via CrunchBase |
We all keep track of the number of followers that we have. For some it is a fun game, for some it may be competitive. I am not sure what it was for me until I thought about the above tweet and responded thus:
That last sentence truly sums it all up. Since I have been connecting on Twitter, I have met, interacted with, and learned with so many amazing educators in the virtual world. These are people with whom I would likely never communicate if it weren't for what I consider to be the most influential tool for professional development in my career: Twitter. In addition, Twitter relationships often become live, in person ones via tweet-ups at conventions, conferences, edcamp unconferences, and various other educational learning forums.
education (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee) |
Using Twitter for Professional Development
Twitter for Educators - Twitter Cheat Sheet
A Simple Comprehensive Guide on The Use of Personal Learning Networks in Education
As for the chocolate confetti? I sure hope so. I guess, I'll see soon.
***Update Feb. 11, 2013
Hit 1000 followers overnight and there was no chocolate confetti; nonetheless, I am thrilled to keep growing my PLN.
Related articles
Personal Learning Networks (PLNs)
10 Great Guides for Better Professional Learning Network
Building a professional learning network on Twitter
Twitter Connects and Expands - I've Got Proof!
20 Tips for Creating a Professional Learning Network
What does your PLN mean to you?
2012: edcampNJ and so much more! A good year for NJeducators!
edcamp - My post that went awry? - Camping vs. edcamping
Twitter is MORE than Honey Boo Boo Child
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